A Question for the Community

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Hi folks!

I'm relatively new to podfic and joined the community to get some good recommendations and listen to the works of others to improve my own drivel. I've been really happy and impressed with all I've seen (and heard) so far.

As I've been perusing the archives, I got to thinking. Podficing appears to be overwhelmingly female. Could anyone point me in the direction of fellow guys who podfic? ...If there is such a thing?

Ultimately, I suspect this is coming from a place of anxiety on my part. As a not-exactly-young-anymore fellow with a "femmy" voice, I'm waffling over the way I sound. My female impersonation is good. Really good--we're talking "Kurt Hummel from Glee," full-on Lady Voice, often mistaken for a woman over the phone. I've pretty much been recording with a female-style voice and have only just started to practice narrating in a lower register. I'm not happy with the sound. It might be nice to hear how other guys are coping with the enunciation and cadence issues which come with a deeper, less "crisp" speaking voice. If anyone has links or knows of men who podfic, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!


UPDATED:
You can hear my female impersonation and character voices HERE, along with my regular speaking voice, downloadable HERE. I feel like a prat, but whatever. I'll get over it in time.

Comments

[inteligrrl.livejournal.com]

If I recall SKLee (Spelling?) is male, or at least pinged me that way years ago. Podfic, like fanfic, is largely produced by (some completely amazing) women - so you're unlikely to run into a lot of male voices. Also, if you want recs you might want to list a few fandoms. I'm HIGHLY polyfandom, and can give recs for just about anything outside of SPNJ2, J/KPop, and Anime, but guidance as to your interests would be nice. Two I completely endorse from rare fandoms are Theories About Nuclear Winter (Calvin Hobbes fic by Hollycomb read by BessyBoo) and The Art Of Running & Fearless On My Breath (Fast & The Furious girl!Brian read by Reena Jenkins). Totally check them out.

[inteligrrl.livejournal.com]

(Note: SKLee now goes by Kinseyx)

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs. I recall listening to a read by BessyBoo and admiring the quality.

I've been fine finding podfics in my "fandoms" (which is laughable, since I don't consider myself a fanboy of any pop culture icon other than Miss RuPaul). I'm more of a writer than a reader, really, and got into recording my fics when several readers approached me about it as a way to expand my audience (I write some weird shit).

I'm really interested in hearing male voices, not professionally recorded. There's a lot to compensate for, I'm learning, when you read in a lower register on equipment with background fuzz, etc. I've learned a lot from female readers but was hoping to find something in my register, making it easier to compare and contrast. I'm 100% happy with my female-impersonation recordings. I want to start "reading" as a man. (Pun intended, I guess)

[freekydj.livejournal.com]

I know there are a few male recorders out there, but unfortunately, very little is recorded in my fandoms by men. The closest I can think of is Candle Beck who sounds masculine, but is a woman. In my opinion, I would love to hear some podfic recorded in a male voice. It sometimes takes a little while for the "suspension of belief" to happen and get into a story when in a fic a male speaks and you hear a very feminine voice. This is the same on my audiobooks. I just finished a short vamp romance and the woman who read it, well she TRIED to sound masculine, and that was a big mistake. It was worse than just listening to women with an extremely young or feminine sound reading the part. I had to be at least 1/2 hour into the story before I wasn't cringing every few minutes. I think podfic is primarily read and written by women. Which is a shame. We really need some more masculine readers and writers! Just go with your natural voice IMHO, and you can't go wrong. edit: here's a link to Candle Beck's podfics. Like I said, it's a woman, but she really has a deep voice, and sounds great.;) http://amplificathon.livejournal.com/tag/reader%3Acandle_beck

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! I'll be sure to check Beck out.

[cybel]

There's a post here about male podficcers that you should find useful. :-)

As to your own voice, we'll be happy to hear whatever you read! Almost everyone is displeased with their own voice and/or reading to some extent, especially newbies, but there are sure to be many listeners who will love what you do, and possibly others who would be happy to provide constructive commentary if you want it.

Looking forward to having you in the podficcing community!

[applegeuse.livejournal.com]

As to your own voice, we'll be happy to hear whatever you read! Almost everyone is displeased with their own voice and/or reading to some extent, especially newbies, but there are sure to be many listeners who will love what you do, and possibly others who would be happy to provide constructive commentary if you want it.

Absolutely seconded! :) Nicely said, cybel.

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

I'm actually totally pleased with the results of my female-impersonation readings, oddly enough. I've posted a few and gotten great feedback. So far, I've been narrating as a female, using accents for characters as needed and dropping down into my lower registers for male character voices. At times, it can sound like three or four distinct people, which is pretty darn cool. I have a background in theater, oration and public speaking, so this isn't that much of a stretch for me.

There's something funky going on with the way a lower register picks up with my equipment. At least, that's how it sounds to me. I'm going to check that post you mentioned, see if listening to other non-pro guys can assuage some of my hesitancy.

Much appreciated!

[cybel]

Though most everyone over there also follows amplificathon, you might want to also check out podfic_tips if you have any technical questions.

[kalakirya]

for what it's worth, I'm female with a very low natural register (lower than some of my male friends, as we found out one night of slightly drunken praat-aided investigation), and found that my microphone had a great deal of trouble with my natural voice. Upgrading my equipment helped, as did fussing with the settings on audacity, but there seems to be something about the lower registers that most microphones just have trouble with. I seem to remember that audacity has (had?) a problem with low fundamental frequencies, too, so it could be a combination of soft- and hardware issues.

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

I've been able to dick with my settings quite a bit. I'm just finding out how much more I can do.

Upgrading my equipment really isn't an option right now. I have Lupus. And heart problems. So all of my money goes to my doctors and bills. The $14 noise-cancelling mic I'm using now was actually a gift from a gal who reads my fiction. I felt very blessed and loved when she offered. My next step it to try recording in a more sound-friendly space. Currently I'm in the den, which is a pretty small room but has a lot of furniture. My other option would be the walk-in closet--lots of squishy coats and such to give good sound. I'll just have to get over myself and "get back in the closet." I'm sure many a Republican Presidential candidate would be pleased. (Sorry. I can't resist the opportunity for a good pun.)

I use TrakAx rather than Audacity. It's probably not as awesome as far as recording features go but I prefer the layout and remastering options. I might download Audacity and give it a whirl, just to see if its better, worse or only similarly displeasing.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one--man or woman--to have encountered this problem.

[kalakirya]

argh. both heart issues and lupus can be very difficult to live with - you have my sympathy and much, much support.

honestly, I'll just echo what cybel said: it's so wonderful to have new voices and more interest in podficcing, and if your voice is clear and you're having fun, you're set. (from a strictly mercenary point of view, if you're relaxed and comfortable and happy, you're more likely to record more fic, which makes everyone else happy, and matters far, far more than the quality of the recording ;D )

we should have a support group :D

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Let's <3

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

This is fantastic--thanks so much!

[erica-schall.livejournal.com]

You might want to check out falone42's recordings under his reader's tag here. I found his reading of A photograph of the artist as a young man Chapter 1A (http://amplificathon.livejournal.com/1315244.html) very... let's say stimulating ;)

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Oh. Dear God. Thank you so much. Falone is making me feel infinitely better. He's a lovely reader--and proving my suspicions that to keep clarity in our enunciation, we fellas actually have to bring our voices up in pitch. The higher the sound, the easier it carries.

Thanks again for the link. Infinitely helpful.

[lunchee]

I have nothing really helpful to add, only that I am very excited at the prospect of more male readers! And one with acting experience and stuff at that! You may be able to get help/listen to more amateur readers over at Librivox. There are two versions of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes there, one read by a pro and one read by an amateur (both male, and if I recall correctly the amateur's voice is at a much higher pitch than the pro's.)

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

I updated my original post with links, so you can hear me a little.

I studied oration, public speaking, presentation and performance in college; I was more of a director than an actor, though I spent some time on the stage. I worked with both theater and film back when I lived in NYC. Now I'm ill and relegated to the country for my health. *le sigh*

[lunchee]

o_o

Pardon my french, but I would certainly be a person who would mistake you for a woman over the phone. Even after downloading Switchblade Glances and I still...yeah. I am incredibly amazed! Besides my utter astonishment over that, I really enjoyed your accents! I admire anyone who can. Admire and envyyyyyy.

Your college studies and theatre work sound really fun! I have never done anything of the sort before doing podfics, but I do know many others, like cantarina1 and bessyboo have a similar kind of experience with stage and theatre.

Also, I read upthread about your health, and that majorly, majorly sucks. My heart goes out to you.

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Amazed because I'm awful? Or amazed that I'm a guy? ^_^

[lunchee]

Not awful at all! I like American accents a lot, you guys sound really warm and cozy. I am, however, guilty of not thinking twice about you being a woman had you not told us that you weren't :( I'm sorry!

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about it! Sometimes it's nice to be pushing thirty and have people say you sound like a female... or a prepubescent boy. I get both.

[lunchee]

FOREVER YOUNG.

Seriously though, I'm so relieved you're not offended. Hurray!

[lunate8.livejournal.com]

In the past I've poked around the forums (http://community.podiobooks.com/) and groups (http://community.podiobooks.com/groups) at Podiobooks.com (http://www.podiobooks.com/) for technical hints about recording. It's a different culture than the podficcing community (not bad, just different) and I get the impression that the proportion of men producing podiobooks is higher. You may have to dig into older posts, but hopefully there's some info there that'll be helpful for you.

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

Wow. The forums over there are great. Thanks for the heads-up!

[ellex42.livejournal.com]

After listening to both examples of your recording voice, I have to admit that in both cases I'd have assumed you were female. But also, in both cases I like your voice very much. The pitch is melodious, the diction is clear, and and the speaking pace is just right. FYI, your female impersonation is better than Kurt Hummel - if you hadn't identified as a guy, I'd never have imagined for a moment that you weren't a girl.

I second the advice to listen to Candle Beck - she has a very low voice, but her podfics are always a pleasure to listen to.

However - and this is a common complaint for me - in both cases you often speak in what I would call a "murmur". Your speaking voice is so quiet that I have to turn up the volume to the point where your voice comes close to being drowned out by the hissing sound of the microphone. My impression is that you're trying to read out loud without anyone in the room next door hearing you.

While better quality equipment can help, I find the problem is usually the person speaking rather than the equipment. Sit back from the microphone and pretend you're reading to someone at least 10 feet away from you. I've experimented with recording myself singing, and no matter what I sing, everything comes out clearer that way.

[sordid-humors.livejournal.com]

I actually conducted distance-based voice checks with my equipment when I got it. I did both speaking and singing with about the same result. My prime fuzziness-to-volume ratio is at 2 feet from the mic. Any further away and I'm overtaken by the blurriness in the background; any closer and I'm breathing on the mic when I speak; any louder and I won't be able to sustain the volume while speaking at length.

I'm sick. I get winded from walking up 3 flights of stairs. I'm bedridden one or two days out of the week, on average, so it's kind of a "do my best when I have the strength" thing.

My next move is to try recording in my walk-in closet. I'm hoping a smaller space will help the sound that I'm currently losing. As soon as I'm well enough to drag a chair and computer in the other room, I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for the advice, though! I appreciate it.

[ellex42.livejournal.com]

I sympathize. My allergies often make it difficult to sing, and as much as I'd like to record podfic, sustained speaking is even harder. I hope you feel better soon, and I think a smaller room might indeed help.