[COMPLETE] Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel Brothers by David Cory - icequeen

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » May 27th, 2019, 5:30 pm

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3

First attempt, section 12. If approved, will go on to next section. Length: 3 min.58.446 sec. Pls. let me know if any problems.
Janette Kragen

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » May 28th, 2019, 10:40 pm

JanetteKragen wrote: ↑May 27th, 2019, 5:30 pm https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3

First attempt, section 12. If approved, will go on to next section. Length: 3 min.58.446 sec. Pls. let me know if any problems.
Janette Kragen

Thanks!
I've put this in the MW Ready for PL.

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » May 30th, 2019, 9:27 am

JanetteKragen wrote: ↑May 27th, 2019, 5:30 pm https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3

First attempt, section 12. If approved, will go on to next section. Length: 3 min.58.446 sec. Pls. let me know if any problems.
Janette Kragen

I think our DPL is busy, so thought I'd go ahead an give you a report.
I really enjoyed your reading! Great job on the voices, including the Scottish bullfrog. It did seem though that he started out low and then by the end was at a much higher pitch. Maybe just my ears. The only other comment on the reading is that you might want a couple seconds between the end of your reading and "End of Chapter 12." It seemed a bit abrupt to me.

There is a bit of background hum that might be reduced by some noise reduction, but it is certainly acceptable. The only thing that really needs to be changed is the volume which is too high, coming in at 94.1 dB Our target is 89db with a range of 86-91 dB. You can use the Amplification feature to bring this down. I think you just may need to back down on your mike gain. There is a bit of clipping right at the end with the rabbit and frog.

All in all, an excellent start!

I look forward to the rest of your chapters.

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » May 30th, 2019, 5:09 pm

Wow....great feedback! My sound engineer will fix the glitches per your suggestions. We're pretty sure the background hum originated from the floor lamp we turned on prior to this first recording. We have not used it since, so I hope this problem has solved itself. There's nothing wrong with your hearing. I am learning to be consistent in differentiating all the voices, and sometimes the dynamics slip because I'm concentrating more on refining the accents. Going forward, I'll listen more carefully for pitch changes. Thanks for pointing this out! This project has been so much fun; I'll be sad when my narration is over. I hope I can tackle a solo project next, hopefully another children's book (perhaps the next book in the Jack Rabbit series?)

BTW, a question for you: In Section 17 "Busy Times", Jack Rabbit's Uncle sings a song accompanied by piano. The second song in this section is sung a capella by Robin Redvest. May I try to sing both songs (including piano accompaniment for song #1?) I plan to use original arrangements for the melodies which are both public domain. If you prefer narration only, I would certainly not be offended. Look forward to your response!
Kindest regards,
Janette Kragen

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » May 30th, 2019, 10:26 pm

Janette,
Thanks for your response. I enjoyed hearing you thoughts.
All of the things I mentioned are minor and normally are not part of "standard PL," but I sensed that you would like to get my impressions. The only thing we need corrected for this file is the volume.

I'm so glad you're enjoying reading these chapters! We do have fun around here.

As far as the music is concerned, we generally discourage it, but there are times that we include it, and I certainly don't have any objections Making sure that everything is PD is our main concern. I'll Ann, our faithful MC, weigh in on this one though.

What's next? There are certainly a lot of good children's books out there to record, and quite a few in this series. You would certainly be welcome to take on one of them as a solo project. I'd be glad to help you set it up, and I would even volunteer to be your DPL.

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » May 31st, 2019, 9:30 pm

WOW again....thank you so much, esp. for being willing to set up my solo project. That would be sooooo awesome! I can't wait....

With regard to PD concerns about the music I proposed, the first melody I would use is the Lorelei song, originally a poem by Heinrich Heine published around the mid-1800s. I couldn't find the melody's exact date of origin; it's an ancient German Folk song. The second melody is Greensleeves, composed around 1648. Hope this is helpful for Anne.
Again, thanks so much!
Janette

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » June 1st, 2019, 1:54 pm

Hello again!
Ch. 13 was recorded along with Ch. 12. Hopefully my sound guy was able to fix the volume problem. If volume is still too high, I can always re-record.
Any input whether tech or performance-related, is always greatly appreciated. So please don't ever hesitate to speak your mind. We want to give you the very best recordings possible.

