[DMFA Radio] - Radio Series Project - RoDP work-in-progress Jun 2013

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

That's ok. We can always use you on a female character :-]

... since I expect that's likely what I'll end up doing...

[cerridwen666]

True. Well, I'll give it a shot later today and try to have something up. My computer has been known to have problems with this sort of stuff. At least my microphone works.

[Tapewolf]

Now, note that I can sound quite differently from this, if you'd like that. It's just a sample. So, if anyone has any opinions, ideas, comments... Really. I can adapt quite well. If you'd like to speak to me in person to better determine, Jakob, then that can be arranged too.

Nice.  I rather like that.  It's slightly distorted, but even that works pretty well (The original DP voice went into overload quite a bit.  It added colour to the sound which I couldn't replicate afterwards)

Caswin's okay.  It's a nice, gravelly voice.  Whether it suites Aniz I can't quite say.  We'll probably have to have a poll for him too.

And now, Goatmon.  With the possible exception of 76 where it sounds like he's suddenly snapped out of his whimpering state, it works quite nicely.  I think I'll merge it into the 'Abel71' recording and see what it sounds like as a whole (In about 7-10 hours time).

[Goatmon]

Yeah, I'll have to redo that line.  I honestly just couldn't figure out how to do it, and I decided i"d just move on rather than dwell on it and get nothing else done. 

[superluser]

Regarding Stygian's take, there's an awful lot of background noise (I also noticed on Goatmon's take on 424-426 that you could hear some birds in the background, but I forgot to mention it).

For Caswin, I'd suggest that you make sure that you have enough dynamic range for that voice.  Can you do the ``forgot my speech'' or the ``sounds creepier'' lines in that voice?  Not necessarily post them, but just try it out and see if it works.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You know, I never really wanted to be in charge of this thing    I'm just not very good at project management.  So, particularly with something like this, I like to do it democratically.   When we've got enough candidates I'll go with the most popular, probably put up the highlights and run a poll like we did with Doctor Ink.

Might I make a suggestion, and suggest that we have a separate thread for the poll? That way we don't end up still using it after it's been decided, etc etc... Plus I think the forum can't un-poll a thread, although it -can- always add a poll to any thread (a "feature" I have some objections to, but...)

Just something that occurred to me.

[Tapewolf]

Might I make a suggestion, and suggest that we have a separate thread for the poll? That way we don't end up still using it after it's been decided, etc etc... Plus I think the forum can't un-poll a thread, although it -can- always add a poll to any thread (a "feature" I have some objections to, but...)
Just something that occurred to me.

Quite.  This was something that was discovered by fluke when we ran the 'Dr. Ink' poll, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

[Kenji]

Man, some of you guys can really get into this. S'cool, s'cool.
Personally I don't think I could ever do something along these lines, if not just because I probably couldn't do any worthwhile voices to save my life.

But hey, props to anyone actually doing this stuff. If not only because you're willing to read half of these lines out loud.

[Stygian]

Allright. I'll try and reduce the background sound then. Is there anything specific you'd like me to record? A few lines, a commentary, an introduction...?

[Aridas]

Who still hasn't gotten a definite voice actor? I could try and grab someone to try out for any voices that haven't been comepletely been decided on..

[Tezkat]

Speaking of which, could we get a few more auditions?  Three prospective Abels isn't a very good turn-out.

Auditions have only been running for a day... I have to say that this is the most activity I've seen in the Radio Project thread since... um... ever.



We should probably set a deadline for auditions, however. Say... let them run for two weeks and then run a poll at the end of the month.


As for the current contenders, Goatmon's Abel sounds a bit like Kaos's did, though it's deeper and has more presence. I like his voice, and he acts well, but it may be too masculine to capture Abel's character. He's supposed to be a somewhat androgynous character who thinks nothing of prancing around in skirts. Fuyudenki did a slightly better job of capturing that aspect of his personality.

