Akira Dolce

Local Barista Vtuber http://akiradolce.carrd.co

[akiradolce]

Here are my tags for tumblr!

Daily/IRL activities: #DailyDolce

News and Changes: #DolceUpdate

WIPs and Projects: #DolceDuties

Live Tag: #akiradolcelive

Fanart Tag: #artkiradolce

You'll find all my post categorized under all these tags!

Art by Prize Bunny. BG from StockImages.

[parchmint]

compilation of the most powerful images

[gentleralts]

@akiradolce

[akiradolce]

Needing to Remember to post here...

Hi! I'm really bad at posting here! I probably need more people to follow and see the thing I want to see. If we have similar interests or obsessions, please suggest some people I can follow! Here are my general interests:

Vtubers

JRPGs

Audio Tech

Slice of Life anime

The Legend of Zelda

Fire Emblem

Goddess of Victory: Nikke

Super Smash Bros Series

Persona Series

Ouro Kronii

Japanese Language

[akiradolce]

I experienced culture shock after moving to Japan! Here a few things that really caught me off guard!

[akiradolce]

Hiatus and Return?

Hey guys it's been a while! I know I'm not very active on Tumblr, but this is basically my day tracker/project update area so there's not a whole lot of content that will be posted here. Either way, there's some things that I've been going through that have put my Vtuber duties on hold.

So first off, I'll point out the elephant in the room. I'm currently on hiatus. The reason for it is because I actually moved to Japan! And because of all the paperwork, moving, life adjustments and just constantly being overwhelmed by life, (also not to mention my terrible internet situation) I had to put my Vtuber activities on hold. I do plan on returning, however it'll be a while before I can get back on the saddle.

There are still some things I need to do as a Vtuber like finish archiving my VODs, make art for the subathon that was done to help my move, and I still plan to be active on Twitter, just so people don't completely forget about me.

Because I don't have to focus on streams and collabs, I'm planning to come back eventually with YouTube video content/TikTok content for the time being. Just little guy stuff where you can see me having fun by being cringe on the internet. As for the YouTube stuff, it's going to get a little in depth about Vtubing and videos about tips or tutorials on Vtuber software or general streaming help. I have several scripts already written out, but unfortunately, my workspace is not recording friendly. It's a relatively easy fix, but in the mean time, I have back-end stuff that needs to get done which will make production a lot more engaging and pretty to look at. Trust me, once I get back fully on my Vtuber activities, I'll be coming back as strong as ever and I hope to push myself a bit more.

Until then, I'll be around. Feel free to hit me up anytime! I still love to play games with friends and chat. Unfortunately, I'm in the JST time zone, so it might make it hard to spend time with me! Dolce out!

[akiradolce]

Subathon Over!

After 55 hours, my subathon comes to a close! There's a lot I learned from this experience. The first is that I'm able to do it, so that was a huge confidence boost! Even though, I found mild success with my subathon, there's a few things that I was upset with as well...

The first thing was that I was sick, so that was a huge upsetting part for me. I wasn't able to be 100% at full entertainer mode since I still had to focus on being healthy. That means a lot of the more physically demanding things were not possible. So no karaoke, no Ring Fit. I even had forcing push-ups/sit-ups/squats as an incentive. I ended up doing them, but it was the most I could do.

Another thing was that even with an active chat, I ended up feeling very lonely. I wasn't able to interact with my friends outside of the stream. The only few times I was able to was during BRBs and just before going to bed. Even on waking up, I immediately had to check on the stream to make sure it was still up or that no hate raids and trolls decided to cause trouble.

There's not much time for other people when tending to an "always on" stream. I was only able to speak to another person once through the entire 55 hours, which was after a friend raided my stream and I openly invited them to join since they weren't planning on going to bed afterwards. I didn't even speak to family at all during the whole thing.

Food was also a huge issue. From my experience with the stream, time was precious. Time away from the stream meant losing retention and potential contributions. I always felt like I was in a rush to get things done. Because I was sick, I also constantly needed water to refresh my system, even more than usual to help recover from whatever sickness I caught. I wanted to eat bit more substantial meals like pasta and chicken, but those are things that you can't just set on a stove and come back to. I didn't have roommates or family that were able to help or cook for me, so that was a huge struggle.

My advice if I were to ever do this again, and to anyone reading that's looking to do a subathon, is to make food ahead of time. Make a huge pot of chili in a slow cooker, get a rice cooker, buy family sized lasagna that take like 1hr30 to cook in an oven. Depending on the success of your subathon, DoorDash could be your friend. In my case, I wasn't able to justify DoorDash or any other delivery service. The only outside food I got was Taco Bell, which was an incentive, and not by choice.

