R.I.P. (Rumble in Perpetuity), Don
Aw, man. Voiceover legend Don LaFontaine died yesterday, reportedly of a collapsed lung. He's the Vader-voiced announcer whose "In a world..." narrations launched ten thousand movie trailers. (I know that Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones, who probably has a deeper voice. But he doesn't have Don's mischievous twinkle, which shines in the video below.)
After watching a few YouTube videos of Don in action, I thought I'd download them for posterity. Fortunately, I found an excellent tool for that recently: MPEG Streamclip (Mac/Win), from Squared 5. You simply paste in the YouTube link and this free program grabs the file, then lets you crop and export it in a variety of formats — including stills. There are a bunch of controls, so I highly recommend reading the detailed help file. For example, installing the Perian QuickTime components unlocks more options.
Here's another fun LaFontaine clip:
Anyone recognize the mics Don's using in the videos? The Geico one above looks like an Audio-Technica or AKG.
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Hi David,
I agree that the cans in the Geico ad look like the Sony MDR-V6, but what I REALLY want to know is what headphones is Don wearing in the top photo? BTW, the mic in the top photo (this is in Don's home studio) is the Manley Reference Cardioid--an amazing mic!
best,
David
@Jeffrey: I think you're right about the phones in the Geico ad; looks like the producer taped over the logo. I also just noticed he's wearing them backwards, probably to move the cord away from the camera. So the mic may be a prop as well.
Don't know about the mics, but the headphones look like Sony MDR-V6