Fan Fiction Audiobooks?

criticalmass

criticalmass

Vice Admiral
This is more of an apologetic thread:

The other day I was on the road, listening to an audiobook version of Umberto Eco's "The Name Of The Rose", and I thought: Well, this audiobook craze is pretty big right now - just grab a book, read it out aloud, and make some money with it.

Sure, it doesn't work that way with published works, but I've already seen a couple of unpublished authors gaining popularity (and therefore raising market value) by reading out their stuff and offering it for free download.

Then the lightbulb went on and I thought: Hey, that'll be something for the WC fanfic community - and even something for the great mass of the joystick-challenged and therefore unanointed masses.

So I started to install sound mixing software, borrowed a microphone, and did some voice tests - but alas, my Sigma TelAudio board is that weak in the recording department that this first attempt was totally inacceptable.

So, before I engage on a larger cruise, I'd like to discuss the topic here first: What do you think about the idea?

Or maybe even: Have you tried something like this before (and I don't mean voiceovers for the games), and what can you recommend?
 
That would be pretty nifty, although wouldn't it make a huge deal to get the story? Unless you were to send it out on CD or so, it would take alot of space to record a audiobook and then upload it to the internet. Maybe it's just me and my old-fashioned 56K but it seems quite a hassel. The idea would work great in a live setting though, how about a WC reading club? ;)
 
criticalmass said:
So, before I engage on a larger cruise, I'd like to discuss the topic here first: What do you think about the idea?

Or maybe even: Have you tried something like this before (and I don't mean voiceovers for the games), and what can you recommend?
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We have some audio interviews at https://www.wcnews.com/infoburst.shtml I think audio Wing Commander stories would be neat. Someone would listen to them. I just use Windows WAV Recorder. Have they invented other programs for doing that yet?

DJ Erik said:
That would be pretty nifty, although wouldn't it make a huge deal to get the story? Unless you were to send it out on CD or so, it would take alot of space to record a audiobook and then upload it to the internet. Maybe it's just me and my old-fashioned 56K but it seems quite a hassel. The idea would work great in a live setting though, how about a WC reading club? ;)
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A single episode of the Academy tv show would be about the same as four to eight hours of spoken mp3 audio. We tried doing some book club stuff in #Wingnut before. It was kinda neat.
 
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ChrisReid said:
I just use Windows WAV Recorder. Have they invented other programs for doing that yet?
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There's plenty. If you have any version of steinberg's sequencers then you should have a copy of WaveLab lite. There's also a freeware wave editor called Audacity. There's the wave editor included in nero and there's probably a few more to download at www.kvraudio.com
 
Sounds like a good idea to me. Would certainly make reading the Holding the Line series easier. Also, to avoid having one large zip of mp3s, just do several chapters (5 or so). Shouldn't be too bad on the dial-ups.
 
Iceblade said:
Sounds like a good idea to me. Would certainly make reading the Holding the Line series easier. Also, to avoid having one large zip of mp3s, just do several chapters (5 or so). Shouldn't be too bad on the dial-ups.
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You could make the file sizes even smaller by using a more efficent codec like ogg vorbis, wma or aac.
 
Happy Camper said:
You could make the file sizes even smaller by using a more efficent codec like ogg vorbis, wma or aac.
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Eh, it's better to use real formats so people can actually use the files.
 
Problem here is that many people have trouble writing a good story. Now getting to recite that same story outloud becomes pretty complicated now. You'll probaly better off doing something else. It's not worth the time of having all of these re-record. If voice actors have to do multiple multiple retakes of single one-liners for mods, how can you expect them to recite whole paragraphs and pages and chapters without fucking it up?

It's much in the same way my Instructors tell us, after the hammer has fallen. "If we can't trust you to get one fucking set of cammies and one fucking canteen locked on and squared away, how can we fucking trust you with weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, explosives, and diving gear?"
 
Sheesh, somebody bumped that thread... - well, thanks!

@Chris: The interview were the thing that started this idea - mostly. The rest was having to drive long stretches, and listening to (mostly crappy) audiobooks to pass the time.

@DJErik: Since speech doesn't need very high quality recording (although anything above 128kbps is nice, less hiss) you can get decent filesizes using standard compression mp3 at 24000 Hz. For example: 60 minutes take about 50MB, chopped down to small chunks.

About technology: Chris is about right - the WAV recorder is the basic thing; other programs just use a nice interface. I prefer GoldWave, but that's personal taste - it gives you some options that standard Win utilities don't have, like sound effects, multitrack, etc. The really deciding factor is a good microphone - but acceptable ones start at 25 bucks.

@Psych: Frankly, I wouldn't trust you with weapons and ammunition either. :p JOKE! It's a JOKE!
People around here often complain what they can do to contribute to the community. While you're right that creative, new stuff should always be the first option to add something to the WC experience, some just aren't developers, graphics or sound artists, or writers. But every time a fan project opens up voice acting positions, people jump from all corners to do some itty bit of recording. So, the idea is: Why not open up another channel for others to contribute?
Recording is pretty easy, especially with the PC. You read, you don't like it, you delete up until the syllable where you last liked it, and reread. There's a plethora of fan fiction out there that nobody knows, and most of it is short and easily done by one person reading all the characters.
 
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