VHP: Virtual Henderson Project

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Joe's Dump

VHP: Virtual Henderson Project

Henderson is a cheesy beefcake of a man. If you haven’t met him yet, he’s a loose-cannon cop with the intelligence of a small soap dish. I’ve been providing his voice for Pendant Productions for a little over 3 years now, and since Season 3 is coming on March 22, I thought something special was in order.

I always wondered what Henderson would look like in real life, and recently, I purchased some new software called “Poser” that can create realistic 3-D human models. Time for a test run!

Virtual Henderson Project: The Process:
The modeling software does have a learning curve to it. This may be less if you’re actually a graphics person or an animator, but for me it was about medium level of difficulty.

After creating the model, the next step is rendering. For still images, it’s not too bad. A few minutes for each one. The animation, however, took a looooonnnnggg time on my computer. Since I wasn’t going to buy a new computer just for this project, I decided to limit the animated portion to 5 seconds. That’s 150 frames (at 30 fps), and each frame took about 4 minutes, so, yeah, long time.

The rest of the video is still shots that I pan up, down, or sideways in the video editing software (I use Sony Vegas).

For the whole project, I’d guess I spent about 30-40 hours.

Bonus! Here’s the blooper reel from Henderson and Havner Season 2:

HandHbloopers2

…and Links to Everything Else Mentioned:

Enjoy!
Joe

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com

The Hell of Diets!

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Joe's Dump

The Hell of Diets!

