Snags Along the Way! Here's mine, what's Yours?

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LisaRubio
Posts: 81
Joined: December 23rd, 2014, 2:04 pm
Location: San Rafael, California

Post by LisaRubio »

Greetings from Lisa Rubio

I finally finished a couple of readings and I'm thrilled to hear myself on Librivox. In fact, I was so excited, I signed up for several projects, worked on them diligently, only to discover they didn't sound good.

I read too fast. I forget to stay in character, I pick stories with weird endings...and I'm a newbie with Audacity.

http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/audacity/

The link above goes to a great Audacity tutorial sight.

Audacity's Equalizer has pre-sets... Check 'em out!

Also, my Android machines won't login with the passwords my PC and IPads uses.

When I started here a few weeks ago, I knew nothing. I had to get a neighbor to help me install Audacity.

Now that I kinda know what to do, I have opinions...

1. Be organized. I'm keeping a notebook that reminds me what I've done, need to do etc...
I'm creating a new folder for each project that is kept in my Librivox folder.

2. Follow the directions. I've noticed, not every MC wants the same thing.

3. Although the folks are huber helpful here, it's on each member to follow through. i.e. I recited a poem for a project that was posted and finished. When I went to listen to myself, I received an error message. I hadn't used the correct file name. I redid the file name, sent it to the MC and within hours I was streaming.

4. Let us never forget the privilege we have to be working with world famous Pros. We're learning from the best...that said... I'm trying not to compare myself with them in a negative way! Just because I'm not as good as Ruthie, doesn't mean I'm not good enough!!!

5. Watch the videos! Phil C is a gem! Videos are a lot of fun.

I'm looking for friends who'd like to discuss their learning process, or have advise or tips. Would anyone like to have a friend from San Rafael, California? I'm about 15 miles north of San Francisco. I have a wonderful partner, an original hippie and 'dead-head'. I'm a grandma, owned by a 23lb cat who, by some miracle I barely understand, just survived a terminal illness.
All I want to do is be a loving, giving, healing presence upon this planet...
Librivox, my favorite thing!!!
kayray
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Joined: September 26th, 2005, 9:10 am
Location: Union City, California
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Post by kayray »

Those are good tips, Lisa! :)

When I first started, I was so nervous about reading too quickly that I read too slowly. I can't listen to those first few recordings... ugh.

So listen to your first recordings after they are cataloged. Since every listener is different (just as every reader is different) and you can't please everyone, I think it's very important to make recordings that YOU yourself enjoy hearing! So listen carefully. Try not to get hung up on how "strange" your voice sounds -- it doesn't, you're just not used to hearing it without the resonance of your head. You'll get used to it soon. Do you like your pacing? Do your character voices work? Are you breathing enough? (A speedy, breathless recording makes me feel very nervous).

On the other hand, don't get hung up on perfection. The humanity of our recordings is one of the things that makes them so special! Some of my very favorite recordings have some funky bits -- a mispronounced word, some unclear interpretation here and there. No big deal. The reader is a real human who dedicated hours and hours to make this recording! How lucky I am to get to hear it!

Oh -- and try smiling when you read a funny bit. You can really hear it!
Kara
http://kayray.org/
--------
"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
LisaRubio
Posts: 81
Joined: December 23rd, 2014, 2:04 pm
Location: San Rafael, California

Post by LisaRubio »

Thanks Kara so much for your kind words.

You're reading of Heidi is one of my favorite listens of all time!!!!

Awwww! I just re-did a reading that I like pretty well, but somehow I clipped off and ED ending to a word. I don't know how to fix it without the fix being worse than the original problem.

So I'm adding the new piece of advice for the newbie!

Not all the little triangles between the words are unwanted sounds. And when adding silent spaces to slow down a track, check to make sure you haven't cut off the ending or beginning of your words.

Lisa
Librivox, my favorite thing!!!
TriciaG
LibriVox Admin Team
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Post by TriciaG »

The best way to do it is to re-record and insert more than you cut out. Redo the whole word, phrase, or sentence, beginning and ending at a natural break (a definite silence in the recording, where the wave forms are nonexistent.) That way when you paste it in, it doesn't sound so different from the rest of the recording.

Hope this makes sense!
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
Dini
Posts: 164
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 2:48 pm
Location: Kelowna, BC, Canada

Post by Dini »

I am so glad to have discovered this forum! I am relatively new at this and have learned so much along the way. The Librivox engine is fantastic and the tutorials and wikis are very helpful. Of course, I have discovered that the learning curve is huge. Just learning how to:

- build a padded box for the microphone (I use a Blue Yeti Pro USB mic)
- use Audacity and export audio
- record at the right volume
- find a quiet place to record
- use the effects button in Audacity to enhance the volume
- use the checker to ensure the right volume
- upload the file when completed
all take a lot of time. And editing is huge. I try to cut the pops and clicks and then find I have not left enough of a pause between paragraphs! And I concur with a previous person who mentioned that the final consonant of a word also leaves a mark on the recording radar.

An interesting side effect of the repetitive mouse action while editing, is pain of overuse (carpal Tunnel?) Has anyone else experienced that?

