The DMFA Radio Project

[rabid_fox]

See, now I'm picturing Devin playing a bodhrán and singing rebel songs in a smokey pub somewhere in Kildare

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

.... sounds reasonable to me. Which pub, since it's always nice to know where friends are going to be? :-]

[Tapewolf]

since i'm too lazy to click and not enough to judge, and since tape would know a bit better... Then... How much better is this guy than my guy, Tape?

Rabid has certainly put more life into it, IMHO.  I must admit, I like it a lot.  The sound quality itself leaves something to be desired, though.  Unfortunately that also goes for 'Hotel Motel' at least - I haven't yet checked the other recordings.

There are two main problems: background noise and room echo.  The background noise (birds aside) is the PC.  I might be able to remove some of it with noise reduction algorithms, but it's generally best if it isn't there in the first place.
If possible get some kind of extension cable and record in a different room to the PC.

For the room echo, there is a trick where you use bedsheets or something similar to minimize it.  Some people build up a tent, but if you don't mind looking foolish you can also just stand in one (this is what the "this is crazy" line on the Merlitz outtakes is referring to).  This may also help reduce the PC noise if you can't use a different room.

Now I wonder how it would sound if we go with Oleg's Scottish Xander...?

And we'll need someone for Albanion...

[Stygian]

You need someone to do the voice of... say... the demon master or Aniz? I've been told I could probably do the job. Please, just direct me where I need go. I have a good enough recording program and mic, I should think.

[Tapewolf]

You need someone to do the voice of... say... the demon master or Aniz? I've been told I could probably do the job. Please, just direct me where I need go. I have a good enough recording program and mic, I should think.

I think Superluser was going to do Aniz, but we do still need Kria's instructor, so if you want to do a test voicing, upload it here.  If you don't have your own webspace there's always Rapidshare or that box.net thingy.  Or if you need it I can PM you the details for the FTP site (when I get back - gotta try to overthrow the government.  Back soon).

[rabid_fox]

since i'm too lazy to click and not enough to judge, and since tape would know a bit better... Then... How much better is this guy than my guy, Tape?

Rabid has certainly put more life into it, IMHO.  I must admit, I like it a lot.  The sound quality itself leaves something to be desired, though.  Unfortunately that also goes for 'Hotel Motel' at least - I haven't yet checked the other recordings.

There are two main problems: background noise and room echo.  The background noise (birds aside) is the PC.  I might be able to remove some of it with noise reduction algorithms, but it's generally best if it isn't there in the first place.
If possible get some kind of extension cable and record in a different room to the PC.

For the room echo, there is a trick where you use bedsheets or something similar to minimize it.  Some people build up a tent, but if you don't mind looking foolish you can also just stand in one (this is what the "this is crazy" line on the Merlitz outtakes is referring to).  This may also help reduce the PC noise if you can't use a different room.

Now I wonder how it would sound if we go with Oleg's Scottish Xander...?

And we'll need someone for Albanion...

Oh, don't listen to the rest, they're little musical whimsies. Glad you enjoyed the reading, at least - sound quality is something I can work on more with a redraft of it. I mean, that recording was literally to get my voice out there, I'd be more careful henceforth (I'm now pondering making one of those classic kiddie-tents where you sit in the middle of your bed and drape the duvet over you. Good times)

In terms of sound quality, I'm more than happy to work on that to get it up to the desired level. Devin might be a relatively small part, but he's got a lovely loose-limbed sort of sneeriness. A bit of a lad, our Devin.

[Fuyudenki]

Well my Logitech USB headset seems to be pretty immune to background noise, echoing, popping...  I'm still trying to figure out a way to get rid of the hissing "S," and apparently, I have a lot of airflow when I talk, so it hisses something nasty.

I'll go ahead and do a demo read of Albanion's line later tonight.  Gives me a chance to throw in "I, along with my broken lungs and a dictionary, would like to discuss with you the meaning of the word 'help'" for Abel, but my version wouldn't sound anything like the current and possible future Abel you've got, so that's more for my own amusement than aything else.

