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

[Baal Hadad]

Okay:

Seemed to be a few lengthy pauses between some of the comics there....

p. 884: LOVED the fighting--I kept laughing the whole time.  Only problem is that Shannah and Anna kind of drown out Dan and Hannah a little toward the end....

p. 886: No "five hours later" narration?

p. 887: What happened to it?

Other than that (and the popping sounds), not bad!    I wish I had some advice about your problem, but I'm not very techno-savvy....    Sorry.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ouch. So I can look forward to this Edirol dying on me?

>.<

I already have the RCA input connectors tapped out to earth, since I'm using the 3.5mm; might that be what you need to do to get it to work without problems? If that's the case, then I'm probably ok...

[Tapewolf]

Seemed to be a few lengthy pauses between some of the comics there....

Yes.  Those are so I have some space to go back and change it later if I need to change them for any reason.  If they follow each other immediately there is a risk of erasing part of the following scene.  They will be edited out in the final release.

p. 884: LOVED the fighting--I kept laughing the whole time.  Only problem is that Shannah and Anna kind of drown out Dan and Hannah a little toward the end....

Yeah, I noticed that.  I'll mix it more carefully in the actual version.  This was thrown together because people wanted to hear what it would sound like.  I was very tempted to just leave it until I'd done the rest too.

p. 886: No "five hours later" narration?

I'm not sure James read that part, I'd have to check.  To be honest, I didn't think it was all that important.

p. 887: What happened to it?

What happened to it is that Shanna's line contains the words "Okay, I'll skip that one."
When she (Toast/Mewgal) is able to record it I will be able to finish it.  See the prior posts where I flagged that problem.  Without knowing how long Shanna's line will run until I get it, there's little point in placing Dan's line afterwards, so I just cut it there and left a gap (one of the only things I actually did edit away in this demo).

Ouch. So I can look forward to this Edirol dying on me?

I don't know.  What's happening is that it's quiet as a mouse for a bit and then suddenly you start to hear the computer leaking into the audio.  I'm not honestly sure if it's USB bus noise I'm hearing (this was the problem on the UA25) or if the generic RF noise of the main system is being channelled down the USB cable.  I do know that the cable is how it's getting in there, though, because the unit has an external PSU and without it it works just fine.

I don't know about the popping, it's only begun to do that while I was recording the demo itself.

I already have the RCA input connectors tapped out to earth, since I'm using the 3.5mm; might that be what you need to do to get it to work without problems? If that's the case, then I'm probably ok...

You might well be okay if you use it just on a laptop rather than a desktop machine with dozens of interfaces and devices hanging off it.

[Baal Hadad]

Seemed to be a few lengthy pauses between some of the comics there....

Yes.  Those are so I have some space to go back and change it later if I need to change them for any reason.  If they follow each other immediately there is a risk of erasing part of the following scene.  They will be edited out in the final release.

p. 884: LOVED the fighting--I kept laughing the whole time.  Only problem is that Shannah and Anna kind of drown out Dan and Hannah a little toward the end....

Yeah, I noticed that.  I'll mix it more carefully in the actual version.  This was thrown together because people wanted to hear what it would sound like.  I was very tempted to just leave it until I'd done the rest too.

p. 886: No "five hours later" narration?

I'm not sure James read that part, I'd have to check.  To be honest, I didn't think it was all that important.

p. 887: What happened to it?

What happened to it is that Shanna's line contains the words "Okay, I'll skip that one."
When she (Toast/Mewgal) is able to record it I will be able to finish it.  See the prior posts where I flagged that problem.  Without knowing how long Shanna's line will run until I get it, there's little point in placing Dan's line afterwards, so I just cut it there and left a gap (one of the only things I actually did edit away in this demo).

Ah, okay, I see.  I wasn't sure.

Anyway, otherwise, I enjoyed it.  Like I said, I laughed a lot when Anna and Shannah were fighting, and also when Graz blasted Dan in the face--I remember doing the lines, but it sounds so different when combined with the other voices and the sound effects! 

