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harrisraleigh
Posts: 5
Joined: April 29th, 2018, 8:58 pm
Location: Washington DC, USA

Post by harrisraleigh »

Hello Librivox Community!

My name is Raleigh Harris and I'm from the Washington D.C. (USA). I'm new to narration, and have just completed setting up my home "studio". In addition to Librivox, I've also just started volunteering for a site called Learning Ally. I would like to start narrating short works (poetry, short stories) and later take on bigger projects (chapters and solos). I very much look forward to meeting and working with you all.

Thanks!


Raleigh Harris
Respectfully,


Leigh Adams
Washington D.C., USA
msfry
Posts: 11663
Joined: June 4th, 2013, 9:09 am
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Contact:

Post by msfry »

Well, Howdy back, Raleigh. Your approach, starting with short pieces, is the very plan we recommend for newbies. Being a book stitching program that attracts volunteers from all around the world (none of whom know each other) to help create over 12,000 audiobooks so far, there are naturally some procedures you will need to follow. They aren't hard to learn and quickly become habit, so just pay attention to the instructions in your Welcome Letter, submit your 1 minute test to ensure your tech specs are set right, then peruse the Readers Wanted forums (Board Index in menu above) carefully for a project that interests you. Read the First Post carefully, as instructions vary somewhat per project. The MW (Magic Window) will show you what sections are Open. I suggest before you make a claim, go to the online text you propose to read to make sure it is something that interests you, and if it does hit Reply Post to ask the BC (Book Coordinator) for that section. Wait for acceptance before you start recording or you may find someone else has beat you to the claim. Most of us have had to eat a recording or two because we couldn't contain our enthusiasm long enough to wait! Keep in mind that along with recording goes editing, and there are plenty of tips on how to do that.

Now that's just some tips to get you started, and I'm sure you'll have more questions. For that, take time to peruse the Wiki, our video tutorials and our forums, ask your BC or an experienced volunteer, and give yourself time to learn. And of course, have fun!

Hope to see you around the LV playground. :D
harrisraleigh
Posts: 5
Joined: April 29th, 2018, 8:58 pm
Location: Washington DC, USA

Post by harrisraleigh »

Much appreciated Michele. I'll get started on the welcome email right away. Thanks for the quick response and I look forward to working with you all!

Raleigh
Respectfully,


Leigh Adams
Washington D.C., USA
SkipCorris
Posts: 104
Joined: February 15th, 2018, 11:52 am

Post by SkipCorris »

Welcome aboard, Raleigh!
I’ve only been on Librivox since February, and have big chunks of time where I can’t record (like now!), so I am a relative newbie.
I found that I was able to get my feet wet doing the weekly and fortnightly poems (Find them under readers wanted short works). I was not very familiar with the editing program audacity, so the short poems helped me as I was learning it. Later, I moved onto a couple of book chapters and a pretty large role in the the play Charlie’s Aunt.
It’s great fun! Best with it,
td
msfry
Posts: 11663
Joined: June 4th, 2013, 9:09 am
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Contact:

Post by msfry »

Tip for Tom and Raleigh: As to big chunks of your day when your can't record, that's true for most of us. You will eventually learn to record during the precious quiet hours, save the files, and edit those files when it's noisy. I record in the mornings while my retired husband sleeps in, then edit while the hustle and bustle of my day goes on around me. I also try to record a whole file at a time without interruption, as I find my voice and background noises change day by day, even hour by hour, resulting in a different quality of audio. This isn't noticeable between files, but can be mid-file.

One more tip. You'll read different techniques from different people, but my technique is to record straight through without making claps or pops to notate errors, and without editing along the way. Just keep the tape running and get it all down. If you say something with the wrong pace or inflection, or if you stumble on a word, just repeat the phrase til you are happy with it. It's real easy to find and edit out the mistakes later. It comforts me to have 2 or 3 raw files waiting in the wings. I get fidgety when I don't, because I can't always find a quiet moment to record, but I can still make progress.

As to editing, bear in mind that's the larger part of recording. There are a lot of editing tips in our Wiki under Video Tutorials, and the most important one to save time concerns use of the Z, X, and C keys. Also lots of YouTube videos on how to edit with Audacity.
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