RADIO INDEPENDENT COMPANIES

(From http://www.radioindies.org )

2ZY	www.2zy.co.uk
Above The Title Productions (part of UBC)	www.abovethetitle.com
Acme	www.acmetv.net
Absolutely Productions	www.absolutely.biz
Afónica Sound Productions
Allegra Productions
Angel Eye Media Ltd	www.angeleye.co.uk
Angel Media	www.angelmediaproductions.org.uk
Art and Adventure	www.artandadventure.org
Autolycus Productions
Athena Media	www.athenamedia.ie
Art and Adventure	www.artandadventure.org
B7 Productions Ltd	www.b7media.com
Boffin Media	www.boffinmedia.co.uk
Cast Iron Radio & Recording Ltd	www.castironrecording.co.uk
Catherine Bailey Ltd	www.cbltd.net
Cherry Cookson
Chrome Radio	www.chromemedia.co.uk
Classic Arts Productions	www.classicarts.co.uk
CTVC	www.ctvc.co.uk
Culture Wise	www.culturewise.org
Curtains For Radio	www.curtainsforradio.com
Damage Unlimited
Dinah Jones
Ear 2 Ear Associates	www.ear-2-ear.com
EFS	www.motivationsound.co.uk
Feelgood Fiction	www.feelgoodfiction.co.uk
Fiction Factory	www.fictionfactory.co.uk
First Writes Radio	www.first-writes.co.uk
the Foghorn Company	[Peter Curran]
Folded Wing	www.foldedwing.co.uk
Foldback Media Ltd	www.foldback.co.uk
Folder Media Productions Ltd	www.foldermedia.co.uk
Fresh Air Production	www.freshairproduction.co.uk
Giddy Goat Productions	[Steve Doherty]
Gill Davies Production	www.gilldaviesproduction.com
Greenpoint	www.greenpointfilms.co.uk
Heavy Entertainment	www.heavy-entertainment.com
Holy Mountain	www.holymountain.co.uk
Hoxa	hoxa.net
Impatient Productions Ltd	www.impatientproductionsuk.com
IGA Productions
Jarvis & Ayres Productions
Jolt Media	www.joltproductions.co.uk
John Stanley Productions	www.johnstanleyproductions.com
Just Radio	www.justradio.ltd.uk
Kalliope Ltd
Like It Is	www.likeitismedia.com
Little Brother Productions	www.littlebrotherproductions.co.uk
Loftus Media	www.loftusmedia.co.uk
Made in Manchester	www.madeinmanchester.tv
Malcolm Billings and Associates
Media For The Web Ltd	www.mediafortheweb.com
Melys Media
Monty Funk Productions	www.montyfunk.com
Open Audio
Open Mike Productions	www.openmike.co.uk
Overtone Productions	www.overtoneproductions.co.uk
Pacificus
Pennine Productions	www.pennine.biz
Perfectly Normal Productions	www.perfectlynormal.net
Pier Productions Ltd	www.pierproductionsltd.co.uk
Ping Productions
Poorly Donkey Productions
Pozzitive Television Ltd	www.pozzitive.co.uk
Presentable Ltd	www.presentable.co.uk
Prison Radio Association	www.prisonradioassociation.org
Quidem	www.quidem.co.uk
Random Entertainment	www.randomentertainment.co.uk
Reel Soul	www.reelsoulmovies.com
Rockethouse Productions	www.rockethouse.co.uk
Ruth Evans Productions
Smooth Operations	www.smoothoperations.com
Somethin' Else	www.somethinelse.com
Soundscape Productions	www.soundscapeproductions.co.uk
Sparklab Productions	www.sparklabproductions.com
Square Dog Radio	www.squaredogradio.co.uk
St Louis Productions
Strauss House Productions	www.hilaryrobinson.co.uk
Sue Clark Productions	www.sueclarkproductions.com
Sugar Productions	www.sugarproductions.co.uk
TBI Media	www.tbimedia.co.uk
The Comedy Unit	www.comedyunit.co.uk
The Corporation For Independent Media	www.judithkampfner.com
The New Unique Production Company (part of UBC)	www.ubcmedia.com
The NoiseHouse	www.thenoisehouse.com
The Waters Company
The Wireless Theatre Company	www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk
Tinderbox Production
Tom Allan Media	tomallan.net
Top Dog Productions	www.topdogproductions.tv
Trevor Dann's Company	www.trevordann.com
Turmeric Media	www.turmericmedia.co.uk
Typeset Media	www.typesetmedia.com
Unusual Productions	www.unusualproductions.co.uk
USP Content	www.uspcontent.com
We Are Grape	www.wearegrape.com
Whistledown Productions	www.whistledown.net
White Pebble Media	www.whitepebblemedia.co.uk
Wise Buddah Creative Ltd	www.wisebuddah.com

Voiceover Tips

 Get a GOOD demo together. The best demos will have work thats already been broadcast.  First impressions last! If you send out a weak demo you might not get a 2nd chance

 Do listen & learn from other voiceovers on radio and TV. Ask yourself "can I do it like that?"

 Record yourself and ask yourself if your voice and style is suitable for that brand.

 Did it take you 20 takes to get it right? If it did, clients might not call you back. Learn to be efficient.  Be prepared to work under pressure. More and jobs these days are last minute.  Be available. Your own studio and quality equipment will make you more desirable.

 Have a good attitude. It's the best job in the world. A good reputation will work wonders for you.  To make the most of the industry seriously consider working full time.

 Are you prepared to wait to be paid? You will have to learn to be patient!

 And the best tip? Respect and enjoy the freedom of working for yourself.

Thank you to Guy Harris for these tips - www.voiceoverguy.co.uk More hints and tips at www.thepips.co.uk

Voiceover Demo Advice

Demo NOT

Twitter--

(From the Voice123 staff)

I would like to quickly mention: What is NOT a demo?

A fast recording done at your desk, and edited with online software.
An announcement of what you plan to do in the industry.
‘Spoken word’ and poetry recordings.
A statement of who you are, and why you want to be in voice overs.
Recording something on your mobile phone in a closet.

I get this out of the way because since March 2009, a date I began keeping records as to ‘how many’ demos were approved/disapproved during quality assurance at my job, I realised I had listened to over 60,000 demos.

I began working for an online casting website in July 2007, and at that time did Quality Assurance by myself for the next year and a half, 10 hours a day. Even though I really sympathise with those who want to be in voice overs, and do not know how to get their first demo, it still needs to be done the professional way, if one is expected to have any chance of getting work.

You would never see a chef serve canned ravioli while stating, ‘Don’t worry. This is just for now, until I get out of cooking school’, and you should not do the same to yourself as a voice artist. Why? A poorly made demo has the following affect on those listening:

Makes clients feel bad for you
Makes clients annoyed
Gives them a reason to keep searching
Gives them a reason to remember not to look for you again
Serves as one big 24-hours a day/7-days a week campaign announcing you are not ready

When the idea of reading a sample script and recording it comes to my mind, just remember this is a way to “practice”. Practice recordings rank up there with a filmmaker recording a dog on a skateboard and uploading it to Youtube.

It is not a professional representation of your work. Even if you did something to get many listens, views, etc., it will be short-lived publicity for the wrong reasons.

Radio Journalist

Journalist Tips – Helping you take the next step in radio

One of the most competitive roles in radio is that of Broadcast Journalist. There are a good number of Broadcast Journalism courses right across the UK and that means every year there is an influx of new journalists that wish to work in radio.

Below are a number of tips from Liz Summers, a broadcast journalist with five years experience in broadcasting plus a BJTC accredited MA in TV Journalism and a BA (hons) in Media Studies. Liz has worked for a number of different radio stations across the UK and is currently reading the news on the breakfast show at Heart Cambridge.

If you’re sending off CV’s to stations make sure your spelling and grammar are perfect. If you can’t get those things right editors will conclude that you won’t make a very good journalist!

Find out the name of the News Editor at the station you’re contacting. I’ve known editors to throw brilliant CV’s straight into the bin even before reading them just because the covering letter wasn’t specifically addressed to them.

Take time to construct an exceptional CV that will make you stand out from the hundreds of other people wanting a job. Ask media professionals, friends and family for advice – think of yourself as a brand and sell yourself but don’t come across as arrogant.

Read, listen and watch the news every day – you need to live and breath news and current affairs.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you’re learning, journalists should be confident and inquisitive.

Take on board constructive criticism from those that you respect BUT learn to brush off negativity from others – you need a thick skin in journalism.

Print off radio news bulletins from the internet and practice reading them to yourself and others.

Listen to the way newsreaders on TV and radio use pitch and tone to add light and shade to a story.

Get as much work experience as possible. Not only will you learn a lot, you’ll also meet the right people. Everyone has a degree these days – you need something to give you an edge.

Don’t expect the work to come to you just because you’ve done a degree!You need to be VERY self motivated. Make a list of the companies you’d like to work for and write specific covering letters and CV’s for them – remember for every job that is advertised you’ll be competing against lots of other journalists. Create your own opportunities, don’t wait for them to come to you and you’ll get where you want to be a lot quicker!

DON’T GIVE UP!!!!! I know you’ve heard it a million times but seriously if at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again. Passion and determination will take you far and I’m a big believer that hard work is never wasted even if it doesn’t seem like it immediately.

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