LEIA-VOpro

"MORE THAN JUST A PERFECT FACE FOR RADIO!" - Excerpts from a conversation between Producer, Director, Writer, On-Camera Coach & Talent, DJ & V.O. Professional Leia and Gino Scandur, SAG/AFTRA Actor and Production Company CEO, for Technology and Learning Today at the Mill Valley Film Festival:
IT'S AN INDUSTRY INSIDE-JOKE THAT MOST RADIO AND VOICE OVER PROFESSIONALS HAVE, WELL, A "FACE FOR RADIO." SO WHEN THIS FORMER MODEL and TV PERSONALITY WHO STILL WORKS ON-CAMERA TODAY, ARRIVED FOR OUR SCHEDULED INTERVIEW, YOU COULD SAY I WAS ILL-PREPARED.
“GINO SCANDUR? I'M LEIA, aka DAYLE HONDA-STICE, THE NAME I USED AS A RADIO ANNOUNCER HERE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO MARKET FOR MANY YEARS, AND ALSO IN THE SANTA FE/ALBUQUERQUE RADIO and TV MARKET. I'LL SPARE YOU MY TV AND MODELING IDENTITIES FROM DENVER, CHICAGO and NY..." She extended her hand, shook mine, and ended her succinct intro with a warm, mellifluous laugh. But, since none of these facts were in my notes, I quickly defaulted to verifying what was: "So, Leia, that's spelled L-E-I-A, like the Princess in STAR WARS?" She nodded. Next, I went for my prepared opening question: "So, when you worked in radio, did you have two turntables and a microphone, like BECK?" Somehow, it sounded so lame, outloud. But Leia rescued me by gracefully segueing into a half hour of on-topic intelligence. Here are the highlights:
"WHILE IT’S TRUE THAT BECK MAY HAVE HAD 'TWO TURNTABLES AND A MICROPHONE,' I ACTUALLY HAD THREE WHEN I KICKED-OFF MY CAREER IN MEDIA AND ADVERTISING VOICE-OVER WORK; THIS, OF COURSE, WAS PRIOR TO 'PLAYLISTS' BECOMING PART OF THE NEW LEXICON OF RADIO, AND THE SOON-TO-BE MTV. Today, though, some of us see hope for a Renaissance of Radio, or at least a proliferation of creativity in music through self-promotion; what with the internet and self-promo having been given a window of time with which they've been able to mesh together rather synergistically,” she said, with a glimmer in her exotic eyes.
“SHAMELESS SELF-PR HAS ALWAYS BEEN A NECESSITY WHEN CREATING ANY CAREER IN MEDIA; AND NOW, IN SOME WAYS, IT'S EASIER TO STEP UP and LEAP WHOLEHEARTEDLY ONTO ANY VIABLE PATH THAT MIGHT MOVE YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOALS. TODAY, SITES LIKE MySpace, YouTube, and THE INTERNET IN GENERAL MAKE SELF-PROMO FULL OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES. IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT BIG CHANGES OCCUR IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS IN ALL MEDIA INDUSTRIES," Leia stated, in such a way as to make a frightening Leap of Faith sound like Common Sense...and possibly even an exciting chapter in media, entertainment, and technological history, all at the same time.
“MY MOST REWARDING WORK? WELL ... I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN SENT TO WORK IN PLACES MOST PEOPLE WILL NEVER SEE IN A LIFETIME; SOME OF THESE PLACES NO LONGER EVEN EXIST. I'VE MET AND WORKED WITH THE MOST DIVERSE PEOPLE, WORLDWIDE - MANY FAMOUS, AND OTHERS SIMPLY SPECIAL IN-AND-OF THEMSELVES. Especially in Africa, where I recorded indigenous cultures, customs, sounds, and people; while directly helping people receive direly needed medical care, and helping fund marine-biology and environmental studies off the coast of the Indian Ocean. We were even able to aid in bringing internet services inland, and I can't even begin to tell you what that meant to people there at that time...I got to know amazing people like John Perry Barlow, learning quite a bit about the EFF, Mitch Kapor, and their amazing years of effort, working to keep the internet a 'free space' for national and international communication. No easy feat! And what many people don't realize is, IT SAVED MANY LIVES. HOW CAN YOU TOP THAT AS REWARDING WORK?"
“BUT, SINCE I'M HERE TO BRIEFLY DISCUSS MY SO-CALLED REWARDING WORK OF HISTORICAL TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE, IN A NUTSHELL, I BECAME KNOWN FOR A COUPLE OF "FIRSTS": First, for being AMONGST THE LEADERS IN THE TRANSITION FROM LINEAR TO DIGITAL EDITING AS A PIONEER BETA-TESTER FOR RADIO EDITING EQUIPMENT. Oh, and female, too, snap! I ALSO WAS THE 1st RADIO PRODUCTION DIRECTOR IN THE U.S. TO DEVELOP A MODEL FOR INTERNAL CREATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENTS (mini ad agencies) AS PROFIT CENTERS IN RADIO, LOCAL TV AND CABLE TV STATIONS - an idea which had not yet become vertically saturated with corporate, ad agency, AND electronic media mergers, as they now exist today - "monolithic multinational monopolies," as I call today's model; (which not too long ago, would actually have been illegal...but communications regulations have changed quite a bit lately, haven't they)?"
