I have been busy working on a new podcast and I'm pleased to announce it will be available on 19th October.

BEFORE THE BAR OPENS is a music podcast about what happens before the music starts. Composer Emma Clarke talks to people who make, use and love music.

It has been a pleasure to edit Emma's interviews with her compelling guests.  Hit 'Subscribe' wherever you get your podcasts and find out more at https://www.beforethebaropens.com/

#music #musiccomposer #podcast #audioproduction #beforethebaropens

Before The Bar Opens podcast: Trailer 1

I have been busy working on a new podcast and I'm pleased to announce it will be available on 19th October.  Here's a new trailer.

BEFORE THE BAR OPENS is a music podcast about what happens before the music starts. Composer Emma Clarke talks to people who make, use and love music.

It has been a pleasure to edit Emma's interviews with her compelling guests. Hit 'Subscribe' wherever you get your podcasts and find out more at www.beforethebaropens.com/

Before The Bar Opens podcast: Trailer 2

COMING SOON!

Hosted by award-winning voiceover Emma Clarke, Dodgy Voiceover Direction is a podcast about the kind of dodgy voiceover direction voiceovers are given before they start to read a script.

Dodgy Voiceover Direction Trailer

Radio commercial for Bento restaurant to attract new customers.

Written By: Nils McGovern
Produced By: Rik Watson
Agency: White Label Studio
Voiceover: Rio Attoh-Wood
Music: "Under The Ground (Instrumental)", Nicholas Patrick Kingsley / Extreme Music

BENTO "Missing Out" Radio Commercial

Radio commercial for The Old Barn to attract new and existing customers.

Written By: Sarah Liddard
Produced By: Rik Watson
Agency: White Label Studio
Voiceover: Jack Oddie
Music: "Gone For Now (Instrumental)", Jordan Rees,Thomas James White / Atmosphere Music

THE OLD BARN "Cooking Up A Storm" Radio Commercial

I thought these were quite nice, two ads for Asda In-Store Radio advertising World Book Day.  I had fun producing them.

Written By: Lee Price
Produced By: Rik Watson
Agency: Mood Media
Voiceover: Will Vanderpuye
Music Ad 1: "Prelude to a Lullaby", Louise Annette Smart / Mpath
Music Ad 2 Track 1: "Pirate Adventure", Nick Johnson, Nino Morro  / Juice Music
Music Ad 2 Track 2: "Magic Kids", Francisco Becker / MYMA/Justement Music
Music Ad 2 Track 3: "Whistle And Play", Vincent Francois Perrot, Benoit Medrykowski, Olivier Baldissera / MYMA/Justement Music

ASDA / WORLD BOOK DAY In-Store Creative

I haven't collated a showreel in some time.  It is roughly two years since I made the decision to put some effort into 'going solo' and try to build up my audio production clients.  Thankfully, in that time I have worked with some passionate agencies, great writers and talented voiceover artists to produce some creative and effective audio advertising, on radio, instore and online.  I thought I'd compile a few snippets of some of my productions that demonstrate the variety I get in this job, using different styles and techniques to produce relevant audio for the client.  I've had fun working on it.  You might spot your writing or voice work in here too!

Advertising is not all I do though, having worked on podcast editing and branding, radio show imaging, voiceover showreels, sound-to-picture, kids audio players and audiobooks.  Feel free to give me a shout if you have an audio project.

Rik Watson Audio Advertising Showreel 2023

This was an interesting brief in January 2015.  I could create a 30 second piece of audio of my choice - whatever I wanted!  As long as it included "#expectsurprises" and took into account the audience of Radio Aire 3.  That's it!  The commercial was then broadcast on Radio Aire 3 across Leeds and West Yorkshire, UK.

Written By: Rik Watson & Simon White
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Mark Chadwick
Music: "Supernova", Timothy Oliver, Altitude Music

INDELIBLE COLLECTIVE - Expect Surprises - Human Beings (Radio Commercial)

This is a montage of commercials I've produced for Bauer Media.  I've not used full adverts, just clips.  It demonstrates the variety of the production I'm involved with, using different voiceovers, music tracks and sound effects - sometimes it's a voiceover delivering a straight message and on other occasions I get to create a scenario.  You can achieve so much with audio, which is what I enjoy.

