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Cover Art. The cover depicts the scene where a boy was dragged into a video game world.
August 2008
Vo l u m e I I s s u e 1
Page 2 Maudelayne artwork by Alexa Chipman.
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This is the current page. It lists the Staff who worked on this issue, and the Issue Summary.
Page 4
From The Admin’s Desk, which is a letter from the administrator of Radioplay Contests to the readers of the magazine.
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The Comic Summary, which features the most recent comic strips that were posted at the forum.
Page 6 Alexa Chipman’s writing article.
Pages 7-10
Interviews from the main cast of RPG World.
Pages 11-12
Two tutorials which could help you gain new techniques to apply to your productions.
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Banner Ads. If you are a regular member on the forum, you would probably have an ad in there.
Magazine Staff Production Manager - Lee Labit Page Designer and Page Formatter - Alexa Chipman Editor - Fiona Thraille
What Is A Radioplay? A radioplay is a form of play in audio format. The first radio plays were broadcast in the 1920s. These days, amateur producers produce radioplays (or audio dramas) but they are rarely broadcast on radio stations. All articles are copyrighted by their respective authors. RADIOPLAY magazine is (c) 2008 Radioplay Contests. All Rights Reserved.
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From The A d m i n ’ s D e s k Welcome to the first issue of the RADIOPLAY magazine. It is a monthly e-zine that is released during the last day of each month. Each issue contains at least two articles, two tutorials, comics, and a lot more about modern radioplays. Radioplay Contests was founded by myself, Mochan, and Bomberman61. Our first feature was the Radioplay Contests Podcast, which was hosted by Mochan and Bomberman. It is a podcast where the hosts talk about new radioplays that were released by amateur producers and they also talk about upcoming productions. The second feature is a weekly comic about funny things that could happen to a radioplay producer. The first comic was released in January and boy was that a hot topic. In fact, it almost got out of control so Mochan locked the thread. With this magazine, it is the third feature that is available exclusively at Radioplay Contests. Speaking of the words “Radioplay Contests”, you may wonder why I chose that name. Well, I chose the word “radioplay” since that is the term that was used in The Voice Acting Alliance for audio productions that people make. What about “Contests”? When I wanted to create a forum for radioplays, I wanted something unique about it so it would not be just a forum about radioplays. So, I tried to hold a contest about making a radioplay based on an idea that I or the members choose. Even with prizes at stake, people still would not bite on the idea. So, that one failed. So, how did it flourish and become the forum that it is right now? Well, I don’t want to give away all my secrets but here’s a few: I started on posting on various forums that had nothing to do with radioplays, basically just saying that I have this forum where people can talk about amateur radioplay productions. I also posted on blogs with the same message. Last but not least, I let producers know that there is a discussion going on about their radioplays if there are some reviews that my members wrote about their productions. I’d like to thank all the people who are regular members and visitors to my forum, especially Mochan, UltraRob, Niko Ford, DarkPsyFanatic, Teacup, and AthenaMuze. Well, that’s about it for this section of ‘From The Admin’s Desk’. In the future issues, this section will contain a summary of what has happened in the forum during the past month.
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Surprise Blooper
FuzzyFace: “Playlist? Why would you put lines into a playlist?”
Mochan: “A playlist is kind of weird, but to each their own. XD”
Teacup: “I never thought to create a playlist. This is going to save a lot of time. Thanks!”
More comments here: http://www.radioplaycontests.com/index.php/topic,1078.0.html
A Radioplay Producer’s Power
AlexaChipman: “Now THAT is funny!”
