The DMFA Radio Project

[Tapewolf]

You have to understand, however, that I'm a perfectionist. If I get the kind of bad background noise and such I'd get with a cheap microphone I have to go through extensive therapy try again and again until it satisfies me, which could take a long time.
Oh well. I'll have my mom borrow me cash.

I'm using a Behringer B-1, so is Tezkat.  It's a cheap-and-cheerful studio mike.  Thomann are selling these for just over 100 euros.  You'll also need a preamp to drive it though, since it's a proper microphone and needs a 48v supply to make it work.  The Mic-100 is about 50 euros.  You would also need an XLR cable and probably a mic stand as well since it has no internal shockmount and therefore tends to make strange 'bunggg!' noises if you hold it yourself.  There are even cheaper mics by Soundeluxe, CAD, MXL etc, but most of them will also need a 48v supply.
I personally have a compressor as well, which helps smooth out the volume levels.  I spent roughly 300 euros on mine, but you can get much cheaper ones (Behringer..*)

If you're only going to do this occasionally, a labtec mic is probably better.  Otherwise, a basic setup will likely cost around 200 euros (up to 5000 euros, or maybe 50000 if you tried really hard ).  I wouldn't recommend this route unless you're already intending to set up some kind of home studio.

P.S. Damien, please don't make two consecutive posts like that - in future, use the edit button and modify the first one.  I don't care personally, but if Manawolf or someone sees it they'll kill you D:

* Behringer have a bad reputation in many parts of the studio community - they sell incredibly cheap Chinese-made stuff, the designs of which outwardly appear to have been copied from more reputable makes.  But you can't deny they make a good starting point.

[Damien Holtz]

OMG FACE TIME!

D:

I don't understand what's wrong with doing consecutive posts tbh, many of the big forums I've been a member of don't care too much... Besides, I'm lucky if I don't double-post all the time since my internet has crazy delay.

Explanation would be jolly good.

Oh well, moving on,

it's lucky I'm a millionaire and not short on cash then isn't it?

[Aridas]

5 years ago i remember nobody ever caring how many posts in a row you made, as long as you weren't spamming. the edit button has you people spoiled.

[Tapewolf]

I don't understand what's wrong with doing consecutive posts tbh, many of the big forums I've been a member of don't care too much... Besides, I'm lucky if I don't double-post all the time since my internet has crazy delay.

Explanation would be jolly good.

Well like I said, I couldn't care less and no-one cares about it on the technical forums anyway.  I'm just trying to protect you from those who do care..

HP Lovecraft FOR THE WIN.

Have you ever seen this?
http://books.guardian.co.uk/harrypotter/story/0,10761,1523455,00.html

And now, back to the editing..

[Damien Holtz]

Dumbledore's death Lovecraft style?

Who writes these things?!

Edit: Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like trying to take on the challenge of Dr Ink.

So.

What do I do?

[Tapewolf]

Dumbledore's death Lovecraft style?
Who writes these things?!

The Guardian ran a competition.  The winner was in the style of Chaucer, although I thought the Lovecraft one was best personally.  There was also one in the style of Hunter S Thomson which I rather liked too.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like trying to take on the challenge of Dr Ink.

So.

What do I do?

What you must do is make a recording.  Either use the comic strip or Llearch's write-up here: http://flawed.perception.co.nz/radio/Chapter_18.txt

Make the recording and post a link to it here, or email it to me or James.

Hints etc. can be found here:
http://dmfa.it-he.org/howto.htm

[Damien Holtz]

The Guardian ran a competition.  The winner was in the style of Chaucer, although I thought the Lovecraft one was best personally.  There was also one in the style of Hunter S Thomson which I rather liked too.

Did you ever see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? Terry Gilliam directing a film with Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro as the lead characters with the story based on Hunter S Thomson's biography can quite possibly be one of the most crazy things in the world.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel like trying to take on the challenge of Dr Ink.

So.

What do I do?

