MVO: The Voice-Over Guys’ likes to check-in with our male voice talents and today we talk with PETER K. O’CONNELL about a recent voiceover project he voiced.
1. Can you tell us about a recent voiceover project you’ve recently enjoyed working on? Who was it for?
It has been my honor to use my voice to scare to death all the rodents and bugs across New England. I serve as the television and radio voice for Modern Pest Services, a well respected regional pest control company with six offices across Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
2. What was the project all about?
Of course, I’m not actually scaring the pests…because no one makes headphones that small! But the company needed a voice of helpful authority for their TV and radio campaigns, letting people know about the efficacy and integrity of their company’s services. My reads were customized to their audio branding needs and, according to them, fit perfectly.
3. How did the project come to you? Agent? Website? Past client?
I worked initially with a Boston production company as well as an ad agency in Maine who had heard my voiceover work and asked if I was available. It’s been a great partnership with the agencies and Modern Pest.
4. What was the most interesting or enjoyable part of this project for you?
I think it’s been nice hearing from relatives and friends in New England who hear the spots and say “Is that you, Peter?” Even though I’ve been working professionally in voiceover for 35 years, they either thought I was fibbing about working as a voice talent or they didn’t think VO could be a real job. Of course it is!
ABOUT MALE VOICEOVER TALENT PETER K. O’CONNELL
Hi, I’m Peter.
That was my “short” biography.
Now, if you like, here’s the slightly longer version…
Before Madonna sang about her virginity, when making a phone call from the road meant plunking twenty five cents into a phone booth and back when getting “on-line” meant waiting to check-out at the grocery store, I began my career as a male voiceover talent and live announcer.
I am currently celebrating my 35th year as a professional male voice-over talent.
As America’s friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent, my versatile vocal skills allow me to share many voice acting styles with my clients, who range from Fortune 500 Companies to companies who think $500 is a fortune. From conversational everyman voice to hard sell straight announcer performances, my natural voice over abilities are favored by clients for commercials, narrations, e-learning, documentary, TV promo, radio imaging and live announcing.
People have told me I am a natural born storyteller. I’ve even won some awards for my voiceover work.
In my voice-over career, I have been fortunate enough to work with brands including General Electric, Kraft Foods, PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Shell Oil, Pitney Bowes, Duracell Batteries, U.S. Army, Starz Cable Channel, Bacardi, SunSetter Awnings, Deloitte, Time Warner Cable, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Bonefish Grill, First Financial Bank, N.A., Western Union, BlueCross Blue Shield, Darien Lake Theme Park, J. Walter Thompson Advertising, Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, Harlequin Enterprises and Pathmark Supermarkets.
My voice-over recordings have been heard globally including London, England; Seoul, Korea; the Caribbean; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Delhi, India and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nationally across the United States, my voice has been heard in all major markets including but not limited to New York City; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dallas, Texas; Dayton, Ohio and Buffalo, New York.
OK you’re right, if you’re scoring at home, Dayton, Ohio and Buffalo, New York aren’t really major markets but I have spent so much time there, I felt they deserved a shout-out. A native of Buffalo, NY, I grew up in the Nickel City – I even worked in radio there at WLVL, for, like a week. I truly developed his broadcasting and voice-over skills in Dayton at WVUD-FM as a top rated disc jockey and then as a commercial producer for the station.
I produce my voice projects through my audio production company, audio’connell Voice Over Talent which is a division of O’Connell Communications, LLC. In addition to my voice over work, which represents a majority of the company’s production schedule, audio’connell also provides casting services for clients looking for professional female voiceover and audio production services for national and international clients. The voice over needs of foreign language clients are served through another O’Connell-owned company, International Voice Talents.
Yes, I am also the guy that wrote that voiceover e-book entitled The Voice Over Entrance Exam. The book examines the business and performance realities of becoming a voice-over talent and maintaining a career among a spirited field of established voiceover professionals. Sometimes, when I am feeling very “authory”, I wear an ascot around my house – it’s very obnoxious.
After years of giving away my hard earned knowledge about everything voice over, I decided I should be getting PAID for it so I started audio’connell’s Voice Over Workshop. In private one-on-one voiceover sessions in my studio or via Skype, I teach new and experienced voice talents what I’ve learned after nearly 30 years in the voice over business and critical stuff voice actors need to know to get paid voice jobs.
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio and Television Communication from the University of Dayton (OH) – no one is quite sure how – nonetheless the official diploma can be found somewhere in my Cary, North Carolina home (just outside of Raleigh, NC) where I live with my wife and children.
Thank you for reading all the way to this point in this overly wordy biography but now you really need to get away from the screen and go do something more productive – even basket weaving would have been a better use of your time, as opposed to reading all the way down to here, but thanks anyway.