RIK WATSON - Bauer Media Commercial Showreel - Variety

I produced the audio for the weather sponsorship on Made In Leeds TV.  3x 10second spots using voiceover, sound effects and the Ringways theme.  Here's the audio for one of them.  This will be used alongside the visuals on the TV channel.

MADE IN LEEDS RINGWAYS SPONSOR 1 - Warm Welcome

The Gosh Group​ recently asked me to produce audio for their client, Domino's Pizza UK​.  It was used earlier in October 2015 at several university fresher's events across the UK - a mix of music incorporating brief commercial messages and the famous Domino's Pizza chant.

This is an example of the production I supplied for Nottingham.

Gosh Group & Domino's Pizza - Nottingham Example Production

Rob H asked me to create some DJ drops for his monthly mix.  Here's an example of how the production works alongside his music.

Rob's mix is available here: https://www.mixcloud.com/RobHumar/november-2015/

Rik Watson Audio - Rob H DJ Production Showreel - November 2015

I've recently produced some DJ drops for Glen Horsborough's popular "Let There Be House" podcast. Here's an example of how the production works with his mix.

Glen's mixes are available here: 
soundcloud.com/glenhorsborough

You can also keep up-to-date at:
ltbh.co.uk
facebook.com/GlenHorsborough
twitter.com/GlenHorsborough

Rik Watson Audio - Glen Horsborough LTBH Production Showreel - November 2015

This week at Bauer I received the below script, but decided to make this audio as I had a spare 15 minutes.  Just for a bit of fun, eh?  Thanks to Josh Shirt Voice Over for the read and help with the words.

"When Hayley started donating blood, she did so because she enjoyed the knowledge that the blood she gave would go on to save people’s lives.

It was only after she started that her sister suffered life changing injuries in a moped accident… Now Hayley enjoys the knowledge that because there are others like her, her sister is still alive today.

You don’t have to register to give blood, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t need you to.

Register today through HALLAM3.CO.UK hashtag WHYNOT"


Original Script: Kristian Tiffany
Alternative Script: Josh Shirt
Producer: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Josh Shirt
Music: "Don't Stop",  Rob Khurana, SaraoMusic

Blood Alternative Commercial

Here's a montage of commercials I've produced for Bauer Media over the past few months. I've not used full adverts, just clips. It demonstrates the variety of the production I'm involved with, using different voiceovers, music tracks and sound effects - sometimes it's a voiceover delivering a straight message and on other occasions I get to create a scenario. You can achieve so much with audio, which is what I enjoy.

RIK WATSON - Bauer Media Commercial Showreel - Variety - April 2016

At Bauer Media, I've recently produced a series of commercials for Car Shop, to be broadcast on various radio stations across the UK, advertising the client's locations and website.

The ident is a reworking of the classic "Car Wash" song, with lyrics changed to "Car Shop" and the series of ads were voiced by actor Matt Berry, who's comic delivery was ideal for the humorous scripts.

Here's one of them!

Written By: John Paul Hughes
Produced By: Kristian Tiffany & Rik Watson
Voiceover: Matt Berry
Music: "Car Shop", David Anthony Adams

CAR SHOP - Promises - Northampton

Here's a little ad I produced for Madame Tussauds, Blackpool (Merlin Entertainment Group)

Written By: Simon White
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Simon White & Amy Solomon
Music: "Better Than Me", Marc Ferrari & Michael McGregor, Killer Tracks

MERLIN ENTERTAINMENT GROUP - Festival Fields - Please Welcome

Here's something a bit different - a commercial I produced in April for "SMKD Electronic Cigarrettes", broadcast on Radio Aire in Leeds.  The writer, Steve Elles, really did resist the usual on this one and came up with a cracking script.

The commercial resulted in a 200% increase in web traffic to the client’s site in just 4 weeks.

Written By: Steve Elles
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceovers: Guy Harris, Steve Elles, Simon White
Music 1: "Off To Sea", Troy Banarzi, De Wolfe Music Library
Music 2: "Seven Seas", Kavin Hoo, ZFC Music

SMKD - Captain Yellow Finger

This week I produced an ad for the National White Water Centre for Radio City.