What you must do is make a recording.  Either use the comic strip or Llearch's write-up here: http://flawed.perception.co.nz/radio/Chapter_18.txt

Make the recording and post a link to it here, or email it to me or James.

Hints etc. can be found here:
http://dmfa.it-he.org/howto.htm

Roight! I've made the recording (not with the special effects and such, but removing the background noise and amplifying the volume a bit). What's your email? Or am I just too lazy to find it? (this was a joke btw)

Edit: Aw hell! I gotta go ... looks like I'll have to send it later, because my email is crazy and doesn't accept my email adress as of now so I can't send any mail.

Bah.

I need a new computer.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Generally speaking, one obtains a website and uploads it up there.

Hence why I have my website, and Tapewolf has his, and... :-)

Of course, if you don't have one, you can work around that by sending emails...

[Damien Holtz]

Generally speaking, one obtains a website and uploads it up there.

Hence why I have my website, and Tapewolf has his, and... :-)

Of course, if you don't have one, you can work around that by sending emails...

I am chronically website-less.

So.

Email it is.

[Tapewolf]

I am chronically website-less.
So.
Email it is.

As mentioned in the HOWTO, you can also use Rapidshare or files.bz.

I take it the email from Jeff Johanson was yours?

[Damien Holtz]

I am chronically website-less.
So.
Email it is.

As mentioned in the HOWTO, you can also use Rapidshare or files.bz.

I take it the email from Jeff Johanson was yours?

Yarrrr. 'Twas I!

[Tapewolf]

Did you ever see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

No.  I never knew about it until recently.  Having seen the disaster of 'Lord of the Rings' and chickened out of 'V for Vendetta', I'm not sure if even Terry Gilliam could do that book justice.  The only really good book conversion I've seen was the BBC's version of 'Box of Delights' which actually surpassed the original book.


Anyway.  Here's the current experimental build of SAIA act 3.
http://dmfa.it-he.org/dmfa/saia3.wav.mp3

I seem to be having issues composing a score for this one, but I'll get there in the end, I guess.

[James StarRunner]

"She'll kill us all!"

Whoa! Blast from the past! I remember the first time we did #528! I wasn't even trying for Dan then! I was actually trying for Dr. Ink at first but had my Ink parts recorded over... I finally removed the file from my site despite Tez wanting it 'burned with fire' a long time ago.

May need more tearing into Ink's robes when Abel attacks him.

[Tapewolf]

"She'll kill us all!"

I can well believe it!  How did you do that?  I'm not sure I could achieve that level of terror if I tried.

May need more tearing into Ink's robes when Abel attacks him.

Yeah, it's rather sparse.  I was going to add punching sounds and other stuff, but the spring reverb setup for Ink was being iffy and I didn't want to disturb it.  I'll also need a scream of rage from Insane as well.

[Damien Holtz]

Did you ever see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

No.  I never knew about it until recently.  Having seen the disaster of 'Lord of the Rings' and chickened out of 'V for Vendetta', I'm not sure if even Terry Gilliam could do that book justice.  The only really good book conversion I've seen was the BBC's version of 'Box of Delights' which actually surpassed the original book.

Try it. It's one of those films you either love or hate.

Anyway.  Here's the current experimental build of SAIA act 3.
http://dmfa.it-he.org/dmfa/saia3.wav.mp3

Joy! Because I'm bored and have nothing better to do.

Edit: As always, James' performance roxx0rz my soxx0rz.

[Tezkat]

I really liked James's performance in the SAIA arc. I'll admit that I initially had some doubts about his more aggressive portrayal of Dan here, but it seems they were quite unfounded. One weird thing that I've noticed about it though... Dan says "coo-bye" instead of the "cue-bye" pronunciation we've mostly settled on. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before--after checking his older recordings, it seems he's always pronounced it that way, and I probably never paid it much heed--but it sounds a bit out of place next to Abel and Ink.


I can't say that I'm a fan of the reverse reverb on Ink's voice. In fact, on the longer passages, the effect it creates is rather annoying--it turns into a kind of background noise with just enough signal to distract from the performance. 

