humor | Dave Linden

Working in the voice over industry definitely has its perks. But of all the experiences that I’ve had, since entering the field at sixteen, some of the most enjoyable were spent working with people like producers Taro Koki and Masa Kuji while voicing the auto enthusiast DVDs for Best Motoring and Hot Version. I had the pleasure of being, as Taro goes on to put it, “the voice of Best Motoring” from 2004 to the most recent project we completed just late last year.

So anyway, the other day I came across a couple of the DVDs we had worked on together and thought it would be cool to reach out to Taro to see how things are going over at Best Motoring—which has now evolved in to one of the most actively viewed online video networks for auto enthusiasts…GT Channel.

Here is a bit about my experience while working with Best Motoring/GT Channel, what they are currently up to, and according to Taro Koki, the unveiling of a car that you won’t want to miss:

DL: Taro- tell me a about any exciting projects or media you may be currently working on.
TK: Well, we just kicked off Season 2 of “Behind the Smoke.” The series follows current drifting champion Dai Yoshihara.

DL: GT Channel has a great blog for catching the unveiling of new cars! Are there any new cars that you might be looking forward to?
TK: The Scion FRS. In fact, I believe the first unit was delivered to a Toyota today. It is the first light, compact, rear wheel drive car from Toyota in a long time. And although it is only 200 HP people are looking forward to it.

DL: To put you on the spot, what was the worst part of working with me?
TK: Nothing. Working together was great! When people hear your voice elsewhere they point it out as the voice of Best Motoring.

DL: Well, you’re very kind. So, we both know there were just a few Japanese names that I had trouble with. Recall any?
TK: You know, surprisingly, also a lot of European names. Fiat and Ferrari models were pretty tough.

DL: I might be throwing myself under the bus a bit here, but what about any English words?
TK: The English pronunciation of Porsche was one that actually stumped us both once. We had to make a phone call or two…

As a leader in online automobile media and news, GT Channel is paving the way for bringing you the best motoring news around.

A special thanks not only to Taro for allowing me to share his experiences, but also Scott Schlichter and his team at Dogma Studios, for not only authoring the DVDs but also with post production.

Catch their videos on www.GTChannel.com

Or check them out at www.youtube.com/gtchannel

When the year 2011 upgraded to 2012, most people made a vow to re-vamp some aspect of their lives. After careful deliberation, I came to the conclusion that the only “Dave Linden thing” that needed enhancing was my website. This is a joke of course, but I did decide to make some big changes to my site (as you can probably tell). My journey was long, hard and opened me up to virtual experiences I hadn’t had before. Here is how my new and improved site came to be.

It couldn’t have been done without Nick Lanfranco and the team at Image Display Group, which includes the trusty website design guru, Joey Sebastinelli . Joey is the Senior Front End Developer for Image Display Group and this blog post is really a gigantic shout-out for all of their fantastic work. I know it isn’t always easy working for me, so I’m thankful for their cooperation and am extremely satisfied with the finished product (as I hope you are too).

Joey took on the task of building my new site with his bare hands. I thought it would be fun to find out, from the master himself, what it was like to augment my website. Here is what he had to say:

DL: How long have you been in the website design field?
JS: I’ve been doing this for about six years now.

DL: What was your favorite part about re-creating my site?
JS: Learning more about Dave Linden! I didn’t know he had done so many things in the voice-over world. It’s always great to get to know the client.

DL: What is the one thing that most people should change on about their websites?
JS: 90% of the time it’s the design. Many websites are so outdated. The industry changes everyday and people need to change with it.

DL: What was your favorite part about working with Dave Linden?
JS: He’s a super nice guy. Dave was always on the ball, had materials ready for me and then kind of let me do my own thing. It’s always fun as a designer when we get to just do what we do. It’s rare that people trust our opinions, and Dave did that.

DL: If you could describe the Dave Linden site in one word, what would it be?
JS: … at a loss for words.

A big “thank you” goes out to Joey and everyone at Image Display Group. I feel that my website is ready to take on 2012 and you can bet I’ll be calling Joey when the calendar hits 2013!

You can check out Image Design Group by visiting their website: imagedisplaygroup.com.

Tag Archives: humor

Catching up: GT CHANNEL’s Taro Koki and the Voice of Best Motoring have a few laughs.

Kudos to Image Display Group for re-vamping my website!