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_13_cory_128kb.mp3

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » June 1st, 2019, 6:09 pm

JanetteKragen wrote: ↑June 1st, 2019, 1:54 pm Hello again!
Ch. 13 was recorded along with Ch. 12. Hopefully my sound guy was able to fix the volume problem. If volume is still too high, I can always re-record.
Any input whether tech or performance-related, is always greatly appreciated. So please don't ever hesitate to speak your mind. We want to give you the very best recordings possible.

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_13_cory_128kb.mp3

Okay, good. Please remember to give us the file length when you post your link.
Also, did you do the volume correction on Chapter 12 and upload it?
If so, I will mark it Ready for Spot PL and check it.

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » June 2nd, 2019, 8:49 pm

And, here is my Chapter 1:

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_01_cory_128kb.mp3 3:19

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » June 3rd, 2019, 8:01 am

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3 3.73 KB

Good morning.
Here is the cleaned-up section 12. Pls. let us know if everything is ok and we will proceed with the rest of the sections.
Thank you,
Janette

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » June 3rd, 2019, 10:16 am

JanetteKragen wrote: ↑June 3rd, 2019, 8:01 am https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3 3.73 KB

Good morning.
Here is the cleaned-up section 12. Pls. let us know if everything is ok and we will proceed with the rest of the sections.
Thank you,
Janette

Hi! Unfortunately the volume is still too high, coming in at 93.4 dB
And, checking Chapter 13, it is also too high coming in at 94.7 dB
Additionally, Chapter 13 is recorded in the wrong bit rate of -188 kbs variable instead of 128 kbs constant
The volume can be adjusted easily, and then change the bit rate before exporting.

Here are some links that might help your "sound engineer."

I use two programs for checking volume.

The first is a little program called Checker https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Checker, written specifically for LibriVox. Just drag a file into the Checker window to check validation on all LV specs, including a readout of actual volume in decibels. Use the Amplification feature in Audacity to bring the volume closer to the LV target of 89 dB.

The second is an Audacity plugin called ReplayGain https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Measuring_Volume_within_Audacity. Running this feature will give a value of plus or minus dB from the LV target of 89 dB, and then the Amplification feature can be used to adjust the file before exporting.

Don't worry. These tech things will soon become second nature, then you can relax and do what you really enjoy -- recording stories!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

lomond · Post by **lomond** » June 3rd, 2019, 2:22 pm

Greetings -

Janette, I am enjoying listening to your recordings. I see that silverquill is helping you get used to the technical requirements of each recording. I listened to Chapter 13 and have just a couple of comments.

The silent period at the end of the recording should be a few seconds longer.

I read where you were working on keeping voices and accents consistent. I noticed that Jimmy Mink's voice seemed to get a bit higher as the recording went along.

Other than that, the recording was well read. I look forward to listening to more of your readings.

Lomond

lomond · Post by **lomond** » June 3rd, 2019, 2:24 pm

Greetings -

And, oh, by the way, silverquill, your reading of Chapter 1 is now listed as PL OK as it should be.

Lomond

JanetteKragen · Post by **JanetteKragen** » June 3rd, 2019, 4:54 pm

Hello, Lomond.

Thanks to your patience and understanding, we've finally figured out what happened with the previous upload. We did not double-check the settings before uploading; they changed from "constant" to "variable", automatically changing the bit rate in the process. We've implemented both the Audacity plug-in and the Checker program, so hopefully this revision is good to go. Here is the final revision of Section 12 with an extra second added between end of section and closing sentence. The new time is 3 min. 45 sec.

https://librivox.org/uploads/icequeen/jackrabbitsquirrelbrothers_12_cory_128kb.mp3

Regarding your spot-on comments on performance, I will further refine my re-do of section 13, focusing on: 1. Pitch constancy for each voice, 2. Vary the length of pauses between sentences, and 3. (As suggested by a VO colleague) attempting to increase pitch by steps inside of slides. The last one will be quite a challenge because the pitch slides are a result of decades of classical voice training. And as you know, it is very difficult to undo many years of training...Your comments re: performance & tech for me and my sound engineer are greatly appreciated, so please keep them coming!
Kindest regards,
Janette

silverquill · Post by **silverquill** » June 3rd, 2019, 10:08 pm

I've marked 12 Ready for Spot PL.

I hear all styles of narration and often different voices are just not attempted, which is fine. I think it is more common in these types of books, though. And, I think consistency is one of the most difficult aspects of this approach. Certainly what you have at the moment is quite fine for our LibriVox standards and uses, but you can set your own standards and we're glad to give our feedback.