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An AI voice can't feel, emote or understand, but Dan can.
On-demand voiced content, within budget,
mix-ready and delivered within just 2 hours.
Dan Akers, a real British voice artist, does everything AI voices can't. Performances with emotional intelligence, nuance and understanding, and as many takes as it takes 'til you have the read you need, not just a like-it-or-lump it system-generated file.
Tap the button for audio and video reels, then to get it Danmade, email dan@danmade.studio or call 020 7193 8887
From outside the UK, enter your country's exit code, then 44 20 7193 8887
A TIMELESS THEME FOR A TIMELORD ▶︎
Although The Doctor is over 2,000 years old, this year, marks the 60th anniversary of the planet's longest-running sci-fi TV series, Doctor Who.
Dan Akers' arrangement "Doctor Who: Theme 60" features a faithful recreation of both the bass and melody lines from Delia Derbyshire's 1963 arrangement for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He makes extensive use of tone generators alongside Arturia's Yamaha CS-80 and ARP Odyssey emulators for his re-creation of Peter Howell's 1980 bridge (often referred to as the 'middle 8'). For this arrangement, Dan also composed a completely new 2nd bridge.
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop's next-door neighbour, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, shared BBC Maida Vale Studios since 1936, although they never collaborated. "For fans of electronic and orchestral music, "Doctor Who: Theme 60" should be a real treat, as we go back in time and reimagine the best theme tune ever written, played by 2 musical legends: the BBC SO and the Radiophonic Workshop".
"DOCTOR WHO: THEME 60" by Dan Akers is available now from most major online music stores including Apple Music / iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube Music. For your copy, visit your favourite store and search "Doctor Who Theme 60" or "Dan Akers".
Electronic instruments by Arturia, Spitfire Audio (Labs) and UVI. Orchestral instruments from Spitfire Audio (BBC Symphony Orchestra Core, Albion One) and UVI (UVI Symphonic Orchestra).
TECHNOLOGY ON TRIAL ▶︎ OPINION
WILL THE RISE OF AI MEAN THE DEMISE OF CREATIVITY?
If you want people to believe you, you say it like you mean it, and because we're people, we understand meaning.
A computer doesn't even understand 0s and 1s; it's just following a software developer's instructions. A computer doesn't (and can't) understand anything, because it isn't sentient!
We humans, on the other hand, have been understanding the effective communication of other human beings since we came down from the trees. Come to think of it, even as monkeys, we managed to find creative ways to communicate.
Communication, at its very best, is the result of creative thinking, and creative thinking is a very human (and ape-like) thing. It requires conviction, passion and compassion. Most importantly, it requires a brain, moral values and the ability to know the difference between right and wrong. It does not require 32GB of 3.2GHz DDR4 RAM or a 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Internal SSD (memory and storage).
Ask a computer to communicate effectively and it'll just sit there looking dumb. It's so stupid it wouldn't even be able to crash without your input, and without it, even artificial intelligence is a dumbass... that's why it's called ARTIFICIAL!
Creativity makes us human. It keeps us sane in an insane world; it lifts us up and pushes us forward. It drives inspiration, empowers ambition and fuels our motivation.
Now, imagine a world without creativity, where speech lacks passion, art has no heart, and music has no soul.
A world where culture is consumed without appreciation; where speeches are read in mechanized tones and music is played but never performed.
That world already exists, with the unthinkable unfolding before our very eyes: we're replacing the unique content of human hearts and minds, with digital vomit thrown up by soulless, artificially-intelligent boxes of electronics.
Yes, AI is fascinating, but it should fascinate us in the same way that nuclear power and ferocious lions do. Just as we'd never risk getting up close and personal with either a ravenous lioness feeding her cubs at mealtime, or a faulty nuclear reactor as it approaches meltdown, we should admire artificial intelligence from a distance, too, because if we embrace and accept it wholeheartedly, we shall forget what it means to be creative, and lose our purpose in life.
People say there's no such thing as an original idea. I disagree. And we're putting this to the test right now, because the only creativity that AI is capable of coming up with, is a distillation of what's gone before, and that's because we've given it millions of examples of past human creativity.
Just as smartphones have taken away our ability to remember hundreds of phone numbers, and calculator apps mean we no longer have to add up on our fingers, AI-generated creativity is giving us yet another excuse to not think.
In the next stage of human evolution, our heads will be 75% smaller, because that's all the space you need in which to accommodate a pea-sized brain.
