Audio books; preferences of style

[AnyaKimlin]

Well positives Roger has a great voice for Dickens, and I love the way the story is coming across in audio form. Most of the side effects were fine not too distracting - the clanking of chains isn't working for me and is too loud.

For me the big negative if I am really honest is Scrooge's voice - to me he sounds like a drunken Englishman in a bar near Loch Ness trying to 'do' the local accent. Someone else may perceive it differently and won't have my experience working behind bars in the North of Scotland. It's just not the way I envisage him at all.

I now can't get this out of my head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wWMNcOZloo

 

[hopewrites]

D: when I opened it all i got was a sign that said "waiting for video"
sorry, I really wanted to hear it too.

 

[AMB]

I'm another one that thinks Scrooge doesn't sound right.

Also, I went over to Project Gutenburg to read along as I listened (I find I switch off if it is purely passive, but listening and reading together can enhance the experience). I know you said you want the work to be a read of the full text for the audiobook, but is the sample meant to be abridged? Several passages were cut; I assume (possibly incorrectly) this is so as to not give the entire stave, but right at the beginning there was a missing line.

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

There was at least one more instance of a single line being skipped where the rest of the paragraph was spoken, and it confused me slightly. I'm just curious to know the reasoning if the plan is ultimately for a fully unabridged text.

 

[chrispenycate]

We have recorded the first stave as an unabridged text, which is the "why" of the "said Scrooge", "replied his nephew" etc. It lasted fifty two minutes and some seconds and, after discussion, we decided that five minutes was about as much as anyone would want to listen to in a trailer; then couldn't decide which five minutes. So the bit there is chopped, but not enough to be palatable; possibly the worst of all worlds.

Roger's just telephoned me (while I was typing this) and thanks The Judge and Anya for their comments; it's still early enough to do changes (and nobody likes my chains. From the description

The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, and heavy purses wrought in steel.

I didn't think simple chinking links gave the right impression. Oh, well, back to the drawing board.)

Apparently, Dickens found the name of Ebeneza Scrooge on a gravestone in an Edinburgh cemetery, but that we discovered after the first recording. Roger tells me he went to primary school in Berghead (wherever that may be), and the local dialect is such that if he had used it here it would have been assumed he was speaking Norwegian or something .

And AMD; there was a lot more than that skipped there. All the bits about coffin nails being deader than doors, and forebear's similes. But it's all there in audio files ready (as soon as I've got the timing right, and the mix for the effects.

Thanks, everyone.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Burghead - It's a fishing village about 5 miles away from where I live.

Instead of an Englishman trying to be Scots, it's a Scotsman trying to be English. It will also explain why I was waiting for the I love you followed by the falling off the bar stool sound. However wait for other comments - not that many of your listeners will have worked in bars around the area he went to primary school.

OOh my best friend has been meaning to ask his book group for six months and never got round to it, Roger might know - is there a Burghead Brethren ? I umm have them in my book as the weird religion that go to my planet to start it. My friend just isn't entirely sure they might actually exist to offend

Maybe a heavy bunch of keys for the chains ?

 

[HareBrain]

Best chains were in Richard Williams's Oscar-winning 1973 animation. (5:20 onwards.)

 

[chrispenycate]

Well, it's under weigh.

He's called Roger Worrod, by the way, if anyone wants to hear some examples, easy enough to Google him.

And he does good voices; we used Mouse as a guinea pig (just fluff up Hugh, and conceal the tail, not cut it off) and she seemed quite happy with the results.

The idea is to offer recording services for other people's books; and to that end we need to contact writers or publishers who require quality audio books. Not just SFF, but anything, but I live here, so I thought I'd just chat.

It has been decided – note the passive mood, I didn't do any of the deciding, and Roger not all that much – that a competition for the best story, a bit under two thousand words, would bring writers flooding in. With the enthusiasm shown here for the writing challenges I can believe the analysis, but as far as I can see it merely pushes the problem back one step; how are potential writers supposed to hear about the competition?

Joining writers websites and shouting it to the rooftops would be spam as blatant as selling cheap sports shoes (not to mention I can't shout all that loud for such matters; snake oil is not my speciality). Even this post might be too self promotional, despite me having concealed it in an already existing thread; if so I will severely castigate myself and bin it.

 

[The Judge]

I think you're entitled to a bit of self-promotion, Chris!

It sounds an excellent idea to get some publicity for the venture. When does the competition start, and when does it close -- or have such matters yet to be decided? And is the prize having one's story audio'd for free -- or is there something else?

I'm pretty sure Duotrope's Digest gives details of short story contests which would spread the news around a little -- presumably it's possible just to write and tell them the details as and when everything is settled.

 

[chrispenycate]

As a reference http://www.rogerworrod.com/index.php/competition

If you click on the 'free downloads' button, you can listen to one of mine – well, we had to have something to start with

 

[Mouse]

And he does good voices; we used Mouse as a guinea pig (just fluff up Hugh, and conceal the tail, not cut it off) and she seemed quite happy with the results.

Understatement. I was extremely happy, and massively flattered and honoured that my little stories were chosen! I particularly love what Roger did with 'Ashes,' it sounds amazing.