A question about podding

[jelazakazone]

So, I've recorded two tiny pieces that I wrote and I'm looking at doing someone else's work (for kink bingo reasons).  I am wondering, hypothetically at the moment, about people's thoughts on recording stories in fandoms one knows nothing about.  As in, hasn't seen the source, has never read any fanfic or listened to podfic about it.  Does that matter, do you think?

Comments

[sylvaine]

I think it's fine, as long as you're not doing voices for the characters! Personally I don't like doing it because what I know about the fandom informs how I perform the characters to an extent, but if your process is different then I wouldn't worry. :)

[jelazakazone]

I am a total newbie to podfic from the recording side. I am practically a newbie in terms of writing fanfic as well (I've been writing for just over a year).

It turns out I got permission to record for a piece that is from a show I know, so I'm good to go this time, but I might want to record that other piece later, but I'm really not interested in that fandom at all, except for this one story.

But, yes, one of my worries was that what I know of the characters informs how I write them, so I figured it would inform how I performed them as well.

[juniperphoenix]

I've done this a few times for charity auctions when the recipient requested something I wasn't familiar with. It can be challenging, but in most cases I've really enjoyed the process and the recipients have seemed pleased with the results.

Here are a few strategies I use when recording outside my own fandoms:

* If I'm entirely unfamiliar with the source, I read about it on Wikipedia so that I at least know the basic premise and the cast of characters. I also research any pronunciations I'm unsure of (YouTube is great for this if it's a TV/film source, or you can ask the author).

* I read the story thoroughly several times before attempting to record it. This helps me to better understand what's going on in the story, the characters' motivations, and who is speaking when.

* When I record in my own fandoms, I sometimes try to "do the voices." I don't do that when I'm recording in an unfamiliar fandom, but sometimes I do try to differentiate between the characters by altering my delivery slightly, just to make it easier to tell who is speaking (especially if there's a lot of dialogue). If the story is short, I sometimes copy it into a Word doc and color-code the dialogue to help me tell the characters apart.

[jelazakazone]

Oooh, excellent strategies! Thanks so much for sharing your process.

[cantarina]

All of this!

It's absolutely possible to do a great job reading in a fandom you don't know, especially if you do a bit of legwork to get the 101 down. One of my best feedbacked stories (and one of my works I love best) is from a fandom I still haven't read or watched!

[jelazakazone]

Which podfic is that (so I can go listen to it?:D))

Thanks!

[cantarina]

It's called Dark Horse! (Nero Wolfe, ~20 minutes, gen)

[jelazakazone]

Awesome. I'll check it out:D

Oooh, I had a chance to listen. It's a great story and you did a good job with it. I think I might have listened to a Nero Wolfe book several years ago. I was totally smiling by the end:D Thanks for sharing!

[luzula]

It's up to you? I've done it, but not often. I usually feel that I have to know the characters in order to perform them well, but sometimes I feel like the story itself gives me such an insight into the characters that I go ahead anyway.

[jelazakazone]

Thanks! I have permission to podfic a story in a fandom I actually know, so I'm going to go with that one.

Given that I'm so new to podficcing, it almost seems like it might not matter. (I'm not going to be able to do a nuanced reading the way an experienced recorder can, if you know what I mean:))

[malnpudl]

I did this once for a gift podfic. I found it was extremely helpful to watch a bit of the source media on YouTube -- I think I watched a ten-minute clip twice -- just to get a sense of how the characters come across when speaking. Even though it was an anime fandom and the characters were speaking Japanese, it still helped enormously. I could still get an idea of their mood, pitch, tone, pace, etc.

[jelazakazone]

Oh gosh, what a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing:D

[greedy_dancer]

I did this too! Actually, when I recorded the Doctor Who/SGA crossover for you I was unfamiliar with both fandoms, and spent some time watching clips on Youtube and asking people in the know how to pronounce certain words.

Generally speaking, I know podficcers who record in unfamiliar fandoms all the time; the research I do is for my personal comfort. I think that as long as you don't do a really intense voice that might jar with what fans know about those characters, it shouldn't be a problem!

[malnpudl]

You did an amazing job on that podfic! Your voices were all brilliant. Amy Pond, in particular, sounded so much like the character, it could have been the actress speaking. ♥

[jelazakazone]

Great! I will keep this in mind if my first real attempt goes well and I still want to try the other one I had in mind. Thanks!