Every day is unique when raising a new company in the creative universe of VoiceOvers. As summer is whispering its last goodbyes and September is calling us back to school here in the UK, I find myself reflecting on the journey so far. And it is time to celebrate some real highlights!

When Loquacious was born in 2021, it was on the back of all the experiences and insights I had gathered over the years as a voice actor, voice talent agent, casting director, localisation consultant, content writer, translator and audio producer.

I had already successfully founded and headed up the vibrant voice agency Chatterbox Voices for nearly a decade, with a team growing from 1 to 10, 4 busy studios and a whole catalogue of success stories. I had worked hard, had a lot of fun and learnt on the job – from discoveries, disappointments, challenges and successes alike.

As the world was tentatively coming out of the pandemic and finding its feet again, the time had come for me to change direction…

Unchartered terrain

The pandemic was painful on so many levels for us all. And it forced us all into isolation.

Thankfully, in my experience, it was also a time that brought some healthy changes to our industry: shaking things up, breaking down old barriers, opening doors and building bridges. In the UK VoiceOver industry, the “headquarters” had traditionally been limited to studios in Soho in Central London. All of a sudden, it no longer mattered where in the world you were based, as long as you had the talent and the tech skills, a pro studio and the know-how, the support.

And the ability to embrace flexibility.

In some ways, the world became smaller, as we were working closely together with our buyers/brands and voice talents alike, between companies, beyond geographical borders and across time zones, finding innovative workarounds during unprecedented times.

Now was the time for team players, more than ever before.

Pandemic Podcast: We reached out to our brands/buyers and voice talents to inspire and support. Here with the fabulous impact guru Esther Stanhope as my guest.

From multiplicity to simplicity

As a creative entrepreneur and business owner I am grateful for how the pandemic urged me to reflect on what is important to me. I learnt to embrace my natural skills, such as intuition, compassion and nurturing, and include these as powerful helpers in my tool kit, with a lot more awareness and confidence than before.

And I found myself taking stock of my core values, vision and purpose.

My vision had always been to offer bespoke and personable client support, clear communication, fast turnaround times and top-quality products – in any of the VoiceOver genres, be it in one or multiple languages.

However, in our multifaceted industry, processes can sometimes seem overly complex and the supply chains long.

As a worse case scenario:

• communication turns into Chinese whispers

• turn-around times get prolonged
• quality gets impacted in a negative way
• the artistic vision is no longer a priority.

Now a new purpose was starting to take shape:  I wanted simplicity, clarity and playfulness at the very heart of what I was offering to the industry I am so very passionate about.

And with that purpose in mind, Loquacious Media was born.

Shaping the magic

By knowing every step of the process across all the exciting genres we work in, I can easily jump onboard a project at any stage.

And as the passionate team player I am, I love building teams for each project from our pool of experienced voice talents, voice directors, audio translators and producers – or beyond, when needed.

Together we shape the magic.

Whether it is for original creation or multilingual localisation in the many genres we work in, including:

• games
• animation
• ADR
• advertising campaigns
• audio dramas
• audiobooks
• e-learning and corporate projects
• tech videos
• GPS
• smart phone apps
• medical projects
• on hold messages
• TV continuity
• in-flight information and entertainment
• museum audio guides

… and so much more…

Together we shape the magic.

Throwback time!

Let’s peak behind the curtain to see some of the many tricks Loquacious Media has been up to, so far:
As UK production manager for Storytel’s original audio drama 1984 I jumped onboard during the pre production/casting stage, helped facilitate the recording stage and worked on how to best hand over to the localisation partners as part of the post production. ‘1984’ was dubbed into 13 languages and shortlisted for a prestigious Audie award!
We helped Activision find operator Aksel’s voice for Call of Duty and cast our net wider to fill the boots of Gaijin’s War Thunder troops, across as many as 23 languages. Our voice actors really come alive during games sessions!
How I loved working together with my VoiceOver colleague Clare Reeves to create our inaugural podcast series on how to create podcasts (of course). 10 really insightful episodes for anyone who would like to start on their podcasting journey. No better place to record these than at the Studiobricks booth at The Podcast Show in London!
Our casting and coaching helped secure successful advertising campaigns for a broad range of products – from high tech computers and mobile phones, via tech savvy payment systems to flourishing retail fashion with real flair.
We have had hours and hours of action, fun and giggles in the sessions at all the recording studios we have worked with.
And we have so many exciting projects yet to come!
But the biggest success for me, personally, is simply this: I am now completely in tune with my purpose.
You see, I am happiest when nurturing relationships with creative and talented individuals, whether that is with clients, colleagues, friends, or through any of my passion projects.