(I'll see if I can't dig up some samples of the Abel voice I was doing last year. They went way off in the other direction over to the decidedly fruity side... )


By the way, I should note that the Abel role in particular represents a huge commitment. Whoever gets the part will have to record an enormous number of lines (and possibly re-record them several times when necessary). It doesn't look like he's going to be written out of the comic any time soon, either. I needn't mention that it will not be fun to have to replace him and go through this again a few months down the line after we've mixed several arcs.

Update; I hate my ****ing microphone.  It picks up every damned milimeter of movement, and it comes clear as bell, unlike my own voice which seems to become background noise when Imvoe more than 3 inches from it.  So In order to clear sound, I'm forced to sit on the floor instead of my chair so I can hold the thing without moving around at all.  And it's still difficlut to avoid that obnoxious popping and creaking noise.

Ugh.  I'll have the pages recorded soon, but it's obnoxious as hell.  I'm going to get a new freaking microphone next month, this I vow. 

Hmm... what are you using now? Ideally, you want the thing on a nice comfy stand somewhere, since it will register a movement when you're holding it as well.


Given the influx of new actors, we should probably run a little clinic with recording tips or something. Tapewolf's tips page is a good place to start.

I just got my software and things right, and I am completely rigged to go if you need me for any voice parts. I've uploaded a test recording for the demon instructor part too. It's nothing big, just a few seconds reading the lines for that one on the bottom of page 66.

http://rapidshare.com/files/31545050/demon_tryout.wma.html

That's a sexy bad guy voice. When I tried to roughen my English villain voice like that, I ended up sounding like a pirate, but it kinda works when you do it.

Most of the recording is (just barely) clipping. As Tapewolf suggest, we could work with that, but personally I think that you have a nice, meaty voice which doesn't need overdrive to sound badass. Maybe try it again with the gain turned down a little.

Caswin's okay.  It's a nice, gravelly voice.  Whether it suites Aniz I can't quite say.  We'll probably have to have a poll for him too.

I'd go so far as to say that there's too much gravel. With a heavier voice, gravel can a lot of character. Here it sounds more like he's just speaking in vocal fry without much breath support, giving the voice a rather timid quality. Aniz needs to sound more self-assured.

Who still hasn't gotten a definite voice actor? I could try and grab someone to try out for any voices that haven't been comepletely been decided on..

For Abel's story, we still need Abel, Aniz, shadow guy, and probably a new Xander.

Um... there used to be a nice cast list on James's site where you could look for open roles, but it looks like he didn't pay his bills or something.

I'm not quite sure who all has gone missing in the interim.

[GabrielsThoughts]

we need to make Abel seem more normal than the other characters so my suggeston is that we get somebody remotely sane to play the part...that leaves me out but I think coo coo for cocoa puffs is a definite no no quality for Abel to have.

[rabid_fox]

Good news on the recording front for me. I'm getting a very sexy microphone from the music department over the weekend. The plus points of being a teacher.

[Tapewolf]

Just about made it.  Goatmon's Abel for DMFA 424:
http://dmfa.it-he.org/dmfa/dmfa_424g.wav.mp3

One of the things I've never really figured out is the emphasis on this one.
Should Abel be saying, as most people seem to think, "I look better in a skirt than I would in trousers" ("Just because I look better in skirts...").
Or is he really saying "I look better in a skirt than Fa'Lina does"?  ("Just because I look better in skirts...")

[rabid_fox]

He's being a twat to annoy Fa'lina so definitely the emphasis on "I" in that one.

I think a lot of people are really forgetting how much of a lovable twat Abel was when he first appeared because of the backstory we have for him now. Concurrently, he's the comic's ultimate figure of pathos and the comic's biggest swaggering snide git.

Besides, I look better in stocks.

[Aridas]

One of the things I've never really figured out is the emphasis on this one.
Should Abel be saying, as most people seem to think, "I look better in a skirt than I would in trousers" ("Just because I look better in skirts...").
Or is he really saying "I look better in a skirt than Fa'Lina does"?  ("Just because I look better in skirts...")

well, the word he used was "cuter", but I'm pretty sure it's being used as a sort of insult against Fa'Lina, otherwise it wouldn't make the tiniest bit of sense at all in that context.

