On fandubbers and whatnot...
You can only run Kanji flashcards for so long before losing your attention span. Or maybe it's just me.
Anyway, I was checking some fandubs on Youtube and...
ZOMG, MY EARS. THEY'RE BLEEDING!
OK, maybe I'm piling on the hyperbole. But I really don't think I'm all that far off.
Seriously, do English-speaking anime fans not have ears? Can't they tell that they are:
-off key
-on key, but singing in A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT KEY
-have started late, and don't match the karaoke track
-are too soft
-are too loud
-have a lot of sound issues (like when you're using recording software, and you don't see the bar in the middle, but it touches both the top and bottom.)
Personally, I think a really good indicator of how good a fandub will be is how loud the karaoke track is in relation to the vocal. Not that this works 100% of the time, but this is pretty much how it works. The lazy, untalented people just take the original song, almost mute it so you can BARELY hear the instrumental (and so you can't hear the original vocal), and just sing on top of it.
The talented/intelligent people will either:
-find the karaoke track, and sync a pre-recorded vocal with it OR
-have the original mp3 and take out the original vocal (there is an excellent tutorial where I myself learned how to do this with Audacity, which is FREE, here. )
I think the only time I would ever be tempted to take the lazy route would be if I could not find a karaoke version, or if I tried removing the vocals and it ended up sounding like crap after going through Audacity (coughcoughTheRealFolkBluescoughcough).
Also, I know learning a foreign language is tough (I'm still learning too). But sloppiness is something I can't abide. Missing particles is a NO. Mispronouncing words may go unnoticed, but at least put some effort into being correct.
For the fandubbers that are reading this, and think that I can't stand English fandubs at all, this is far, FAR from the truth.
Cristina Vee is PURE AWESOMENESS. In my opinion, she is THE best, when it comes to song and acting fandubs.
FullmetalChao is also equally awesome. He does the Haruhi Abridged series (I really like it. Got try it!). Sure, he isn't overflowing with singing ability, but he gets into character really well.
Sorry, but those are the only two people I can think of off the top of my head ^^;
There's also the fact that the European language fandubbers are freakin' awesome. I'm talking about Paperblossom. and a bunch of other people whose names escape me right now. Listening to German fandubs of songs I've looked up, I'm amazed at the distinction. Not only are they in key, they sound awesome.
I think that I need to talk about the Japanese fandubbers too.
THE place to go for Japanese fandubs is Nico Nico, but you can find many of their videos uploaded onto Youtube, although it takes a bit of searching (since the text is in Japanese). But it's immediately apparent that these people are striving for the best. Every single fandub (and I mean, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE) is of high quality. There are NONE of the issues that the English fandubs are plagued with. Is this a generalization? Yeah, probably. But overall, the standards between Japanese and English speaking fandubs is NIGHT and DAY. For the record, I don't think this is due to a language advantage, because "Well, Japanese people are fluent and don't have to worry about pronouncing everything correctly along with notes and rhythms! T_T", although that is a good point.
But the thing is, I've listened to somewhere around 20 fandubs today, and out of those, about 13 had absolutely NO SINGING ABILITY TO SPEAK OF. And of those, some were medocre, but were suffering with sound issues.
And now, I think I need to adress the fandubbers that could be reading this (although no one reads my journal, probably -_-)
Fandubbers, take pride in what you do.
I know it's fan work. I know no one expects it to be professional grade. But despite this...
If you're just going to put out crap and not give a damn, why are you doing it? To get attention? To get people to praise you? Because I think those are the wrong reasons.
Even if you don't have a voice as awesome as May'n or Hyde, if you have fun with it, keep doing it. Even if it's far from the best, if you love it, keep on going. If you have passion, that's the best thing. ^_^ Why do it if it's not what you love, right?
I know my own fandubs have a long way to go. I still have sound issues. I still have pitch issues, and have flubs with Japanese lyrics. But I listen to my work immediately after recording. I evaluate it, thinking, "If I were a fan, would I want to listen to this?" If it has any mistakes, I scrap it, and start over. I do this, with the philosphy that I want to create something that people will enjoy. Yes, it isn't my own work. But as a fan, I want to create something that would make the original creator go "Wow." Not because of talent. But because I took the time to make it into something that is palatable. Something that shows my respect and love for the artist's work.
Or something.
Well, that's my two cents. And here's my resolution.