May need more tearing into Ink's robes when Abel attacks him.

Yes, yes... more scratchy teary sounds!   

You have to understand, however, that I'm a perfectionist. If I get the kind of bad background noise and such I'd get with a cheap microphone I have to go through extensive therapy try again and again until it satisfies me, which could take a long time.

Heh... I often do a dozen takes even with a few hundred bucks worth of recording equipment. I don't think the two things are really related. For that matter, it's hard to deal with background noise in one's own studio because the same background noises you recorded are all around you while you edit.


Ya know... a better mic won't solve noise problems. Background noises are a function of the recording environment, not the equipment. Cheap mics may not be high fidelity recording tools, but they're not inherently noisy unless they're broken.  If anything, upgrading to a studio mic will increase background noise problems because it's so sensitive; my B-1 can pick up people talking next door if I turn the gain way up. Electronics noise usually originates in the audio interface ("sound card" doesn't sound sexy enough for pro audio types, so they call it an "audio interface") or an improperly grounded power supply, and it's usually so soft and regular that it can be removed digitally without too much damage to the original clip.

If you're starting out in voice acting, I'd recommend getting one of those cheap, long-necked desktop mics. (As I mentioned earlier, the Logitech USB mic is a favourite in the online AVA community, but you can easily find cheaper models for $10 or less.) They're directional, so they pick up very little room noise if you position them correctly. Headsets are not ideal for VA applications due to the difficultly in controlling popping (that annoying noise you hear when people puff their P's and other plosive consonants) and the amount of breath/mouth sounds they pick up, but a little skill and practice can overcome that.

If you really do want to upgrade to a semi-pro setup without spending a mint, I've heard good things about the MXL Desktop Recording Kit, which has a street price of around $100. It's a cheap Chinese condenser mic (Yamaha distributes the Marshall mics in North America, so they can't be that bad...) that works off of battery power and comes with everything you need out of the box--the extra stuff like cables, stands, pre-amp, and such can cost as much as the mic itself when you buy them separately.
 

[Damien Holtz]

FACED BY YOUR IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE, I AM FLOORED AND AT A LOSS FOR WORDS! D:

Really. I can't think of anything to say. Thanks for the information, maybe?

[Tapewolf]

One weird thing that I've noticed about it though... Dan says "coo-bye" instead of the "cue-bye" pronunciation we've mostly settled on. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before--after checking his older recordings, it seems he's always pronounced it that way, and I probably never paid it much heed--but it sounds a bit out of place next to Abel and Ink.

I was being tactful about that  It's interesting that 'incubus' is pronounced properly though.

I can't say that I'm a fan of the reverse reverb on Ink's voice. In fact, on the longer passages, the effect it creates is rather annoying--it turns into a kind of background noise with just enough signal to distract from the performance.

My initial reaction to that was not printable in this forum.  On the other hand, that's why I made this release, for people to pull it apart.
Anyway, what would you prefer instead?  Amber took the trouble to shade in all his speech bubbles, which says to me that his voice is not normal - using it dry is therefore not an option, IMHO.

Tomorrow I might try running it forwards instead, see if that works better.  But I'll probably use the digital reverb instead as I'm b_______ if I'm going to all that trouble yet again just for people to say it sucks.

May need more tearing into Ink's robes when Abel attacks him.

Yes, yes... more scratchy teary sounds!   

But not too many.  Each time you hear that noise, a shirt dies!

[Aridas]

Well, he could just be really, really, evil... on the inside... or something.. and ... stuff...... something.

[Damien Holtz]

Well, he could just be really, really, evil... on the inside... or something.. and ... stuff...... something.

Good point.

[James StarRunner]

I can well believe it!  How did you do that?  I'm not sure I could achieve that level of terror if I tried.

Thought about my sisters? No, actually, I don't have any secret, but acting for Dan has helped me act out different emotions better (sometimes even immediately after another one thanks to those mood swings).

