Podfic Meme!
The other day I was poking around my old entries and found my response to a vidding meme that was going around 3 years ago. I thought it might be fun to do a podfic version of it, since, well, podfic is my new thing.
1. When did you first start podficcing?
I posted my first podfic May 17th, 2008 but I actually started podficcing in December of 2006, I just never finished or posted any of those first ones.
2. What would you say was your inspiration or motivation to start doing it?
It was in 2006 that I first fell in love with podfic. At the time I was doing data entry and listened to it at work. As hard as it is to believe now, I think I ran out of SGA podfic to listen to in about a week, so decided I’d make some of my own. Which of course lead to the brilliant idea to podfic something hugely long so that it could fill up lots of time at work. I had about 5 hours edited before I finally gave up on that project. The job where I was listening was short term though and the first one I tried took so long that I kind of gave up on it for a while. When I went back to that job full time in the summer of 2007 there was already a lot more SGA podfic so I was happy to listen to those rather than try to create my own again.
It wasn’t until the first![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
amplificathon challenge that I was finally motivated to try my hand at podficcing again and finally got my first podfic finished and posted.
3. What fandoms have you podficced in?
Most of my podfics are in American Idol fandom, but I have also podficced in Alles Was Zählt, Bandom, Doctor Who Circle of Magic, Highlander, Numb3rs, Queer as Folk, Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Supernatural RPF, Terminator Universe, Torchwood, Old Spice and all the various crossover fandoms that went into that Old Spice podfic (11 others).
4. What was your favourite podfic to make or do?
I have a couple. In An Interstellar Burst was probably the most fun to record! It was even pretty fun to edit.
From Adam to Kris was also a really fun experience. I think it was one of those podfics where I realized "hey, I’m good at this!" It also helped me realize that I really enjoy and am good at reading crack fics. I like the exaggeration of them and I feel like I’m acting more than with other kinds of fic.
Or Be Drowned in Blissful Confusion was (is) a fun and interesting one to make. Normally when I podfic a story, I record it and only tell the author after I’m done. With this one though, I had been talking to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
orbedrowned about other things so asked her permission at the very beginning. orbedrowned was awesome and so enthusiastic about the idea and really got involved in my podfic and let me get involved in her writing process.
5. Where do you draw your inspiration from for podfic?
On a specific level a large part of my inspiration comes from the awesome fics out there in fandom. There are so many fics that I read and I just want so much to read them out loud, act them out and listen to them over and over again.
On a larger level, I love listening to podfic and the other awesome podficcers out there motivate me so much. They push me to be a better podficcer myself, to try new things, to keep producing.
I’m also inspired, well, maybe motivated would be a better way to phrase this, by the lack of podfic out there. I only started podficcing with any regularly when I entered AI fandom to discover the relatively few number of podfics there. AI fandom isn’t as hard up for podfics now as it used to be, but there are still only a few podficcers (basically myself anddiane_mckay - although we’ve been getting a few new podficcers lately!) that post podfic for it with any sort of regularity anymore. It feels almost like an obligation to me to keep the podfic coming.
6. What was your least favourite podfic to make or do?
That would definitely be Our Song Remembered. That one was just a hot mess behind the scenes (although I’ve been told I’m the only one who notices in the final product – I hope).
First of all, I had decided to be experimental and attempt voices (maybe not the best idea for a story that long) which lead to a lot of extra takes or false starts to make sure I was using the right voice.
Secondly, my noisy neighbours were driving me nuts so I drove out to my parents house and recorded it there. This meant the disruptions I had were more awkward than normal (no Dad, I’m not going to keep reading when you walk into the room, even if you are trying to be quite, it’s not really quite enough and I was in the middle of a sex scene), it also made any rerecords a total bitch.
The worse part for me was that the author’s writing style was just a little too off of my speaking style. It’s not that the author did anything wrong, just her patterns and my patters are different enough that my natural rhythms where off and I was emphasizing things in the wrong place, or saying the wrong words.
