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Work Title: [Podfic] Out of the Cauldron (Into the Fire)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Harry Potter | Category: M/M.

Relationship(s): Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter.

Character(s): Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter.

Additional Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Draco Malfoy's Trial, Ministry of Magic, Implied/Referenced Torture, Psychological Torture, Isolation, Broken Draco Malfoy, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Second Person, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 22 May 2022. | Time: 2 minutes, and 47 seconds.

Summary:
Drarrelie’s original summary: After weeks of nothing, anything can be too much, everything thoroughly unbearable — it's hard to say what's worse; where you were, where you are, or where you're going...

This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 3 - Speed Run Challenge: Create a podfic in less than an hour. You can choose it beforehand—the hour starts when you turn on your mic to record. Feel free to give each other tips for how to streamline the process! Bonus points if you post within the hour as well.
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Work Title: [Podfic] come back as something organic

Rating: Mature | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: What We Do In The Shadows (TV) | Category: F/M.

Relationship(s): Laszlo Cravensworth/Nadja.

Character(s): Nadja, Laszlo Cravensworth, Nandor the Relentless, Colin Robinson, Guillermo, Original Characters.

Additional Tags: Season/Series 01, Nadja's Makeup Addiction, Bitchy Witches, Self-Esteem Issues, Turned Human (Temporarily), Dank Memes, Misunderstandings, Colin Robinson Being Terrible, Humor, Podfic, Podfic Length: 30-45 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 19 May 2022. | Time: 41 minutes, and 41 seconds.

Summary:
attheborder's original summary: After an argument with Laszlo and a trip to Target, Nadja gets taught a lesson by a local witch.


Podficcing this work began as a Summer Podfic Swap 2021 Treat for someone who wanted What We Do In The Shadows (TV) and humor. Finishing and posting are being attributed to the Voiceteam 2022 Round 2: Bird By Bird Challenge - Start, advance significantly on, or finish a WIP.
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Work Title: [Podfic] Whispers To A Saint

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Prodigal Son (TV 2019) | Category: Gen.

Relationship(s): Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright.

Character(s): Gil Arroyo, JT Tarmel, Dani Powell.

Additional Tags: Episode: s01e12 Internal Affairs, Gil Arroyo POV, Protective Gil Arroyo, Mental Health Issues, Canon Typical Ableism / Sanism, Minor References to Self-Injury, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Catholic Gil Arroyo, Prayer, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 16 May 2022. | Time: 7 minutes, and 9 seconds.

Summary:
Cornerofmadness’ original summary: Gil rules out nothing when it comes to helping Malcolm.

This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 2: Wavelength Challenge - Create an audio fanwork that feels very *you*: maybe it centers on a favorite trope, character, fandom, performance style, etc. Share it with your team and explain why you chose it.


For Voiceteam 2021's Wavelength Challenge, I did a Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright fic for the 'Gil being Malcolm’s parental figure' aspect, and returning to Prodigal Son and this ship just feels very me. So, here we are again for Voiceteam 2022's Wavelength.
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Work Title: [Podfic] So How Many?

Rating: General Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Lord of The Rings - All Media Types | Category: Gen.

Relationship(s): Aragorn & Gimli & Legolas.

Character(s): Aragorn, Legolas Greenleaf.

Additional Tags: Friendship, Humor, Post-Battle of the Hornburg | Battle of Helm's Deep, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 15 May 2022. | Time: 2 minutes, and 11 seconds.

Summary:
iam93percentstardust’s original summary: Nobody tosses a Dwarf... except once.


This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 2: Weighted Blanket Challenge - Find an author that has a blanket permission statement, but there were no podfics of their works posted on AO3 at the time this challenge began. Podfic one of their works!
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For Voiceteam 2022 Round 2 - Walkthrough Challenge: Create some kind of documentation of your podfic process. This might include photos, screenshots, text, video, a podcast interview, etc. You might include your recording setup and equipment, what steps you go through and why, and any tips or advice you have learned. You might also talk about how your process has changed over time and why!

Disclaimer: This absolutely is not intended to be a 'here is what everyone must do' guide, and I cannot guarantee that it will be of much help to anyone new to podfic. (The Podfic: A Resource Index website is helpful to check for getting started, in my opinion.) When I first opened up Audacity to mess around with practice editing, I read the long-term nuclear waste warning message off its Wikipedia page, and I tried to find 'set it and forget it' settings.

Step 1: Find a fanwork.

I don't record tumblr reblog chains or tweet threads, and I don't really go looking around on sites other than Archive Of Our Own (AO3). As a writer, I had already made the migration to AO3 before I looked into podficcing, and I find it easier to search for fic across multiple fandoms on this site. For some challenges like Out Of The Auditary, I specifically go looking for meta, nonfiction, and other works, but overall, I mostly browse AO3 for fanfic.

There's this whole thing with having permission from the author to podfic their work, which will affect what fanwork I choose. Depending on the fandom, some people are really good at tagging "Podfic Welcome" on their works, and some authors use that method instead of issuing a blanket yes to all podfic. There are also some fests that maintain lists of works from priors years of the fest that authors have agreed can be podficced. Some fandoms do not have a large list of authors with blanket permission to podfic (or BP), so it's inevitable that I have to leave a comment at some point and ask for permission, especially if I'm browsing specific tags or relationships for a challenge or fest. I came up with scripts that I can personalize as necessary for anonymous creators and requests for a fest. (Now, you might not be able to tell at this step that I use the 'Inspired By' function when posting to AO3, but personally, I find it annoying when an author tells me that I only have permission to podfic if I do something that I already do. So, that is prominently included in the script.)

For an anonymous creator:
<p>Hello, Anonymous Creator. I would like to create a podfic of this work. I use the 'inspired by' box to link the original work to the podfic, and I start my podfics with "[Title] by [username] . . . Read by . . ." to make it clear that it is not my own work being read.</p><p>If you do not want me to make a podfic of this work, please reply to this comment within the next # weeks. If you’re alright with a podfic being made, I’d still appreciate a reply, but I will treat a non-response by [## Month 2022] as permission to go ahead.</p>

For an event specific request:
<p>Hello. I would like to create a podfic of this work for a fest / for <a href="LINK" rel="nofollow">[Fest Name]</a>. (Depending on the fest rules: According to fest rules, I’m not supposed to publicly say what work I’m doing. If you would like to know the name of the fest and get a link to basic info about it, you can reach me via email (listed in bio).)</p><p>I use the 'inspired by' box to link the original work to the podfic, and I start my podfics with "[Title] by [username] . . . Read by . . ." to make it clear that it is not my own work being read.</p><p>If you do not want me to make a podfic of this work, please reply to this comment within the next # weeks. I will treat a non-response by [## Month 2022] as having permission to go ahead.</p>

[Note: Some people may not like the "no response equals go ahead" part. From one comment to another, I've rephrased that to 'no response meaning not going ahead' as well. Sometimes it depends on how long ago the fic was posted, if the author still seems to respond to comments, if they have any means of reaching out to them listed in their profile at all, and how far into the future I've set the deadline for a response compared to how long it would take me to record the podfic. I used to pick anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on what other events I needed to focus on, so I've been lucky in that - so far - I've never had someone get beyond the deadline before responding.]

Some people want to stick with BP authors, and it can depend on what type of fandom event I'm trying to find a fic for as to how successful that goal is. For example, the turn around on recording and posting podfic during Voiceteam is fast enough that I tend to stick to BP authors. I use the Tampermonkey browser extension [in Firefox] to run the Blanket Permission Highlighter script, which turns usernames of BP authors green (instead of the usual red) and adds a check mark box to the search function in order to only show those usernames in search results. The filtering happens page by page of the search results, so sometimes, I just directly check out the Fandom Permission Statements List site, search for a fandom, and go down the list of authors to check their individual listings. (It's not really a separate resource, since the highlighting script pulls from the FPS List, but I find it to be faster for some fandoms with a lot of results and very few BP authors.)

A minor heads up for people who have to look at the profiles of authors in order to look for a transformative works statement: You will probably run into a lot of profiles without one. In some fandoms, you may run into a lot of entirely blank profiles. I have only once run into a creed about how the author didn't think podfic was a "real" transformative fanwork, thought that podficcing a work was "stealing" the real fannish content (that is, fanfiction), and they would never allow permission to podfic. That's not a majority opinion across all fandoms, but clearly, I can't guarantee that you will not find people that like at some point. If you use a workskin to filter out the usernames of creators that you want to avoid, you may want to filter out any such users that you run into.

Step 1-and-a-half. Decide on whether to read the fanwork ahead of time or cold read. )

[Note: I often search for fanworks at night when it's not ideal to record, so it makes sense to do this next step after I find a fic - probably still at night - but before recording the next day. Sometimes, I search during the day and do this step after recording but before editing. If I pick a fanfic that's short enough (like, 100 words or close to a drabble), I might do this while the audio files are being uploaded to a site that hosts audio. I'm more likely to do this AO3 draft prep before recording for unfamiliar fandoms, long oneshots, any fic that I've read where I know I need to do pronunciation research, multi-chapter works, and certain fest works where I'm working ahead of time.]

Step 2. Prepare the Google Doc with the AO3 draft information.

As someone who started out in fannish spaces as a writer, I'm used to having a template Google Doc that I copy and then I fill in the copied document's lines for title, archive warning, and all that other stuff that AO3 asks for when posting. Since there's a whole bunch of lines that are the same between fiction and podfic posting, I used a combination of my pre-existing template and Shmaylor's Podfic Posting Guide to create my podfic specific template. (My process of filling in my template involves having every Rating, Archive Warning, and Category listed out, so I can delete what isn't needed for the specific draft. I trust that anyone reading this will appreciate not going point by point when so much of that section copies from the fic's information.) This is the podfic specific section:

A long explanation of my AO3 Template. )

The work text section is where my template has a lot of options, since I need to account for the extremely rare cover art image being included, have a oneshot option, and a section for formatting multi-chapter works. I went through several how-to posts, I've watched people customize workskins in the Podfichat Discord server, and I just don't care to fiddle around with all that. (I do not make my own cover art. Currently, I have only included it once when someone already had it with their fic. I am the last person to ask if you want to know anything about that.)

Work Text (Oneshots) )

Work Text (Multi-Chapter) )

This is a lot to look at all in one place, but the good thing about drafting is that it's mostly deleting sections I don't need for the particular fic. Unless I'm doing a cold read and don't fill in tags or top notes until after editing, I can get most of it done ahead of time, which means I only need the links from Archive.org before I have exactly what I need to copy and paste into the text box while posting to AO3.

Optional: Step 2-and-a-half. Reformatting the text for ease of recording. )

Step 3. Get everything set up in order to record.

Not to be too glib, but I just get the laptop out with Audacity on it, lay on my bed, pull up the text on another laptop, and start reading.

Read more... )

Step 4. Record.

I allow for three to four seconds of background noise, in order to remove that later in editing. Then I talk.

Read more... )

Step 4. Editing with Audacity.

How did I pick Audacity? I used it for a few assignments in uni, and our Sound Design instructor heavily recommended it because we were 1. broke college students, and 2. overwhelmingly, not pursuing Sound Design as our area of focus. We never touched the Spectrogram mode or settings (there's, like, pink vertical stuff happening in that one), so I don't edit in that mode. I edit in Waveform mode, or the blue on grey stuff.

The process of editing looks like:

Editing Process )

Step 5. Exporting the files.

I export as a WAV file, and then I export as an MP3 file. One of the definite 'set it and forget it' bits is selecting "Constant Bit Rate", checking "Forced export to mono", and usually the compression rate. If I remember correctly, Archive.org will automatically compress WAV files to 128 kbps if you don't upload an MP3 file at the same time as the WAV, but most people do not want to deal with the resulting size of the MP3 files once you start recording anything with length to it. I think I set 96 kbps when I was working on a podfic with music and sound effects and just left it there - hence it being included in my template - until I needed to deal with my nearly 7 hour podfic.

I saved a note in my initial [private] Podfic Resources doc, but I didn't date it or explain why I was saving the note. I can only presume that this is why I readjusted to 64 kbps and have left it there:

Some opinions on kbps numbers will vary based on including sound effects; 32 kbps for just reading, 64 kbps for music and "non-integral" SFX (some also use 96 kbps here), or 128 kbps for "extensive and integral" SFX (some also use 96 kbps here).

Step 6. Upload the audio files to a site that hosts audio.

Read more... )

Step 7. Post to AO3.

If I've been nice to future me, I have already gotten the draft done before this step [if you remember Step 2]. It's a simple matter of going line by line, copy and pasting, on down while I go between the tab with the Google Doc and the tab with AO3 open. If I got the links from Archive.org in the template already, I can just copy and paste the whole section for the text section over. I hit preview so the notification for a 'Inspired By' work will get sent out, and then I post. (If someone has a specific note about needing to comment in their profile or that they don't trust the email notification to be sent, I'll still comment, but I slowly stopped doing in the summer or fall of 2021 when it seemed like a redundant step.)

Step 8. Cross-post to my tumblr sideblog and to this Dreamwidth.

Details on what I include in the text of the post and how I tag on tumblr and Dreamwidth. )

Step 9. I open up my "Year in Review: [Year]" Google Doc and add in the title name and final time. (Sometimes I have to also add in a fandom section for a new fandom.)

I've encountered a running gag that podficcers love Excel and spreadsheets. Personally, I don't really use them. I use Heading 3 for each fandom, I use Heading 4 for fic and meta, and I can alphabetize the titles as I go. I usually try to keep on top of adding up the times for each fandom as I go, but as long as I put a couple question marks in the fandom's total time to indicate that I need to update it, I also might just let the tallying go until I do an end of the year post. [The end of the year post for 2021 is here, and it includes a link to my "Year in Review: 2021" Google Doc if anyone's curious as to how I live without using spreadsheets. Maybe if I ever do a lot of podfic on one year, I'll consider a spreadsheet....]

Step 10. I update my "To Podfic" Google Doc.

When I first started podficcing, I would put out monthly to-do lists for myself (here's a horrifically ambitious example), and I'd keep track of them, any fic I hadn't gotten to, and what I needed to do for fests in the Google Doc. I keep my asking for permission to podfic scripts in there, and I also have a section at the bottom for keeping track of my Podfic Bingo board (this was the space I was screenshotting for tumblr updates and the AO3 subcollection). Since I shifted to podficcing more for fandom events than just working down a randomly curated list, I mostly keep track of when I need to submit works by.

Read more... )

Optional: Step 11. Share a link my AO3 posting in a Discord server channel.

I hardly ever remember to do this in Podfichat or Voiceteam channels. It's sort of a new and not always applicable step that I have not done for most of my time podficcing, so I just don't remember to do it most of the time.

Read more... )

 

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A screenshot of my message in the Prodigal Son Trash Discord server.

[Image Description: A screenshot of my message in the Prodigal Son Trash Discord server. It reads ‘today’ but was posted on 4 May 2022. The text reads:

Dropping this here, since it's part of a Voiceteam challenge:

Have you, esteemed writer, considered adding a transformative works statement to your ao3 profile? (A statement on your stance about works derived from your own. This can be a 'no' to everything, 'no' to certain types of fanwork, an 'ask me first', or 'yes' to everything.)

Benefits: Speaking only as a podficcer, I don't have to waste your time or my time with asking if I can podfic your fic if you already have a no listed. If you have permission to podfic, your fic may wind up getting podficced, and it may be podficced by someone other than me. (Creators who have a blanket yes to podfic will often make their way to the Fanwork Permission Statements List, and any podficcer browsing for BP authors has a higher chance of finding you.)

Cons: Depending on your fannish experiences, I can't rule out the possibility for some stress while thinking this over. For example, is the idea of someone reaching out to ask if they can podfic your fanfic stressful because it's Communication?

Ultimately, you don't have  to put anything in your ao3 profile if you don't want, but I'd appreciate it if you gave it a moment of consideration at least. It's not going to bother me if you're not actually a fan of podfic or you only want to give a blanket no to podficcing your works. (Anyone who does decide to give a blanket yes: If you provide a link to your ao3 profile, I can put you on the list of new additions to the FPS List.)

/End description.]

This was for Round 1 - Spread the Word: Promote the concept of permission statements (optionally including the Fandom Permission Statements website) on journals/social media sites/etc. to encourage more authors to post blanket permission statements. The post should be a significant promo and not just a retweet/reblog.
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Work Title: [Podfic] Don't feed the plants

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Archive Warning: Major Character Death | Fandom: Little Shop of Horrors (1986) | Category: Gen.

Relationship(s): Minor or Background Relationships.

Character(s): The President of the United States, Audrey II Offspring, Original Characters.

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, References to Canon Deaths, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Thinly Veiled President Trump Insert, Epistolary, News Articles, Morbid Political Humor, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 10 May 2022. | Time: 8 minutes and 1 second.

Summary:

From the archives of The Daily Paper, dated December 22nd, 2017:

In a press conference this afternoon, the President admitted that the murderous plants were indeed not entirely friendly towards humanity, but compared them to poison ivy.

"Nefarious plant life has existed before, and we have our way of dealing with it," The President pointed out. "If they make your skin itch, you can rub on a little aloe vera. It's a great drug and a fine solution to any plant related problem. The real threats to this country are Democrats and foreigners."

There has been a run on aloe vera at all national stores, along with toilet paper.



This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 1: Fanwork of Your Mascot Challenge - Create a fanwork of any medium involving your team's mascot. It could be fanart, text or oral not!fic backstory, podficced text, yarncraft, a cake, or something we haven't thought of yet! (For Team Green B-Leaf, our general mascot is 'plants'.)
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Work Title: [Podfic] It's frozen?

Rating: General Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: S.W.A.T. (TV 2017) | Category: Multi.

Relationship(s): Chris/Kira/Ty.

Character(s): Christina "Chris" Alonso, Ty (S.W.A.T.).

Additional Tags: Cooking Mishaps, Frozen Turkey Mishaps, Texting, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 8 May 2022. | Time: 1 minute and 54 seconds.

Summary:

lapsed-bookworm's summary: For 'Holiday Fic Prompts 2019' Week 1: Candy Cane Fluff. Option 4-A: Cooking a holiday meal.



This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 1: Do It Challenge - Think of something you've been interested in trying re: audio fanwork, but have been nervous about or avoiding. (This might be tackling a specific fandom/character/fic but could also be something else related to the process of creating audio fanworks.) Do it.
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Work Title: [Podfic] If you can’t buy it, make it

Rating: General Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: S.W.A.T. (TV 2017) | Category: F/F, F/M, Multi.

Relationship(s): Kira (S.W.A.T.)/Ty (S.W.A.T.), Chris/Kira (S.W.A.T.), Chris/Kira/Ty vee.

Character(s): Christina "Chris" Alonso, Ty (S.W.A.T.).

Additional Tags: Chris Alonso POV, Polyamory, Gift Making, Fluff, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Language: English. | Posted: 5 May 2022. | Time: 2 minutes and 17 seconds.

Summary:

lapsed-bookworm's summary:

For 'Holiday Fic Prompts 2019' Week 1: Candy Cane Fluff. Option 1-b: Gift Finding Woes.



This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 1 - Time Warp Challenge: Record an audio fanwork in a fandom you used to be in but hadn't created fanworks in for at least one year before this round started.
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Work Title: [Podfic] Wishing Rose

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Harry Potter | Category: F/F.

Relationship(s): Luna Lovegood/Draco Malfoy.

Character(s): Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood.

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Draco Malfoy POV, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Trans Female Character, Female Draco Malfoy, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Posted: 5 May 2022. | Language: English. | Time: 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Summary:

AlexSeanchai's original summary:

Luna Lovegood gives no fucks about other people's opinions, Draco thinks. It's almost Luna's sole defining characteristic.

Lucius Malfoy is so proud of his son.

Draco runs fingers through Luna's hair, carding the long dirty-blonde strands while she rests her head on Draco's shoulder.


This has been podficced for Voiceteam 2022 Round 1 - Anthology Challenge: Pick a theme - it can be as abstract or as concrete as you want - and have at least 3 team members create an audio fanwork that connects to the theme.

It's part of the trans themed anthology - Transthology - for Team Green B-Leaf.
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Voiceteam 2022 is here.

Team: Green B

Did we rename it? Yes.

Updated Team Name: Green B-Leaf.


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I hit a bit of a wall in terms of getting some works for challenges down in the last half of Voiceteam 2021. I’m hoping to get them finished and posted later, even though they no longer count towards the event.

- Pillar To Post-Production: I started writing an Omegaverse fic for Prodigal Son. I need to finish the fic and podfic it.

- What Comes Next: In theory, I could write (and podfic) a sequel to that Omegaverse fic.

- Pitch’n’Pod: I’m waiting for my multi-voice partner to feel better. I’d really rather not post it without them getting a chance to do their dialogue, you know? However, I did accidentally pitch Prodigal Son to a team member, so that wasn’t half bad.

I also haven’t shared the badges I got because I was a little too confident that I’d get these done in time, so I technically haven’t earned the one badge yet.
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Voiceteam 2021 Round 2: Commentary Challenge. Write or record new commentary on a fanwork of yours created before this week. This should be at minimum 7 min or 1K written words. You might talk about why the project is meaningful to you, what your thought process was in making it, what it taught you, reflections on what you might do differently now, etc.

As soon as I came across Cornerofmadness’ The Ties That Bind series, I knew that I was going to podfic it. (Cornerofmadness has blanket permission to podfic, for those who may be worried about that.) Each part is supposed to roughly stand alone within this alternate universe where Malcolm’s voice box was damaged around ten due to [a slightly canon divergent moment], which leads to different amounts of raspiness ascribed to Malcolm’s voice and varying degrees of pain and resulting use of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) methods. The series listing provides more information (and reveals the traumatic event Malcolm went through): [Podfic] The Ties That Bind. Since I’m writing about a series, it will also be the place where I link this post instead of one fic.

Not really being ‘in’ a podficcer community at the time that I was recording and editing this series [April 2021] meant that I had no prior exposure to discussions about the inclusion of screen reader voices in podfic in any capacity. Trying to mess around with Effects on my voice for an artificial voice when I also needed to differentiate the phrases in sign language from the usual narration and Malcolm’s raspy voice seemed weirdly stubborn that I try to ‘voice’ everything. After I finished the series, I was a bit surprised when I came across an old discussion about using screen reader audio in the podfichat Discord server where some people disliked that, but I imagine that the situation in this series isn’t typical for the discussion because Malcolm uses text-to-speech when talking is too painful, so using screen reader audio is quite literally supported by the text (Bound to Loneliness, Bound for Normalcy). Outside of that, it seemed like a relatively easy way to achieve an artificial voice, so I didn’t hesitate at the time.

Figuring out how to use a screen reader’s audio was also a nice little challenge at the time, in terms of my recording and editing skills. Except for including a song snippet in one fic when it was required, The Ties That Bind series was really the first time that I messed around with adding sound effects to a podfic, specifically whiteboard marker scribbling tracks for Bound to Possibility. (It’s set a few months after Malcolm is injured, so he uses a whiteboard before a text-to-speech program.) It seems like a relatively small detail, but hunting down marker scribbling kept a little bit of fun in the editing process. I was in the midst of cold reading a 65.9K multi-chapter at the time I was recording The Ties That Bind, so I had zero intentions of reading this series cold; I knew that I was going to have to change up my usual recording and editing processes in order to ultimately differentiate the voices (narration, raspy voice, and sign language). However, I wasn’t expecting certain emotional responses from reading the text itself out loud.