[Tapewolf]

Okay, I have a demo version of the third and final part.  Unfortunately I have made a major cock-up with it, in that I forgot what I was doing and used Mystiqe's version of Aliyka instead of Wuffnpuff's.  Oops.  Sorry about that.  I will try to fix it tomorrow, but that depends on what's happening with Ren.  If he has a comic for me to colour, that will take priority.

Anyway, flub notwithstanding, this is the recording:
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/rodp_demo3.mp3

This is an outtake of the strip 900 scene, which may be amusing for the inappropriate score:
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/rodp_wrongtape.mp3
...I do like that song.

Anyway, apologies again to Wuffnpuff or whoever was really supposed to be playing Aliyka.  I will go and bang my head against the wall again.

[Baal Hadad]

LOVED the end of that! 

However, at the beginning....

Dan sounded like he was talking, not thinking, plus until he saw Hannah's dismembered body, there was noticeably no music.

I don't know if that was an oversight or done for some purpose, but I thought I'd point that out.

[Sprocketsdance]

Mwuahaha yes.. YES! Bang your head until it bleeds!! 

Nah, in all seriousness very good job putting it all together I'm sure you have a lot on your plate so the flub is understandable. And no harm done ^^ (well.. except to your head.. >.> ) please don't beat yourself up over it.

[Tapewolf]

Dan sounded like he was talking, not thinking,

That has to be done deliberately.  I will have to make notes of where it's supposed to do that against the timecode because while you can compare it against the comic, I cannot while I'm mixing it.

plus until he saw Hannah's dismembered body, there was noticeably no music.

Look up the latest version of the 'Merlitz Flashback' recording to see what happens if you try to force background music on it.  It really is Not Pretty.

As it is I'm having creative difficulty writing music at the moment, but I'll see what I can do.  With 'Disasters' I wrote some of it on the fly rather than planning it because it sounded a little sparse with music only at the most dramatic points.  For the most part I've left tracks 5 ad 6 free so that I can go back and add some if I can think of any.

If anyone wants to sit down and pick some points where spot music would be a good idea that would be appreciated and I'll see if anything springs to mind.  However, continuous background music for the whole thing is very difficult to pull off properly.   The only time I really got away with that was in the SAIA arc demos.
FYI there's considerably more music in the later episodes.

**EDIT**

If anyone's interested, these are the two versions of 'Hannah's Problem'.  They're a bit noisy, I'll have to look into why that is.

http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/hannah_3violins.mp3
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/hannah_flutes.mp3

[Sprocketsdance]

Well, to me the one with the flutes sends extra chills down the spine.. I like it. 

[Tapewolf]

Well, to me the one with the flutes sends extra chills down the spine.. I like it. 

Thanks.  I wasn't so sure about that version to be honest, though now I listen to it in the morning I can definitely see where you're coming from.  The flutes themselves worked quite well, they're usually difficult to keep in tune.  They're the same sounds as used on 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and goodness knows what else.  Genesis used them a lot as well.

The other sound is from one of these:  Waldorf microWave mk1.  I didn't really want to use anything that sounded like it was made after 1975, but I have always used the PPG Wave bell sound as part of Dark Pegasus' signature sound for the scores where he appears or is referenced.

[Baal Hadad]

Dan sounded like he was talking, not thinking,

That has to be done deliberately.  I will have to make notes of where it's supposed to do that against the timecode because while you can compare it against the comic, I cannot while I'm mixing it.

plus until he saw Hannah's dismembered body, there was noticeably no music.

Look up the latest version of the 'Merlitz Flashback' recording to see what happens if you try to force background music on it.  It really is Not Pretty.

