Otrie Barrett Jr
tmoobic@gmail.com
Telephone: 630-465-0171
Authoritative, Friendly, Strong, Sensual, Warm, Marketable
Voice Description
People have said, “you have the CNN voice” when they hear me speak. I enjoy voices like James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Michael Dorn (Worf from Star Trek), Dennis Haysbert (the guy from Allstate, and President David Palmer from 24), Lawrence Fishburne (Morpheus from Matrix), the incredible Sam Elliot, and of course the current "The President of the United States", Barack Obama.
Others have commented that I look and sound like uncle Phil from the "Fresh Prince Of Belair". My voice is deep and smooth for narrations, a documentary voice. However, I also possess a happy meal voice that has worked well for McDonald's. I can do a Gen X voice, as well as a deep, soft and sensual voice like Billy D Williams. It has been commented that I have voice with no regional accents, but I love doing a variety of American accents.
I have an expanding voice palette that emerges when encouraged, so I'm always up for adding another characteristic, intonation or note to stretch my voice repretoire. I don't mind being produced in search of that which fresh and new.
Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform
• Young Adult Male • Middle Age Male • Senior Male Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker:
• English - North American
I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes
• Commercials • Promos • IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages • Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites • Audiobooks • Videogames • Documentaries • TV shows and movies • Movie and game trailers • Podcasts • Songs • Others (on-camera, infomercials, live announcers, spokespersons)
My Recording and Delivery Capabilities
• I will go to any designated studio in my area • I can record and then deliver the audio files via Email
Accents, Impersonations, Characters and Dialects
Regional USA southern accents from Virginia to Texas, Singlish from Singapore, British (2 accents), Impersonations: James Earl Jones, Worf from Star Trek, Morgan Freeman, Dennis Haysbert, Andy Griffith Various characterizations: The mix of nerd voices, Gen X voice Cartoon Voices: Batman, Foghorn Leghorn, The Cast of Jimmy Neutron, (I was alway fond of Mel Blanc’s work for Disney)A variety of old and new school African American accents.
My Voice Experience
I first was approached for voice-over work when a media professor from Ngee Ann Poly Tech in Singapore overheard me do a James Earl Jones imitation in 1995. He inquired if I might voice a project gratis, and I complied. The week after the Ngee Ann Poly Tech project, surprisingly I got offers from HBO, ESPN, and McDonald's to do steady work for them. Shortly thereafter I began to work for the Disney and Discover Channel as well.
In 1997 I founded a business called Triezone Productions in Singapore, a vehicle for voice-over narration, professional music groups, and music composition/arranging for multi-media.
My voice-over narration has helped many world class corporations produce training media, and sell products/services through commercial radio and television. A partial list notable clients include HBO Asia, ESPN Asia, The Disney Channel, The Discovery Channel, McDonald's, Burger King, Heinz-Starkist, Pizza Hut, KFC, Citibank, L’Oreal, Television Corporation of Singapore, Mediacorp, Schtung Music, Picture Farm, McCann-Erickson, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy-Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Frost & Sullivan, Roundangle, Singapore Civil Defence, Toshiba, Panasonic, Halls, Yellow Box, MTV, VH1, 4MC, Caldecott Productions, Good Year, Starhub, Singtel, City Harvest Church Singapore and M 1 to name a few.
My first voice-overs recorded on beta, and brought to air within an hour at ESPN had me shakin' like a leaf in the wind, but I prospered. I am so very appreciative to all the producers and engineers that walked me through the voice-over process. Their professional encouragement, patience and expertise remain with me to this day. I'll always remember the people behind the scenes.
My Training
I am a professional musician who attended the University of North Texas. I have traveled extensively in the USA and the world, so my musical experience has put me in the midst of a variety of media scenarios. Being an observer of technique, skill set, and of the variety of talent I hear has been most valuable in my on going voice training. The regional voices, accents or even dialects of Americans and how they are received are of great interest to me. The diverse accents of the English language are just amazing, and truly worth more in depth study.
I began learning voice-over through on the job training and the great patience of some very good producers in Singapore. My professional voice-over inauguration was to beta tape reading high intensity sports for ESPN Asia. When HBO called I was happy to find out they used non destructive recording methods. It's great to be a voice over artistes today with all the technical wizardry at hand, but you really MUST appreciate the days of the "One Take Wonders"
My Studio Equipment
Most of the Studio's I have frequented use ProTools software or one of the various ProTools systems, which is the industry standard. There is usually a $3,000 U87 Neumann microphone running through an $2,000 Avalon or Manley preamp, or other equivilent studio standards. For home recording I use Logic audio and plug ins, on a Mac, with an inexpensive MXL usb microphone.
Additional Skills and Information
I am a saxophonist, also playing flute, clarinet and compose music at the piano, as well as sing. I write my own music and arrange, and have several unique projects ready for production.
If you ever need an Army consultation for a VO job, I can help. I am a former member of 'The United States Army Band' and 'The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps' both located at Fort Myer, Virginia.
I have lived in Singapore for the last 15 years, and have knowledge of Asia, and various regional Asian talent.
Family Media
My wife Nalinee is currently a free lance writer and actress, and has been involved in multimedia for 10 years with a degree in Marketing and Communications. My sister Vikki Myers works for Pearson as a Senior Multimedia Producer, with a degree in Radio Television and Film. She is also and actress, vocalist, and voice-over. With her husband, playwright and producer Michael Myers, they perform musical theatre under KIT Ministries. They also perform voice-over recordings with the legendary ‘Unshackled’ Christian radio drama of the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago.