Reading style & voice evolution 2012-2018
A while ago I got thinking about how much my voice changed over the last couple of years. Specifically, my reading/performing voice. It's been about 6 years now since I became a podficcer (or rather, since I started posting podfic, since I tried recording stuff for myself quite a bit earlier) and obviously there was a lot of room for improvement - be it in a technical sense or my grasp of the English language.
So I decided to make a compilation of one or two podfics per year (the year of posting, which is not necessarily the year of recording) and see how my reading developed. Not to be like, argh, I should have done this differently, or anything like that, but because I think it's pretty fascinating.
The audio file is here.
2012: Just Can't Get Enough
Excuse me, my voice in this old recording seems to have been replaced with that of a baby? I sound so young! Well, I was 19 when I started recording this in 2011, so that makes sense. I might have actually still had my braces when I was recording it, I'm not entirely sure on the timeline anymore. In any case, my accent is obviously more noticeable than it is now. I had some trouble wrapping my tongue around words like 'luxury' without disrupting the flow of the narration too much. Run on sentences really weren't my friend yet, you can tell it gets a bit choppy and breathless when the line goes on for too long.
Honestly, this was a pretty ambitious project to take on as my first ever official podfic (the total length is a bit over an hour), but I can still look back on it fondly. It's the kind of story and especially the type of narration that I still like doing a lot - snappy, funny, and maybe a bit...petulant? Indignant? Whatever it is, it's fun to do. ;D
2013: Accidentally in Love
There's already some improvement from a technical perspective! I recorded stuff on my phone back then and I think I got a new one in between jcge and this project. Also I recorded 7 more podfics in between, so there's some practice paying off. There's still lots of words giving me trouble and all the 's's sound kinda heavy, but my flow has started getting smoother. You can tell I tried to give Rudy his deadpan, flat voice, and for the most part it works pretty well.
Also, this was my first time participating in #ITPE! <3
2014: God, You Two Are So Married
I only posted 2 podfics in 2014, probably because I was busy working on bring it. And it was my last year at Uni, maybe that had something to do with it as well. :P This podfic's already sounding pretty good! I'm reasonably sure it was recorded on my Blue Snowball mic, even if I can't quite remember when exactly I got it. The narration is definitely flowing better, the pacing is slowing down, my voice is getting lower and there's more vocal fry to it. There's a lot of delivery choices in this that I like, well done past!me.
2015: the one with the bros
This is somewhat of a signature podfic for me, if you will. I chose it to represent me when I attended podfication, with this exact same excerpt. Once again it has the kind of snappy narration I really like, and I think my comedic timing is pretty good here. I can tell that my mouth is still moving a bit clumsily around some words - r sounds like the one in 'wearing', the h in 'stop that happening' - but I think it's getting way less obvious.
2016: Shrapnel
I think I got better at editing and using Audacity's effects to my advantage at some point. That's really the biggest difference I noticed. And maybe the character voices are getting a bit more distinct. I'm pretty amused by the way I stretch the a in 'translates' and 'says'. I definitely still do that now, but maybe not as strongly. Oh, and words like 'reconnaisance' are annoying because I'm already working with English, not my native language, and adding words from yet another language always trips me up.
I considered adding excerpts from The Sea And Stars (because I'm proud of my Outsider voice) and KUNIMI, SOBS WISPERER (because I'm proud of my Oikawa voice and really just...everything) but in the end I didn't have enough to say about them.
2017: They Have Taken Photographs....
The story is a lot more somber than what I usually pick, but I think it suits my style well. Maybe I should do more podfics like this. I really like the narration, it feels very even and deliberate. The choppiness is mostly gone now.
i want you, really, i mean really
I feel like in terms of delivery, this is the one with the bros, but upgraded. Snappy narration and comedic timing, just how I like it. This was the first thing I recorded after moving into my apartment, so the acoustics are different. It's clearer and maybe a bit colder/sharper, compared to the sound in my old room.
2018: The Mirror Wheel Eye
Going back to something I started recording in 2016, you can tell it sounds more muffled, right? That's my old room right there. The Mirror Wheel Eye was a challenge because the story is so different from my usual choices - very action focused, there's urgency and desperation in it that I tried my best to bring across. The editing was a struggle, and I always wonder if that comes across in the end process.
The Typical Love Song
My most recently posted podfic, and I've already talked a lot about how surprised I was by how heavily I leaned into the sensual voice for this one. I recorded explicit stuff from the very first podfic I ever did, but I rarely do PWPs. Still, I've developed a specific way of reading porn scenes by now that I think is distinct from my regular narration, very languid and drawn out. I'm kinda curious now how other podficcer's voices change for explicit scenes - I'll have to pay more attention to it from now on!
