My name is Mike Cooper. I'm a full time Voiceover Artist living and working in London, and this is my blog.
Find out more about me on my main website (there's a link further down this column), or if you'd like to hear some of my work, check out the files below.
Sky Sports’ promotion effort is, to use the words of one popular UK retailer, “never knowingly undersold”. For years a large percentage of Sky’s promos have been voiced by one man: London-based Bruce Hammal. Bruce has a terrific and instantly recognisable signature voice, and he’s the one you’ll hear telling you that “live from the Sky News centre, this is Live at Five”, amongst other things.
But a pedigree such as his is ripe for rip-off, as demonstrated here by David Webb in the BBC’s “That Mitchell and Webb Look” in 2008…
“The giants of Charlton play host to the titans of Ipswich (making them both seem normal-sized…)”
Send me your suggestions for Friday Fun voiceover clips using the Comments field below – and have a great weekend!
Not strictly a voiceover parody this week, but a great ad from a few years back that made me laugh out loud. I give you Nissan’s “all-action Almera”, in the style of The Sweeney…
“You’re so uptight, Guv!”
“YES! Even my hair’s tense!”
Share your favourite voiceover spoofs and parodies via the Comments field and add to the Friday fun next week. Have a great weekend!
Last week I brought you the famous Orson Welles “Frozen Peas” clip, and I promised that this week I’d bring you a reply to it. In this clip from the Warner Bros “Animaniacs” series, Maurice LaMarchebrilliantly spoofs Orson Welles’s descent into despair in a Pinky and the Brain “mockumentary”.
I trawled the internet for this, as the YouTube video has been removed “due to a copyright violation”, which seems a shame as it’s a classic. My advice? Watch this while you can – but make sure you listen to the Orson Welles clip first, if you haven’t already!
“Get me a jury and show me how you can say in July and I’ll… make cheese for ya!” Nice twist for kids telly, compared to the original!
If you know of any great comic voiceover clips or spoofs, let me know using the comments field below and I’ll share them next time. Meantime, have a great weekend!
This week’s Friday Fun isn’t a spoof at all (though it’s provided the material to spawn plenty!)
The date of the recording is uncertain, but it’s utterly timeless, regardless. The late Orson Welles was hired by Findus to voice a series of television advertisements for their range of frozen peas, and it’s great example of what happens when voice acting goes bad. Listen, as we venture where egos dare…
“Get me a jury and show me how you can say in July and I’ll go down on you!” Classic…
You can read more about the clip at Wikipedia, and next week I’ll bring you probably the most famous reply to this piece of voice acting history. Until then, have a great weekend and remember to share any great voiceover clips you know of by dropping me a line!
Last week and a fortnight ago in Friday Fun, we met Hal Douglas and the late, great Don LaFontaine in spoof spots. But “nothing could ever prepare you for what awaits you” in “5 Men and a Limo”…
Featuring Don LaFontaine, the voice of Hal Douglas (he doesn’t appear!), as well as John Leader, Nick Tate, Mark Elliot, and Al Chalk, it’s quite a production number.
Read more about the clip at Wikipedia, and as ever – if you know of any more great voiceover spoofs – let me know and I’ll share them right here! Meanwhile, have a great weekend!
This week’s Friday Fun comes courtesy of the late Don LaFontaine, who died a year ago this coming Tuesday. Instantly familiar to audiences worldwide and a true voiceover business pioneer, Don was never afraid to parody himself. RIP, Don!
Know of anymore great comic voice acting clips? Drop me a line and I’ll be only too happy to share them! Meantime, have a great weekend!
A voice acting lesson from Jane Horrocks and Joanna Lumley – two ladies who both make a lot of money from this business we call “Voice”. Watch and learn… (opens in new window)
“It’s carpets! It’s madness! It’s Carpet Madness!” Indeed! Surely a lesson for us all?
I’d like to post some more amusing voiceover clips in the coming weeks, and I have a couple of great ones lined up – but if you know of more then drop me a line. Meantime, have a great weekend!
