My First Podfic

[jemeryl]

Normally I use DMing to practice my voice, but I'm not running any games right now, so it's fallen right off. I hate doing voice practice on its own! It feels frustrating and like a waste of time (I've complained about cisnormativity wrt voices before). Then I read a fic by one of my favourite authors where I think she totally nailed the character voices, and it occurred to me that I can weaponise my special interests to help me practice.

I already have permission from that author to pod her fic, but I've never done this before, so I decided to start with one of my own to work out the kinks. I chose Okinawa Love Songs, because that's one I'm really proud of, there's a few different types of voices, and it's long enough to practice each of them but short enough to complete in a reasonable amount of time. It felt a bit vain, but I didn't want to pod someone else's fic and butcher it because it was my first time doing audio.

Actually, I didn't intend to post it at all, but I was happy with how it came out and I had a lot of fun! There are some obvious issues but I had a computer mishap and lost the files, so they're going up as is. I also went back and forth about whether to post chapter 4 because that's the smut chapter, am I okay with people hearing my actual voice narrating porn? It turns out that chapter 4 was when I really hit my stride and I think it's where I'm happiest with the voices overall, so it felt like it would be too much of a shame to leave it out! So there it is and I can always take it down if I feel uncomfortable.

I have two more fics lined up to record, which is plenty to get on with especially because I need to focus on other things right now. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for more. Maybe just SFW ones for now, though XD

Oh, and the whole reason I started this in the first place: voice practice. Listening to the recording and iterating is very helpful, compared to DMing, which is so brain heavy it's hard to focus sometimes. Something I really paid attention to was fluidly switching between voices/registers and it does seem to be getting easier in different situations. It's definitely something that I will continue doing, time permitting. Having a finished piece that sounds listenable is a bonus, but I find that very motivational.

Comments

[vriddy]

Congrats on your first podfic :D :D That is such a cool way to combine something you need to do with a hobby. And going for a fic that takes several hours to read as a first project is hardcore :D

[jemeryl]

Thank you! I'm having fun with it for sure. And yeah, if I'm going to set a goal for myself next year it's to... give myself smaller projects XD

[jajalala]

HELL YEAH ANOTHER PODFICCER!!!! It's such a unique sort of niche, but it's fun! Similar to you I started podficcing bc it suited another need (rather than voice training, my need was a wrist-light creative activity), but once you get into it.... hehehe it gets hard to stop (when life isn't getting in the way XD)

I've only just starting listening to the first chapter, but your voice is very pleasant, a relaxing cadence! The Aizawa voice contrast made me jump initially XD You've got the full range of voice options for characters. And it seems like whatever recording/editing setup you have is great, it's super clear and easy to hear!

Omg the porn reading issue is relatable... I recorded a porn oneshot several months ago, I have it edited and all that jazz... but I feel too embarrassed to put it up!! I think it's partially bc my podfic account is one I am actually willing to share with some IRL friends (as I wanted to podfic at least one friend's fic), so the thought of them seeing that I read smut out loud makes me scream.

ALSO THO STARTING WITH A 25K FIC????? hardcore!! It's a bold way to start, but it sounds like that means you've developed your process thoroughly!

You may have already found some of them, and it sounds like you have things handled, but let me know if you want any resources on podficcing! There were a few that helped me develop my process I'd be happy to share

[jemeryl]

it IS fun, isn't it?? Also thank you! re the voice cadence, I had been listening to the Mistborn audiobooks, and I thought that the way the reader alternated between a more relaxed/detached voice for the narration and more emotional character voices really worked for me, so I tried to emulate that.

When I went back to edit it, it amused me to think that the hard Aizawa voice contrast was the first thing a listener would get hit with so I'm pleased to hear that it got a jump out of you XD

I'm glad to hear that it's clear and easy to hear, I have a friend who's a sound engineer and he gave me some great advice!

Ohhh yeah I can totally see not wanting to put a porn oneshot up on an account IRL friends will see... screamworthy. I can only imagine what the vibe would be like the first time you saw each other irl after they listened... although hopefully, it would just be nice and wholesome. Even though there are like, 2 people irl who might happen across a smut podfic of mine, I still kind of wanted to scream sharing it for strangers to hear, which is why it sat in my drafts for almost a month.

Mhm about starting with a 25k fic: it definitely helped that I was already confident about the actual voices/reading (thanks to all the D&D). Since I'm aiming to do another multichapter I thought it would be helpful to practice with a multichapter, too, and I definitely learned a lot.

And sure, I'd be interested to see any resources you found helpful!

[jajalala]

I would desperately hope the friend would kindly scroll past the porn without listening, but they can still see the title... the tags..... the summary........ they would KNOW what's in there

In general there's a great collection on AO3 called A Guide To Audio Fanworks, which also links to a very nicely formatted website of guides/resources. TBH I haven't even explored all of those resources, but they're very well consolidated so you can click through as interested!

[jemeryl]

A haunting prospect o.o

Ooh wonderful, thanks for the links! I'll check them out, there are a few things I'm still curious about so I'm sure they'll be in there somewhere