It didn’t help either that I set myself a grueling schedule to get this podfic, as well as a bunch of other charity podfics, done by. I was putting all this pressure on myself and it made it a pretty miserable experience.
7. Which podfic are you most proud of?
I’m really proud of In From the Cold which I created with![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
diurnal_lee and kronos999 for the first podbang. diurnal_lee came up with the great idea of splitting the fic up into parts based on POV and I think it really helped define that podfic. It’s such a moving story and everyone played their part so well, I really love that podfic.
8. What's the best feedback or comment you've ever gotten?
Does it count if the comment was about me, but not given to me? I found this comment one day when doing a vanity search for my name on LJ. I had been feeling really down that day and readingblueyeti’s words really picked me up and had me on cloud 9 for days. :D
9. What's your opinion on music in podfic?
Mostly I’m good with it. I’m not a fan of reading over top of music (it can be done well sometimes but I often find it distracting, especially if the music has words) but a little into or exit music generally enhances my listening pleasure. I’ve been known to add music to my own podfics, sometimes I even sing (which, OMG just shows me how out of practice I am :S).
10. Favourite genre to podfic to (comedy, angst, romance, drama, AU)?
Crack all the way, baby!
11. Favourite fandom(s) and/or pairing(s) to podfic?
At the moment, it seems to be all American Idol all the time with me. Kris/Adam or Kris/Katy/Adam for S8 but I'd also like to branch out into David/David soon for S7 stuff.
12. What just drives you up the wall when it comes to podfic?
I don’t know if there’s anything about podfics that drives me up the wall at the moment. I used to be super laid back when it came to podfic and would listen to anything I could understand (some volume issues, background noises or, occasionally, accents just didn’t work for me and made it hard to follow, but other than that, I’d give anything a go), then I kind of got up tight and super picky, now I think I’m back to being mellow. There are definitely podfics out there that I don’t like, but I just chalk it up to different tastes and move on, I don’t get upset about it.
If we’re talking about podfic beyond the actual recordings, I can get really riled over podfic meta, or when I see people outside of podfic fandom dismissing podfic as gross, squicky, a waste of time, etc.
13. What’s your podfic recoding set up like?
I record my podfic on a Zoom H2 and recently built a littleglorified closet recording studio in my basement where I do my recordings, reading off my netbook.
Generally I record a story in one sitting (depending on how long the story is) but will create short little files as I record. I like for those sections to be 10 minutes or less, but I generally keep my breaks in line with scene or chapter breaks so sometimes they can get quite long. The H2 has internal memory so everything gets stored on an SD card to be transferred to my desktop computer later.
How I approach editing seems to be constantly changing (as soon as I find something that works for me, it seems a week later I’ll decide to try something else) but I do all the editing in Nero Sound Wave (I only use Audacity to convert the .wav file to an .mp3). I also tend to play a lot of Minesweeper when editing, because I find editing pretty boring and need distractions. :P
14. What is your latest project or idea for your next podfic (if your muse isn't dead)?
Well, I have yet to post mypod_together project anywhere but AO3 and twitter so far (it’s here if you’re interested, I’ll do a real post once LJ is working again).
The WIP I’m working most intensely on at the moment is my![[info - personal]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=1)
kradambigbang podfic (due Monday, OMG!).
I also have myhelp_japan podfic for adamadict_rh open to finish editing.
I’ve had a really strong urge lately to record more oforbedrowned but I really don’t have time at the moment. /o\
15. Finally, what kind of words of wisdom would you offer someone who wants to podfic/is a newbie?
Start with something short! You’re going to screw up a lot and take extra time on your first podfic, it’s a lot less heart breaking to scrap a first recording of a 10 minute podfic than a 10 hour podfic. *speaks from experience*
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help or ask questions.
Oh! And don’t be afraid of your accent. I can’t tell you how many comments I’ve come across from people saying they’d like to try podficcing but can’t because they have an Australian, German, Texan, Spanish, or whatever accent. Seriously, your accent is fine! Some of my favourite podfics are read by people with accents that don’t match those of the characters they’re reading (sometimes a different accent makes the podfic better). Just go for it and have fun!