Another huge issue was finding ways to keep the stream active with clear info. I definitely feel like I should have prepared a bit more beforehand, but I was unable to make the proper preparations due to being basically bedridden up until the day before the start day. I would have gotten a YouTube playlist set up for when I slept and set up labels that could let people know what the next incentive was. I think the worst thing was not having moderators able to help. Because everything had to be done by myself. Changing titles, tracking incentives and rewards, removing troublesome users. I also unfortunately had an issue with the marathon timer, where I had to manually add time. A lot of the workload made it hard to focus on providing an engaging stream.

Even though I struggled a lot, I ended up creating a lot of fun and memorable moments. I would definitely try this again in the future, but with my experience on how I handled this, I would know a bit better on how to handle everything. My only regret was not being able to reach my follower goal during the event and having to dip into my own savings just to continue streaming while I'm in Japan.

[akiradolce]

Sick Days...

I haven't been able to get much done recently. I had family visit as well as got sick while they were visiting.

However, I did manage to get some other stuff done before all this! I recently found an inspiration for editing YouTube videos. The style of editing I'm going for is very akin to Kizuna Ai and Kaguya Luna, the OGs of the Vtuber world. The idea is also reminiscent of Japanese Television. I have a few videos ready to be posted, but staggering them for long term interaction. One video is already uploaded onto YouTube and you can check it out here!

Additionally I have shorter clip videos that also try to encompass the Japanese vlog style videos. As I start to get comfortable with this style of editing, it'll only get more and more stylized. Here's another example!

Overall, I kind of gotten into the swing of things when it comes to being an online content creator, however I think I may have gotten it a bit too late. As of March 18th, I'll be moving to Japan with a new job and the success of the subathon is really going to decide how much effort I'll be putting into online content creation. It makes me sad to talk about it, but I can't keep up my hobby forever, especially when it comes to thinking about things like retirement and family stability. Honestly, I kind of feel like a game company about to go bankrupt. This last ditch effort could save my hobby or have me leave it behind for an indefinite period of time...

[akiradolce]

I have a subathon coming up tomorrow at noon! (February 24th, 12:00PM CST)

I have lots of incentives, plus impulse incentives not listed! Also my rates are much cheaper than most subathons, meaning contributions add more time that your next competing Vtuber!

[akiradolce]

Tonight was my first time trying ASMR! It was a lot of fun, but I also found out I can make noises I never knew I could make! Check out the VOD here!

[akiradolce]

I have a newfound motivation! I’ll try to upload little shorts/skits twice a week on my YouTube Channel! I suddenly got inspired by TikTok, but content created in such a way that you’ll want to watch it again instead of liking and swiping!

[akiradolce]

Recent Activity (1/26/23)

Oof, it's been a long time since I actually posted here, but here's a list of things that I've been working on and upgraded since my last post.

I finished with the final draft for JamKiske's cover. As far as I know, I don't think I'll be making any more changes unless Jam isn't full happy with the mix I gave her.

I ended up making an audition video for Nijisanji. Their audition video requirements are kind of strict, so making a compilation and introduction was kind of a hassle. I'm not 100% happy with the final product, but I've also been having problems with extracting content from my streams. Clipping is hard when you're focused on playing a game, interacting with chat, moderating your chat, and ensuring the broadcast is going smoothly and troubleshooting if there is an issue. I would love if my viewers clipped me more, even if it's just a ctrl-x clip. It's not their fault though, since clipping does take effort to do and takes attention away from the stream. I think that the problem will fix itself once people either get comfortable with clipping or I start to attract people that are in the habit of clipping. Either way, being a streamer and making your own content is hard.

I managed to change a bunch of overlay stuff. I ended up finding some immersive assets like a controller while I play games. I also am looking at adding new redeems since I haven't added any in a long time, but I also want to switch to a more consistent redeem platform.

The last thing is not related to my content, but actually things that would pull me away from making content. I've been in the process of starting a new job and moving to a new country, so things have been slightly stressful. Not only that, but I need to make sure that I'm maintaining my relationships with my friends and family. Life has been tough recently, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a strong sense of fulfillment trying to balance my online life and my offline life.

[akiradolce]

Visit Original Link

Currently working on a mix for JamKiske! Song: Sobakasu by Judy and Mary

Put in about 4 hours of work in editing and mixing and very close to done. Making sure everything is all balanced and clean. Jam is a wonderful singer, and I didn't have to do much pitch and timing correction. My contribution to this is that Jam didn't have backing vocals, so I flubbed a bit of a harmony line using Melodyne. You can check out my example up top.

I won't post the entire song, but be sure to check out @jamkiske's final mix on where ever she decides to post it on!

Cubase has also been so easy to work in. It took a while to find some of the basic features like signal routing and figuring out how the sends work, but it all came together really quickly. It also simulates a physical mixing board which is a big plus since it's what I was used to working on.

[akiradolce]

Switching to Cubase!!

I've decided to switch over from Adobe Audition to Cubase.