A Radioplay Producer’s Power Part 2
We’d Rather Not Include Our Own Artwork Teacup: “Rofl - That’s hilarious! Actually, the pic’s rather charming. It’d put me in a good mood to listen to the radioplay.” Niko: “I can draw, so I do XD But I love this comic!” UltraRob: “Yep, looks about my level of artistic ability.” More comments here: http://www.radioplaycontests.com/index.php/topic,1156.0.html
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Writing for Audio By Alexa Chipman
There are many different programs and formatting techniques in audio writing, but this article is not about those aspects. For one thing, there is a great deal of controversy regarding which program is best for writing scripts in, and the long and short is that an audio scriptwriting program simply isn’t currently available. There are some for screenplays which can be adapted, and many writers use basic programs such as Microsoft Word. When it comes to formatting in audio writing, I would not presume to dictate as I myself use different styles depending on the audio company I am writing for. The main questions to keep in mind are: 1. Can the voice actors clearly see character names, so they know which lines they should record? 2. Are the sound effects quite different from the lines, and do they pop out enough for the mixer to see? 3. Is it obvious where the scene/act breaks are upon first glance? However you prefer to address the questions above is entirely up to you. Make liberal use of your bold, italic and tabbing. As you write an audio, it takes a certain state of mind that is different from writing screenplays, fiction or papers. You must remember that while the entire scene with characters, costumes and scenery is visible in your own head, it is not visible to the listeners and you cannot use description they way you could in a novel. Before I begin to write, the first thing I do is decide on the narrative style. I tend to break it down into the following different types: 1. No narrator and no “JIM: I see you are wearing a pink and white spotted hat” but instead natural dialogue. 2. No narrator, but allow characters to describe the scene in more detail than a normal person would. 3. Light narration, still allowing the characters to describe much of the scene as well. 4. Full narration, characters go back to purely natural dialogue and do not attempt to describe anything. It is important to decide this before you begin writing, or it will become confusing and disjointed as a result. Another thing I like to do is to have a separate document open where I list the characters in order of appearance. Firstly this eliminates the need to go scrolling back to the first page of your script every time a new character appears, and secondly it helps with cast calls because I will do the full cast call description of the character as I write that it appears. This usually includes gender, age, ethnicity, voice type, personality and brief history of the character’s background. In order to assist your mixer/director/post-producer, whenever you change locations do a brief description of the entire sound background for that location which is separate from the action oriented special effects notes, like this: SFX BG: Forest meadow in afternoon with light breezes, birds, crickets, etc.
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RPG World is about a boy who is transported into a video game world that he is familiar with. He meets characters that he knows and who have experience of what it is like to live in an role-playing world. The following are three interviews from the main cast of RPG World. Katie Dehnart plays both the lead roles in this production, who are Johnny and Princess Yiggs. Chibi_Riki plays a major character named Rikku who goes on an adventure with Johnny and Tau. The voice of Tau is Logan McLaughlin. Tau is Johnny’s best friend or “sidekick” in this story.
Interview with Chibi_Riki By Lee Labit 1. What was your first amateur voice acting role? I don’t really remember, but I THINK it was as Hilary in Beyblade Ai-D (Kelsea-chan’s radioplay) 2. Do you make any special preparation before you record your lines? When I first started I didn’t, but now I try to get my mic standing up so I don’t have to hold it, and get something to put in between my mouth and the mic, to avoid puffs. I also try to practise my lines in the character’s voice, so I don’t have to do a million and one re-takes. 3. What tools/software do you use to record your lines? For the program, I use Audacity. I used to use Pro MP3 Recorder, but I like Audacity better, because I can edit out the clicks from the mouse now, and it’s easier to record lines in Audacity. 4. Have you taken any voice lessons? If so, can you tell us about that experience? I haven’t ever taken voice lessons, but I’ve been trying to look for somewhere to take them, just so I can get a bit more practice, and work on my stuttering/pausing when I speak. 5. Were you ever recast in a production? Why? I don’t think I’ve ever been recast... 6. What advice can you give for other voice actors who want to maintain a long-term hobby of voicing for amateur productions? I don’t really know... I guess, if you don’t get a part you wanted, don’t get discouraged and keep trying...? 7. Is there any special event that motivated you to create your own production? Or were you fascinated with other productions and just decided that you’d start to make one?