Edit: As always, James' performance roxx0rz my soxx0rz.

Hopefully that means I didn't destroy your socks... My insurance won't cover it. Glad you liked it though!

I really liked James's performance in the SAIA arc.

Does that mean I rocked your socks too? Well, you do a FAR better job of Ink than me, not to mention all the other characters you do (and do well).

Dan says "coo-bye" instead of the "cue-bye" pronunciation we've mostly settled on. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before--after checking his older recordings, it seems he's always pronounced it that way, and I probably never paid it much heed--but it sounds a bit out of place next to Abel and Ink.

Err... umm... hehehe... I'll work on it. It's just become habit now.

FACED BY YOUR IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE, I AM FLOORED AND AT A LOSS FOR WORDS!

Ya, Tezkat's good. He's got quite the experience. Oh, and I do many takes as well, I think most of us do. It's not uncommon in professional studios either from what I hear.

[Damien Holtz]

Edit: As always, James' performance roxx0rz my soxx0rz.

Hopefully that means I didn't destroy your socks... My insurance won't cover it. Glad you liked it though!

Well normally I don't wear socks. But in the event that I did, you would fill them with rocks.

FACED BY YOUR IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE, I AM FLOORED AND AT A LOSS FOR WORDS!

Ya, Tezkat's good. He's got quite the experience. Oh, and I do many takes as well, I think most of us do. It's not uncommon in professional studios either from what I hear.

Ooh, like when you're shooting a movie and work for nine hours a day and get about a minute of usable footage? I see...

[Tapewolf]

Ya, Tezkat's good. He's got quite the experience. Oh, and I do many takes as well, I think most of us do. It's not uncommon in professional studios either from what I hear.

Ooh, like when you're shooting a movie and work for nine hours a day and get about a minute of usable footage? I see...

It's not usually that bad - the songs are much worse because they have to be in tune.  I used to use an ATR-1 autotune unit to help, but I can hear the effect now so I don't use it anymore.  I suppose I should sell it on.  I don't remember how many times I re-did 'Legend of Daniel Ti'Fiona' - too many

I think the worst problem I had was the 'Disasters' arc.  I had to do Merlitz' thoughts over and over again, because I kept getting it wrong.  Once I'd got it right, I had to do it again anyway because Aary told us that we were pronouncing her name wrong

http://dmfa.it-he.org/dmfa/dmfa_disaster_outtakes.wav.mp3

[Damien Holtz]

Well, then again no-one said life was easy.

Although DMFA makes it 7.618% easier.

MODIFY'D!: Some imput on Saia act 3 - apart from the scratchy teary sounds, I noticed a couple things when listening more closely.

This is what I noticed:

1. When Abel goes 'I guess we should start the tour. Shall we go? ... Um, Dan?', I think it'd sound a lot better with a bigger pause between the 'Shall we go?' and the 'Um, Dan?', because it sounds like he doesn't even wait for an answer. Or maybe it's just me.

2. When Ink goes 'What? Really what?' in the end, I think a nice effect would be Abel yelling indistinctly in the background, since he appears to be doing so in the comic.

Yarr.

[Tapewolf]

Well, then again no-one said life was easy.

Although DMFA makes it 7.618% easier.

MODIFY'D!: Some imput on Saia act 3 - apart from the scratchy teary sounds, I noticed a couple things when listening more closely.

This is what I noticed:

1. When Abel goes 'I guess we should start the tour. Shall we go? ... Um, Dan?', I think it'd sound a lot better with a bigger pause between the 'Shall we go?' and the 'Um, Dan?', because it sounds like he doesn't even wait for an answer. Or maybe it's just me.

2. When Ink goes 'What? Really what?' in the end, I think a nice effect would be Abel yelling indistinctly in the background, since he appears to be doing so in the comic.

Yarr.

