Sites of Radioplay Producers Who Are Active Members of Radioplay Contests
We would like to thank every site who links to Radioplay Contests including Audio Theater, Audio Drama Talk, and Dramapod.
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RADIOPLAY magazine radioplaycontests.com
Page 1
Cover Art by Lee Labit.
Page 2 Advertisements.
December 2008 Vo l u m e I I s s u e 5
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This is the current page. It lists the Staff who worked on this issue, and the Issue Summary.
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From The Admin’s Desk.
Page 5
The Comic Summary, which features the most recent comic strips that were posted at the forum.
Pages 6-7 Interviews about Voice Acting Part 2.
Pages 8-9 Holiday Puzzles.
Page 10 TEST CENTER.
Page 11-12 Adobe Audition Bus Tracks Tutorial.
Page 12 Festive wish list.
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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Happy Holidays everyone and welcome to the fifth issue of RADIOPLAY. We have two holiday puzzles/activities in this issue, part 2 of the voice actor interviews from the previous issue, a tutorial on bus tracks in Adobe Audition, and a brief review on mixing software called MU.LAB. In the next issue, we’re hoping to release a calendar which features one show per month. Only original shows will be accepted. Further details about this feature, regarding format and image size, will be released on the RADIOPLAY website. Also, I’m planning to interview individual producers and/or organizations who currently have at least two on-going productions to let listeners know what we can expect in their future shows, such as how many episodes will be released next year and what new series we can expect in the future. Fast forward a little bit to the February issue... Since it is Valentine’s month, I’d like to hear from listeners about voice actors they have a crush on, based on the actor’s voice or appearance. I will invite these actors to be interviewed and the questions will be from the listeners themselves. Again, the details of this feature will be posted at the website. We may have our first cover with a photo or two on this issue. ;) We hope you enjoy this special issue and hopefully everyone will have a nice holiday.
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Losing Your Lead VA I Hear Voices
FuzzyFace: Don’t. Even. Suggest such a thing. UltraRob: Link Teacup: Well, it’s the kind of thing I’d absolutely dread.
For Recreational Purposes
Only A Few Auditions
Teacup: If the audition post is laid out properly, with good spelling and grammar, I think it just boils down to whether the project looks interesting - and the audition lines. Even then, I think a lot of actors don’t even bother looking at the thread if it’s original. I don’t really understand it. It’s depressing. FuzzyFace: Typically, the projects that I’ve seen getting few auditions have been original productions by unknown producers the total lack of familiarity with anything is what seems to fail to draw VAs’ attention. Alexachipman: Because nobody ever sends in auditions any more. I had a few when I was first getting started, but as most of you know I have not even bothered posting them lately. Why waste all that time for 0 return? I occasionally slap up desperate pleas but that’s about it.
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I N T E RV I E W S
By Lee Labit
PART II
1. Do you notice any difference in the amateur voice acting industry from the time of your first project compared to today’s projects? I’ve noticed a pretty big difference. It seems like there are so many more people that are taking a liking to AVAing (Amateur voice acting) than when I first started. There are so many different and unique projects out there that weren’t available when I started out. I love how amateur voice acting inspires so many people to have fun with acting and get feedback on amateur voice acting forms and or even decide to want to make a career out of this in the professional world. -Danielle McRae I don’t think I’ve been doing it long enough to comment. -Russ Yeah, there is one difference I can definitely mention. The amount of productions that I’m cast in that are actually released are substantially increasing. Why do I say this you ask? Simple. You see early in my handiwork, whenever I was cast in a production, the chances of it actually being released were not that great. There have been productions that never got done. You don’t hear a thing from the producer, who can often seem like he or she just disappeared from the face of the Earth. Now, it used to considerably bug me and now is my older brother’s pet peeve regarding the amateur VA industry. Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly well aware that I am not the only one to have had that problem in the VAA. However, to be perfectly honest, I can’t really complain about this, since I will be the first to admit that I’ve had my problems as a producer. Granted, I’m trying to see whether I can work these problems out. But still... Anyway, since I first opened up my VA resume last August, I have surprisingly been making a fairly good number of additions ever since. In fact, over the past few months, I’ve been making additions to my resume at least once a month, if not more. But maybe I’m starting to brag, aren’t I? While there are still productions that I missed and that have yet to be released, the amount is considerably less than it used to. -Pokejedservo One thing I am amazed about nowadays is how some people take on the ambitious task of fan-dubbing a whole anime series, or running an epic radio play that could run for as long as a year. Two years ago, people mostly limited themselves to short clips or skits, but now people figure that if they are going to do something, they should do it big. As technology gets better and people have more tools at their disposal, then their ambition will grow along with it. I mean,
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I see fan-dubs nowadays that I could mistake for being a professional production. It’s great. -Daigo787 2. About your character roles: What was the most difficult role that you had? What was your favorite? Which role had the most lines compared to your other roles? I’ll have to go with Majorika from the Ojamajo Doremi Naisho Fandub. I heard his voice in the original Japanese dub for this anime, which sounds kinda gruff and raspy sounding. What made it a bit difficult for me was to find a voice that would fit this particular character without destroying my vocal cords, he-he. So I undertook some vocal exercises to test my limit on how raspy I could take the voice without sounding forced and just went with whatever low voice I could do. Strangely, the producer for this fan-dub loved what I did with this character and offered me a part as Majorika. Hmm... I’d have to say it might be between Faye Valentine from the Cowboy Bebop fan-dubs and Nana Osaki from NANA fan-dubs. I think a role I had that was a pretty tough one, due the a lot of medical references and such was a radio play called The Specimen from Darker Projects. I played Dr. Cyan Hexel and had a lot of lines for her. Some of the words were pretty difficult to pronounce so I would look through my mother’s medical dictionary for the pronunciation and study them to gain an emphasis and understanding of some of these words, so I could convey this in my readings. -Danielle McRae I don’t know that any of my roles has been noticeably more difficult than the others, but Kozuma Kiyohara in “Hell Heights” has probably put the greatest strain on my voice, mostly because I’m using a very raspy sound. The few fan-dubs I’ve done have been more difficult technically, as I am primarily accustomed to radio plays, where matching mouth flaps is not an issue. The role of Rumisiel in my own Misfile radio play is among my favorite roles, as it is one of the few where I get to do comedy. The largest role I have had is that of Houdini, in Ravenstone’s “Necronauts.” -Russ I’m not so sure. Whenever I have any problems, it’s usually due to the weather. Whether it’s awfully hot out, or too cold such as the air being too dry, it has an impact on my handiwork . Granted, I do try to take care of my throat like anyone else, let alone any selfrespecting VA, would. I do not know whether I just need to take a nice cold glass of water to maybe even some medicine. The latter is fairly common since I’m asthmatic with allergy problems. However, my throat has gone dry in this kind of thing before when I do recordings. When I do have those problems, it’s not just with any particular type of voice. I’m not quite sure yet. However, there have been some types of roles that I do get that are pretty fun to work on. I did some altered 6