Anyway, I am loving this experience and the MCs and DPLs have been great.
I know some of us readers would like more subjective feedback about our reading as well, yes? I love it when someone says I did a great job.

I get pretty excited when a project is almost completed and that is when I volunteer to read orphans.

Question: how will the readers of a project know when the book has been launched for public consumption?
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
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Post by annise »

I try to cut the pops and clicks and then find I have not left enough of a pause between paragraphs!
Have you tried amplify with a -value ? I tend so set say -10 highlight the pop or click and repeat until it looks like the normal background - that way you keep the pause and lose the click

Anne
dlolso21
LibriVox Admin Team
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Joined: January 11th, 2011, 12:13 pm

Post by dlolso21 »

Dini wrote:Question: how will the readers of a project know when the book has been launched for public consumption?
There are a number of ways for you to choose from.

1) The Librivox Forum
a) Check the Completed Projects thread in the forum. When a project is completed the topic will be moved there.
b) Check the first post in the project topic. When a project is completed a will be added to the Librivox Catalog page will be added to the first post.
c) Subscribe to the project topic. There is a "subscribe topic" link near the top left of each forum topic. This will send you an email the first time something new is posted since your last visit.
d) Bookmarks {User Control Panel (near the top of the forum page) then Manage Bookmarks (in the Options, left column)}. This will help you seem which topics have had new posts recently, but will not send you and email.

2) Librivox home page & catalog
The last 10 completed projects are shown under the title "Latest Audiobook Releases"; clicking the more audiobooks >> link will show you the Librivox Catalog 25 titles at a time sorted with the last release at the top. You could also go to the catalog and set the Order By: to Release Date.

3) The sections tab of reader page (link is specifically to Dini's page)
Projects listed here are still in progress. When a project is completed it will no longer show up on your section view listing.

4) Search functions
Use the search function to find the title and check to see if it is still in progress.

Hopefully one of these will be feasible for you.

David O
commonsparrow3
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Joined: January 17th, 2013, 9:16 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Post by commonsparrow3 »

Dini wrote:An interesting side effect of the repetitive mouse action while editing, is pain of overuse (carpal Tunnel?) Has anyone else experienced that?
I know just what you mean, and it was becoming a bit of an issue for me, too. But then I discovered that many editing actions could be done with keyboard shortcuts instead of using the mouse. I still have to use the mouse to highlight the section I want to work with. But then I use the keyboard to do the rest of the action -- (delete, copy, paste, amplify, whatever). After awhile, I also discovered that Audacity's pre-set keyboard shortcuts could be changed and personalized. So I went in and changed the ones I use most frequently, so they now require just a single key that is easy for my fingers to hit, instead of having to do 'shift' or 'control' plus some other difficult-to-reach key at the same time. Editing has become much easier on the hands since I started doing it this way!
Cori
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Post by Cori »

commonsparrow3 wrote:
Dini wrote:An interesting side effect of the repetitive mouse action while editing, is pain of overuse (carpal Tunnel?) Has anyone else experienced that?
I know just what you mean, and it was becoming a bit of an issue for me, too.
Likewise. I use a mouse extensively at work, and it was bad coming home to more of the same. I switched to using a trackball and that mostly solved the problem for me. I do have lots of keyboard shortcuts setup inside my editing software too -- plus, I turned the capslock button into a second delete button all across Windows! (You need to fiddle with the Windows OS to make that happen, so only try it if you're tech-comfortable.)

kayray wrote:Oh -- and try smiling when you read a funny bit. You can really hear it!
Yes! I smile when I say 'or to volunteer' in the disclaimer ... gotta give the recruiting a good shot!
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
Dini
Posts: 164
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 2:48 pm
Location: Kelowna, BC, Canada

Post by Dini »

annise wrote:
I try to cut the pops and clicks and then find I have not left enough of a pause between paragraphs!
Have you tried amplify with a -value ? I tend so set say -10 highlight the pop or click and repeat until it looks like the normal background - that way you keep the pause and lose the click

Anne
Thank you Anne. I am not sure how to due that. Is there a tutorial I can watch to learn how to do it?
Dini
philchenevert
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Post by philchenevert »

Dini wrote:
annise wrote:
I try to cut the pops and clicks and then find I have not left enough of a pause between paragraphs!
Have you tried amplify with a -value ? I tend so set say -10 highlight the pop or click and repeat until it looks like the normal background - that way you keep the pause and lose the click

Anne
Thank you Anne. I am not sure how to due that. Is there a tutorial I can watch to learn how to do it?
Dini
No but Anne's method works well, keeping the pacing and rhythm intact just lowering the pop. I can make a video for you if you would like.
Peruvian owls always hunt in pairs because they are inca hoots.
89 Decibels? Easy Peasy ! https://youtu.be/aSKR55RDVpk
RuthieG
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Post by RuthieG »

Here's my snag: procrastination. I never seem to do today what I can put off until tomorrow :lol:.

Ruth
My LV catalogue page | RuthieG's CataBlog of recordings | Tweet: @RuthGolding
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