I think it was the fact I wanted to have some experience in audio editing/mixing, before I go to film school for college, and, because I just REALLY wanted to hear my RP characters come to life. 8. Beside the radioplay productions that you are in, do you listen to other radioplay productions? If so, what are the titles of your favorite shows? I try to. I’ll see them on the VAA boards when I’m busy and I’ll be like ‘Hey, that looks interesting. I think I’ll listen to that later!’, but sadly, I never get around to it... Unless the fact I listen to Second Chances for Sora, and I’ve only been in one episode counts. 9. Besides voice acting, do you have any other skills that you could contribute to a radioplay production? I can mix just a tiny bit, but not very much... I need to practice... I’m also pretty good at drawing. 10. On a rating of 1 (Not important) to 5 (Very important), how important are the following factors (on an audition thread) in your decision to audition for a project? Artwork: 0 Grammar: 2 or 3. At least the audition lines and guidelines have to be understandable. Producer’s experience: 2. I prefer it if they’ve actually gotten around to finishing a project, but if it’s something I just HAVE to audition for, or I like the story or something, I’ll audition. Thread attention: 1 Story Rating: 1. I don’t really care, as long as it’s not... Ecchi.... 11. Based on the scripts that you received so far for RPG World, which character in your opinion has the best lines? I’d have to say... Rikku. I love Rikku. And not just because I play her, it’s because she’s awesome! 12. (Optional, answer only if you have played some RPGs) Who is your favorite character in an RPG (role playing game)? I think it’s... Ion or Mieu, both from Tales of the Abyss. They’re just so cute! 13. If you are a movie cast director for RPG World right now, which actors would you cast to play as Johnny, Rikku, and Tau? I don’t really know... Probably whoever looks like their originals. It doesn’t feel right to me unless the actor looks a little like the original character...
About the Voice Actor Chibi_Riki has a blogspot site which contains information about her current roles, previous roles, productions that she has completed and those that she is working on. Her website URL
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is <http://chibirikiresume.blogspot.com>. She has written a brief biography about herself, which is on the right-hand side.
Interview with Logan By Lee Labit 1. What was your first amateur voice acting role? I currently don’t have any published roles as of yet, but the first one that is closest to being published, to my knowledge, is the third episode of RPG World. However, there are other roles which may or may not be published before that such as Prosecutor Winston Payne in an upcoming fandub of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney by Mike Meekins, Dr. Reyes from a radioplay called The Resistance by a person named Zelda, and the Cheshire Cat in the Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories fandub by SaiyanSerenityV. 2. Do you make any special preparation before you record your lines? Not really that much prep. I gulp down a glass of hot water to start, cover my microphone with a makeshift pop-screen, and get to it. 3. What tools/software do you use to record your lines? Tools I use to record aren’t really that fancy. I use a cheap desktop microphone and a free audio editing/recording program called Audacity, which I swear by. 4. Have you taken any voice lessons? If so, can you tell us about that experience? I have not taken any kind of voice lessons, though I did read somewhere that one can get better at voice acting by trying to mimic voices they hear on a cartoon, an anime series, a video game, or a radioplay and not only find out their vocal range in this way, but also discover the kinds of voices they can do well and the ones they cannot. 5. Were you ever recast in a production? Why? To my knowledge, I was never recast in a production. There’s little reason to recast me other than someone else takes over the project and doesn’t like some of the voices and recasts from that. I always get my lines in as quick as I am able, though sometimes I do have e-mail 6. What advice can you give for other voice actors who want to maintain a long-term hobby of voicing for amateur productions? Well I do advise that you audition for as many roles as you feel comfortable auditioning for. Remember, work is good in a voice career regardless of how much it is because even if you audition for a million things, there is a chance you will get anywhere from all one million roles to none of them. It all depends on how much effort you put into it. Also make sure that you know what kind of microphone will work for you before you rush out and buy one. I went through a lot of cash for microphones for discovering a cheap
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desktop microphone, with the right makeshift pop-screen, can work almost as good if not as good as microphones that cost upwards of $5000. 7. Have you thought about making your own radioplay production? I have thought of it many times and have had several ideas. However, I am just not a director. I cannot tell people what to do and give them deadlines because that’s not the kind of person I am. I understand what goes into it, but the level of responsibility is too much for me to handle, personally. I’d much rather give someone who can handle it pretty much everything and tell them that they can take the reigns from there. Maybe I’m just a wimp, but I don’t do well in a director’s chair. 8. Beside the radioplay productions that you are in, do you listen to other radioplay productions? If so, what are the titles of your favorite shows? I don’t listen to other radioplay productions per se, though I do watch a lot of fandubbed series, both serious and “abridged”. 9. Besides voice acting, do you have any other skills that you could contribute to a radioplay production? I am not much of an artist, but I can get around GIMP relatively well, though I only use GIMP for stuff I feel like creating and don’t really want to contribute to requests. I am a decent writer and can often work pre-made scripts around to make them seem more genuine if the director asks me my opinion on the scripts. I also help out with various ideas and suggestions, playing the advisor role to several directors I work with. 10. On a rate of 1 (Not important) to 5 (Very important), how important are the following factors (on an audition thread) on your decision to audition on a project? Artwork: Artwork is irrelevant as long as there isn’t anything overly profane in it, so I would rate Artwork as a 1. Grammar: I think every director should have a good sense of spelling and grammar regardless if the script is clean of errors or not. I rate this a 4. Producer’s experience: I tend to work with a lot of people on things. Some are veterans and some aren’t. While I prefer working for someone more skilled, I can also help out the greenhorns with my advice to help them out. I rate this a 2.
