Live Announcing
the MTV Movie and TV Awards
Live announce is one of the most exciting genres of VO. It's fast-paced, high-energy, and high stakes.
Although live announce is not one of my primary genres of VO, I've been privileged to do some in my career. Get some behind the scenes of live announcing the MTV Movie and TV Awards here.
Getting set up in the booth
I was booked to live announce two awards shows that week: The MTV Movie and TV Awards: Unscripted, which focuses on reality TV; and the regular MTV Movie and TV Awards.
It was a super fun experience for a girl used to recording out of the booth in her basement.
I got picked up by limo services, had my own trailer, and got to wear this nifty CREW lanyard around the theater.
The best seat in the house
Live announce is both artistic and academic. Of course the voiceover is important, but you also have to learn to pronounce everyone's names and get background on the movies and shows to make sure you're intonating any references correctly.
And since everything is LIVE, you want to get to know the script as well as possible!
Everything is live
This is the announcer's console. It looks harmless enough. But one click of the wrong button, and you're broadcasting a sneeze live in the middle of the program.
The announcer
So many voiceover auditions include the spec "non-announcery."
In this role, you get to own the part of announcer.
Close, but so far
Although I was in the same building as the awards, I wasn't in the same room. Instead, I watched the awards live on this screen while manning the announcer's console.
Coaching with Randy Thomas
The legendary Randy Thomas, voice of the Oscars, was gracious enough to coach me via Zoom as I prepared for this role.
Then, she even more graciously, invited me to her home where we talked and took a beautiful walk together with her lovely pups.
Check out her fascinating career, her work, and her coaching on her website.
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