After JLPT:
TO YOUTUBE, OR BUST!
Anyway, I was checking some fandubs on Youtube and...
ZOMG, MY EARS. THEY'RE BLEEDING!
OK, maybe I'm piling on the hyperbole. But I really don't think I'm all that far off.
Seriously, do English-speaking anime fans not have ears? Can't they tell that they are:
-off key
-on key, but singing in A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT KEY
-have started late, and don't match the karaoke track
-are too soft
-are too loud
-have a lot of sound issues (like when you're using recording software, and you don't see the bar in the middle, but it touches both the top and bottom.)
Personally, I think a really good indicator of how good a fandub will be is how loud the karaoke track is in relation to the vocal. Not that this works 100% of the time, but this is pretty much how it works. The lazy, untalented people just take the original song, almost mute it so you can BARELY hear the instrumental (and so you can't hear the original vocal), and just sing on top of it.
The talented/intelligent people will either:
-find the karaoke track, and sync a pre-recorded vocal with it OR
-have the original mp3 and take out the original vocal (there is an excellent tutorial where I myself learned how to do this with Audacity, which is FREE, here. )
I think the only time I would ever be tempted to take the lazy route would be if I could not find a karaoke version, or if I tried removing the vocals and it ended up sounding like crap after going through Audacity (coughcoughTheRealFolkBluescoughcough).
Also, I know learning a foreign language is tough (I'm still learning too). But sloppiness is something I can't abide. Missing particles is a NO. Mispronouncing words may go unnoticed, but at least put some effort into being correct.
For the fandubbers that are reading this, and think that I can't stand English fandubs at all, this is far, FAR from the truth.
Cristina Vee is PURE AWESOMENESS. In my opinion, she is THE best, when it comes to song and acting fandubs.
FullmetalChao is also equally awesome. He does the Haruhi Abridged series (I really like it. Got try it!). Sure, he isn't overflowing with singing ability, but he gets into character really well.
Sorry, but those are the only two people I can think of off the top of my head ^^;
There's also the fact that the European language fandubbers are freakin' awesome. I'm talking about Paperblossom. and a bunch of other people whose names escape me right now. Listening to German fandubs of songs I've looked up, I'm amazed at the distinction. Not only are they in key, they sound awesome.
I think that I need to talk about the Japanese fandubbers too.
THE place to go for Japanese fandubs is Nico Nico, but you can find many of their videos uploaded onto Youtube, although it takes a bit of searching (since the text is in Japanese). But it's immediately apparent that these people are striving for the best. Every single fandub (and I mean, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE) is of high quality. There are NONE of the issues that the English fandubs are plagued with. Is this a generalization? Yeah, probably. But overall, the standards between Japanese and English speaking fandubs is NIGHT and DAY. For the record, I don't think this is due to a language advantage, because "Well, Japanese people are fluent and don't have to worry about pronouncing everything correctly along with notes and rhythms! T_T", although that is a good point.
But the thing is, I've listened to somewhere around 20 fandubs today, and out of those, about 13 had absolutely NO SINGING ABILITY TO SPEAK OF. And of those, some were medocre, but were suffering with sound issues.
And now, I think I need to adress the fandubbers that could be reading this (although no one reads my journal, probably -_-)
Fandubbers, take pride in what you do.
I know it's fan work. I know no one expects it to be professional grade. But despite this...
If you're just going to put out crap and not give a damn, why are you doing it? To get attention? To get people to praise you? Because I think those are the wrong reasons.
Even if you don't have a voice as awesome as May'n or Hyde, if you have fun with it, keep doing it. Even if it's far from the best, if you love it, keep on going. If you have passion, that's the best thing. ^_^ Why do it if it's not what you love, right?
I know my own fandubs have a long way to go. I still have sound issues. I still have pitch issues, and have flubs with Japanese lyrics. But I listen to my work immediately after recording. I evaluate it, thinking, "If I were a fan, would I want to listen to this?" If it has any mistakes, I scrap it, and start over. I do this, with the philosphy that I want to create something that people will enjoy. Yes, it isn't my own work. But as a fan, I want to create something that would make the original creator go "Wow." Not because of talent. But because I took the time to make it into something that is palatable. Something that shows my respect and love for the artist's work.
Or something.
Well, that's my two cents. And here's my resolution.
After JLPT:
TO YOUTUBE, OR BUST!