As it is I'm having creative difficulty writing music at the moment, but I'll see what I can do.  With 'Disasters' I wrote some of it on the fly rather than planning it because it sounded a little sparse with music only at the most dramatic points.  For the most part I've left tracks 5 ad 6 free so that I can go back and add some if I can think of any.

If anyone wants to sit down and pick some points where spot music would be a good idea that would be appreciated and I'll see if anything springs to mind.  However, continuous background music for the whole thing is very difficult to pull off properly.   The only time I really got away with that was in the SAIA arc demos.
FYI there's considerably more music in the later episodes.

**EDIT**

If anyone's interested, these are the two versions of 'Hannah's Problem'.  They're a bit noisy, I'll have to look into why that is.

http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/hannah_3violins.mp3
http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/hannah_flutes.mp3

Ah, okay.  Hope I'm not bothering you with all the commentary, as it's becoming patently obvious that I don't know what goes into making these things.... 

I only brought it up because it seemed..."empty," somehow--maybe music isn't the best thing to fill it with, I don't know, but it just felt like something was missing....  I don't know, maybe I'm wrong....

[Tapewolf]

Ah, okay.  Hope I'm not bothering you with all the commentary, as it's becoming patently obvious that I don't know what goes into making these things....  

Well, a bit.  But the way I see it, it's better to be told these things are wrong/missing than not to know.  For the most part if I get annoyed it's because the thing you've fingered is a bit of a sore point  

You're pretty good at spotting them though, so when I have the final version mixed down I think I'll PM you with a snapshot of it before I do any physical edits.

I only brought it up because it seemed..."empty," somehow--maybe music isn't the best thing to fill it with, I don't know, but it just felt like something was missing....  I don't know, maybe I'm wrong....

I'll stitch them together and listen to it as a whole.  I do need to sort out the credits and that will require a score too.

[Baal Hadad]

Ah, okay.  Hope I'm not bothering you with all the commentary, as it's becoming patently obvious that I don't know what goes into making these things.... 

Well, a bit.  But the way I see it, it's better to be told these things are wrong/missing than not to know.  For the most part if I get annoyed it's because the thing you've fingered is a bit of a sore point 

You're pretty good at spotting them though, so when I have the final version mixed down I think I'll PM you with a snapshot of it before I do any physical edits.

Heh, sorry....    I guess it's hard to know if something's a sore point without being told (or for that matter, whether something went unnoticed or if you did notice it but just haven't yet had the chance to fix it).

I'm glad you consider it better to know than not to, though--I'm not trying to be a pain, just to help if I can (since I'm on a lot, and as you say, I am able to spot them well enough).  Anyway, thank you for the compliment, and sure, I can take a look at it if/when you PM me. 

[Tapewolf]

Just a quick update.

Okay, I've now assembled Wuff's new recordings.  The new versions are significantly better than the earlier set she sent me.  I'll look at putting them onto tape at the weekend along with sorting out some kind of score, so for now there's not much to see.
I was tempted to reuse one of my SAIA themes, but I'm thinking from what Biggstania says, something involving a clavinet would be more appropriate.

On the soundcard front, my monthly backup came through the speakers so it's looking to me like the PC motherboard itself is no longer filtering the USB bus properly, and the soundcard is in fact relatively fine.  So it looks like good news, llearch...

I've been meaning to upgrade the motherboard for a while now to get more RAM slots, this might be the chance.

[Tapewolf]

Okay, I've managed to be distracted enough not to have dubbed Wuff onto tape yet.  I was hoping to have it done tonight but it didn't work out that way.

As a general call, though, I'd like to sort out the credits for the first episode.  I believe the cast is as follows.  If I've ommited anyone let me know.  If anyone would like to be credited under a different name (e.g. their real name) let me know and I'll arrange it.

Part one of 'The Return of Dark Pegasus', was written and illustrated by 
Amber Williams.  The original comic strip can be found at miss mab dot 
com.

In this unofficial production, the part of Dan was played by James Rolls.
Abel and Glev were played by Jairus, Alexsi by Mystiqe and Jyrras Gianna by Tezkat.
Wildy was played by Miaka.