[Goatmon]

Just about made it.  Goatmon's Abel for DMFA 424:
http://dmfa.it-he.org/dmfa/dmfa_424g.wav.mp3

One of the things I've never really figured out is the emphasis on this one.
Should Abel be saying, as most people seem to think, "I look better in a skirt than I would in trousers" ("Just because I look better in skirts...").
Or is he really saying "I look better in a skirt than Fa'Lina does"?  ("Just because I look better in skirts...")

Hmm.  I don't care for the way that came out.  I do need to rerecord that dialog as well.  Meh.  I dunno what it is, but I'm far more confident in my ability to do dramatic dialog than I am with casual stuff.  It's mostly my inner critic talking, I suppose. 

[Miaka]

we need to make Abel seem more normal than the other characters so my suggeston is that we get somebody remotely sane to play the part...that leaves me out but I think coo coo for cocoa puffs is a definite no no quality for Abel to have.

aheh... if "sane" was part of the requirements, I don't know why Kaos was ever allowed to.

I like Goatmon's Abel, partially on account that it's one of the only nes I've listened to(The other one having been RF's, whos sounds too much like Devin), though I probably shouldn't have any say in this, I'm more than a little biased.

[Fuyudenki]

Fuyudenki, have you picked up the scripts? That'd probably limit the amount of typing in notepad you have to do... Since I've already done it... :-]

Scripts, you say?  I shall just then have to check these out.

I'm going to re-run AS 70-80, and then record some tracks for Pip's 495.  It's been a rather long first day of work, but enjoyable!
[edit]re-run of AS 70-80 right here.  This time, with feeling!(I haven't listened to it yet, myself.)  I suspect some of my family are now also wondering why they heard me yell "Hennya!"

I should really look into a Jack of All trades certification.  Computer engineer, computer repair, construction, demolition, painting of 30mm pewter miniatures(which I do not enjoy), webcomic, acting, voice-acting, canvas painting, 3D computer graphics, 3D computer animation, clay modeling, stop-action animation, and now painting houses.

As for the current contenders, Goatmon's Abel sounds a bit like Kaos's did, though it's deeper and has more presence. I like his voice, and he acts well, but it may be too masculine to capture Abel's character. He's supposed to be a somewhat androgynous character who thinks nothing of prancing around in skirts. Fuyudenki did a slightly better job of capturing that aspect of his personality.

Are you saying I've got an androgynous voice!?

[Goatmon]

As for the current contenders, Goatmon's Abel sounds a bit like Kaos's did, though it's deeper and has more presence. I like his voice, and he acts well, but it may be too masculine to capture Abel's character. He's supposed to be a somewhat androgynous character who thinks nothing of prancing around in skirts. Fuyudenki did a slightly better job of capturing that aspect of his personality.

Yeah, if you need someone who doesn't sound masculine, I'm probably not the guy you're looking for.   

[Fuyudenki]

come to think of it, if I wanted to waste another 5 minutes of everyone's time, I'd try a re-do of AS70+ and try to pitch my voice a bit higher.  Abel's always had the voice I use when I'm shouting in a comic manner(closest you've all heard so far was "Why is it always my fault!?"), which I can't really do when I'm trying to keep it down so my family doesn't suddenly get wierded out.

Though in retrospect, they already know how bizarre I can be, so there's likely little more damage I can do.  And since I've finally got a job, they can't really complain that I'm wasting my time doing nothing...

Did anyone notice that I sound  like a weed whacker in my Pip audition, around 11 seconds?

[edit]Heeeeeeeeeeere's Pip!(for DMFA page 495, starting with the growl at the end of 494.  3 separate files, with silence between most linebreaks, so Tapewolf can play with the timing to make it sound right.  Oddly, my headset made some strange noises, which I silenced during Pip's listening to his good and evil sides.  I'm glad that never happened during the actual voice takes.  I may have to perform surgery on that thing to get it to quiet down.[/edit]

[superluser]

OK.  Here we go.  I recorded most of the lines that I heard other people trying for Abel.  Not really terribly keen on getting the part, though I probably won't complain if the people want me:

http://rapidshare.com/files/31744241/abeltest.mp3

(I may have gone a little too maudlin on young Abel.  Also, I think I'm going to need to reset the volume on this thing, because there's some serious clipping)

And for a bit of fun, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison do Aniz:

http://rapidshare.com/files/31744338/anizfun.mp3

[Goatmon]

Hey, could I get a link to May for page 76?  I realized that if I'm gonna do that page properly then I've gotta have abel doing a gasp or some other shock-induced noise to go with that expression, before he actually says anything.