Properly policed, AI has its uses: for example, those who have no voice could benefit from having their own AI voice (most famously demonstrated by the late Professor Stephen Hawking, although when he was given the option for a more human-sounding upgrade, refused because it wouldn't sound like him), but AI voices replacing fully-functioning human voices capable of far more nuanced performances than those coming out of a computer? This is a perfect example of someone inventing a solution to a problem which simply did not exist. However, the problems caused for voice artists ever since, have seen many plunged into poverty and forced out of business. The voiceover industry is at risk of extinction, and is the main reason I personally have had to diversify, because, today, if I rely only on voiceover work, I'll be out of business within 2 or 3 months.
Artificial Intelligence can contribute to the creative process, but it should never replace it.
Human creativity - art, literature, music or the spoken word - can be a thing of great beauty. When creativity is based on emotion - a feeling, a memory or a desire - it's more likely to provoke an emotional response; to resonate with the viewer, the listener or the reader.
So let's draw something beautiful or downright ugly; let us write something scary, romantic or quirky (I'll be more than happy to read it for you!); let us speak words that change lives and sing songs that lift spirits, letting our hearts beat the rhythms for the music in our souls (and I'll compose the soundtrack to your words, too).
Whether we make it or consume it, creativity rewards us with a reason to live and gives us a lust for life. A world without creativity is a world free of emotion, and without emotion, just what is our purpose?
I'd prefer a future in which AI contributes to creativity, rather than replaces it.
DANMADE CONTENT, VOICE & MUSIC REELS ▶︎
Choose from downloadable audio showreels, or streaming video showreels that you'll also find on YouTube @DanmadeTV (please remember to like and subscribe!)
AUDIO REELS PLAYLIST ▼
VIDEO REELS PLAYLIST ▼ AND ON YOUTUBE @DANMADETV
DAN'S CLEAN SWEEP OF ★★★★★ REVIEWS ▶︎
A HIGH-SPEC STUDIO IN SOUTHEAST LONDON ▶︎
Hardware by Neumann, Solid State Logic, Apple, Mackie and Beyerdynamic. Software by Apple, Avid and Presonus. Instruments by Arturia, Spitfire Audio and UVI. A custom-composed voice booth. Broadcast grade-beating 24-bit, 96kHz audio supplied as standard.
DAW Controller
Headphones
Lighting
Other
Input Devices
Microphone
DAW Control
Mic Pre-amp
Foot Controller
Connectivity
Mic Installation
Script Delivery
Voice to Picture
Construction
Treatments
Presonus Faderport
Beyerdynamic DT 880
Low-power, eco-friendly, LED
Pro-grade XLR microphone cables
Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and trackpad
Neumann TLM 103 large diaphragm condenser
Presonus Studio One DAW control app for Android
Solid State Logic SSL2 with Series 4000 emulation
Foot pedal for teleprompter control and record stop/start
125mb/s DL/20mb/s UL fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband+WiFi
Microphone arm, Neumann-made shockmount, 360° pop filter
Teleprompter mirrored from Studio 2 Mac to Android tablet PC
Final Cut Pro mirrored from Studio 2 Mac to Android tablet PC
Large repurposed cupboard, brick and plasterboard walls, sloped suspended ceiling, concrete floor with no underlying infrastructure), hard surfaces angled to minimise reflections, all noise-making kit located away from the microphone, in Studio 2.
1 layer of heavy-duty rubber-backed carpet tiles, 1 layer of 10kg/m2 mass loaded vinyl between 2 plasterboard sheets, a layer of caged and densely-packed Rockwool acoustic insulation, topped with acoustic panels. Rubberised paint and glue used throughout to aid absorption of audible vibration and reflection.
STUDIO 1 VOICE BOOTH
Controllers
NLE systems
Collaboration
Studio Monitors
DAW systems
Streaming
Network
Data Storage
Headphones
Video Displays
Workstation 1
Workstation 2
Miscellaneous
MIDI systems
Input Devices
Icon Qcon Pro with motorised faders
Filmora Pro, Final Cut Pro, Davinci Resolve
Source-Connect, ipDTL, Zoom, Skype, phone
Mackie MR624 monitors with Big Knob Passive controller
Avid Pro Tools Studio and Presonus Studio One 5 Professional
Google Chromecast with Google TV & Amazon Fire TV Stick
125mb/s DL / 20mb/s UL fibre optic broadband with WiFi
10TB storage + 4TB backup (2TB on-site, 2TB cloud)
Beyerdynamic DT 880 headphones via Sabaj amp
Samsung 55" LCD panel, Optoma DLP projector
Apple iMac with 3.2GHz Intel i5 CPU (2015)
Apple Mac mini with M1 CPU (late 2020)
Pro-grade speaker stands and cables
M-Audio Oxygen Professional 25
Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, trackpad, graphics tablet
STUDIO 2 CONTROL ROOM
LIKE DAN? HIRE DAN! ▶︎ HERE'S HOW
Email dan@danmade.studio, call +44(0)20 7193 8887, send a WhatsApp message or complete the form below: