Classifieds
Senior Creative with a love for print, the planet, and savory waffles seeks like-minded, passionate brands.
Astrology Today
This month, getting in touch with our imagination and childlike wonder is more important than ever.
How a Voice-Over Goes From Scribbles to
Final.Final.Final
Lara Holleran
Portland . Oregon
2022
I
nvestigate. Where do you find the words for a brand you have no connection with? Those are the questions that run through
my mind once I've read the brief.
[The client ask: a hype (30sec) video, and brand (1m30sec) video to be written, shot and designed in 6 weeks.]
I, personally, have no connection to knives. I don't carry them, I don't think about them, and so, I don't geek out over them. But, I'd been asked to write in the voice of a male knife enthusiast who wanted to draw new and existing customers into the world of pocket knives.
There is no one true place to begin an investigation like this one. So, like any cold lead, I chose to start at the beginning with everything I didn't know about knives. This first phase is what I like to call "the deep dive", aka, the extensive online research into the mind of a knife enthusiast. My browser history and targeted ads were mildly concerning by the end, but I had a new-found understanding of what a pocket knife was made for. Yet, to my chagrin, even knowing the finer detail between blades, metals and forging techniques I'd yet to feel a connection to the true knife enthusiast.
So, with little thought, I headed down to the local hunting/outdoors store and asked for a few samples. New pocket knives in hand, I drove out into the woods with my dog and a flagon of mead (kidding, it was a bottle of kombucha) to begin phase two: aka, "in the life of".




" The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. "
Eleanor Roosevelt
That is usually the part where people get very confused by what my actual job entails. Do copywriters edit, or QA, or play with products, or strategize, or design, or write? Hard to say in definitive terms, all I really know for sure is that we are investigators into the hearts and minds of others.
Thoroughly spent from throwing knives, running amok with the pup and getting lost in the pines all day, I finally felt a connection to the outdoor
world of knives and the tangibility of holding one in your hand. And, so began the heart-wrenching process of writing "poetic", sing-song lines to be read by a male, age 25-30, and edited over footage of vast Oregon woods, extreme sports, forging metal, and camping related activities.
Several days, innumerable drafts, a few client edits, the cutting of some choice flows and we were in business with a final, final, final version. Phew!


Final Version
We believe life isn’t about how much...
it’s about how far you're willing to take it.
To turn challenge into action...
and master the elements of the unknown.
Adventure is built into our DNA.
It's what drives us,
what fuels our fearless journey,
To run free ... ride hard.
To hunt for what’s next …
and push the limits of the unexpected.
We’re designed to get knocked down and stand ...
Wipe off the mud and rise above the rest.
We’re crafted to take life to the next level,
_____ ... Next level