That was fun. :D I hope other podficcers try this meme too.
1. When did you first start podficcing?
I posted my first podfic May 17th, 2008 but I actually started podficcing in December of 2006, I just never finished or posted any of those first ones.
2. What would you say was your inspiration or motivation to start doing it?
It was in 2006 that I first fell in love with podfic. At the time I was doing data entry and listened to it at work. As hard as it is to believe now, I think I ran out of SGA podfic to listen to in about a week, so decided I’d make some of my own. Which of course lead to the brilliant idea to podfic something hugely long so that it could fill up lots of time at work. I had about 5 hours edited before I finally gave up on that project. The job where I was listening was short term though and the first one I tried took so long that I kind of gave up on it for a while. When I went back to that job full time in the summer of 2007 there was already a lot more SGA podfic so I was happy to listen to those rather than try to create my own again.
It wasn’t until the first
amplificathon challenge that I was finally motivated to try my hand at podficcing again and finally got my first podfic finished and posted.3. What fandoms have you podficced in?
Most of my podfics are in American Idol fandom, but I have also podficced in Alles Was Zählt, Bandom, Doctor Who Circle of Magic, Highlander, Numb3rs, Queer as Folk, Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Supernatural RPF, Terminator Universe, Torchwood, Old Spice and all the various crossover fandoms that went into that Old Spice podfic (11 others).
4. What was your favourite podfic to make or do?
I have a couple. In An Interstellar Burst was probably the most fun to record! It was even pretty fun to edit.
From Adam to Kris was also a really fun experience. I think it was one of those podfics where I realized "hey, I’m good at this!" It also helped me realize that I really enjoy and am good at reading crack fics. I like the exaggeration of them and I feel like I’m acting more than with other kinds of fic.
Or Be Drowned in Blissful Confusion was (is) a fun and interesting one to make. Normally when I podfic a story, I record it and only tell the author after I’m done. With this one though, I had been talking to
orbedrowned about other things so asked her permission at the very beginning. orbedrowned was awesome and so enthusiastic about the idea and really got involved in my podfic and let me get involved in her writing process.5. Where do you draw your inspiration from for podfic?
On a specific level a large part of my inspiration comes from the awesome fics out there in fandom. There are so many fics that I read and I just want so much to read them out loud, act them out and listen to them over and over again.
On a larger level, I love listening to podfic and the other awesome podficcers out there motivate me so much. They push me to be a better podficcer myself, to try new things, to keep producing.
I’m also inspired, well, maybe motivated would be a better way to phrase this, by the lack of podfic out there. I only started podficcing with any regularly when I entered AI fandom to discover the relatively few number of podfics there. AI fandom isn’t as hard up for podfics now as it used to be, but there are still only a few podficcers (basically myself and
diane_mckay - although we’ve been getting a few new podficcers lately!) that post podfic for it with any sort of regularity anymore. It feels almost like an obligation to me to keep the podfic coming. 6. What was your least favourite podfic to make or do?
That would definitely be Our Song Remembered. That one was just a hot mess behind the scenes (although I’ve been told I’m the only one who notices in the final product – I hope).
First of all, I had decided to be experimental and attempt voices (maybe not the best idea for a story that long) which lead to a lot of extra takes or false starts to make sure I was using the right voice.
Secondly, my noisy neighbours were driving me nuts so I drove out to my parents house and recorded it there. This meant the disruptions I had were more awkward than normal (no Dad, I’m not going to keep reading when you walk into the room, even if you are trying to be quite, it’s not really quite enough and I was in the middle of a sex scene), it also made any rerecords a total bitch.
The worse part for me was that the author’s writing style was just a little too off of my speaking style. It’s not that the author did anything wrong, just her patterns and my patters are different enough that my natural rhythms where off and I was emphasizing things in the wrong place, or saying the wrong words.