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voices like Golbez from certain Final Fantasy 4 fan productions and the Tcho-Tchos from a Necronauts Radio play. I have also done comically higher voices like Mannen in a Pretear Parody Fan-dub. And I have done lower gruff-voiced men like Zugu in Fire Emblem and accented, low, gruff voices like Akuma from Street Fighter, for example. I’d go to Akuma and sound like this to continue to take on the rather underrated game SNK vs. Capcom Chaos. Though of course, that’s how it is so far. That could change in the future. -Pokejedservo
I have yet to make any serious attempt into a commercial production, but as my experience grows, I hope to pursue some, just as a side job from my regular goals. D-aigo 787
The hardest for me has been a recent project where I play Chairman Cross from Vampire Knight. He is hard because I have to switch from being a slightly serious, father figure to an eccentric, melodramatic nut. He’s a blast to play, but I really have let go and let the character take over. I would say my favorite so far has been Ichijou from Vampire Knight, as I really connect with his personality, his loyalty to his best friend whom he has a great deal of respect for, and we have comparable appearances. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near as pretty as he is. Back to Vampire Knight again, I was cast in two different fan-dubs at the same time, one where I play Ichijou, and one where I play Kain, Touga, Chairman Cross, plus an extra. I had never dreamed I could get so many parts at once, so I was very happy when I found out. -Daigo787
I have found a need for an Irish accent in two recent productions, a fan-dub clip from Gundum 00, and the radio play “Eye for an Eye.” I have a book on accents that I consulted to work on it. -Russ
3. Have you been in any commercial project? If so, then tell us a bit about your experience. If not, then have you taken any steps to make yourself a professional voice actor? I have never been in a commercial project but I am currently signed up with voices.com and I audition for a lot of projects. I haven’t gotten anywhere yet but I’m still trying it out. I am also currently taking up a radio and broadcasting class for more experience because, once again, every little bit counts. -Danielle McRae
4. Have you learned any new accents due to voice acting? I’m currently getting a grasp on the British accent, mainly the Cockney accent I’m currently attempting. -Danielle McRae
In a way, yes. In fact, well, don’t get me wrong. It’s not the only aspect I do often try to practice. I’m very much interested in trying to practice learning all sorts of accents that I’m pretty confident with, such as that earlier tough Japanese accent that you already probably heard. There are also some accents that I’m still trying to work on. And if you’ve ever been to any of these sites that give you audio clips of people talking in English but speaking with various different accents, those are sites that I do go to and I often try to learn from them pretty often. If you don’t really know these sites and want to know more, feel free to ask people like yours truly h ere and I’ll be more than happy to let you know. -Pokejedservo I have been able to do a few new accents, some I didn’t even know I could do, such as Irish and Transylvanian. -Daigo787
I have no intention of becoming a professional VA. -Russ Have I done any professional voice work yet? (Laughs). Two Words - I wish. Though recently, I was trying use the site voices.com and used to have a pretty good membership there as well. However, well, it did seem a pretty good idea at first especially since the amount of payment that you can get from these jobs is at least $100, which seems like a pretty interesting idea to me. However, I haven’t always been able to get anything from it yet. In fact, I haven’t got anything from it at all. However, due to financial reasons beyond my control, I had to stop using a site like that very recently. Well hopefully I’ll be using it again. -Pokejedservo
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FIND THE DIFFERENCE PUZZLE Find the differences between these two puzzles. There are a total of four differences: an object switched, an object removed, an object added, and a color switched.
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F ro m T h e A d min’s Desk 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 a 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 h appened in the forum during the past month.
HOLIDAY HUNT Hunt for these things:
Quotes (guess who said these lines): 1. (Regular) Ow, I fell down. My butt hurts. (Italics) That’s nothing. My feet melted and I can’t stand up.
