New and Interesting Projects at Tapeworks

What do a major financial institution podcast, a Hollywood film actor voiceover, and an online Lego cartoon have in common? Not much, but they all are making up a typical Monday workday here at the Tapeworks Studio.

The past week has been a busy one here at the studio. Whether it's Deloitte and Touche employees podcasting about their marathon training and Mt. Everest adventures or creating sound effects for an online Lego cartoon, there is always something new. Studio regular, film actor Brian Dennehy took a break from making major motion pictures to record a voiceover here at Tapeworks. Who knows what next week will bring?

Podcasting Production

Ever hear of a company that gives its employees payed time off to train for a marathon or to climb Mt. Everest? We hadn't either until the Keiler advertising agency brought us a special project from one of their clients.

The financial consulting firm "Deloitte & Touche" decided to produce a podcast featuring amazing testimonials from employees taking part in their health and fitness program. One interviewee recalled several mountain climbing excursions and another employee praised the program for its free gym membership and personal training.

The interview called upon Tapeworks to work in real-time with studios in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York City in order for everyone to interact as if they were in the same room. This was made possible by the studio's ISDN equipment and its network throughout the country. The podcast will be available soon on the Deloitte web site.

Pumba Talks "Fire Safety" at Tapeworks

Pumba, from Disney's "Lion King" may live in the jungle, but his voice lives here in Connecticut. Actor Ernie Sabella and his unmistakable voice came to the studio recently to record for Disney's "Wild About Safety", an upcoming educational DVD featuring the Timon and Pumba characters. This episode emphasized fire safety and and stressed the importance of smoke alarms in the household.

Ernie was directed via phone patch by the Disney team in Burbank, CA, while being recorded by Bill Ahearn, chief engineer, here at Tapeworks in Hartford. The recorded audio was organized and promptly sent to the producers of the DVD.

Find Us Online

Want to follow the latest updates from our studio? Now you can with our new Facebook and Twitter pages. Follow the links below to add us and get most recent news out of the studio!

Our Twitter Page

Add us on Facebook

A Romanesque Return to the Studio

Brian Dennehy, renowned Hollywood actor, visited the Tapeworks studio this week. Dennehy came to the studio to record narration for the documentary "Via Papale: The Lost Road of the Popes." The film, slated for a 2009 release, details the 16th century comeback of Rome and its church. The production company needed Tapeworks to record Dennehy's narration while he viewed the video for the timing. In addition, a phone patch with producer Tom Sammon was required. The staff at Tapeworks was happy to provide all that was needed to make the process as smooth as possible. Sure enough, Mr. Dennehy finished earlier than expected and the recorded audio was sent off to Los Angeles. The session was engineered by Bill Ahearn.

An Out of This World Opportunity

LEGO has been a friend of the Tapeworks studio for many years now and when they needed sound design for an action-packed video for their website, they knew who to call. Tapeworks was able to provide an impressive array of sound effects and backdrops for "Space Police," an online video of LEGO's new line of toys. All of the work was done in-house and even some of the voices were recorded by our very own. The end product added much intensity to the action on the screen. The session was engineered by Tapeworks' Bill Ahearn.

Tapeworks Goes Gospel

The sound of heavenly gospel voices reverberated in the studio this week as four women rehearsed in a practice room at Tapeworks. The voices belonged to members of the contemporary Christian band "Seventh" who is recording their newest CD at Tapeworks. Seventh’s music is inspiring combination of gospel, jazz, and rock complete with phenomenal musicianship. Tapeworks' chief engineer Bill Ahearn helped the group layer their compositions from simple piano/bass/drums arrangements to lush musical soundscapes. Seventh recorded five of their original songs at the studio and will soon send off their master for duplication before their upcoming tour.

An Award-Winning Month at Tapeworks

May has been a rewarding month for Tapeworks. The studio has received two awards from its recent productions in both the audio and video fields. The first accolade, a 2009 Lamplighter Award, recognizes outstanding healthcare communications and Tapeworks was selected for a unique radio advertisement produced for the Hospital of Central Connecticut. The radio spot "Say Ahh" featured a funny and informative script, original music, and a professional cast of narrators and singers. The creative juices and ingenuity found in the studio helped make the concept a reality and the staff was honored to receive the award .

The studio's recent video production, "Familes Are A Work of Art" produced for CAFAP (Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents), was recognized by a 2009 Silver Mercury award. This awards are given to the best public relations campaigns that the area has to offer and Tapeworks was recognized for a informational video it produced for potential foster parents. "This was a very satisfying project to work on and we are pleased with the results it brought to the organization" commented Doug Kupper, the owner of Tapeworks.

A Booming Voice in the Tapeworks Studio

Legendary American sportscaster Chris Berman made a welcomed return to the Tapeworks studio recently. Berman, also known as Boomer, has one of the most recognizable voices in sports as he hosts many programs on ESPN and NBC Sports. In the session, Berman promoted one of the highest attended PGA tournaments, the Travelers Championship taking place this June. The Connecticut native worked under the direction of the Silverman Group to record 30-second and 60-second radio advertisements for the tournament. Tapeworks has worked with Berman and the Travelers Championship for decades and was delighted to have another opportunity to be involved. The session was engineered by Bill Ahearn.

Getting Sirius at Tapeworks

Production assistant Ben Bishop instructs Breuer on the studio's equipment.


Stand-up comic and actor Jim Breuer brewed up an episode of "Raw Dog", his radio show, recently at Tapeworks. Breuer was in the Hartford area this weekend performing at a comedy club in Manchester but stopped by the studio to patch in to his XM Sirius radio show. The set-up required a complex network of high-speed phone lines and internet connections which allowed Breuer to communicate with the New York City studio and callers from all over the United States. The engineers at Tapeworks also set up a production console that allowed Breuer to manage callers and connect with other producers of the show instantly. "Tapeworks was great to work with and made the process very easy!" stated the previous Saturday Night Live star. The session was engineered by Bill Ahearn and Ben Bishop.

Alyssa Milano Talks Touch at Tapeworks

We recently had the pleasure of working with celebrity actress Alyssa Milano on a project for her women's clothing brand Touch. Although the session was here at Tapeworks, Alyssa wasn't. In fact, she wasn't even on the east cost!

Best known for her work on the television program Charmed, Alyssa Milano recorded a voiceover via ISDN for an online boutique that carries her brand. She was able to record from a studio in the San Fernando Valley while the audio was digitally streamed into Tapeworks. We helped her produce a fun and informative voiceover which included information about the featured clothing as well as the Touch brand itself.

Alyssa was recorded by Bill Ahearn, the chief engineer at Tapeworks in Hartford.