It was a lot of fun to produce - Guy Harris, the voiceover, took his mic setup outside so the read had an outdoor ambiance and we worked on the delivery as if he was being bombarded with waves.  Then mixing the rapids and underwater sound effects together, with some filtering gave it that "on location" feel.

Written By: David Brown (Bruno)
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Guy Harris

NATIONAL WHITE WATER CENTRE - Rafted

Here's a commercial I produced for Bauer Media in August 2016 for the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, who were trying to target people that don't wear a seat belt in a car.  A script was presented to me by Hallam FM's Head of Creative and we worked on producing a demo.

Unfortunately, the original version couldn't be played on air due to a slightly graphic nature.  The final on air version was toned down somewhat.  Thankfully though, the original version was cleared to be played on the client's website which gave us an opportunity to use the sound effects as we pleased.  This is what we finally came up with for the web version.

I really enjoyed the creative process involved in making this and I hope you like it - or dislike it for bone-crunching reasons!

Written By: Kristian Tiffany
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Kristian Tiffany
Music FX: "Slam 7", Leon Butler, De Wolfe Music Library

SAFER ROADS - Danny (Web Version)

One of the most "high-octane" radio ads I've produced in a while!  I had fun making this and we received some nice feedback from our happy client.

Written By: Craig Willis
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceover: Taylor Clarke-Hill
Music: "Guts On Fire", Boris Nonte, Berlin Production Music

ARENA SPORTS LIVE - Arenacross

Here's a montage of recent commercial production work I've produced for Bauer Media (2016-2017).

Consisting of commercial segments, when compiled, it demonstrates the variety of the production I'm involved in - using different voiceovers, music tracks and sound effects.  At times a voiceover delivers a straight message and on other occasions I get to create a scenario.

Creative commercial production is fun!

RIK WATSON - Bauer Media Commercial Showreel - Variety - 2016 - 2017

I enjoyed producing these ads for Dexel Tyre & Auto Centre.  They made me laugh!

Written By: Simon English
Produced By: Rik Watson
Account Manager: Josh Fields

Voiceovers: Gina Mellotte, Mark Straker, Andy Loudon, Gerard Fletcher, Simon White
Music: "Dexel", Jason Bauer, Bauer Radio Music Publishing

DEXEL TYRE & AUTO CENTRE - Fixed Price Servicing / Repairs

I'd like to share some audio that I produced for the "Put Your Mind To Better Use" recruitment campaign for the Bauer Academy's "Making Creativity Work" project.  It is part of an audio / visual campaign designed by Martin Challoner, Head of Creative at Viking FM involving myself (Bauer Yorkshire Creative) and Gary Ingamells (Viking FM).

I'm pleased to announce the campaign won Bauer Media's 2017 Q1 "Resist The Usual" Creative Award.

Judge's Comments: “Martin’s ‘Making Creativity Work’ campaign for Bauer Academy explores the perils of owning a frustrated creative mind. The radio ads draw the listener in from the start. “Mischief” demonstrates how untapped creativity spells mayhem, while “Paper” takes a different angle, showing how failing to harness that creativity is a waste. The rotation of the two keeps the message fresh. Both ads are beautifully written, voiced and produced, and are complimented by the design work, which illustrates the concept with a simplicity that can be grasped at a glance.”

Written By: Martin Challoner
Produced By: Rik Watson
Voiceovers: Joshua Raven, Rachel Kershaw, Rik Watson

THE ACADEMY - Mischief / Paper

Here's a radio ad I produced recently for Millers Oils to generate awareness of who they are and what they do.  The response from the advertising has been great for the client.

You don't get much more Yorkshire than this!

Written By: Simon English
Produced By: Rik Watson
Account Manager: Josh Fields

Voiceover: Everal Walsh

Music 1: "Feel The Burn", Jono Brown, Thomas Burnet Lilly / Elias Plays Publishing

Music 2: "Mountains Green", Edrich Siebert / EMI

MILLERS OILS - Yorkshire

I produced these radio ads through Viking FM Creative, which run alongside video and kinetic animation productions.  East Riding Council have a service to provide information and help to tackle online grooming.  Martin Challoner, Head of Creative at Viking FM presented me with well written scripts, giving me time and freedom to be creative.

With the 40 second ad we used "real people" for that raw, natural read to contrast with the pro voiceover.  This is from the perspective of a teenage boy.

The 60 second ad is from the perspective of a parent.

Written By: Martin Challoner
Produced By: Rik Watson
Account Manager: Sam Brennan

40 second ad:

Voiceovers: Aaron Challoner, Martin Challoner, Emma Clarke
Music 1: "Faithful Impression", Elizabeth Levine / Altitude Music
Music 2: "Mountains Green", Edrich Siebert / EMI

60 second ad:

Voiceovers: Sally Bosley, Emma Clarke
Music: "Agatha", Martha Bean, Joel Evans / Altitude Music

Thirteen - Grooming 60

Thirteen - Grooming 40

I recently produced these radio commercials for Leger Holidays through Hallam FM Creative, featuring the dulcet tones of Neil Morrissey.

Written By: Simon English
Produced By: Rik Watson
Account Manager: Josh Fields
Voiceover: Neil Morrissey

LEGER HOLIDAYS - Battlefield Tours

LEGER HOLIDAYS - Generic 30

Once I'd been sent the script, I was given a fair bit of freedom to create the soundscape for this radio commercial for Safer Roads Humber via Viking FM Creative.

The message is simple - wear your seatbelt.  And whilst it can be difficult to tell those who don't, hopefully this will stand out and at least be a reminder.

Written By: Martin Challoner
Produced By: Rik Watson
Account Manager: Sam Brennan
Voiceover: Rik Watson
Music: "Faster Than Light (Instrumental)", Camille Ballon / KTSA Publishing

SAFER ROADS HUMBER "Seatbelts" Radio Commercial

Here's a narration showreel I produced for voiceover Darren Altman.  He wanted a new showreel to display his vocal capabilities in various narration styles.

Darren asked the highly talented Emma Clarke as voice coach to direct the voiceover session and me to produce the audio.

As producer, it was my role to audition music to find something that worked best with the style of read Darren gave me, and to help colour the picture in the listener's mind with the use of sound effects - if necessary.  I really enjoyed producing this showreel.

Darren did a great job in taking direction and, as I'm sure you'll agree, he sounds great.

You can find out more about Darren at www.darrenaltman.com and Emma Clarke at www.emmaclarke.com.

Voiced by Darren Altman
Directed by Emma Clarke
Produced by Rik Watson

.
.
.

CREDITS

Title: Ambience, Children Playing, Distant, A
Composer: InspectorJ
Source: Freesound.org
License: Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Title: The End
Composer: Spin Day
Source: Freemusicarchive.org
License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Title: Turbulence (Psychadelik Pedestrian's chillout remix)
Composer: Marc Burt
Source: Freemusicarchive.org
License: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0)
Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Title: Dark Alleys
Composer: Kai Engel
Source: Freemusicarchive.org
License: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Darren Altman Narration Showreel 2020

I've recently been fortunate enough to be involved in the production of two great audio dramas. "When We Got To The Seventh" was a big project in 2019, produced in my spare time as something a bit different to the day job. "Anything 4U" came along this year, a bit of a saviour during furlough as an important creative outlet.

I've enjoyed compiling some snippets of the production so please listen if you can. As a creative producer it makes me smile, recalling the process of recording and mixing sound effects to create soundscapes.

The picture a producer paints with audio has to be believeable so the listener has a connection to the scene, whether it is somebody telling a story, or with in-scene acting. The sound effects need to be right - some effects have to be obvious while others are indistinct and go by unnoticed by the listener, simply because it needs to sound natural.

Find out more about the audio dramas at https://www.theseventh.uk/ and https://www.anything4u.net/

Rik Watson - Audio Drama Production Showreel 2020

I'm an experienced Creative Audio Producer, highly skilled at producing radio commercials, instore advertising, radio station imaging, mixing sound to picture and podcast editing/branding.  I love creating soundscapes and have showcased this in storytelling podcasts.  I have an established background working in the radio industry.

Adobe Audition is my creative paintbrush.  Experience has made me a strong believer in having a work-life balance.  Feeling happy and healthy is vital to let creativity thrive.

I like to use Soundcloud to showcase some of my work.

Enjoy!

Rik Watson Audio

Popular tracks