Happy Thanksgiving

They're now pumpkin pie!

Goodness, it seems like mere weeks ago that I posted a little Thanksgiving message on this wee bloggie with a photo I shot in Scotland last year of something that caught my eye in a shop window in Inveraray.

“Pussy’s Prayer” depicted two sweet looking kitties, a butterfly, and a ball of yarn, with a homespun verse about the simple gifts of love…the unquestioning kind our furry companions give of so generously.

It reminded me of the importance of taking note of, and being thankful for, all that warms and enriches our lives, whether with love, pride in accomplishment, travel, good health…all the good things that make this journey positive, and make up for the bumps and jolts along the way.

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A very special evening...

  At the New York Festivals Awards Gala, accepting Finalist plaque for Best Narration   June 17, 2013

Every year, the New York Festivals celebrates "The World's Best Work" in radio programming and promotion. This prestigious international competition attracted entries this year from 28 nations in multiple categories.

I was delighted to be designated Finalist in the Best Narration category for my work on the VOA Learning English (Special English) American History series "The Making of a Nation." Here is a brief clip from the long-form montage submitted to the NYF.



I took over production and voicing of "Nation" in 2011 with the goal of re-imaging this long-running series with modern production techniques, incorporating news actuality, interview clips, music, and other audio elements to present the many facets of American history, in an engaging and entertaining style, to listeners and web-visitors with varying levels of competency in English around the world. I am gratified by the international peer recognition that the voicing (and production sound) of this series have brought, including four Finalist placements in the Association for International Broadcasting Awards (Most Creative Feature/Radio and International Radio Personality of the Year categories) in 2011 and '12, and a TIVA/DC Peer Award for Long-Form Narration last year.

The New York Festivals Awards Gala took place on June 17, at the Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue. The evening was one I will long remember - first class in every respect. Audio excerpts from the submissions of all honorees were played, and we each had the opportunity to say a few words to our assembled professional peers (video clip below), as well as doing video interviews at the end of the evening. Also, the chance to meet fellow broadcasters from around the world.

Looking downtown from Manhattan Penthouse

To Executive Director Rose Anderson and all of her NYF colleagues, my heartfelt thanks for making us all feel so proud to be broadcasters. 

By the way, even the views of Manhattan were first class. This is the view downtown toward the new Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center Plaza. If you're wondering what the pilot of that helicopter and any passengers might have been enjoying....
I decided to extend the visit to New York (and the celebratory mood, of course!) by staying another few days, when the weather turned really promising. On the last day, I did a helicopter circuit of Manhattan. Hadn't done one in years! You can read about it here.

The Empire State, the Chrysler Building...and palm trees!

And did I mention great views of Manhattan? After the Gala, some fellow honorees invited me to join them at a rooftop bar they'd heard about, further up Fifth Avenue. 230 Fifth is up alongside Madison Square Park, at 27th Street. There is an enclosed Penthouse Lounge with splendid views of Midtown Manhattan, but ascending another level brings you to this lovely palm tree (!) adorned deck. It was a nice clear night and, of course, the romantic in me was hearing the opening notes of Gordon Jenkins' "Manhattan Tower." Just a pocket point-and-shoot capture, like the one above, but the experience was certainly High-Def,  and I definitely plan to return with a "serious" camera. The view uptown from this appealing roof terrace features the Empire State Building. Encircled by the palm fronds, the equally iconic Art Deco spire of the Chrysler Building, further uptown, on the East Side. 

The golden spire of the New York Life Building

The view toward the East also has a special allure, showing the golden spire of the New York Life Building sharing the frame with 230 Fifth's large vividly illuminated water tanks.

By the way, the water tanks seen atop so many buildings in New York proved to be a stimulating motif for shooting in Trbeca, where I was staying. They are also a fascinating aspect of the city -  an interesting story I'd love to share sometime in this wee bloggie.

As Lorenz Hart wrote (to a Richard Rodgers melody),

New York is New York, and that's all you can say,
It gets in your blood and it's in there to stay...

The name of the song was "I've Gotta Get Back to New York."

Roger that.

©2013 Steve Ember

Some nice voice-over honors...

Please indulge me a Peter Pan moment, but, in Carolyn Leigh's words from that 1954 musical, I've Gotta Crow...

November was a happy month for voice-over recognition as two narrations from my VOA Learning English American History series "The Making of a Nation" received honors in two prestigious competitions.

Learning English (aka Special English) is a broadcast and web-based service for people learning English around the world. 

For readers outside the industry, every year, TIVA-DC (The Television, Internet, and Video Association of DC) presents its Peer Awards, honoring "Tbe Best and Brightest of Washington DC." These prestigious honors recognize "the professionals of the Metropolitan Washington (and mid-Atlantic) media community who have demonstrated excellence in their work, as judged by their peers." 

The Peer Awards are presented every November at a gala at the National Press Club, and it means so very much to be honored by one's professional peers on this special night. 

A very special night at the Press Club                                                                           photo courtesy www.simplyarlie.com

I received my first Peer Award for Long-Form Narration in 2010 for "Confessions of an Airplane Lover," which celebrated a life-long love affair with airplanes. It is perhaps ironic that my winning entry this year would be for the "Making of a Nation" program I produced and voiced on "The Events of 9/11," chronicling as it did the evil and perverse use of airliners.

Detail from CD Label                              ©2012 Steve Ember

Writing, producing and voicing this program, actually one of two dealing with those horrific and life-changing events brought the unfolding drama back more vividly in my mind than I might have imagined as I set out on the project, gathering audio to integrate into the narration. Nonetheless, or perhaps because of the enormity of those events, I was energized to produce two of the most intense programs of my career. I was very pleased with the results at the time, but it could not compare with learning that a jury of my peers in voice-over and production had decided to honor the program I submitted to the competition.

Detail from CD Label                             ©2012 Steve Ember

I was also once again pleased this year to learn I was a Finalist in the 2012 Association for International Broadcasting International Media Excellence Awards. The program described above was Finalist for "International Radio Personality of the Year." Another Making of a Nation program I produced and voiced, "Depression Arts and Culture" was named Finalist in the category "Most Creative Feature-Radio."

The AIB honors occasioned a trip to London in early November to attend the gala and then head up to Scotland for my first visit to that inviting country. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting images from London and Scotland on my pages on Foto-Community. Hope you'll stop by and have a look. (Click on ALL > at top right and navigate the folders "London" and "Scotland.")

Oh yes, and a listen..My voice-over web site is long overdue for an updating. When I've seen to that, I'll post the audio for the two narrations described above and link it to my wee bloggie. Meantime, happy to shoot you a high quality mp3 (especially if you are casting voice-over talent ;-)

Back to you, Tinkerbell....