Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Happy 6th Anniversary to SunSpots Audio Engineer, Tera Parks

Next time you’re in a recording session with Tera make sure you wish her Happy Anniversary. She’s celebrating 6 years at SunSpots Orlando recording studios this month.

How many sessions has she recorded over the past 6 years at SunSpots? “I just looked on our database and I’m almost at 5,000 sessions. That’s got to be thousands of spots!”, Tera says. Radio and TV commercials, long form industrials, web 2.0 audio and every application you think of where a voiceover is needed has been recorded from Tera's studio near Orlando.

Tera, who graduated with an A.S. in Audio from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida came to SunSpots looking for a foot in the recording studio door. “What I liked about Tera when she first came to us was that she was really eager to learn about the business. I loved her positive, even-keeled attitude”, says Thomas Rohe, founder and co-owner of SunSpots Productions, “She started off answering phones, then doing voiceover talent booking/scheduling and eventually running the day-which involves making sure voice talent have scripts, clients are dialed and every session starts on time. When she had the opportunity, she was sitting in with Zak Miller learning the “SunSpots Way” of audio engineering and commercial production. She picked up everything quickly. Now she’s running sessions with talent and clients across the globe.”

SunSpots Florida studio Manager, Zak Miller, says, "Tera has turned into one of the best engineers I know. She has a great attention to detail, and a sense of humor that keeps you on your toes."

When she started six years ago, being a woman in the audio engineering/producing field was uncommon and still is today. “I do find that other women notice it (being a female engineer). Like, sometimes, the female voice talent and female creative directors will mention it in sessions, especially if it’s all women together. One of our voiceover talent, Nancy McLemore, recently wrote me saying how ‘proud of me she is because I’m the only female engineer she knows.’ I never really felt like I was an exception, but I have felt like I had to prove myself with others in the business. So, I made sure no one could criticize my skills by working extra hard to be the best I can.”

Tera says her most memorable moment in session was, “Once when we connected with a voice talent via ISDN. We were in the middle of recording when all of a sudden, I heard this big, crashing sound, the talent yelled out and he told me his homemade studio had collapsed on him! He was ok and a little shaken up. It was funny at the time though.”

Her hobbies include photographing her cats, Fraglie and Eugene "The Vampire Slayer", hanging out with her circle of close friends and family and being a rock guitar god on "Rock Band". Marty MacNeill, SunSpots daily coordinator, describes Tera's wit,"It's as fast as her Rock Band guitar trigger finger!" 

If you wish to send her an anniversary present please make sure it's in the form of some sort of candy. She's a freak for the candy cigarrettes, hot tamales and zebra cakes. We guess that's slightly better than a diet of doughnuts and french fries. Just slightly.

View Tera's personal web site at: www.teraparks.com

Schedule our kitty loving, rock band guitar paying, candy eating, exceptional engineer Tera, for your next session by booking your voiceover session through SunSpots Web Site or by calling Janet at 1-800-884-7632.

5 comments:

  1. Tera,

    Happy 6th anniversary!! Congratulations on all your hard work.

    Linda

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  2. Thats My Girl !!! I am Tera's Mom and I am so proud of her. She gets all her talent from me of course. I am so pleased that SunSpots has recognized Tera and all of her hard work. She loves her job and admires and respects her associates. She is one GREAT girl. Just ask her.

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  3. Thanks for writing in Linda and Jamie! I've passed along your good words to Tera. We've always been really pleased with everything she does here at the Spot. But Mom, you think you can get her to knock off the candy? I'm trying to lose weight and those dang candy cigarettes are tasty! ;-) (Her studio is right next to my office.)
    Tom
    SunSpots Productions

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  4. Tom, I am so sorry. I am afraid you are SOL, that girl will NEVER give up her candy. The candy cigarettes are however, hard to come by, so that should help. Look on the bright side, better candy cigarettes than real ones! Oh, and she really likes cotton candy too.

    Jamie

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  5. Tera,

    This is your lucky day... I do believe that the 6th anniversary is the peppermint anniversary so your employer should be giving you a big ol bowl of peppermints soon. Only 19 more years till the silver watch!!

    werd.

    ReplyDelete