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Thread attention: The only thing I care about in an audition is whether I like the story of the material. Popularity doesn’t phaze me at all. I rate this a 1.
Story Rating: I prefer to do anything between G to PG-13, so I am not much of a fan of R or X-rated productions. I’ll give a rating of 3 to this because there is always a chance the R rating could come from blood and gore which I don’t have to voice.
11. Based on the scripts that you received so far for RPG World, which character in your opinion has the best lines? I think Tau has the best lines and they are a lot of fun to say. Who doesn’t like playing a pervert in an anime series? 12. (Optional, answer only if you have played some RPGs) Who is your favorite character in an RPG (role playing game)? Oh lord, I have so many favorite characters in all sorts of RPGs of all kinds of personalities. I like Edgar, Cyan, and Kefka from Final Fantasy 6, Cid and Yuffie from Final Fantasy 7, Zell from Final Fantasy 8, Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Beatrix, and Blank from Final Fantasy 9, Wakka from Final Fantasy X, Humphrey, Viktor, Flik, Rikimaru, Freed, and Tai Ho from the Suikoden Series of games, the list definitely goes on and I definitely cannot pick an absolute favorite. 13. If you are a movie cast director for RPG World right now, which actors would you cast to play as Johnny, Rikku, and Tau? To be honest, I’m not really much of a fan of cartoon/anime/video game/radio to movie adaptations, so I can’t really give good, honest opinions for this question.
About the Voice Actor Logan McLaughlin, a.k.a. Hakuro de Killer, has an online voice acting resume. The web address is: <http://www.putfile.com/iwato>. His website contains links to his voice samples which were recorded for the productions that he is currently involved in. He also has a list of various ways that a person could contact him.
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Interview with Katie Dehnart By Lee Labit 1. What was your first amateur voice acting role? Recording “Hank the Cowdog” books for friends and family. 2. Do you make any special preparation before you record your lines? Yes, I try and get as much info or “back-story” of the character as I can. And a glass of water. For voicing Johnny in “RPG Word” I munch on chips and really spicy salsa between lines. ;-) 3. What tools/software do you use to record your lines? I use a Samson C03 USB mic with pop filter and “Audacity” or “Cool Edit Pro 2.0”, depending on my location. 4. Have you taken any voice lessons? If so, can you tell us about that experience? Yes, I’ve taken singing lessons, public speaking classes and done extensive research on the VA industry over the years. 5. Were you ever recast in a production? Why? Once, due to mis-/lack of communication, and then they placed me back on the cast. 6. What similarities and differences have you noticed about how radioplay producers run their productions? Well, some people are just starting out producing and end up giving little to no info to the cast, which makes things a bit tricky for everyone involved. And other producers, like Lee Labit, have a good handle on what they want, and a voice actor always appreciates a knowledgeable producer. 7. What advice can you give for other voice actors who want to maintain a long-term hobby of voicing for amateur productions? Stick with it! Producers are looking for dedication, genuine talent and professionalism. If you keep at it, who knows?! You may voice in the next big CGI animated Disney movie! :-) 8. As a voice actor who has had some experience in doing both, is there a difference in how you prepare yourself when voicing a flash character or in voicing a radioplay character? No, not really.