Originally, I used Reaper because it was a cheap DAW. The problem with Reaper was that its signal flow and interface was much different from what I was used to in college (Pro Tools). Overall, Reaper is a great DAW, but it doesn't feel standardized and has a learning curve that I don't want to try reprogramming into my brain.

Adobe Audition is VERY similar to Pro Tools. The workflow is something I'm very used to. It has features that allow you to edit clips within a multi-track session. Although it is a very cool feature, I never ended up using it. The big reason I'm switching over is that my VSTs aren't playing well with it and don't render well. Also, there is no option to do a real-time bounce. This is very important to me since I prefer to listen to my mix one last time as a final check. Although I can do that just by listening, the ultimatum of "This is it" makes me hyper aware of my editing and mixing. Even though it's not and I can go back and make changes, it makes me feel like I should polish everything before I call my projects "finished".

Another thing is that I want to start creating my own original songs. Composing and producing songs aren't my forte, but I am familiar with how the process goes (Thank you, college!!). Even if my original songs aren't record company quality, this is going to be my first steps into being a self-produced VTuber.

I'm not sure how my journey will go with Cubase, but I am currently trying the trial version to see how that will go. If I feel comfortable with the first two months, I'll definitely commit to it. Otherwise, it's probably back to Reaper or maybe I'll try my hand with Mixcraft...

[cocoelacanth]

this is way funnier to me than it has any business being

[akiradolce]

Currently working on my cover of Astrogirl by Sana Tsukumo! This is a WIP so the final product is going to sound slightly different. There's a few changes I want to make before I set this as finished and start providing artwork, video and pushing it out to all my social media.

I'll post the changes I want to make and things I'm unhappy with under the break. Please give it a listen before reading the rest of the post so you can have an unbiased first listen and try not to hear the things I point out.

I am open to critique on my mixing. I want to provide the best product, so feel free to comment things you like or dislike about my mix.

This is my first time working with Melodyne and manual pitch correction and time phasing. For a first attempt, I think it's pretty good. There are words like "orbit" that sound kinda wonky. I don't know if it's how I sang it or if its the time phasing making it weird. Reverting time phasing doesn't seem to change how awkward I say it, so it might just be my voice.

2. The last chorus has a high vocal range needed, and using my higher range, I can't reach the highest notes. I used Melodyne to get even higher, but overall the pitch shifting sounds weird, so I might do another take and find an alternate harmony.

3. The original song uses a vocoder and MIDI. I'd love to use this same technique but Adobe Audition doesn't work well with MIDI, if at all. I've settled with using chorus and flanger effects to bring a fuller effect to my voice instead. Might play around with the settings to give it a more "vocodey" effect. Looking to switch over to Cubase since I want to get into composing originals, too.

I also found out that Melodyne doesn't render in Adobe Audition, so I have to realtime bounce my cover (hence the video recording instead of a audio post). I am definitely changing DAWs as soon as I can.

4. All the tracks have no gain automation. I don't think I need any, but it's worth exploring. If I hate it, I can just delete all the automation.

[akiradolce]

Currently working on my cover of Astrogirl by Sana Tsukumo! This is a WIP so the final product is going to sound slightly different. There's a few changes I want to make before I set this as finished and start providing artwork, video and pushing it out to all my social media.

I'll post the changes I want to make and things I'm unhappy with under the break. Please give it a listen before reading the rest of the post so you can have an unbiased first listen and try not to hear the things I point out.

I am open to critique on my mixing. I want to provide the best product, so feel free to comment things you like or dislike about my mix.

This is my first time working with Melodyne and manual pitch correction and time phasing. For a first attempt, I think it's pretty good. There are words like "orbit" that sound kinda wonky. I don't know if it's how I sang it or if its the time phasing making it weird. Reverting time phasing doesn't seem to change how awkward I say it, so it might just be my voice.

2. The last chorus has a high vocal range needed, and using my higher range, I can't reach the highest notes. I used Melodyne to get even higher, but overall the pitch shifting sounds weird, so I might do another take and find an alternate harmony.

3. The original song uses a vocoder and MIDI. I'd love to use this same technique but Adobe Audition doesn't work well with MIDI, if at all. I've settled with using chorus and flanger effects to bring a fuller effect to my voice instead. Might play around with the settings to give it a more "vocodey" effect. Looking to switch over to Cubase since I want to get into composing originals, too.

I also found out that Melodyne doesn't render in Adobe Audition, so I have to realtime bounce my cover (hence the video recording instead of a audio post). I am definitely changing DAWs as soon as I can.

4. All the tracks have no gain automation. I don't think I need any, but it's worth exploring. If I hate it, I can just delete all the automation.

[akiradolce]

Akira Dolce VOD Ch.

Akira is a local barista at the Cinnamon Sweet Café. By day, he serves top quality lattés at his café and by night, entertains people throug

Caught up on my thumbnails and metadata for my Archive channel! Older streams will be caught up slowly so I don't flood your feeds!