[Tapewolf]

Hey, could I get a link to May for page 76?  I realized that if I'm gonna do that page properly then I've gotta have abel doing a gasp or some other shock-induced noise to go with that expression, before he actually says anything.

You know, I'm not sure we actually do have a recording for that precise frame.  I'll have to ask Catherine about it.  Either way, I don't have May's lines to hand at work (and the upload has already been replaced with the followup set) so the closest thing at the moment is the ensemble 71 recording on the website.

I'll check Superluser's recording later.  I've checked some random bits of it and it's pretty good, apart from the clipping in the "smashing the stupid out of your skull" part.

One general comment: I think there should be emphasis on Abel's response to "What did you do this time?"
i.e "I have always gone out of my way to be as friendly and helpful as possible!"  Khazan did that nicely in the original Abel takes.  But that might just be me.

Tonight I'll try and add tracks for all the existing 424 recordings to the project so I can spin off copies of each version.  And turn them all on at once for an Abel Chorus...

[superluser]

One general comment: I think there should be emphasis on Abel's response to "What did you do this time?"
i.e "I have always gone out of my way to be as friendly and helpful as possible!"  Khazan did that nicely in the original Abel takes.  But that might just be me.

I think I got a bit of tunnel vision in that thing.  There are another ten minutes of bad takes that I edited out, and you start doing it by rote.  Doing this in one go is difficult--I'd probably do regular takes a few strips at a time.

You are right about the line.  I'll do some rerecords over the weekend.

[RushFox]

Man, it's stuff like this that makes me irritated that I don't have a microphone. You see, personally I liked Kao's version the best and have always had him voiced in my head that way when reading the comics. I even do this weird thing where I actually say the lines close to the voices I have been hearing, especially Abel's, which I think I have down pretty perfect.

But alas, I do not have the funds (even though I certainly have the time) to go out and buy a decent microphone or anything. Hell, alls I got is a puny headset thing, which I don't know if that would work or not.

I wish you guys luck on this, but I really wish I could join in as well. 

[superluser]

But alas, I do not have the funds (even though I certainly have the time) to go out and buy a decent microphone or anything. Hell, alls I got is a puny headset thing, which I don't know if that would work or not.

If you've got the time, why not try and record a few lines?  Let's say we hate them (which is unlikely, since I, at least, have enjoyed all the takes so far).  At least you've had fun.

Besides, a semi-decent mic isn't difficult to find.  Mine is a piece of crap from Radio Shack that they were discontinuing.  They sell a comparable one for $30, now.  I think I get pretty good fidelity out of it.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

It's still possible to do a reasonable take with a headset mike.

If we find it's totally unusable, but like your voice, heck, -I- can chip in $50 or so to get a decent mike.

There are ways around the problems. There are -always- ways.

[RushFox]

Aww, you guy's are nice...

I'll see if I can find that damned headset. My house tends to swallow things up, never to be seen again. Granted, my first time at this may sound a little nervous, since I'm not doing just for myself. It will probably help if I was in that mindset, though.

Anyways, it may be up today, or a couple days after, since my bro's birthday is tomorrow. Thanks for the support! 

BTW, if you guy's have any FAQ's on programs to use, methods for better recording, etc. It'll be appreciated. I hate looking through all of these threads to find all the good ideas you forumites have been fielding since this project began. Thanks!

[Tapewolf]

BTW, if you guy's have any FAQ's on programs to use, methods for better recording, etc. It'll be appreciated. I hate looking through all of these threads to find all the good ideas you forumites have been fielding since this project began. Thanks!

Yup: http://dmfa.it-he.org/howto.htm