OMG, this is exactly what I needed today. A good meta conversation to comfort me from the stupidity of work. :)
Podfic really does have a different aesthetic to it than pro-audiobooks. The biggest difference, that I’ve noticed, is that (in general) pro-audiobooks showcase the production of the audiobook, whereas podficcers (in general) showcase the story.
Pro-audiobooks are more likely to have background music, sound effects and the reader will generally do distinct voices for each character. And, as you said, sometimes those embellishments can be distracting.
I think because those embellishments can be distracting, especially if they’re done wrong, podficcers shy away from adding them or think really hard before adding them. After all most of us are amateurs using whatever equipment we have so it’s easy to do wrong. We’re not going to add random effects just for the sake of it (well, ok, it seems more and more people are adding music to podfic by default) we’re going to make sure that the situation calls for it and that we can pull it off.
Which is probably why we don’t try to do voices as much in podfic. Most fandoms with any sort of podfic volume is based on a media fandom (or a book fandom with media) so it’s hard for us to make up stuff when it can go against canon. Like, it doesn’t matter how hard I try, I’m never going to sound like Adam Lambert when I read, why even try to imitate him? I can’t pull it off. But if I were reading a book that isn’t based on a person/character with a pre-existing voice I could create a voice for them.
I don't think it'd be a bad thing for us to play around with different embellishments, in fact, I'm running podfic_bingo as a way for podficcers to experiment with that kind of thing. But, at the heart of it, most of us are podficcing stories we love and we don't want to overload the podfic and lose the story. If we're going to focus our energies on improving our craft, a lot of us focus in on our acting first. We work to make sure that how we read a line is how it was intended and in character to the pre-existing voice out there. This is probably helped by the fact that most podficcers work with the authors when podficcing, we might even be friends with them, we want to make sure what we make matches what they envisioned for the story.
I think too, the ways our audience consume podfic often shape how we deal with embellishments. And I think we're more aware of our listeners habits (or our listeners have different habits?).
For example, a lot of listeners will listen while in bed and changes in volume can really throw them from the mood and be a rude wake up. Or, personally, I don't even bother with things done with a radio play style. With radio plays, the sound effects and cast of voices are an integral part of the story telling and you have to pay attention to them to follow the plot. I listen to podfic at work, I can't spare the extra concentration it takes to follow the story and end up very lost (or getting no work done).
Hmm. I have more to say on this, but I'm having trouble articulating them on paper right now. It's times like these that I just want to grab my mic and have a conversation and work out what's on my mind that way. Actually, I might do that later when I get home and can grab a roommate to bounce ideas off of. If I do, I'll try to edit it down and post it here.
I'm really curious as to what others think though.
no subject
Podfic really does have a different aesthetic to it than pro-audiobooks. The biggest difference, that I’ve noticed, is that (in general) pro-audiobooks showcase the production of the audiobook, whereas podficcers (in general) showcase the story.
Pro-audiobooks are more likely to have background music, sound effects and the reader will generally do distinct voices for each character. And, as you said, sometimes those embellishments can be distracting.
I think because those embellishments can be distracting, especially if they’re done wrong, podficcers shy away from adding them or think really hard before adding them. After all most of us are amateurs using whatever equipment we have so it’s easy to do wrong. We’re not going to add random effects just for the sake of it (well, ok, it seems more and more people are adding music to podfic by default) we’re going to make sure that the situation calls for it and that we can pull it off.
Which is probably why we don’t try to do voices as much in podfic. Most fandoms with any sort of podfic volume is based on a media fandom (or a book fandom with media) so it’s hard for us to make up stuff when it can go against canon. Like, it doesn’t matter how hard I try, I’m never going to sound like Adam Lambert when I read, why even try to imitate him? I can’t pull it off. But if I were reading a book that isn’t based on a person/character with a pre-existing voice I could create a voice for them.
I don't think it'd be a bad thing for us to play around with different embellishments, in fact, I'm running
I think too, the ways our audience consume podfic often shape how we deal with embellishments. And I think we're more aware of our listeners habits (or our listeners have different habits?).
For example, a lot of listeners will listen while in bed and changes in volume can really throw them from the mood and be a rude wake up. Or, personally, I don't even bother with things done with a radio play style. With radio plays, the sound effects and cast of voices are an integral part of the story telling and you have to pay attention to them to follow the plot. I listen to podfic at work, I can't spare the extra concentration it takes to follow the story and end up very lost (or getting no work done).
Hmm. I have more to say on this, but I'm having trouble articulating them on paper right now. It's times like these that I just want to grab my mic and have a conversation and work out what's on my mind that way. Actually, I might do that later when I get home and can grab a roommate to bounce ideas off of. If I do, I'll try to edit it down and post it here.
I'm really curious as to what others think though.