The part of Biggs was played by Fragmaster, Destania by Aisha DeCabre, Fi was played
by Mystiqe and Aliyka by Wuffnpuff and Joseph Morris.

Shanna was played by Mewgal, Anna by Mystiqe and Hanna by Lena.

Also featured were Keaton and Kenku as the two mythos, Lambo as Deebs and Kass, and
Ba'al Hadad as Graz.  The Blue and Pink phoenixes were played by
Gabi Starshine and Keaton Jyraneth.

Additional voices by Joseph Morris and Jairus.  Engineering, sound effects
and music by Joseph Morris.

Recording was done as a collaborative project over the internet.  
Final assembly and mixdown was done on tape at The Lab, Cwmbran.

This and other recordings can be found at dee-emm-eff-ay dot it dash
he dot org.  

[Baal Hadad]

Okay, I've managed to be distracted enough not to have dubbed Wuff onto tape yet.  I was hoping to have it done tonight but it didn't work out that way.

As a general call, though, I'd like to sort out the credits for the first episode.  I believe the cast is as follows.  If I've ommited anyone let me know.  If anyone would like to be credited under a different name (e.g. their real name) let me know and I'll arrange it.

Part one of 'The Return of Dark Pegasus', was written and illustrated by 
Amber Williams.  The original comic strip can be found at miss mab dot 
com.

In this unofficial production, the part of Dan was played by James Rolls.
Abel and Glev were played by Jairus, Alexsi by Mystiqe and Jyrras Gianna by Tezkat.
Wildy was played by Miaka.

The part of Biggs was played by Fragmaster, Destania by Aisha DeCabre, Fi was played
by Mystiqe and Aliyka by Wuffnpuff and Joseph Morris.

Shanna was played by Mewgal, Anna by Mystiqe and Hanna by Lena.

Also featured were Keaton and Kenku as the two mythos, Lambo as Deebs and Kass, and
Ba'al Haddad as Graz.  The Blue and Pink phoenixes were played by
Gabi Starshine and Keaton Jyraneth.

Additional voices by Joseph Morris and Jairus.  Engineering, sound effects
and music by Joseph Morris.

Recording was done as a collaborative project over the internet.  
Final assembly and mixdown was done on tape at The Lab, Cwmbran.

This and other recordings can be found at dee-emm-eff-ay dot it dash
he dot org.  

Looks to me like you've covered everyone!  

One thing, though: I fear it may sound like nitpicking, but you did give the option of being credited under a different name, so....

I'm not asking to be credited under a different name, but I noticed you spelled "Hadad" with a double d.  Again, I don't want to be a bother, but hopefully this is early enough where you don't have to undo anything, and so I just thought I'd remind you of the correct spelling.  I did notice you spelled "Ba'al" right, though, with the apostrophe, even though I couldn't spell it that way myself, and I appreciate that.  

Other than that, though, I think you covered all the characters (going through my head and thinking about each in turn).  Looking forward to the finished project!  

[Tapewolf]

I'm not asking to be credited under a different name, but I noticed you spelled "Hadad" with a double d.

Fixed.  As Hapless pointed out, I also got Gabi's surname wrong.  That's fixed too.
Thing is, I compiled the credits while away from my main system so I couldn't cross-check them.

[Baal Hadad]

I'm not asking to be credited under a different name, but I noticed you spelled "Hadad" with a double d.

Fixed.  As Hapless pointed out, I also got Gabi's surname wrong.  That's fixed too.
Thing is, I compiled the credits while away from my main system so I couldn't cross-check them.

Ah, I see.  Well, I don't know about any more misspellings (if they're there you'd probably have to hear it from the forumites themselves)--I've learned by now that "Mystiqe" IS the correct spelling of her name, for example.

But thanks! 

[Toast]

Hey guys!

