Trying out Twitch (AKA watch us edit ... ooh! ahh!)

Comments about LibriVox? Suggestions to improve things? News?
SaraHale
Posts: 1433
Joined: June 17th, 2016, 1:20 pm
Location: Egypt

Post by SaraHale »

Thanks for the detailed reply. And thanks for the thread about saving audio files. :thumbs:

And I'm sorry for not being clear. I want to know about the solo project. When you read the whole book on your own and doing all the character voices. I want to know your process. As I'm thinking of doing a solo project myself.

Editing a part of the recording. Well, do you remember the second video that you did? And you tried to edit a sentence but it was obvious that it was recorded at another time. I was curious about how you could make it less obvious that this part is edited.

Good news, I've just created a Twitch account. So, it will be easier to chat with you. :D

Edit: I checked the tone in Audacity. And there are different Waveforms. I think the Sine is less annoying to me. And I was wondering if you have the option to change your Waveform.
Thanks, SaraHale. :D
Constructive criticism is always welcome. :thumbs:
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

Ah, I see. For my solo projects, I just read it. I may change my voice slightly for different characters (pitch it higher for children or lower for men, for instance, or change the pace) but I record it all at once. I don't generally do accents, unless I think the text demands it. (I consider accents to be completely optional most of the time, and it's usually best not to attempt them unless you're very confident in your ability.) Some authors do have a very specific accent in mind for their characters, and you can tell by the way they'll write that character's lines phonetically. In those cases, I'll give it my best go. But I'll still record it all at once, rather than reading each character separately and then cutting them together like a dramatic file.

There was one exception to this rule, and it's in my current solo, Malcolm. This book is set in Scotland, and the author wrote much of the dialogue in broad Scots speech. This is an example: "Deed, mem, it was jist a mistak' o' my puir daddy's. He had been feart o' sleepin' ower lang, ye see, an' sae had waukit ower sune. I was oot efter the fish mysel." This kind of dialogue demands to be read as written, so I've had to give it my best go. There is one scene where three characters are present. One of them is British, and the author intentionally draws attention to her prim British accent. One of them is an old man from the Scottish highlands whose mother tongue is Gaelic. And the third is a young Scottish man who was raised in a lowland coastal town. And then there's me, with my "normal" narrator voice (neutral American, my everyday speaking voice). This was one of the most challenging sections I have ever recorded because I was having to, essentially, switch between four very different voices. I found that I could handle up to two characters plus the narrator voice. But the voices started getting mashed together and inconsistent when I tried to add that third character. So I recorded the Englishwoman separately and added her in later. :roll:

My recommendation to you is to avoid choosing a book that's written like this until you feel very comfortable with reading and editing. :lol: It was hard! I haven't done much work on this book lately because I've been trying to finish up some other things, but it's the clearest example I have of reading in different voices. When I record the next chapter, I'd be happy to make the editing process live.
SaraHale
Posts: 1433
Joined: June 17th, 2016, 1:20 pm
Location: Egypt

Post by SaraHale »

I can't thank you enough. :9: :9: :9: This is exactly what I want. And I look forward to watching the editing of Malcolm's next chapter.
Thanks, SaraHale. :D
Constructive criticism is always welcome. :thumbs:
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

For sentences that were recorded at different times, whether it is in a solo or a dramatic reading, I find that the most effective way to make it "less obvious" that it was recorded separately is to play with the volume of both the old and the new recording. Usually, volume is the thing that will sound most obviously out of place, especially if things like recording environment and equipment hasn't changed from the one to the other. If the volume is evened out and the spacing sounds natural, usually no one can tell. That's the kind of thing that you just have to experiment with and use trial and error. Try something, see how it sounds, repeat.

Yes, you're right, there are different kinds of tones you can use. I've experimented with them a bit, but still use the annoying one. The ones that are less annoying to my ears are also not as obvious to my eyes, so it kind of defeats the purpose for me. But by all means, use whichever one works for you!
SaraHale
Posts: 1433
Joined: June 17th, 2016, 1:20 pm
Location: Egypt

Post by SaraHale »

I never thought about adjusting the volume. I would repeat the part over and over. And when I was still starting out I would re-record the whole section. :lol: Luckily, they were short sections.
Thanks, SaraHale. :D
Constructive criticism is always welcome. :thumbs:
ToddHW
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 19838
Joined: August 14th, 2011, 4:24 am
Contact:

Post by ToddHW »

What a fascinating thread. Sorry I missed all the live stuff!

Thanks, Todd
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

ToddHW wrote: December 19th, 2018, 9:05 am What a fascinating thread. Sorry I missed all the live stuff!

Thanks, Todd
I'll do another one sooner or later. After the new year, for sure.
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

I've changed my recording process once again, and this is something I'd like to share with anyone who's curious. I'd been hearing about the wonders of using Audacity's new Punch and Roll feature for quite some time, but I'm afraid of new things, so it was many months before I worked up the courage to upgrade to the newest version so I could try out this feature. Well, I finally did, and the verdict is... I like it!

Yes, Punch and Roll really is as magical as they say. I've started using it for all my recordings, and it definitely is a time saver. So I want to do a demonstration live, for anyone who wants to watch. (Not that I think I can do a better job than the tutorials that are out there already, but a tutorial is a slightly different thing than watching the whole process in real time. Plus it's fun!)

So my question to you is: Who is interested in watching? And what time(s) of day would be most convenient to you? Bear in mind that I live in Texas, but that I'm generally up late into the wee hours of the night anyway.
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

I'd also like to do a little discussion/demonstration of creating and using Macros (or as I've heard it called elsewhere, command chains). This is something that I've been playing around with on my own lately, and is also a great time saver.
plaidsicle
Posts: 951
Joined: December 17th, 2014, 10:57 pm
Location: Indiana, USA
Contact:

Post by plaidsicle »

ooh, I would love to see how the punch-and-roll thing works. when I first read about it I thought it would be similar to how I used to record in GarageBand-- but so far I haven't been able to really figure it out.
this evening between 6 and 9ish would work for me to watch, or probably any evening next week (I'll be preoccupied at a conference most of the rest of this week)
'whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.' -Oscar Wilde
plaidsicle.blogspot.com
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

Well, I'm heading off to work in about 15 minutes, so this evening won't work. But perhaps Sunday, or Thursday next week, I could do an evening stream.
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

Perhaps I should have also mentioned that I work until about midnight four nights a week. Which, course, is the reason why I'm then up half the night! :mrgreen:
plaidsicle
Posts: 951
Joined: December 17th, 2014, 10:57 pm
Location: Indiana, USA
Contact:

Post by plaidsicle »

Sunday or next week it is then. I'm also in central time, so we don't get any lucky benefit of midnight-for-you being conveniently earlier for me, but ah well.
'whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.' -Oscar Wilde
plaidsicle.blogspot.com
mightyfelix
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 11105
Joined: August 7th, 2016, 6:39 pm

Post by mightyfelix »

Sounds good. I'll wait a bit to see if there is any other interest before deciding on a set day and time.
SaraHale
Posts: 1433
Joined: June 17th, 2016, 1:20 pm
Location: Egypt

Post by SaraHale »

mightyfelix wrote: March 11th, 2019, 12:06 pm So my question to you is: Who is interested in watching? And what time(s) of day would be most convenient to you? Bear in mind that I live in Texas, but that I'm generally up late into the wee hours of the night anyway.
I'm definitely interested. Any day between 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (my time zone) that will be between 12:00 AM to 3:00 PM (your time zone). Thanks so much!!! :9:
Thanks, SaraHale. :D
Constructive criticism is always welcome. :thumbs:
Post Reply