JC Kenny

I'm afraid I haven't really strayed much outside the lanes that belong to news anchors, reporters, documentary story tellers.

I have been cast as an anchor or reporter in more than 70 films over the past few years, many of them American productions that have chosen for financial and other reasons to shoot in Toronto, Canada. I realize this isn't strictly "voice-over" experience, but I suspect I'm hired as much for my voice as I am for my appearance, which is mulatto, or light-skinned black. Films/TV Series include Man of the Year, Assault on Precinct 13, Monk, Urban Legend and Plague City:SARS in Toronto. I've just been cast in a series which begins production at the end of September. In August, 2013, I was cast as a Subject Matter Expert for a series of online videos produced for the federal Canada Revenue Agency. It was important to use my voice as conversationally as possible as we are speaking directly to people who need information. Every Thursday morning I deliver a live report on CBC Radio (Canada's public broadcaster)that is heard in many parts of Ontario. When I meet people who listen to the show but have never seen me, they appear to know me nonetheless because of my voice, which is clear, loud and fairly deep. While I realize my experience sounds very limited, I would love the opportunity to try different reads, such as audio books or books for people who are in some way impaired. I really believe I could do a good job with this sort of material. I also have voiced short documentaries during my time with CBC Radio and would welcome more of these type of opportunities as well. I do a lot of work for the Canadian military, working as a television reporter as part of large training exercises in Canada and the United States. This involves using my voice for stand-ups, etc. And one of the jobs I've been hired to do through that contract are long (15 minute) voice tracks for videos that illustrate intricate battle maneuvers among soldiers. I've so far voiced three of these tracks and will likely be asked to do a couple more. The read is fairly dry, as you can well imagine, so it is my job to liven it up as much as possible. I completed a three year English BA program at York University and then took a one year accelerated program in Radio Broadcasting at Humber College in Toronto. Since then I have spent my professional career in both radio and television, as a morning jock, co-host of a morning show, news anchor and reporter. For the past couple of years I've also been using my experience to coach others as a media trainer. I work in a variety of areas, all of them connected strongly to broadcast media and journalism. I sincerely hope Voice123 will see me as a useful resource and will become part of my existing buffet of jobs. I have a home studio and have long worked (as part of filing to the CBC) with Adobe Audition. For a news package I can build the piece in my edit suite, then convert it to something called a Dalet file and send via FTP. Hopefully this process would be do-able for any future audio jobs I might be fortunate enough to secure. I also have recently taught myself to edit a short on-camera demo and so am able to work in a limited fashion on this end as well. I have worked as a news producer/anchor at radio and television stations and I have also worked for several years now in my own home office. Something I've become extremely good at is working under very tight deadlines. Getting my piece in on time isn't optional, it has to be done. So, for me, I have learned how to completely focus on the task at hand and let all else go out of the window until deadline has passed. I also am a person who works until the job is done. Lunch hours and coffee breaks don't necessarily play a large role in media field. Every week I have to interview several people and then write a six or seven minute long piece for the live report I deliver on CBC Radio. My skills as a writer have improved over time and I am able to pull a script toether fairly quickly.