Sorry to have taken so long. I'm in the sound room literally right now recording the line that you need.

If there's anything else needed, let me know since I can reserve the room again

I'm sorry this took so long!

[Mystiqe]

OH GOD TAPE.

It is sooo awesome!

It came really well together!

And Toast! You have a nice voice!

I think the fighting was my favorite part.

[Tapewolf]

OH GOD TAPE.
It is sooo awesome!
It came really well together!

Thanks.  There are a few rough edges and I still need to put Wuff's version of Aliyka into it, which I'll do when the comic is out of the way.  It would be nice if I can add a few more pieces of music to it and there are a couple of missing voices, but for the most part it's all there.

Sorry to have taken so long. I'm in the sound room literally right now recording the line that you need.
If there's anything else needed, let me know since I can reserve the room again

Not at the moment, but you really did a good job so far and I'll probably want to ask you about more spot roles in the future.  Heck, if Jairus ever gets his Project Future series underway, we might need a female voice for that.
By the way, do you want to be credited as Toast or Mewgal?  I went with the latter mostly because that's what we credited you as in 'Warrior for Hire'.

[Tapewolf]

Here is the revised Part 3, with Wuff playing Aliyka.  I hope the credits are good as my throat is getting scratchy and I'm not sure I'll be able to re-do it soon.

http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/rodp_demo3b.mp3

[Baal Hadad]

Here is the revised Part 3, with Wuff playing Aliyka.  I hope the credits are good as my throat is getting scratchy and I'm not sure I'll be able to re-do it soon.

http://tapewolf.wildernessguardians.com/audio/radioproject/rodp_demo3b.mp3

The credits sounded good to me--the only thing (not a voice or line problem) is that the music almost seemed to drown you out at the beginning of the credits.  Is there a way to tone the music down, or increase the volume of your voice recording?

I think it was the electric organ particularly--you started talking JUST when that played up, and after it stopped I could hear you fine.

[Tapewolf]

The credits sounded good to me--the only thing (not a voice or line problem) is that the music almost seemed to drown you out at the beginning of the credits.  Is there a way to tone the music down, or increase the volume of your voice recording?

Yes.  It's a matter of finding the right level.  I do remember adjusting it to find the sweet-spot during the mix - in the final version I'll make a note of the needed levels first and set them up rather than tweaking it partway through like I did here.

I think it was the electric organ particularly--you started talking JUST when that played up, and after it stopped I could hear you fine.

What I can't easily change at this point is the level of each instrument - I'd have to go back and remix the song for that.  Strictly speaking the song wasn't written specifically for the credits, it happened to be handy and roughly matched the right mood for the ending of the episode.

[Sprocketsdance]

Oooo! Very nice Tape! The only thing that popped into my head.. which for some reason didn't before.. but the space between the ending of 895 and the begining of 896.. is that intentional since he's traveling around the castle? Or am I just being to nit-picky? >_<

[Tapewolf]

Oooo! Very nice Tape! The only thing that popped into my head.. which for some reason didn't before.. but the space between the ending of 895 and the begining of 896.. is that intentional since he's traveling around the castle? Or am I just being to nit-picky? >_<

I haven't edited any of the gaps here.

[Toast]

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VT5V67MC

Here's the link to the final Shanna sound! >0< Finals are killing me!!

[Tapewolf]

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VT5V67MC

Here's the link to the final Shanna sound! >0< Finals are killing me!!

Thankyou very much for that.  I think it's all we need to finish it.  Good luck with the finals!


**EDIT**
I've been very busy the last few days.  I'll try and get this sorted out over the weekend, just in case anyone is holding their breath.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

*gasp*

[Tapewolf]

Getting there.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/tapewolf/tape/RadioProject2009.jpg

...the redder part in the centre is the last section with the credits.  It wouldn't all fit on the tape otherwise, and it looks like the new segment I spliced in wasn't quite the same kind of tape.  Oops.