On the one hand, it makes sense that Malcolm doesn’t like his voice. He went through a traumatic event, and the resulting scar on his throat and his raspy voice are lifelong reminders of everything involved with that event. He has a clear before and after in terms of his voice (and experiencing pain if he talks too long). On the other hand, I was projecting onto Malcolm, and it felt strange to run into all these little reminders that he didn’t like his raspy voice. Personal opinions about my voice have ranged from dislike to hate based on vocal gender dysphoria, but I’ve never really disliked that it’s got a fraction of the raspiness ascribed to Malcolm in this fic. Granted, I didn’t go through Malcolm’s traumatic event, so I don’t have a before and after or pain influencing how I feel. It’s just, y’know, the voice I’ve had my whole life. It is what it is.

I got comments from substitute teachers about whether I had a cold. I usually got reminders to project and be louder instead of directly asking about my voice. Except, of course, for the one secretary who politely asked if she could ask a question about my voice because she had never encountered someone who had that degree of hoarseness without some sort of painful event happening first. In the course of day-to-day living, my vocal quality isn’t a constant, horrible thing that I have to fight against. It almost felt strange to read Malcolm’s perspective out loud because his ‘new’ voice remained a bit new to him. I feel I should clarify that I didn’t really have a negative response to this. It’s not that I think Malcolm should like his voice within this premise, or anything. It’s more that I felt the edges where I didn’t line up with the character. Case in point, while Malcolm is written as using the label ‘disabled’, I’ve never done so, and that, in part, influenced my usage of ‘non-normate voices’ instead of ‘disabled voices’ in “Thoughts on Audio Social Media & Podfic”.

I have acquired subglottic stenosis. Due to prolonged intubation as an infant in the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit], I have scar buildup and a resultant narrowing in (more or less) the bit of your airway below the vocal cords but before you’re actually in the trachea proper. That’s the easiest explanation for non-medical folks, at any rate. Since I was an infant (and everything was all small and close together), it’s also possible that the breathing tube affected my vocal cords a bit as well. As far as I’m aware, I never underwent any surgical corrections, and I did not need to have a tracheostomy tube inserted, which are usually for more severe cases. I occasionally have some stridor [high pitched whistling noise when breathing], and my voice is described as hoarse, a whisper, or ‘distinctive’ by others.

This was the first series I’ve come across where I didn’t need to leave at least an oscillating fan on in my room while recording to clean up my voice after I run Noise Reduction. I’m aware this runs counter to what’s commonly suggested to new podficcers, but that’s how I worked out my basic narration ‘podfic voice’ that’s, as far as early commenters considered, relatively pleasant sounding. My voice - as is - made it somewhat easier to do Malcolm’s raspy voice, and I actually needed to have as little background noise while recording as possible to get a usable raspy voice track. In terms of editing, I did a separate Noise Reduction, Normalization, and Change Pitch. Since I was already set up for the raspy voice recording, I used the same approach for the phrases that were sign language, but I then went to do my normal editing process (Noise Reduction, Normalization, Equalization (Bass Boost), Low Pass Filter, and Change Pitch).

In trying to look up tips for doing his immediate aftermath voice with the strongest rasp, I found advice for having a raspy voice that ranged from not supporting your breath to dubiously reproducible methods like smoking or yelling. I’m not sure what people with normate voices do, but I could adequately get a stronger rasp by not supporting my breath. Which meant I didn’t breathe immediately before starting those lines of dialogue, and the staccato bit in Bound to Possibility utilized a harsh exhale. (It’s similar to using a peak flow meter except you don’t breathe as deeply as you can beforehand; you want one quick, hard exhale.) For two and a half words that Malcolm had to work to vocalize, it did work. It’s a bit too much like gasping to try to use with full sentences, though, so I let whatever rasp made it through editing while talking normally suffice in other parts (noted for Bound for Normalcy).

Overall, it was interesting recording and editing for The Ties That Bind series, and the only reason that I even made note of anything that I did is that the series is marked incomplete, so I had wanted to make sure I could repeat the process for any future parts. (I made sure that I met the word count before repeating anything from prior notes, but honestly, there’s only so many ways to explain acquired subglottic stenosis over a lifetime.) Back in late February and early March [2021], I did initial recording and editing experiments to figure out how to get a podfic voice that didn’t actually sound like me, and then I tried to not think about it. This series made me really have to face that if I followed common starting advice, my podfic voice would likely be what the sign language portions sound like. If I really pared down on the editing, I would have the raspy voice that Malcolm’s vocal portions get, even if it’s not truly as raspy as his voice is described in the text (“Yep, raspy as if he’d been chain smoking and stealing Gil’s bourbon”).