Alright, this has been way more in-depth than I intended it to be, but it was interesting to really pay attention to my voice in a way I usually don't. Maybe I'll do another one of these in another 5 or 6 years.
So I decided to make a compilation of one or two podfics per year (the year of posting, which is not necessarily the year of recording) and see how my reading developed. Not to be like, argh, I should have done this differently, or anything like that, but because I think it's pretty fascinating.
The audio file is here.
2012: Just Can't Get Enough
Excuse me, my voice in this old recording seems to have been replaced with that of a baby? I sound so young! Well, I was 19 when I started recording this in 2011, so that makes sense. I might have actually still had my braces when I was recording it, I'm not entirely sure on the timeline anymore. In any case, my accent is obviously more noticeable than it is now. I had some trouble wrapping my tongue around words like 'luxury' without disrupting the flow of the narration too much. Run on sentences really weren't my friend yet, you can tell it gets a bit choppy and breathless when the line goes on for too long.
Honestly, this was a pretty ambitious project to take on as my first ever official podfic (the total length is a bit over an hour), but I can still look back on it fondly. It's the kind of story and especially the type of narration that I still like doing a lot - snappy, funny, and maybe a bit...petulant? Indignant? Whatever it is, it's fun to do. ;D
2013: Accidentally in Love
There's already some improvement from a technical perspective! I recorded stuff on my phone back then and I think I got a new one in between jcge and this project. Also I recorded 7 more podfics in between, so there's some practice paying off. There's still lots of words giving me trouble and all the 's's sound kinda heavy, but my flow has started getting smoother. You can tell I tried to give Rudy his deadpan, flat voice, and for the most part it works pretty well.
Also, this was my first time participating in #ITPE! <3
2014: God, You Two Are So Married
I only posted 2 podfics in 2014, probably because I was busy working on bring it. And it was my last year at Uni, maybe that had something to do with it as well. :P This podfic's already sounding pretty good! I'm reasonably sure it was recorded on my Blue Snowball mic, even if I can't quite remember when exactly I got it. The narration is definitely flowing better, the pacing is slowing down, my voice is getting lower and there's more vocal fry to it. There's a lot of delivery choices in this that I like, well done past!me.
2015: the one with the bros
This is somewhat of a signature podfic for me, if you will. I chose it to represent me when I attended podfication, with this exact same excerpt. Once again it has the kind of snappy narration I really like, and I think my comedic timing is pretty good here. I can tell that my mouth is still moving a bit clumsily around some words - r sounds like the one in 'wearing', the h in 'stop that happening' - but I think it's getting way less obvious.
2016: Shrapnel
I think I got better at editing and using Audacity's effects to my advantage at some point. That's really the biggest difference I noticed. And maybe the character voices are getting a bit more distinct. I'm pretty amused by the way I stretch the a in 'translates' and 'says'. I definitely still do that now, but maybe not as strongly. Oh, and words like 'reconnaisance' are annoying because I'm already working with English, not my native language, and adding words from yet another language always trips me up.
I considered adding excerpts from The Sea And Stars (because I'm proud of my Outsider voice) and KUNIMI, SOBS WISPERER (because I'm proud of my Oikawa voice and really just...everything) but in the end I didn't have enough to say about them.
2017: They Have Taken Photographs....
The story is a lot more somber than what I usually pick, but I think it suits my style well. Maybe I should do more podfics like this. I really like the narration, it feels very even and deliberate. The choppiness is mostly gone now.
i want you, really, i mean really
I feel like in terms of delivery, this is the one with the bros, but upgraded. Snappy narration and comedic timing, just how I like it. This was the first thing I recorded after moving into my apartment, so the acoustics are different. It's clearer and maybe a bit colder/sharper, compared to the sound in my old room.
2018: The Mirror Wheel Eye
Going back to something I started recording in 2016, you can tell it sounds more muffled, right? That's my old room right there. The Mirror Wheel Eye was a challenge because the story is so different from my usual choices - very action focused, there's urgency and desperation in it that I tried my best to bring across. The editing was a struggle, and I always wonder if that comes across in the end process.
The Typical Love Song
My most recently posted podfic, and I've already talked a lot about how surprised I was by how heavily I leaned into the sensual voice for this one. I recorded explicit stuff from the very first podfic I ever did, but I rarely do PWPs. Still, I've developed a specific way of reading porn scenes by now that I think is distinct from my regular narration, very languid and drawn out. I'm kinda curious now how other podficcer's voices change for explicit scenes - I'll have to pay more attention to it from now on!
Alright, this has been way more in-depth than I intended it to be, but it was interesting to really pay attention to my voice in a way I usually don't. Maybe I'll do another one of these in another 5 or 6 years.