1. A snowman and a fairy are on a collision course. They are both looking the opposite way to where they are going.
2. Wow, check out the chick in the green costume.
2. A group of people waving to you.
4. Oh my goodness! A skiing snowman.
3. Reindeer lining up for Santa.
5. Aah! A fairy!
4. A purple Santa. 5. Two characters with their hands on their hips.
6. So, what are you doing? Not much. Just walking with you. Yeah. we’re just ummm...walking.
6. Three houses.
7. Ta-dah! I’m the new-and-improved orange Santa Claus.
7. Four stockings.
8. Look Ma! No hands.
3. I wonder whether Santa would talk to me after the reindeer.
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A member on our forum named thehitchhikerknows posted about a piece of Mac software which I had never heard of before. It is called MU.LAB. It is another piece of software that can be used to make your radioplay productions. It is free to download at muttols.com for both Mac and Windows users. My first impression was that the software looks cool. It has a high-tech feel to it with a dark color-scheme. After checking out some of the menus, I have the impression that the software was built towards midi/instrument audio production rather than both instrument and audio files. I tried to click-and-drag an mp3 file but nothing happened, whereas in Garageband it would import the file in the software. I did not find an intuitive way to import an audio file and I could not find a way until I read the manual. After checking its features a bit more, I found out that it can only import wav files which is not good for almost anyone in this day and age, since most people prefer mp3s. Importing a wav file is not convenient. First, you must click-and-drag on a track’s space using the pencil tool. When you let go your left mouse button, a menu will show whether you want that space to be a sequence part or an audio part. As a producer who works with mostly audio files, you would click on the ‘audio part’ message. Then, a pop-up box will show where you can locate the wav file that you want to import. The inconvenient part is that your audio file may not import completely. Remember the click-and-drag part? When you did that, you were also specifying the length of what you were importing. So, it may not be imported completely, but that can be fixed by dragging the part to the left or right to allocate more space for the imported audio. I wish they would add a simpler way to do this in a future version such as a “File->Import Audio File” function in the main File menu. Some of the built-in plug ins include normalize, gain and mute. There are also echo and reverb effects but the controls are not so simple for a beginner. While playing with the echo and reverb effects, I found out that it can make cool scary sound/ambient effects, which is the only useful thing that I found in this software. In conclusion, I don’t recommend it for readers of this magazine who make their radioplay productions because of its lack of features, and especially due to the fact that it only supports wav files. Thehitchhikerknows also wrote a review about this software and you can read it here http://www.radioplaycontests.com/index.php/topic,1273.msg5387.html#msg5387
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USING BUSES IN ADOBE AUDITION By Fiona Thraille Very often, effects in a scene need to be applied to more than one character or sound effect. In particular, the same reverb is often used on every character’s lines, to create the illusion that they are in the same room. Other more dramatic effects such as echo or filters may be used the same way. It is possible to apply each of these to individual tracks, or even to separate line files. However, if you have two or more characters in a scene, you might want to consider using buses in order to save time. What do Bus tracks do? If you look at the grey box on the left of the track stave, the default direction of the track is straight out to the Master track— the final product. By creating a bus, a new track opens up. You can then select some or all of your tracks to be re-rerouted through this bus before they go on to the Master. Effects can be put onto to the bus, which then applies those same effects to everything that travels through it. The effects that can be utilized this way are amplitude, delay effects, filters, special effects and time/pitch changes. The track may even be panned, if required. Setting up a Bus track Pick a grey box on the left of the track stave for any stave you want to put on a bus. Click on the arrow to the right of Master and select Add Bus... A new track will now appear at the bottom of the screen, above the Master track. It is called Bus A, but if you’re working on a complex scene, using several buses, you might want to rename them to something more specific. Now any of the staves you select will have an option to replace Master with this bus as an output.
Applying effects to your Bus track Apply effects just as you normally would to a single track. Select the FX menu under the Main tab. The grey boxes will now show FX options.
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On the Bus track, light up the main button so that is glows green. This is an on/off switch for effects on the track. Each effect that you select also has a little on/off switch which you should also turn on to apply. By clicking on the far right arrow (circled) you can select from the menu of effects. You don’t have to save these or confirm these anywhere - just clicking on them is enough to show their information page and when you close it, it will be applied. To deselect an effect, just turn off its little green button. Play the track through, and you will hear the difference in the tracks that are travelling through the bus. You may add more than one bus if you need to. At the end of the day, using Bus tracks can substantially cut time spent on mixing scenes with multiple characters. On top of that, they then leave your original tracks ‘clean’, without effects or reverb. This makes it easier to reverse decisions or create more than one version of a scene, as it just means changing one track rather than several - again, saving the mixer valuable time.
An audience? Or, more seriously, on the production side, I’d love to have a stable group of creative people - an acting troupe - writers, directors, sound engineers, voice actors etc - who were available whenever needed. On the listening side, more professional voice actors getting into the field. Or, those in the field already becoming better and better. (This might result in more ‘normal’ people listening to our shows.) -DinoSoar - Audio Drama Talk I would like a simple program to even out volume. - Serendipity - Audio Drama Talk When you say wish lists, could it also include new audio series that we would want to see in the works, or am I way off the mark?
I can think of quite a few properties that would make awesome new audio series. One thing that I feel would be awesome, is to see fan continuations of some of the classic radio series from the golden age. Does anyone remember the Haunting Hour for instance? It was kind of like the Twilight Zone, but it was horror and suspense oriented, as opposed to Twilight Zone’s more Sci-Fi feel. - DarkPsyFanatic - Radioplay Contests Garageband Symphony Orchestra Jam Pack, funds or material to customize a room at home as a recording studio, Audio Technica AT2020USB Condenser USB Microphone (with shockmount or floor stand), a headset with longer cable so it will reach the back of the computer. - Brushmen - PM
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