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9. Have you thought about making your own radioplay production? Yes. As a matter of fact I’ve been writing stories since 3rd grade and I would love to get some of them dramatized! 10. Besides the radioplay productions that you are in, do you listen to other radioplay productions? If so, what are the titles of your favorite shows? I enjoy “Adventures in Odyssey”, “Father Gilbert Mysteries”, and "Affabel”. 11. Besides voice acting, do you have any other skills that you could contribute to a radioplay production? Well, I do sign language, would that help in a radioplay? *chuckle* Actually, I do singing, song-writing, and play guitar (acoustic and electric), as well. 12. On a rating of 1 (Not important) to 5 (Very important), how important are the following factors (in an audition thread) in your decision to audition for a project? Artwork: 5 Grammar: 4 Producer’s Experience: 5 Thread Attention: 2 Story Rating: 5 Character Details: 5
Glossary: Producer’s Experience: The more finished productions that he or she has, the more likely that you’ll send an audition. Thread Attention: The more people who sent in an audition, the more likely that you’ll send an audition. Story Rating: Whether it’s a G, PG, or R. Character Details: Is it okay if there’s info on just the name and either the voice type or age? Or, would you be more interested if there are more details about the character such as a short biography and whether he is a recurring character?
13. Based on the scripts that you received so far for RPG World, which character in your opinion has the best lines? Johnny, by far! I love his comedic lines! It’s a blast!!! :-D 14. Who is your favorite character in an RPG (role playing games)?
Hmmmm....now this is certainly one of the harder questions so far. I would have to say...probably “Skye” from the game “Darkened Skye”. Got some funny lines in it, and I’m a sucker for funny lines. O:-)
About the Voice Actor Katie Dehnart has a website and her domain name is simply her full name, which is <http://www.katiedehnart.com>. There, she has a list of projects that she has been in, an FAQ section about herself and a link to her voice demos.
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Tutorials Gar age Band
Join Two Files Seamlessly By Lee Labit This is a tutorial on how to join two cuts/takes of a voice file to make them look like there is no break between them. Which case/situation does this method apply to? Suppose that your voice actor has a line with two sentences and he or she did two takes for you. Then, after listening to the file, you made the decision that you like the first sentence of the first take, but not the second sentence. In other words, you would rather choose the second sentence of the second take and add it to the first sentence of the first take. Step 1: After importing your voice files and deleting the takes of the sentences that you did not like, align the ones that you chose as close as possible to each other without overlapping them. Step 2: Highlight the cuts that you want to join by clicking on a gray area and moving your mouse to both of them. Another way to do this is by clicking on the first cut, hold the Shift key, click on the second cut, and then release the Shift key. If you are joining more than two cuts, you need to hold the Shift key until you selected them all. The selected areas should turn to dark orange.
Step 3: On the menu, click Edit. Then click the option “Join”. You should now see that the two cuts are joined together and they are now colored purple. That’s it. Listen to the files and you will not notice a break between the two sentences anymore. 11
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Tutorials Audacit y
Panning By Alexa Chipman Although many listeners are in mono, depending on the sort of audience your radio play has, there is a growing number of people who are using either headphones or some other sort of equipment that allows them to listen in stereo. Not only does this allow you to place characters in different areas of the field, but it allows movement as well. There are many uses of panning, the most basic is if a character is running, pacing, or driving. For example, if you have an old west play, a stagecoach can rumble from the far right of the stereo field to the far left, creating the sense that it is really going somewhere. Even extremely subtle uses of panning can augment a production, especially in fight sequences. Sometimes panning is not needed. If a character picks up a vase and throws it to smash on the opposite wall, think carefully about where each sound should go. If the character had been speaking on the right, they pick the vase up on the right, but the smash effect should occur on the left. If you have a whoosh as the vase is thrown, that needs to be a pan from right to left.
The newer versions of Audacity have the panning plugin built-in. If yours does not, a quick google search for: “Audacity Panning Plugin” or go to: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ nyquistplugins and find “Panning”.
Once installed, open up audacity and go to the dropdown “Effects” menu. All plugins appear in alphabetical order, so simply scroll down until you see “Panning (ramp)”. The Panning Plugin only works on stereo tracks, so if you have a mono track you will need to convert it. To do this, select the track in question, then go to “Edit > Duplicate Track” and you will see two identical tracks. In the main dropdown menu in the control area for each track, set them as Left Channel and Right Channel. Then Select both tracks together and click on the menu for the top track of the two duplicate tracks. This time select what you see in the screencapture— “Make Stereo Track”. The two should combine as one.
Go to the “Effects > Panning (ramp)” and the dialog box on the left should open. Start position is quite simply where the pan will begin, so think about where the character or object is positioned. It is very simple to use the sliders. For left, put the slider on the left, and for right positioning, put the slider on the right. In the screenshot, they are set to begin on the left and pan over to the right. Click “OK”.
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