And yet, clearly, I didn’t try going that route when I first started to make podfic. I’ve been resistant to connecting my fannish online identity with my offline identity, and I didn’t particularly want my podfic identity to get connected to either one. I highly doubt that I’d post raw audio, but even if I did minor editing to slow down vocal recognition, I never thought that I’d purposefully share audio where I sounded like, well, me. It’s not like I’ve had a formative moment where someone has told me to fix my voice that’s keeping me back, or I’ve run into a post discouraging those with certain voices or vocal qualities from taking part in podfic. I’m sure the warning in my ao3 profile seems like overkill for some listeners when my podfic voice has been edited to sound just fine.

There’s still something about not using the usual recording and editing process that seems like I’m somehow putting out a lower quality podfic as a result. In theory, it would be interesting to see if there’s a change from any listeners if I switched to leaving my voice sound raspy, but I’ll be honest - it’s going to be at least 80 F or 26.6 C in the upcoming days. It’s the unofficial start of summer where I live, and the idea of turning off air conditioning for this is probably not going to happen. (I mentioned to my teammates that I didn’t really have a choice about an A/C unit being installed in my window at the beginning of Voiceteam, so it’s already bad enough that I have a different level of background noise to adjust to.) Maybe this autumn or winter after the A/C unit comes out, I can give a raspy voice experiment a shot.

Word count: 1,793 words.
static_whisper: An AO3 symbol on a white background edited to have colors from the nonbinary flag colors - purple, yellow, and black. (Default)
Title: [Podfic] Preserve A Memory

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Prodigal Son (TV 2019) | Category: Gen

Relationship(s): Jackie Arroyo & Malcolm Bright.

Character(s): Malcolm Bright, Sunshine the Bird (Prodigal Son).

Additional Tags: Season/Series 01, No Spoilers, Light Angst, Memories, Beach Holidays, Cooking, Mother-Son Relationship, Families of Choice, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Time: 6 minutes, and 53 seconds. (The backup has a longer intro that makes the file 7 minutes and 12 seconds.)

Summary:
Cornerofmadness’ original summary: For once, he has time for breakfast, but it stirs up bittersweet memories.
This has been recorded for the Voiceteam 2021 Super Challenge for the Mauvelous Dreamers: A podficlet collection based around Found Family.
static_whisper: An AO3 symbol on a white background edited to have colors from the nonbinary flag colors - purple, yellow, and black. (Default)
Title: [Podfic] OTF or One True Fandom Meta

Rating: General Audiences | Archive No Archive Warnings Apply | Fandom: Fandom | Category: Gen | Relationship(s): None entered. | Character(s): None entered.

Additional Tags: Essays, Meta, Nonfiction, Meta Essays, Podfic, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming.

Time: 22 minutes, and 55 seconds.

Summary:
osteophage’s original summary: Metacommentary on essentializing rhetoric about "fandom" as a concept.

This podfic has been recorded for Voicteam 2021 Round 2: Change Your Mind Challenge - Create an audio version of a piece of meta that you have engaged with, that taught you something, or made you rethink something. Meta is defined on Fanlore as “a fan-authored piece of non-fiction writing discussing any aspect of fandom, fanworks, or the source [canon].”
static_whisper: An AO3 symbol on a white background edited to have colors from the nonbinary flag colors - purple, yellow, and black. (Default)
Round 2: Fresh Coat of Paint

Redo an old podfic of yours and put a new spin on it. This could be a new technique you have learned for performance or editing, a new interpretation, new knowledge you have gained, or new emotional resonance the story has for you.

I re-edited "Lycanthropy::HIV" by slashaholic666 (queerlybeloved777): [Repod] Lycanthropy::HIV.

Original podfic entry can be found here.

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