Varney, the Vampyre (subtitled The Feast of Blood) is one of the first classic vampire stories and influenced, amongst others, Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was originally published as a penny dreadful until, in 1847, it appeared in book form. There are three volumes in total, with around 220 chapters. (Summary by Annika Feilbach)
How to claim a part, and 'how it all works' here
To find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you'd like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.
Is there a deadline?
Target completion date of this project: 07 May 2009 – but try to send your recordings as soon as you can. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen. Please note: Due to the sheer size of this project, I'd like to set one additional rule: Once you've signed up for a chapter, you have one month to submit the recording. Your claim date will be noted, and if I haven't received your files by the end of that time, the chapter will be reclaimed without further notice.
I have indicated the word count of each section in the Notes field; forum discussions have shown that people read on average 130-190 words per minute.
Please claim sections (the numbers in the first column below)! If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.
Set your recording software to:
Mono (1 channel)
Bitrate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
DURING recording: Make sure you add this to the beginning and end of your recording: Start of recording (Intro)
"Chapter [number] of Varney, the Vampyre Volume 2. - This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name]"
Say: "Varney, the Vampyre, Volume 2, by Thomas Preskett Prest. Chapter [number]"
End of recording
At the end of the section, say:
“End of Chapter [number]"
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
At the end of the book, say (in addition): "End of Volume 2 of Varney, the Vampyre, by Thomas Preskett Prest."
Please leave 5 seconds silence at the end of your recording, or 10 seconds for files longer than 30 minutes!
Also, please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!
AFTER recording: Need noise-cleaning?
Listen to your file through headphones. If you can hear some fairly constant background noise (that is, hiss, fuzz, etc. -- not screams or bat squeaks), you may want to clean it up a bit. The new (free) version 1.3.3. of Audacity (Mac/Win) has much improved noise-cleaning. See this LibriVox wiki page for a complete guide.
Save files as
128 kbps MP3
varneythevampyre_vol2_##_prest.mp3 (all lower-case, and please note spelling) where ## is your section number (e.g. varneythevampyre_vol2_01_prest.mp3)
ID3 V2 tags
(To find out more about ID3 tags, go to our wiki: http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/WhatIsID3)
Add the following tags to your .mp3 file (how you do this depends on which software you use – if you are unsure about ID3 tags, send me a message). Please mind upper and lower case!
Title: ## - Chapter ## (Example: 02 - Chapter 67)
Artist: Thomas Preskett Prest
Album: Varney, the Vampyre, Volume 2
Please ignore tags for Genre and Track Number - these will be filled in automatically at the cataloguing stage.
Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file.
Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader (when your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread): http://upload.librivox.org
(If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin) You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: ge - Gesine
I realize I procrastinated with my last assignments but I think life is back on a more even keel now so that I might resume the wonderful task of helping to read. In that light, if I could claim the following chapters...
2, 14, 52, 53 These are nice short ones which should be easy for me to complete.
Thanks! And I am glad to see volume 2 coming out already!
Daisyn wrote:I realize I procrastinated with my last assignments but I think life is back on a more even keel now so that I might resume the wonderful task of helping to read. In that light, if I could claim the following chapters...
2, 14, 52, 53 These are nice short ones which should be easy for me to complete.
Thanks! And I am glad to see volume 2 coming out already!
Nichole
I'll sign you up. Can you get them done in a month? (See first post) A question: we have a couple of orphans in volume 2 and I'm keen to get that one finished first. Chapter 18 is a short one with about 2000 words - if you think you could get that done please claim over there: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11021
Nice to have you back as a reader!
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." Albert Einstein
The orphaned chapter from volume 1 is close to 3k words, actually. I might be able to do it but it might be the end of this week or monday next week. I have 2 other chapters to read for the Montessori book. If no one else will do it, let me know and I will try to get it done friday or monday.
Daisyn wrote:Yes, I think I can get all 4 done in a month.
The orphaned chapter from volume 1 is close to 3k words, actually. I might be able to do it but it might be the end of this week or monday next week. I have 2 other chapters to read for the Montessori book. If no one else will do it, let me know and I will try to get it done friday or monday.
Let me know if that is ok.
Nichole
Sure! Thank you.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." Albert Einstein
