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podficmeta2010-04-30 09:00 am
zvi) wrote in podficmeta2010-04-30 09:00 am
Entry tags:
from me, zvi
So, something came up in the discussion about changes that I'd like to talk about.
Is podfic for the writer, or is it an independent work of the reader?
We've got a couple of models about fanwork in fandom. There's fanfiction or fanart based on the source, which is clearly not for TPTB. And we've got art made for a particular fanfiction, which is generally presented as for the author of the fanfiction. And we've got exchange challenges, where the story written is a gift for the recipient. But we've also got prompt challenges and remix, where you're working based on story or prompt of a particular person, but it's really specifically not a gift.
Where does podfic fall in that spectrum? And, because of where it falls in the spectrum, should the authors whose work is being read treat it as a gift, or as an independent fanwork that they criticize to the extent/in the same manner as they would anything else?
We only have one more discussion question left from the 3w4w blitz, so if there's some podfic meta you'd like to bring up, please leave a discussion prompt
Is podfic for the writer, or is it an independent work of the reader?
We've got a couple of models about fanwork in fandom. There's fanfiction or fanart based on the source, which is clearly not for TPTB. And we've got art made for a particular fanfiction, which is generally presented as for the author of the fanfiction. And we've got exchange challenges, where the story written is a gift for the recipient. But we've also got prompt challenges and remix, where you're working based on story or prompt of a particular person, but it's really specifically not a gift.
Where does podfic fall in that spectrum? And, because of where it falls in the spectrum, should the authors whose work is being read treat it as a gift, or as an independent fanwork that they criticize to the extent/in the same manner as they would anything else?
We only have one more discussion question left from the 3w4w blitz, so if there's some podfic meta you'd like to bring up, please leave a discussion prompt
no subject
Neither of these feels quite right to me. Treating it as a gift implies the assumption that the reader was doing it primarily *for* the author, and while, as a reader I really value the author's opinion and end up feeling very close to them and fond of them after spending so much time with their story, I have never decided to record something just because I thought it would make the author happy. I decide to record because I love the story and think I could do something good with it and want to spend time with it. And I share it when I'm done because, I suppose, I like the positive attention and it makes me feel good to think of people I have never met listening to and enjoying my work. The author's opinion does matter to me more than any other listener's, but if I knew in advance that the author was never going to listen or give much thought to a podfic, that wouldn't stop me from doing the story.
I think the relationship between author and reader is like... to me, the author ends up feeling like how I felt about my professors when I was in college. I wasn't going to school and writing my papers *for* them, it wasn't a gift to them, but I did put a lot of stock in their opinion. That doesn't mean they had to think I was perfect, and if they had useful things to teach me that was awesome and I took it to heart. But I had one professor where I did not make it through a single paper conference without tears, because he would always just rip into my paper and tell me everything wrong with it, in a way that didn't actually help me see how to fix it for next time, and taking every word he said to heart made me feel like a complete failure. But I don't think he realized the power that his position gave his words, so he was just confused about why I was taking some normal everyday criticism so seriously.
Anyway, I don't know if that analogy to professors is useful to anybody who doesn't live in my brain and have the associations I have. But I think the point is that the author should be aware that they are not in the same position in the reader's mind as any other listener. But it's not because the podfic was made as a gift to them, either. It's just because they are special among listeners in the reader's mind and their opinion carries a lot more weight than other listener opinions.
(Disclaimer for the whole last paragraph: I only actually know this to be true about me and the other one podficcer friend I have talked to about this. It might be different for other readers.)