6:00 AM - Barenaked Ladies launch into "One Week" -- impossible to sleep through...
7:00 AM - I'm in my writing room -- off and running. Madly scrounging up sound effects for the game that's due TODAY. Alan is working on the final master of the BCM CD, and calls me every once in a while with a quick question... Ian has given the finished cover art to the graphic designer and I should see a full layout today...
12 noon - I'm finished with my sound effects and Alan is finished with the CD. We arrange for him to overnight one to me and one to Newman. I get a call from our signatory -- Little Richard is late on his AFTRA dues. This is a problem that I'm going to have to worry about later. Next step -- get ready for the voiceover session with
Joan Rivers...
12:55 PM - I've managed to kick the other guy out of the studio (who's recording violinists from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and I furiously start dialing up the ISDN connection with New York City.
1:00 PM - The patch goes up without a catch, and I'm right on time, ready to record.
1:15 PM - Joan's not there...
1:30 PM - Joan's still not there... I've checked on the limo service I set up for her, everything seems kosher...
1:37 PM - Joan Rivers arrives with her full entourage and the flu. She's coughing, she's wheezing, she's blowing her nose. I'm more than a little concerned.
1:55 PM - We manage to make it through the session. Joan is a real trooper and has a great attitude about everything, and I've made careful notes to that I can cut around the influenza and end up with a successful voiceover.
2:15 PM - I have a chance to take a look at the art layout for the BCM CD. It's not finished and the direction has me concerned. Can't get the CD broker on the phone. Can't get Newman on the phone. Can't get Little Richard's agent on the phone. Settle in to start removing the flu from Joan River's voice...
3:30 PM - I'm able to give Ms. River's voice a clean bill of health. I call her agent to give him the good news and thank her for being such a good sport. Then I call Little Richard's agent to tell him if he doesn't call me back by 5 PM, tomorrow's session is off. Audio meeting!
4:30 PM - Meeting is done, and I've got a message from Little Richard's agent. Evidently Little Richard is not feeling very well (hmmm... must be going around!), so we need to cancel the session anyway. O-Kaaaaaaaaaay... call the studio in Nashville - cancel. Call the signatory - cancel. Call the limo service - cancel. Call Newman -- no luck. Call the broker -- no luck. Can't put this off any longer -- call the graphic designer.
5:15 PM - My head is spinning. I've just had a catastrophic meeting with the graphic designer that's ended with broken communication and an endorsement that we're NOT going to make the deadline. I can't believe this is happening. Call Newman -- no luck. No time to ponder all this...
5:25 PM - Patch our studio into Los Angeles via ISDN.
Katey Sagal is ready and waiting for me. I switch into producer mode. She's very pleasant to work with and a total pro, and we're done in no time. As soon as we're finished-
5:45 PM - Call Newman -- no luck. Email for him to send me all the text -- I'm gonna punt. Immediately begin looking for another artist to finish the CD design. After a few tries, I've got one who's committed to having everything taken care of by tomorrow's deadline. I call a cab.
6:15 PM - I'm in a cab headed downtown. I have a packet of Cheez-it's that I've gotten from the vending machine as I was walking out the door (notice food wasn't mentioned previously in this blog...). Call Nicki for a reality check (notice calls to Nic weren't mentioned previously either!). I then grit my teeth and call the original graphic artist to tell him I'll be by his studio later tonight to pay for his time, pick up his work, and terminate his services. It's nothing personal, it's just business.
6:54 PM - Enough time to eat half the packet of cheez-its before my meeting.
10:00 PM - meeting is over, Nicki is waiting. She starts driving. I check my messages -- sure enough, the original designer has left a message. He's apologetic and irritated at the same time. It's not my style to give up on anyone, but this project has to be finished on time. I take a deep breath and call him back. I tell him I have three issues that we need to resolve... over the course of the next hour, we manage to get this project back on track (all the while Nicki is driving me around town to round up the materials for the other designer JUST IN CASE we can't reconcile this project!)
11:00 PM - I thank the replacement designer for offering his services, but tell him I've got to stick with my original hire. He's very understanding and cool about it.
11:15 PM - Nicki drops me off at the designer's studio. I thank her for shuttling me all over town and ask her if she agrees that in spite of how things have turned out, if it was all necessary. She agrees and she understands without me having to apologize. (Man, she's the best!)
11:16 PM - Designer and I sit down to resolve some of my concerns. We're working well together and our communication is excellent. He's open to my suggestions and I'm concious of leaving him plenty of freedom to develop his own ideas.
1:30 AM - I have no more concerns and trust him completely. I offer to leave him to finish his work, grateful that we've been able to come to such a mutually-beneficial common ground. He gives me a ride home (!) before heading back to his studio.
2:00 AM - I'm home, day is done. I decide to finish my packet of cheez-its and call it a night. Tomorrow's a big day...
VERY funny guy -- loads of energy, very professional as well as personable, and the fastest voiceover talent I've ever worked with. Total session time: five minutes and eighteen seconds, start to finish.