[rabid_fox]

Heh, I'd kill for Abel's role, but that's one I just couldn't swing. He's too sophisticated. I haven't listened to many of the soundclips on the site, but I've always imagined Abel clipping his vowels and adding plosives to labial fricitives.

[Fuyudenki]

Heh, I'd kill for Abel's role, but that's one I just couldn't swing. He's too sophisticated. I haven't listened to many of the soundclips on the site, but I've always imagined Abel clipping his vowels and adding plosives to labial fricitives.

OK Plosive, I found, but Labial Fricitive isn't in Wikipedia.  Elaborate, please?(there are plenty of valid reasons for this request, I think.)

[rabid_fox]

Think of an extended "f" sound. That's pushing the air between your lips to create enough air friction to make a distinctive sound. Any sound like that is a labial fricative (in this case, a bi-labial fricitive, you can also have labio-dental fricatives for an "f" depending on how you say it)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Upper-class British twit is, more or less, the sort of voice I think our rabid fox has in mind.

Possibly the sort of voice Hugh Laurie has in Blackadder The Third, as George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent.


... Am I right?

[rabid_fox]

Naw, they tend to soften their vowels and round them, rather than clipping them.

[superluser]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=556327

Soundclick doesn't like me.  Is there any way to download it without registering?

[Fuyudenki]

just play the low-quality version.  They only want you to register for the MP3 or high-quality versions.

[rabid_fox]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=556327

Soundclick doesn't like me.  Is there any way to download it without registering?

Yeah, click "Lo-fi" beside a song to listen if you're not registered. I'll find somewhere better to upload.

On that page, there's a few other spoken word pieces. "The Child Was Much Happier", "We remember your childhood well" and "Lifestyling" come to mind. Try to avoid the rest, they're shocking, mostly drunken recordings.

[superluser]

Yeah, click "Lo-fi" beside a song to listen if you're not registered. I'll find somewhere better to upload.

Yeah, it gives me some Flash thingy.  I'm Flash-deficient.

[rabid_fox]

PM me an email address, I can send it that way.

[superluser]

PM me an email address, I can send it that way.

Er?



I see you use --name of ISP--, by the way.

[Tezkat]

Mirrored for the SoundClick impaired.

I like this audition. Devin's personality was dead on.

As for the recording quality... The noise was pretty regular, but there was unfortunately a fair bit of it. Audacity left a lot of unpleasant artifacts when I tried to remove it. Audition's DNR is much gentler--I'll give that a shot when I have access to my home PC next week. In the meantime, you can experiment with the suggestions regarding blankets or moving your mic.

I'm a fan of building a little pillow fort around your mic. A number of pro VAs/journalists/etc. use a similar setup when on the road (albeit usually made from proper board and acoustic foam--but pillows work almost as well).

[superluser]

Forgot to mention--I like rabid_fox's Devin.  It doesn't fit my impression of him, though.  Maybe a little slower on the fast parts?

I think Superluser was going to do Aniz

I'm trying.  I'm not sure it will work.  As I've said before, I don't think I can get the emotions right if it's not a Jekyll and Hyde complex.

Here's how I saw the character for strip 84:

http://rapidshare.com/files/29378204/aniztake1-2.wav.mp3

And here's 84-85, as it looks like it's turning out (BEWARE, THE WHOO IS VERY LOUD):

http://rapidshare.com/files/29378256/aniztake3.wav.mp3

(/BEWARE, THE WHOO IS VERY LOUD)

I think there are clipping issues on the latter, and I still have the remnants of this cold, so I'd rather rerecord before anything gets used, but it should show where I think the character is going, as far as the character is making any sense to me. (oh, and I didn't even try to match it to Cid's voice)

Also, I fear my `studio' sounds like the one in which Capriccio La Pucelle De New Orleans was recorded, but it never shows up on tape.