“UNDERSTAND, THIS WAS BEFORE 'USER-FRIENDLY' HAD BECOME THE POPULAR ADJECTIVE IT IS TODAY; WHEN EARLY DIGITAL PRODUCTION WAS: "LIKE PICKING PEPPER OUT OF FLY-SH%& WITH BOXING GLOVES ON!" Excuse my ‘Studio-French,’ but that was the Truth! Change is rarely ever easy, but when we're able to stop desperately holding on to the Past, Change can show us certain advantages. Like Nature, Change prevails anyway, regardless of our levels of Denial!
“THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, WOULDN'T IT MAKE SENSE TO EMBRACE CHANGE, AND HAVE IT SERVE US WELL?
“'EMBRACING CHANGE' IS PERHAPS THE PHILOSOPHY THAT CREATED THE SEEMING "INTER-CONNECTEDNESS" OF MY ENTIRE BODY of MEDIA WORK - ALLOWING IT TO APPEAR STRATEGICALLY WELL-PLANNED! Keyword: "appear;" since it all looks great on paper: My diverse over-education; along with my work experience at international ad agencies O&M and Y&R; being on-the-air in both Radio and TV in various major markets; having been personally mentored by Chicago broadcast legend and former ABC-TV VP, Sterling “Red” Quinlan; AND recording, mixing, editing, mastering in studios with some of the most talented studio artists and engineers in the world and of their times: (including: Elton John, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, Larry Graham, Bootsie Collins, The Average White Band, Tommy Bolin, Deep Purple, Stanley Clark, The Who, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Narada Michael Walden, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Corwin, Bill Rogers and the late Brian Connolly - to name just a few). Combine all these experiences with Producing and Directing at my own Agencies and Production Companies (including Honda-Stice Advertising and Consulting and Mind Over Media); add to that, hooking-up with the NAB, RAB and some very future-oriented media management, which enabled me to AUTHOR, LECTURE, and COACH INTERNATIONALLY, on the varied subjects I'd become known to have unique “eclectic expertise" in, and it does appear linear, doesn't it? But truly, it's the old adage about "doing what you love" that really works!”
“AHH, THE "ADVICE" QUESTION? WELL, FIRST AND FOREMOST: BE CLEAR ON YOUR PRIORITIES, OR THEY WILL GET LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. Time flies, and I promise you, no one will ever care more about your dreams than you do!
“Miles Davis' mother had this particular piece of advice, which I passed on to my children:
‘SHOOT FOR THE MOON, AND YOU WILL END UP SOMEWHERE AMONGST THE STARS!’
As my children grew older, I added: ALWAYS PRIORITIZE WHO and WHAT YOU LOVE (in that order),
NEVER FEAR CHANGE, and
ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL FOR EACH STEPPING STONE ON YOUR PATH TO GROWTH and SUCCESS – ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT TRIP YOU UP! (I call those: Cheap Lessons, courtesy of the School of Hard Knocks!)
“HOW WOULD I SUM UP MY EXPERIENCES REGARDING TECHNOLOGY and LEARNING? THREE WORDS: CHANGE, AWARENESS and ACTIONS. The tricky part is, the Actions required to make Changes are ultimately ours to choose very carefully. And because there usually isn't much time to thoroughly think things through, Awareness becomes crucial. And you can't have that without pausing to take a breath and assess the situation. The most significant questions are always Simple - but not Easy. Today, in terms of Technology and Learning, I believe them to be:
WILL WE STEP UP AND MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES;
OR:
WILL WE SHOW HOW LITTLE WE’VE ACTUALLY LEARNED IN OUR COUNTRY'S SHORT BUT BRILLIANT HISTORY, BY MAKING THE EASIER, and/or MORE IMMEDIATELY PROFITABLE CHANGES, OUT OF FEAR, WHICH ISN'T FOR THE HIGHEST GOOD IN THE LONG RUN?

“THE BOTTOM LINE IS: Right now, no one can afford to wait around for some illusive ‘perfect time’ to jump-start The Future. As I learned from the Hopi: THE TIME HAS COME TO "DO IT NOW"; NOW IS THE TIME!
LEIA NODDED, SMILED WITH A LITTLE WINK, and SIGNALED "IT'S A WRAP." She handed me a piece of paper which I'd hoped was a special note. It was. It was part of THE HOPI PROPHECY, and said more about Technology and Learning than we could possibly have covered in our allotted half hour. It said:
'It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore,
Push off into the river.
Keep your eyes open,
And your heads above the water.
See who is in there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally,
Least of all ourselves.
For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the One’s we've been waiting for.
The Elders
Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation