Evan Desjardins

Batch Audio Conversion for IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – WMA, WAV 8bit u-Law

Recently I recorded and edited some voice cues for a savings bank’s phone support centre. I’ve done this before but this was the first time I’d been asked to convert output for playback on the end-client’s IVR system.

Apparently there are a couple common standard formats in use depending on which IVR tech is deployed. Windows Media Audio (*.wma) is one and the other is PCM .wav but using a particular encoding scheme … Read the rest “Batch Audio Conversion for IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – WMA, WAV 8bit u-Law”

Warframe – Angels of the Zariman

In collaboration with the fine people at Syndicate Creative, I did a bunch of voice editing for this upcoming expansion to the Warframe game world.

Since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, the voice acting world has gone all-in on remote contribution. The role of the recording studio is in flux. Especially when it comes to non-union projects, performers are more likely than ever to be working from a home studio, patched in over … Read the rest “Warframe – Angels of the Zariman”

The Christie Pits Riot – The Hogtown Experience

The Christie Pits Riot is a combined audio drama and historical walking tour set in 1930s Toronto, exploring an infamous race riot and the mark it left on the city’s Jewish families. It was written and created by Sam Rosenthal and Drew Carnwath, inspired by Sam’s own family’s history in Toronto. I recorded all of the voice performances, did the dialog/voice edit and passed it along to John Ebata in Halifax who added music and … Read the rest “The Christie Pits Riot – The Hogtown Experience”

Chopin Mazurka in C-Sharp Minor Op. 63 No. 3 | Artun Miskciyan, piano

Here is a brilliant home recording by Toronto pianist Artun Miskciyan which I helped him polish up for release.

I met Artun at Blue Sound in 2019. He had some chamber music recordings done at another studio but which needed some fixing up. I was immediately impressed not only by his virtuosity but also his keen ear for fine details in the recordings. He was exacting in his direction but enthusiastic about the process and … Read the rest “Chopin Mazurka in C-Sharp Minor Op. 63 No. 3 | Artun Miskciyan, piano”

New Album Release: Hush About the City – ‘On Making Friends’

I’m so glad to see this album released. Dan Kelsey (Hush About the City) wrote and home-recorded nearly everything from his place in Winnipeg and sent me the tunes to mix late last summer. I helped him realize his vision by reworking some drum and synth sounds, recording a few new instrument parts here and there, editing the many layered vocals and finally mixing and mastering the record for digital release. The only song I … Read the rest “New Album Release: Hush About the City – ‘On Making Friends’”

The Last Butterball

Commercial inanity from a time since past.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I got the call from Syndicate Sound asking if I could come in last minute to record and mix a TV spot for them. This was just after Doug Ford had announced the first impending COVID-19 lockdown but before it would take effect. Reluctantly, I said I would. The next morning I biked to the studio and donned my 3M … Read the rest “The Last Butterball”