James Gillies' authoritative, avuncular sound brings warmth and dash to any script. He has a voice honed over 34 years in the broadcasting industry, including 21 years as an announcer and newsreader for the BBC. His ability to conjure up a range of accents and deliver a variety of characters has made him a favourite among British television and radio programme and promo producers. His output is varied and easy on the ear generating such descriptions from UK clients as urbane, and from North American clients as classy (He really likes that one). James brings a lifetime of experience to the microphone, and undertakes to provide you with a professional service and a rapid turnaround (typically under 24 hours). He works in three age ranges, Young Adult, Middle Aged and Senior. But, what does that actually mean, we hear you enquire. Good question! After all, he has a brother who was temperamentally ready for his pension by the age of six, and a friend in his eighties who seems to be only now contemplating slowing down. Alright, if you insist, let's quote numbers. When James says Young Adult, he means between twenty and the mid-thirties (20-35). What he thinks of as Middle Aged is late thirties to fifties (36-59). Senior is anything above (60 +). You will notice that he doesn't make any effort to inhabit the voices of Children or Teens. And very wise too! Since returning to the free-lance world early in 2013, he has worked across a spectrum of genres and clients. For example, in furtherance of their Business, he has delivered projects for the European Union, Total Oil Marine, the Faroese Government, Astra Zeneca, Altspace, BP, 15Four, The Scholastic Corporation, The Norman Brothers, DDM Creative and Soundview Summaries among others. Clients such as DeFacto Films, Extraneous Noise, SJI Associates, The Traveling Picture Show, Altspace (again) and Cubb Creative, have also trusted his voice to represent them on the Internet, spreading their impact worldwide. In the area of Education, clients in 2013 have included EINM, David Isaac Productions, Kyani, Ydraw, SVN, Cine Learning Productions, and many more are in the pipeline. However, before we bore you, suffice it to say that, in recent months, James has voiced projects for Business (internal and client usage), dissemination on the Internet, Education projects, Gaming Apps, Radio and Television ads, Documentaries and IVR. Oh, and four audio books! If you want the full and constantly updating list of James' happy clients we invite you to scan the dedicated section below. UK born (that';s British to you and me), James has travelled extensively and this has allowed him access to a huge range of dialects. Within his own borders and those of the Republic of Ireland (who despite what you might have heard to the contrary, and the odd family dispute which descended to, let us say, harsh words, is Britain's closest friend) he will confidently deliver you accents as diverse as (take a deep breath) Standard English, BBC English, Queen's English, RP (what the Queen really sounds like), R-RP (what the Queen and her father, Colin Firth used to sound like), London (North and South of the river, as well as the East End), Estuary English (if you are not sure what that is, don't worry about it), Essex, the South West of England, Yorkshire and Lancashire (listen carefully, they are different), Geordie (Newcastle, Gateshead and Greater Tyneside), Brummie (West Midlands, Shakespeare's country), Scouse, (Liverpool and the Wirral), the North West (Cumbria) and Norfolk (or at least what passes for normal there). And those are just the ones from England itself. So let's cross to Wales. He is very comfortable providing generic Welsh (but actually doesn't find it easy himself to distinguish between North Wales, South Wales or Anglesey. So he'd rather not talk about that too much.) He doesn't speak the Welsh language either. He speaks English (with a Welsh accent). If you want him to. Let's move on quickly to Ireland. South of the Border, he will happily provide you with a read in a Dublin or South Coast accent and (with a bit of notice in order to revise) one in a Donegal or Galway accent. He will even try a Kerry accented read if you insist, though his eyes have been known to water during previous attempts. He doesn't speak Irish Gaelic (which in Ireland is pronounced Gay-lic) North of the Border, he will be happy to deliver a read in the mellifluous tones of Belfast and the Eastern coast, or in the happy sounds of Londonderry/Derry (you have to call it both names or someone inevitably gets upset). Jumping back across the St. George's Channel to his native Scotland, he will proficiently provide you a read in the highly varied accents of (here comes another deep breath) Glasgow (East End and Kelvinside), Ayrshire and Argyll, the Central Belt, Edinburgh (Eastern and Morningside), the Lothians, Fife (who doesn't love Fife), Dundee and Tayside, Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland (yes! You have found someone who can do that accent. He was born there), Inverness, the Highlands and the Black Isle. Crossing the waters again to the many beautiful islands, he will happily deliver you a read in such gorgeous tones as Orcadian (Orkney to you and me), Shetlandic (Shetland), Lewis and Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Western Isles). He doesn't speak Scots Gaelic (which in Scotland rhymes with Alec) but he does speak Scots Doric. He hasn't a clue what the speech patterns of the Isle of Man are, and since the recent rise in migration from the mainland, neither anymore do most of the Manx people. Is he only limited to the British Isles, we hear you ask. No! He has a passport, and has used it. As a consequence, he is more than happy to render reads in the accents of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Nigeria, France, Germany and India. Though, by virtue of his itineraries, these will be generic urban versions. And that, gentlefolks, is James Gillies, the voice actor, in a nutshell.
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