1. I didn't notice that.  Thanks.  If I remember in about 10 hours time, I'll fix that tonight.
2. Yes, that's the plan.  I'll need an angry yell for when he's duffing up Ink, and some incoherent sounds for that bit.  Sort of "Nk!" noises because he's too angry to be coherent.  I was going to record some myself, but I didn't want to touch the reverb setup which was rather delicate.

Did you also notice that I had to switch over to Khazan in the middle because Insane has missed some and I didn't realise until I tried to use them?

[Damien Holtz]

Did you also notice that I had to switch over to Khazan in the middle because Insane has missed some and I didn't realise until I tried to use them?

Nope! 

(I use that smiley too much. )

[Xss]

I'm sure I'm going to ask a stupid question, the kind of question you're going to answer saying "Gosh, please, read the topic!", but how many arcs of DMFA have you done yet, guys? I heard two for the moment : the one where Dan fights against Dark Pegasus ("Daniel Tifiora, warrior for hire"? Not sure of the title of that arc...), and the one with Jyrras' family. I mean, you made more? Where are they? I think I should go and have another look to the first post of this topic and check for updates. In any case, I haven't thought you were working so hard on all that, great job! 

[Tapewolf]

I'm sure I'm going to ask a stupid question, the kind of question you're going to answer saying "Gosh, please, read the topic!", but how many arcs of DMFA have you done yet, guys? I heard two for the moment : the one where Dan fights against Dark Pegasus ("Daniel Tifiora, warrior for hire"? Not sure of the title of that arc...), and the one with Jyrras' family. I mean, you made more? Where are they?

"Warrior For Hire" is the only complete broadcast-length episode, but there are lots and lots of shorter test segments, including the individual segments that I compiled into "Warrior For Hire".

The link is the one in my signature,  http://dmfa.it-he.org
James also has a site here:  http://www.crystaltopia.com/DMFA%20Stuff.htm

[insanekaosx]

Okay, compiling a list of thigns I need to do. Woke up at an ungodly hour due to people and their lawn work, so I've time to do some recording


* 577 - Abel should sound more sinister or at least angry.. he's just announced he's going to kill Merlitz

* 576 - The 'Ack!' at the end is good, but I had more in mind a sort of soft 'uh' sound.  I could probably make one, though.

* 584 - 'I'm not touching you' sounds a little flat.  It should be more musical.  The second one is better, but I can do a recording if you want a reference.

* 607: Problem: "Awry" is pronounced "a-rye" not "arry", "spiders" is unclear, sounds like "fighters".

* IMHO, 615 should sound more silky, like he's trying to seduce Jyrras  (Dan should sound kind of dead, but that's not your line).
* 618: Problem: It's clipping badly when he shouts.  Do you think you could do just that bit again a few times, further away from the mic?  I can increase the volume my end, but if it clips, I can't really use it.

*REdo 218 and 519

*Ink attempt(Just 'cause I like saying "MY tea tastes like joy now")

*Scream of rage

*get something I missed *will listen through to find where that is >>*

*Various incomprehensible noises, eh? I like it!


Anything I'm missing?

[Tapewolf]

Okay, compiling a list of thigns I need to do. Woke up at an ungodly hour due to people and their lawn work, so I've time to do some recording
*get something I missed *will listen through to find where that is >>*

*Various incomprehensible noises, eh? I like it!

Anything I'm missing?

526-536 inclusive.  It's such a big gap, I assumed it was the back-at-lost-lake segment.  When you come to do the tour, a few comments might be handy, like "..and this is the library..".  Since I don't know what the second location is, we could do something like "..and this is.. oh, hi!".

We'll also need voices for the people he meets on the tour (Dave, Katie and the blue mythos), and I'll need to somehow arrange a squeaking sound for the cart.   And we need Nirfy.

There was also a recording that was somewhat noisy and caused artifacts after NR, but I can't remember where.  If I can't hear it here, it's probably not worth worrying about but I'll double-check tonight if I remember (and I'll have to do all that other stuff I forgot about and couldn't do while I was trying to force Windows to actually work)