BUCKETFEST 360

Ian McCann’s Bucket List – (3 minutes)

It is funny how when we get excited about something new, we want to involve others.

Paula 🇨🇦 Curley, is a Jedi poetess, an amazing creative writer, and a very caring woman. Dennis Pitocco had invited her to join #Bizcatalyst360, a community of compassionate people, ready, willing, and eager to do good for the right reasons and to make a difference for the good of humanity. They were organising an online film festival. The theme: Bucket Lists.

Paula thought, as a filmmaker, I should submit a film. In fact she asked me numerous times, one might almost say, she nagged me in to it, but she is far too nice to nag and I am very grateful for her dogged determination.

Ian McCann’s Bucket List, a 3 minutes short film, stars Chilli stealing the show of course. It features my voiceover work, filmmaking, and a little photography.

“My part was to invite you… you nailed it with your message.

You are a true creative… as that passion for expression is always ready to edit and to aim for perfection… which is perfectly normal in the creative sense.

You Ian 👉are fabulous. Your talent is God given and no one does it like you. Your genuine nature touches the hearts of others and your gift of creativity impacts lives.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart as it always excites me when I get to share my likes ..with the likes of you, Ian, and Dennis at 360° NATION ❤️”

Paula Curley, Bizcatalyst 360

NURSERY SCHOOL PROMO VIDEO

Let’s Take The Children Out The Classroom – (2:39 minutes)

This was my first voiceover for a children’s nursery school but certainly not my first poetry voiceover. Normally, the VO follows the edit of the film but this time I was asked to voice it first, which takes some extras thought and imagination as I had no idea what images would be seen when my words were being heard. A novel way to work for sure but I could not be more thrilled with how it worked out.

It was a delight to work with Reflections Film and Media.

“I highly recommend Ian McCann for any voice acting opportunities. Ian worked as a voiceover for Reflections Film and Media and was an absolute pleasure to work with. Ian’s high-quality performance exceeded our expectations. His ability to bring characters to life with his voice is truly impressive. The poem was read with enthusiasm and professionalism.

In addition, Ian was also reliable and punctual. He always met deadlines and was willing to go above and beyond to ensure that our project was a success.

I cannot recommend the super talented and dedicated Ian enough!”

Ruth Thompson, Reflections Film and Media

MUSIC PODCAST NARRATION

Review: Marcus King Calls Young Blood His Redemption Album – (5:35 minutes)

It was such an honour to be invited to voice the very first episode of this exciting new American, music focused podcast by Jason Young, himself an experienced and talented voiceover artist.

It was a total joy to work with Jason who is also an amazing writer and musician.

“Thank You, Ian. I might be your biggest voice-over fan. You did a great job.”

“Working with Ian McCann has produced one of my best article narrations. A seamless collaboration, the quality of his work surpassed already great expectations. I highly recommend working with him and look forward to collaborating again.”

Jason Young, Blue Railways Podcast

POETRY COLLABORATION

Ars Poetica
A project to showcase readings and discuss 3 poems in the form of learned articles aimed at a general audience, for publishing on Professor Andre Andreja Jakuš’s LinkedIn profile.

Sentimental Story, by Nichita Stanescu
(50 seconds)

 

English Gazal, by Shabeeh Heider
(39 seconds)

 

Stars In The Sky, by Mihai Eminescu
(1.03 minutes)

 

Professor Andry Andreja Jakuš
Andry Andrja Jakuš is an acclaimed authority on world poetry and I was delighted to record the above carefully selected and very emotive poems for her.

Poems selected by Professor Andry Andreja Jakuš

HOW IT STARTED

Living It Wiser With Catherine Mwangi – (Intro 9 seconds & Outro 14 seconds)

Over a period of about a year a number of people, online and real-world connections, had been suggesting I should do voiceover work. Most bizarrely these people did not know that others were also saying the exact same thing.

Obviously, adding voiceover work to my portfolio of professional activities was on my mind but I had done nothing about it when, out of the blue, and also without knowing any of the above, Catherine Mwangi, Head of TV Production and Programming at Kenya Television Network (KTN) asked me if I would record the intro and outro for her new, soon-to-be-launched series of podcasts, LIVING IT WISER WITH CATHERINE MWANGI.

Not just is Catherine a top TV executive, but she also presents shows including one of the network longest running and most popular programmes, WHAT’S YOUR STORY, in which she chats with a wide variety of VIPs, celebs, and other creative and interesting people from Kenya and around the world. Catherine is also a Content Creator, Speaker, Author, and Event Moderator. She is a legend and star of Kenyan, African and international television.

Could I have had a bigger, brighter, better sign that I should do this?

I owned several top-quality professional microphones and other pro audio recording and editing equipment but had no studio. However, in my work as a Television Cameraman, I had acquired lots of recording knowledge and skills through many years of recording broadcast-quality sound on location.

How hard could it be?

Well of course, in TV we see the person we hear and we see the space they are in, so we accept some ambient noises but that is not the case with voiceover work.

Studio-quality sound is completely free of other noises and also has no reverberation, which is why studios and recording booths are lined with acoustic foam, which prevents the voice from echoing off the walls, doors, and other hard surfaces in the recording space.

Nonetheless, I have practical know-how, and there are rooms in my home that are very quiet.

So, after some experimentation, I found a great place to record Catherine’s pieces. The room is almost silent most of the time and with careful mic selection and placement, I was able to make a very clean test recording.

Time to review the scripts, to find my voice, and to make a start.

I was lucky, this project, my first-ever VO contract, involved reading just a few words, this was not an audiobook project, thank goodness.

Feeling tense and excited, I got busy. A few takes later I had made recordings that I was happy with.

However, on playing them back through my edit system monitors, I was not so sure. Maybe my tension was discernible. It was hard to put my finger on the problem but I just did not sound quite right.

So, back to the microphone, and after some breathing and vocal exercises, and a bit of waving my arms around and positive self-talk, I hit the red button again.

Take 2; I recorded the scripts in a variety of styles, as I was unsure of what Catherine wanted.

These recordings were much better. I sounded more natural, more confident, and more professional, at least to me. But more importantly, would Catherine be happy?

An hour later I had selected the best takes and edited them, and off they went to my client in far away Nairobi.

I would not have to wait very long. Just a little while later I had a message from Kenya. Catherine loved the recordings. That was such a huge relief. My first VO contract was fulfilled and I had a very happy client, and the rest is history as the saying goes.

“I knew that Ian’s voice was exactly what I needed for my Podcast intros., when I decided to start one.

Being my friend, I had heard his voice a few times and always knew that this was latent talent that needed to be unleashed into the world.

Ian took a little bit of convincing but when he finally agreed to it, he was magic. I wasn’t surprised. I had known it all along anyway.

See, the thing with McCann is his heart and spirit. He brings his entire being to a project. He will not work on or submit something unless it’s super excellent. He holds such high standards and diligently applies himself, no matter what he’s doing.

My next step is to invite him to bring this excellence to my TV show. I have no doubt his skill, expertise, and passion are what my show is waiting for, to elevate it to the next level.

Meanwhile, his voice continues to mesmerize audiences around the world, because that’s what happens when you bring heart and spirit to anything you do.”

Catherine Mwangi, Head of Programming and Production – Kenya Television Network (KTN)