posted
Hi, Ive got not idea if there's a market for this or not, but as far as I know audio-books are a bit of a thing for exec types who are in there cars a lot etc.
Have you guys ever had an audio version of your story's done? I've got a strong interest in recording and composing. I think it would be pretty interesting to put a collection of short story's together with some music behind. However, it would be a lot of work & not sure that the effort would be worth it for prosperity. Do you think a short story collection all recorded up and produced nicely would appeal to audio book publishers?
posted
A lot of truck drivers buy audio-books, too. If you want the best selection possible, visit a truck stop.
I have a few audio-books on CD... I'm enjoying my orignal radio scripts of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on CD. And when I'm working in the garden or around the house and can't read, I'll listen.
But I think you're biggest obstacle is going to find a really good voice actor for the stories. You can't just have any ol' person do it. You have to someone who can REALLY do it. Otherwise, audio-books can be horrid.
And, you probably won't get rich and prosperous from doing this... but it might be worthwhile if you're planning a career in sound design, etc. Looks nice on one's resume.
posted
Gah! Mary! Now I know what you look like! Not that that's bad--but you look NOTHING like I pictured in my feeble little mind. That is ALWAYS so WEIRD for me, to finally see you people!
Posts: 1672 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I have often wanted to be a reader for Audio Books. When I was ten I won my local library's storytelling contest. The prize was that I got to record my story at a radio studio and it was broadcast on NPR. I think I did "The Emperor's Nightingale." I've always wanted to do more voice work but figured the opportunities were slim unless I lived in a city like LA or NY.
Of course, Radio Theatre sounds great as well. Accepting applications, MR?
[This message has been edited by autumnmuse (edited April 03, 2005).]
posted
You could check around and see if there is some way to do recordings for the blind. It's not quite the same as books on tape for regular consumers--they use different technology--but it is something that would give experience and might look good on a resume when you applied for regular recording work.
Posts: 8826 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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posted
I'd like to weigh in here with my pet peeve on audio recordings. I listen to them, or try to anyway, during commutes, and have found that about 1 in 3 are recorded in a manner that makes for enjoyable listening while driving. The remainder have too great a range in the voices of the speaker: either the different speakers speak at such greatly different levels that you can hear one and not the other, or each speaker is attempting to be so dramatic that the range of their voice varies so greatly that you are either being shouted at or whispered to.
That may be okay on a soundstage, but is intensely irritating when driving. It has gotten to the point where I won't even buy one without listening to some of it first.
This is one of those brain-dead things that producers do (I guess it is the producers) that makes us as consumers just shake our heads in wonder and vote to not buy further from that source.
posted
I listen to audio recordings that I receive from the National Library Service (NLS) for the blind. These are not the same recordings as the ones you can purchase on cassette or audio CD in the stores, and the quality of recording is not guaranteed. I have had to stop listening to books before, not because the book itself was bad, but because the reader was.
So please, be honest with yourself. You can volunteer to read books for the NLS, but if you're not good at it....
On the other hand, more readers would mean more books. As I begin to make my way through the readily available classics offered through the NLS, I am finding that more and more of the stuff I'd like to read (or listen to) is not available. It's not even that it takes a couple of years to get a new book on tape (although that's part of it), even older books are not available. I still have not read all of Card's book because a good number are not available through the NLS.
I've listened to all the Harry Potter books on cassettes recorded by Jim Doyle. He's a *wonderful* reader...the best I've ever heard. He does all the voices, sets the pace perfectly, and has the right British accent to go with the atmosphere of the books.
BTW, I never should look at the pictures of people I've known on-line for a while. There's something about it that's just weird.
posted
Hmm. That sounds weird Mike. I'd say that those volume changes are more underproduced recordings than the other way around. If they were to run the voice recordings through a compressor, they would end up with the same feeling of dynamic, but at a nice constant level.
Posts: 329 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Audio books aren't just for "exec types"... I have a good friend who has a form of a reading disability along with some mild dyslexia. He struggled to read all the way through school. Now, in his late forties, he has discovered the world of literature for the first time. It's been fun to watch him get excited about books! He drives for a living, and now he pops in a novel and 'reads' while he drives. He's finally discovered J.R.R. Tolkien, Orson Scott Card, and Robert Jordan.
My sister also listens to books on tape a lot. She cleans health clinics for a living, and her job starts when everyone else goes home. She listens to her books while she does her scrubbing and mopping. She's listened to nearly everything in our local library. Books on tape are used a lot by people with vision problems as well. There are a horde of people who absorb books in this way, so the audience is pretty large.
posted
I reread my last post and realized how amateur that sounded, sorry. Actually I did quite a bit of acting in High School (I had the lead in every play I tried out for) and have been reading out loud since I was seven. I've read tons of books cover to cover out loud, and I listen to audio books all the time, especially while housecleaning or doing crafts.
One thing I thought was a bit interesting was that I read the Harry Potter books out loud to my husband before we heard Jim Doyle's version, and he liked my voice characterizations even better than Jim's.
Alas, though, I've been lazy about pursuing that particular dream because I have so many. I'd also love voice lessons so I could train my voice and perhaps sing professionally, I'd like to do community theatre, I'm already writing my own curriculum for High School level literature classes, I want to be a published novelist, etc etc etc. Hard to get them all done at once!!!
posted
One of my petty dreams is to hear Frank Muller read one of my stories. I really like him followed by Tim Curry, George Guidall, and of course John Huston but he is gone now.
Most other readers I have encountered ruin the story. I almost never listen to anything read by the author (Although King is okay though I prefer Muller to read his stuff). I read so much on paper that when I want to read a story for pleasure I listen to it. And it burns the crap out of me to have some flat toneless reader who has no regard for emotion, puctuation or character.
The only thing I hate more than a terrible reader is abridged books. Ever try to listen to Shogun as an abridged book?
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