New volunteer

eflow · Post by **eflow** » September 20th, 2017, 10:42 am

Hello from California! I'm new and have no experience! I am fluent in English and Portuguese.

What is the first thing a newbie must do? Have you all gotten the equipment as suggested on the welcome email?

Post by **Lynnet** » September 20th, 2017, 9:12 pm

Hi and Welcome
The best starting point is submitting a one minute test and the team there will guide you on getting your setup right. http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/1-Minute_Test There is no need for an expensive mic... a decent USB mic can be bought for about $20 on Amazon. Of course, you can pay a lot more for a better one, but best to see if you enjoy recording before forking out

The main thing is that your computer's internal mic would not give good results.

When you start, it is best to read a chapter or two of established projects, but once you are familiar with the site and the process, you can branch out to any Public Domain text that interests you.
Lynne

Post by **TriciaG** » September 22nd, 2017, 3:59 pm

Welcome!

Do you have a mic yet? If so, try it with the test and see how it goes.

It seems like nowadays, most microphones work fine for our purposes. I've only had a small handful of tests where I've suggested they get a new/better microphone.

eflow · Post by **eflow** » September 22nd, 2017, 4:54 pm

Thank you!
I have ordered a mic, supposed to be good quality type. Once it arrives, I'll work on s test.
Should it be in English or Portuguese? Both?
Thanks.

Post by **TriciaG** » September 22nd, 2017, 5:01 pm

Either one, and it doesn't have to be both. It's not an audition, but to check the volume, tech settings, etc., and that can be done in either language.

Post by **Lynnet** » September 22nd, 2017, 5:02 pm

eflow wrote:Thank you!
I have ordered a mic, supposed to be good quality type. Once it arrives, I'll work on s test.
Should it be in English or Portuguese? Both?
Thanks.

It can be whichever you wish

Most of our volunteers are English-speaking, so feedback will probably be in English -- but the actual recording can be whichever you wish.
Lynne

Edit: Tricia types more quickly than I do

eflow · Post by **eflow** » May 11th, 2018, 9:52 am

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/testportugueseeflow.mp3

Here is my test, Its in Portuguese, but I can re-do it in English if needed.
Thank you.

Post by **Lynnet** » May 11th, 2018, 1:02 pm

Hi and thank you for submitting your test. It sounded very clear (although the only word I understood was "Librivox"

).
It passed the technical checks, except the one about file naming conventions... not a big deal in a test, but when you submit files to projects, it is important you use the format stated in the first post.

The only improvement I would suggest is you might want to try noise cleaning. It wasn't absolutely necessary in your case, but try it and see if you like the effect or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFSg9o37HMw

I will say your test passes and you are ready to find something to read. We have a forum for works in languages other than English, but, unfortunately, there are no Portuguese projects at the moment. You are welcome to record in English if you are comfortable with that; or you can contribute to one of the multi-lingual works

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=66076

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=68007

Have fun!
Lynne

eflow · Post by **eflow** » May 11th, 2018, 1:46 pm

Thank you Lynne,
I have watched the youtube video per your recommendation. I think I will be able to apply it in future recordings

I am a bit confused about the file naming conventions you mentioned...can you elaborate on that? What was wrong with mine?
Thanks again

Post by **Lynnet** » May 11th, 2018, 1:58 pm

eflow wrote: ↑May 11th, 2018, 1:46 pm Thank you Lynne,
I have watched the youtube video per your recommendation. I think I will be able to apply it in future recordings
I am a bit confused about the file naming conventions you mentioned...can you elaborate on that? What was wrong with mine?
Thanks again

It was actually something I wouldn't have known, had it not been thrown up by the checks I ran. There was no underscore. So if you look at a project, most of them say nameofbook_chapternumber_author_128kb.mp3. The safest thing is to just copy whatever it tells you in the first post, then adjust as needed.