It didn’t help either that I set myself a grueling schedule to get this podfic, as well as a bunch of other charity podfics, done by. I was putting all this pressure on myself and it made it a pretty miserable experience.
7. Which podfic are you most proud of?
I’m really proud of In From the Cold which I created with
diurnal_lee and kronos999 for the first podbang. diurnal_lee came up with the great idea of splitting the fic up into parts based on POV and I think it really helped define that podfic. It’s such a moving story and everyone played their part so well, I really love that podfic.8. What's the best feedback or comment you've ever gotten?
Does it count if the comment was about me, but not given to me? I found this comment one day when doing a vanity search for my name on LJ. I had been feeling really down that day and reading
blueyeti’s words really picked me up and had me on cloud 9 for days. :D9. What's your opinion on music in podfic?
Mostly I’m good with it. I’m not a fan of reading over top of music (it can be done well sometimes but I often find it distracting, especially if the music has words) but a little into or exit music generally enhances my listening pleasure. I’ve been known to add music to my own podfics, sometimes I even sing (which, OMG just shows me how out of practice I am :S).
10. Favourite genre to podfic to (comedy, angst, romance, drama, AU)?
Crack all the way, baby!
11. Favourite fandom(s) and/or pairing(s) to podfic?
At the moment, it seems to be all American Idol all the time with me. Kris/Adam or Kris/Katy/Adam for S8 but I'd also like to branch out into David/David soon for S7 stuff.
12. What just drives you up the wall when it comes to podfic?
I don’t know if there’s anything about podfics that drives me up the wall at the moment. I used to be super laid back when it came to podfic and would listen to anything I could understand (some volume issues, background noises or, occasionally, accents just didn’t work for me and made it hard to follow, but other than that, I’d give anything a go), then I kind of got up tight and super picky, now I think I’m back to being mellow. There are definitely podfics out there that I don’t like, but I just chalk it up to different tastes and move on, I don’t get upset about it.
If we’re talking about podfic beyond the actual recordings, I can get really riled over podfic meta, or when I see people outside of podfic fandom dismissing podfic as gross, squicky, a waste of time, etc.
13. What’s your podfic recoding set up like?
I record my podfic on a Zoom H2 and recently built a little
Generally I record a story in one sitting (depending on how long the story is) but will create short little files as I record. I like for those sections to be 10 minutes or less, but I generally keep my breaks in line with scene or chapter breaks so sometimes they can get quite long. The H2 has internal memory so everything gets stored on an SD card to be transferred to my desktop computer later.
How I approach editing seems to be constantly changing (as soon as I find something that works for me, it seems a week later I’ll decide to try something else) but I do all the editing in Nero Sound Wave (I only use Audacity to convert the .wav file to an .mp3). I also tend to play a lot of Minesweeper when editing, because I find editing pretty boring and need distractions. :P
14. What is your latest project or idea for your next podfic (if your muse isn't dead)?
Well, I have yet to post my
pod_together project anywhere but AO3 and twitter so far (it’s here if you’re interested, I’ll do a real post once LJ is working again). The WIP I’m working most intensely on at the moment is my
kradambigbang podfic (due Monday, OMG!). I also have my
help_japan podfic for adamadict_rh open to finish editing. I’ve had a really strong urge lately to record more of
orbedrowned but I really don’t have time at the moment. /o\15. Finally, what kind of words of wisdom would you offer someone who wants to podfic/is a newbie?
Start with something short! You’re going to screw up a lot and take extra time on your first podfic, it’s a lot less heart breaking to scrap a first recording of a 10 minute podfic than a 10 hour podfic. *speaks from experience*
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help or ask questions.
Oh! And don’t be afraid of your accent. I can’t tell you how many comments I’ve come across from people saying they’d like to try podficcing but can’t because they have an Australian, German, Texan, Spanish, or whatever accent. Seriously, your accent is fine! Some of my favourite podfics are read by people with accents that don’t match those of the characters they’re reading (sometimes a different accent makes the podfic better). Just go for it and have fun!
That was fun. :D I hope other podficcers try this meme too.