“The Hell of Diets!”
by Joe J Thomas

(a parody of “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed and Simon & Garfunkel)

~~~ Lyrics ~~~
“The Hell of Diets!”
by Joe J Thomas Continue reading →

Singing Impressions

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Joe's Dump

Singing Impressions

A new demo from Joe J Thomas

13 Voices in 60 Seconds: Singing Impressions by Joe J Thomas

… and the LP Audio Version for those that want to hear more:

Joe_J_Thomas-Singing_Impressions(long)

More information at: JoeActor.com
Singer: Joe J Thomas
Audio Producer: Mike Finkel
Voice Coach: Charles Ion

How This Demo Came To Be…

As a bit of background, I’ve been singing for several decades. Musical theatre, choir, stage performances with bands… Even traveled with an Elvis impersonator. All of it laid a great foundation. However, it had been a while since my last public performance. Most of my singing now is in the car or for the occasional animation audition.

So, I’d decided to brush up on my singing early in the year, and sought out a new vocal coach. Turns out there is a great guy who teaches at a local college and also gives private lessons.

After getting some of the cobwebs off and learning some new techniques, it was time to put my training to work.

In early August, 2016, I started working with my voice coach and an audio producer on the tracks for the finished demo. The idea had been rattling around in my head for quite some time, and I was already adept at several singing impressions. My voice coach was crucial in getting me to find the right placement for each singer and song.

I recorded a full or partial take of each song (vocal only), and sent the voice track and backing track to the audio producer. We’d also worked together in the past, so he was familiar with my voice and able to give precise feedback on what needed to be tweaked.

Once the base tracks were in a rough edit phase, I enlisted the ears of my wife, and several of my good friends. Each of their feedback went into my decision on which tracks made the final cut.

The last step was for my audio producer to assemble the tracks into a balanced, finished demo.

As a side benefit, I also picked up a lot of new knowledge and techniques.

Now… On to the next challenge!

See you in the booth,
Joe

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com

Mimicry To Money

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Joe's Dump

Mimicry To Money

Here’s follow-up to my post “Comedy to Cash“, where I did a mock NPR show and was later cast in “This American Life” on NPR…

This time the job came from my learning to do a Vincent Price Impression for Halloween.

The impression came in handy when I got an audition for Luna Park in Sydney. Here’s the finished spot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxuBh5J4UpE

… and here’s my impression of Vincent Price from “Thriller”

JoeActor_VincentPrice_Impression_Thriller

Happy Halloween!
Joe

Ban Ki-moon Tune!

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Joe's Dump

Ban Ki-moon Tune!

Even an incomplete project can be a fertile testing grounds for growing new skills and fostering creativity. Here’s just one recent example from Joe’s Dump…

Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, didn’t have a song!
I couldn’t believe nobody had made one. Seemed like a shoe-in for a viral hit 😉

So, I created one for him – a parody of Herman’s Hermits “I’m Into Something Good”:

Ban Ki-moon Tune! (Joe J Thomas)

Sometimes my initial goal gets expanded and leads to a more complicated project.
This time, I though I’d make a music video featuring a cartoon version of Ban Ki-moon!
Ambitious considering my level as an animator and the limitations of the software.

In the end, the video never came together… but I did learn some very valuable techniques for future projects:
Continue reading →

Strange Music

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Joe's Dump

Strange Music

Music can connect on a deep level with us. And getting a song out to the masses today seems easy, even though the competition is greater.

Back in the days of pressed vinyl, you’d need some chops, some luck, and a lot of work to get an album made. That’s why when I stumbled on some rare music years ago, I squirreled it away – not knowing when I’d use it, but just because it seemed special.

The site it came from was called “Belly Bongo”, and was up from 2004 to 2007. Whoever ran the site decided to take some rare albums and upload them for all to enjoy.
(You can still see the remnants of Belly Bongo by clicking here to visit it on the Internet Archive)

Below are eight (8) samples from a variety of albums. Standard songs with beautiful voices, ballads, jazz, and my personal fave “The Polyphonics”… an all Harmonica group.

Some links to additional info are there too – Give a listen!

Artist: Aidan McNally and his Aidanaires Album: At The Burmudiana Hotel Released: 1960’s? Song: Crystal Caves (click for more info)
Aidan_Mcnally-11-crystal_caves

Seven more songs below! Continue reading →

Henderson and Havner: episode 16!

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Joe's Dump

Henderson and Havner, episode 16 – “Stars and Garters”

In today’s episode:
Henderson pleads his case to Captain and Chiefy while Havner gets cozy with the consul! Will Henderson convince Captain and Chiefy? Will Havner entice Sparks? How many questions can we fit in to the season two finale episode blurb??

Listen to episode 16 of this exclusive series from Pendant Productions:

HandH16master

Continue reading →

Henderson and Havner: episode 15!

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Joe's Dump

Henderson and Havner, episode 15 – “Second Chances”

In today’s episode:
Henderson pleads his case to Captain and Chiefy while Havner gets cozy with the consul!

Listen to episode 15 of this exclusive series from Pendant Productions:

HandH15master

Continue reading →

Henderson and Havner: episode 14!

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Joe's Dump

Henderson and Havner, episode 14 – “Crime and Love”

In today’s episode:
It’s a chase through Los Angeles, and sometimes it feels like every person in town is a cop or a reporter!

Listen to episode 14 of this exclusive series from Pendant Productions:

HandH14master

Continue reading →

Alone Again, In The Booth

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Joe's Dump

Alone Again, In The Booth

a ballad for voice actors

written and performed by Joe J Thomas

(parody of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again, Naturally”)

Lyrics:
… Continue reading →

Joe's Dump

Fallout From My Nuclear Brain

Category Archives: Audio

VHP: Virtual Henderson Project

VHP: Virtual Henderson Project

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com

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The Hell of Diets!

The Hell of Diets!

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Singing Impressions

Singing Impressions

All content written and voiced by Joe J Thomas online at: JoeActor.com

Like this:

Mimicry To Money

Mimicry To Money

Like this:

Ban Ki-moon Tune!

Ban Ki-moon Tune!

Like this:

Strange Music

Strange Music

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Henderson and Havner: episode 16!

Henderson and Havner, episode 16 – “Stars and Garters”

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Henderson and Havner: episode 15!

Henderson and Havner, episode 15 – “Second Chances”

Like this:

Henderson and Havner: episode 14!

Henderson and Havner, episode 14 – “Crime and Love”

Like this:

Alone Again, In The Booth

Like this: