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amplificathon2012-07-16 11:27 pm
anna_unfolding) wrote in amplificathon2012-07-16 11:27 pm
Amplirecathon: 3 Avengers podfic artists to watch for
For my rec post here on Amplirecathon today, I am highlighting three podfic artists recording actively in the Avengers fandom who are new(ish) and/or haven’t yet gotten the attention I feel they deserve. All three record in other fandoms, as well, which I will list in their individual recs.
These three podficcers are doing some really incredible work, and yet a glance at their ao3 kudos or LJ comments suggests that not many people know it (or, at least, aren’t communicating that they know it, which we know happens a lot amongst podfic listeners). All three are excellent in overlapping but different ways, and I am drawn to each of them for different reasons.
Podfic Artist: regonym
Highlighting these podfics:
Pigeonville, U.S.A., by sheafrotherdon
you’re the one who sees the darkness on the edge of town, by lanyon
Professions, by gqgqqt
Fandoms she records in: Avengers, bandom, One Piece, Merlin, Umbrella Academy
Biggest strength: delivers emotional weight without over-emoting
Why I’m reccing her: Regonym is drawn to recording fics with strong emotional undercurrents that yet are unadorned with unnecessary frilly language; then she delivers them with a deep an awareness of those two things. Her delivery is almost simplistic, but never simple. The facts of the fic, the fears of the characters and their motivations—all these things find their target of the listener’s heart by way of Regonym’s mouth. She never overdoes it, ever, even when it’d be so tempting to over-emote; but the listener knows anyway that, embedded sometimes in the spaces between lines, she is holding the characters’ complex and heavy emotional burdens as she brings their stories to us. She's a ridiculously trust-worthy steward of fics I cherish and of the characters I call my babies.
She pronounces every consonant without reminding you of it; she leaves space for you to come to terms with the emotional!right hook of painful moments in fics. If you didn’t know the characters, it’s possible her unadorned delivery would sound nonchalant, like in Professions, for example, which is an AU!Avengers fic. Except this AU!Clint and this AU!Phil are our Clint and Phil, and she never forgets that, even as she very casually gives us Clint’s sex worker backstory. In the Lanyon fic, you almost get the sense that some sort of HP!Resurrection Stone has called her presence forth to witness as she narrates and we walk with Phil through his early life, through the points that explain how he became the Phil we know, the Phil who would want and need Clint (forgive the Harry Potter reference). Pigeonville, U.S.A. is honestly one of my favorite podfics of all time, which is saying a lot. I’ve listened to it many times but have never read the fic, and her performance is exceptional. She nails a conversation between Phil and Darcy, and if you imagine actually having to go back and forth between the energy of Phil’s character and the energy of Darcy’s and not let them bleed together or throw each other off, you’d understand what a master she is at this.
Podfic Artist: liannabob
Highlighting this podfic:
By Any Means Necessary?, by Salvage
Biggest strength: keeps characters' voices distinct from each other and consistent across the fic
Why I’m reccing her: This podfic about killed me with hot. It doesn’t hurt that it’s no strings attached sex between Clint and Tony as Clint seduces Tony (on Phil’s orders) to get him to join SHIELD but is actually leading to a serious sexual/romantic relationship between Clint and Phil. But jfc. Liannabob, you guys. Her performance was present, honest, and committed, which is what is sexy to me irl too, so of course I liked this podfic. :D Another thing she does exceptionally well—perhaps as well as my podfic heroes podklb and greedy_dancer, who are the fucking masters at this—is to authentically stay in the voice of a character over the course of a fic that includes a lot of emotional change for said character. Liannabob nails Clint’s voice, and never leaves it, even as he’s pretending to be a Stark Industries attorney, or Pepper’s PA, or Tony’s lover, or Phil’s subordinate, or (ultimately), a man coming to understand his unique gifts, both professional and personal, after a life of underestimating himself. Her Tony is so Tony, and her Phil is so Phil, and I was totally struck by how much she sounded like their characters, yet she never once “imitated” the actors who play them onscreen. Her delivery never once sounded like a caricature or some sort of clunky impersonation of RDJ. This is a podfic not to be missed, if the summary and pairings appeal to you at all. I’m cheating a little here in general!reccing a podfic artist but talking solely about one of her podfics, but it was that good, and I can’t wait to listen to more of her work.
Podfic Artist: dapatty
Highlighting this podfic: Phil Coulson is Not the Avengers' Public Relations Manager, by scifigrl47
Fandoms she records in: Avengers, Bandom (various), Life, Warehouse 13, Supernatural, Dr. Who
Biggest strength: unpracticed enjoyment and bright energy as she delivers quirky characters' stories
Why I’m reccing her: Dapatty has quickly become one of the most reliable podficcers to me in regards to the energy, delight, and authentic joy she brings to the text. This Avengers podfic is a great example of this. There’s a strong in-the-moment feel to her performance; I don’t know for sure, but I would wager she doesn’t rerecord lines as much as the average podficcer. It sounds to me as though she gives herself over to the demented/delightful/humorous characters she’s capturing, and runs with it, not stopping to perfect the bits of narration around it. The experience of listening to her is affirming, vivacious, and energizing. It also feels encouraging as a newish podficcer, because she isn’t a slave to perfection; if she’s a slave to anything, it’s to devoting herself to ridiculous characters like fanon!Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Gerard Way, etc. (Full disclosure: Dapatty was the first podfic artist to record one of my own stories, so I naturally have a soft spot for her. :D)
Her Avengers podfic I linked to above is especially good because each scene has multiple characters, and it was a blast to hear her throw this in-the-moment energy at each of them. Dapatty is a refreshing and new (but hard-working and very prolific) podfic artist and even though I've barely scratched the surface in listening to her body of work, I rec her whole-heartedly, esp. this fic.
These three podficcers are doing some really incredible work, and yet a glance at their ao3 kudos or LJ comments suggests that not many people know it (or, at least, aren’t communicating that they know it, which we know happens a lot amongst podfic listeners). All three are excellent in overlapping but different ways, and I am drawn to each of them for different reasons.
Podfic Artist: regonym
Highlighting these podfics:
Pigeonville, U.S.A., by sheafrotherdon
you’re the one who sees the darkness on the edge of town, by lanyon
Professions, by gqgqqt
Fandoms she records in: Avengers, bandom, One Piece, Merlin, Umbrella Academy
Biggest strength: delivers emotional weight without over-emoting
Why I’m reccing her: Regonym is drawn to recording fics with strong emotional undercurrents that yet are unadorned with unnecessary frilly language; then she delivers them with a deep an awareness of those two things. Her delivery is almost simplistic, but never simple. The facts of the fic, the fears of the characters and their motivations—all these things find their target of the listener’s heart by way of Regonym’s mouth. She never overdoes it, ever, even when it’d be so tempting to over-emote; but the listener knows anyway that, embedded sometimes in the spaces between lines, she is holding the characters’ complex and heavy emotional burdens as she brings their stories to us. She's a ridiculously trust-worthy steward of fics I cherish and of the characters I call my babies.
She pronounces every consonant without reminding you of it; she leaves space for you to come to terms with the emotional!right hook of painful moments in fics. If you didn’t know the characters, it’s possible her unadorned delivery would sound nonchalant, like in Professions, for example, which is an AU!Avengers fic. Except this AU!Clint and this AU!Phil are our Clint and Phil, and she never forgets that, even as she very casually gives us Clint’s sex worker backstory. In the Lanyon fic, you almost get the sense that some sort of HP!Resurrection Stone has called her presence forth to witness as she narrates and we walk with Phil through his early life, through the points that explain how he became the Phil we know, the Phil who would want and need Clint (forgive the Harry Potter reference). Pigeonville, U.S.A. is honestly one of my favorite podfics of all time, which is saying a lot. I’ve listened to it many times but have never read the fic, and her performance is exceptional. She nails a conversation between Phil and Darcy, and if you imagine actually having to go back and forth between the energy of Phil’s character and the energy of Darcy’s and not let them bleed together or throw each other off, you’d understand what a master she is at this.
Podfic Artist: liannabob
Highlighting this podfic:
By Any Means Necessary?, by Salvage
Biggest strength: keeps characters' voices distinct from each other and consistent across the fic
Why I’m reccing her: This podfic about killed me with hot. It doesn’t hurt that it’s no strings attached sex between Clint and Tony as Clint seduces Tony (on Phil’s orders) to get him to join SHIELD but is actually leading to a serious sexual/romantic relationship between Clint and Phil. But jfc. Liannabob, you guys. Her performance was present, honest, and committed, which is what is sexy to me irl too, so of course I liked this podfic. :D Another thing she does exceptionally well—perhaps as well as my podfic heroes podklb and greedy_dancer, who are the fucking masters at this—is to authentically stay in the voice of a character over the course of a fic that includes a lot of emotional change for said character. Liannabob nails Clint’s voice, and never leaves it, even as he’s pretending to be a Stark Industries attorney, or Pepper’s PA, or Tony’s lover, or Phil’s subordinate, or (ultimately), a man coming to understand his unique gifts, both professional and personal, after a life of underestimating himself. Her Tony is so Tony, and her Phil is so Phil, and I was totally struck by how much she sounded like their characters, yet she never once “imitated” the actors who play them onscreen. Her delivery never once sounded like a caricature or some sort of clunky impersonation of RDJ. This is a podfic not to be missed, if the summary and pairings appeal to you at all. I’m cheating a little here in general!reccing a podfic artist but talking solely about one of her podfics, but it was that good, and I can’t wait to listen to more of her work.
Podfic Artist: dapatty
Highlighting this podfic: Phil Coulson is Not the Avengers' Public Relations Manager, by scifigrl47
Fandoms she records in: Avengers, Bandom (various), Life, Warehouse 13, Supernatural, Dr. Who
Biggest strength: unpracticed enjoyment and bright energy as she delivers quirky characters' stories
Why I’m reccing her: Dapatty has quickly become one of the most reliable podficcers to me in regards to the energy, delight, and authentic joy she brings to the text. This Avengers podfic is a great example of this. There’s a strong in-the-moment feel to her performance; I don’t know for sure, but I would wager she doesn’t rerecord lines as much as the average podficcer. It sounds to me as though she gives herself over to the demented/delightful/humorous characters she’s capturing, and runs with it, not stopping to perfect the bits of narration around it. The experience of listening to her is affirming, vivacious, and energizing. It also feels encouraging as a newish podficcer, because she isn’t a slave to perfection; if she’s a slave to anything, it’s to devoting herself to ridiculous characters like fanon!Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Gerard Way, etc. (Full disclosure: Dapatty was the first podfic artist to record one of my own stories, so I naturally have a soft spot for her. :D)
Her Avengers podfic I linked to above is especially good because each scene has multiple characters, and it was a blast to hear her throw this in-the-moment energy at each of them. Dapatty is a refreshing and new (but hard-working and very prolific) podfic artist and even though I've barely scratched the surface in listening to her body of work, I rec her whole-heartedly, esp. this fic.