[Fuyudenki]

that first one sounds a lot like Atrus, from Myst.  I don't think Aniz is a very Atrus person.  More Achenar or Saavedro(Myst 3), I would think.

The second reading does sound more like I imagine him... if he's just come home from some wierd Demon coffee house where they inject pure coffee directly into your arteries, and he had more than "a few drinks."  I like the personality, but even at my worst, I'm not that hyperactive.

I'm going to go record the promised auditions, now...
[edit]upon attempt, my Albanion sucks!  As stands, I can't make my voice sound good for his lines.  Never-mind.[/edit]

[rabid_fox]

I think you could carry off Aniz, but you should comprimse between the two. You've got the voice for it, definitely. Aniz has to sound amused in a petty sort of way though, not hyper. I mean, were it me, I'd be reading it like:

http://rapidshare.com/files/29464149/anizz.wav.html

Now, to play with the mic and rerecord Devin's lines with less fuzz.

[Fuyudenki]

now I've got this mental image of Shrek pulling an eyepatch off his eye, saying "Look on the bright side, May..."  I think you make a better Devin.

[rabid_fox]

Hah. All Aniz needs now is a faithful animal sidekick with a voice filtered through several sivs to make it as annoyingly unfunny as possible.

I'l stick to Devin. I want to get the recording up to scratch, so I'm going to try a few things after I recover from Friday afternoon's dose of feral children.

[superluser]

I think you could carry off Aniz, but you should comprimse between the two. You've got the voice for it, definitely. Aniz has to sound amused in a petty sort of way though, not hyper.

The first voice is Aniz as a Jekyll and Hyde complex, where Aniz still has a bit of self-doubt, Aniz knows what he's done and he's none too happy about doing it.  He's been trapped inside Cid and he hates May, but has been forced to deal with her.  Now, he is able to give vent to all of his frustrations.  That's the only way that I see Aniz making sense as a character.  I didn't know how to do the dialogue from 85 that way, though.  I may have since figured it out.

But that doesn't seem to be the way the character is going.  In take 3, I'm doing it as Aniz being completely impulsive and not giving a whit about anything other than where his next fix is coming from.  I didn't notice it until I heard rabid_fox's version, but in my version, I don't think Aniz is even talking to anyone--just sort of talking to hear himself talk--which fits the character that we've seen in 84 and 85.  He seems to be completely hyper in 85--everything he says seems to be completely unplanned and uncoordinated.

I see no way to integrate the two.

I think Aniz reminds me of Burgess Meredith in that Twilight Zone episode where he plays the Linotype editor who turns out to be Old Nick.

[Goatmon]

Howdy people.  Just thought I'd put up some dialog I recorded the other day, that some of you might have missed (Since I didn't put it in the radio thread, originally.)

I plan to do some more later, I'm thinking about doing some of Devin's dialog, though I'm not able to read it all.  Anyone able to post Devin's last thoughts before he died?  I'm reading the page and I can't make it all out. Thanks in advance. ^^

Anyway, here's my attempt at Abel's Monologue about Cindy after getting a letter about her funeral.

1st Page:http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Abel_31.php

Audio: http://media.putfile.com/Abel-Goodbye-Cindy

Mirror: http://public.box.net/supergumdrops27145

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I plan to do some more later, I'm thinking about doing some of Devin's dialog, though I'm not able to read it all.  Anyone able to post Devin's last thoughts before he died?  I'm reading the page and I can't make it all out. Thanks in advance. ^^

Erm. You -did- look at the scripts page, linked off the Radio Play homepage?

http://llearch.net/radio/ if you're feeling lazy.

[Goatmon]

Look at it?  I didn't even know it existed.   

But thanks for the link. ^^

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Look at it?  I didn't even know it existed.   

*grin*

But thanks for the link. ^^

No problem. :-]

[rabid_fox]

Gash. My plans for glorious re-recording were completely humped on account of me flying to Ireland and completely forgetting to pack my microphone.