The voice of TV3

They watch TV with us, but who are the people that announce to us what we are watching and what is coming up next? asks GABRIEL POLLARD.

TV3 voice-over artist John Sweetman has been working at TV3 for 20 years, telling viewers what shows are coming up next and recording voice-overs for promotions of television shows and movies.

He also does other work such as advertising material and station promotions for Solid Gold FM and has a sideline freelance company.

He started out working as a radio announcer, but quickly found he preferred doing recordings, such as advertisements for companies. He decided to stop doing live radio work.

This spurred his move to TV3 when it started broadcasting in 1989.

He has 20 to 30 years of broadcast experience, an exact figure he wouldn't allude to for fear of his age getting out. And for 15 to 20 years, he studied speech and drama with a linguist to "find out how to use my voice", he says.

"Everyone has a voice. They just need to know how to use it properly."

Sweetman sees his job not only as announcing, but also as storytelling and being useful.

"My approach is storytelling. They're little stories there to inform, entertain or sell something. It helps the TV station and it helps people to enjoy the TV station - they can know when their favourite television programmes are on and it draws them in to watch them.

"I readily contribute to TV3's success."

We all know his voice, but not his name. But that is part of the highs of the job, Sweetman says.

"I love being famous without being known. That's the real buzz - the fact that people know the sound of my voice and know my work, but I'm anonymous and invisible."

But he says he wouldn't be doing his job if you could tell who was talking.

"The most important thing to me is the story and the message.

"I don't actually want people to hear me. I don't want them to hear my voice. I want them to hear the message.

"I try to submerge my ego, so all people hear is the message, because if people hear too much of the person, they don't get the message."

Known in the industry as "Sweeto", he says he can't see himself retiring any time soon, because he loves his job too much. It is a job which also gives him freedom to do other things. A converted room in his house acts as a recording studio where he spits out - if you excuse the pun - telephone messages, small-time advertisements and documentary narrations for people around the world.

He can do a recording in 20 minutes on a good day, when there aren't any imperfections at the studio at TV3's Auckland headquarters.

He says they will keep re-recording to get the sound perfect.

"If you can get it right the first few times, it will have a freshness to it, so it actually sounds exciting."

And, because of that schedule, he has time for his other enjoyments in life.

Sweetman and his wife converted an old central Auckland house into a bed and breakfast and he involves himself with the business.

Making sure guests have a good time in his hometown of Auckland is a pleasure, he says.

When I was interviewing him, he gave demonstrations of the type of work he does, and I realised that I had been listening to him for years.

I was born in 1990. I literally grew up listening to him.