hi ok no pressure to answer this at all but I know u do podfics and I was wondering if u have any advice for someone who's considering starting to record podfics?? hope ur having an incredible day, sending you good vibes!
I, in comparison to a lot of other people who podfic, am very new to the game and I’m still figuring out how to do it well. But I do have some advice.
Okay so first of all you have to be completely unafraid to get ridiculous. It’s a very silly thing, and a lot of my outtakes are me laughing at myself because of a voice crack or a funny word catching me off guard. I’m also really critical of the sound of my own voice, and that was a tough hurdle to get over, but literally nobody hears your voice the same way you do and they’ll all be so caught up in your beautiful story-telling that they won’t notice a little stutter or crack. It’s gonna feel absurd at first, which means it’s a lot easier to do it when you’re alone.
Which leads me to my next point: you need a quiet spot. Somewhere where you can sit and relax for a good chunk of time and not be interrupted. You want to minimize as much outside noise as you can. Anyone who listens to my podfics can probably tell this, but I live on the ground floor of an apartment on the Main Street of a city. It’s not exactly conducive to peaceful podfic. So I grab my laptop and microphone, a water bottle, and anything else I might need and I set up shop on the floor of my closet. It’s feels. So silly. Sitting on the floor of my closet talking to myself, but it’s what it takes.
This is a really important one. Always. Get. Consent. From. The. Author. If it isn’t your fic that you’re recording, you HAVE to get the author’s consent. A lot of authors will have blanket permissions in their bios, but if they don’t then you must reach out to them and ask permission. Many will ask you to, but it’s common courtesy to link back to the original fic as well as tag them if you post it on any platform other than AO3.
You’re gonna need a microphone. Now don’t panic, I know that that’s an investment you might not be ready to make until you’re sure if you like it. That’s fine. My first podfic on my AO3 I recorded on my laptop microphone. The sound is terrible, but it was fine while I tested out doing it and figured out whether I enjoyed doing it. And I did. Most podficcers will tell you to buy a $100 microphone. Nah. This is the microphone I purchased. I love it, it was $40, The sound is comparable to a blue yeti, and it’s pink. It’s a win-win-win.
Buy Fifine USB Podcast Condenser Microphone Recording On Laptop, No Need Sound Card Interface and Phantom Power-K669: Multipurpose - Amazon.
Other things tech-wise, I record in GarageBand just because it came standard on my laptop and I find it really really easy to use. I know other people that like Audacity, which is free to download and use. It really is a matter of personal preference. I’ve played with both and I’m still inclined towards GarageBand.
When it comes to the actual reading, I recommend doing a dry run before you start recording. This will help you keep track of who speaks when, lets you practice your voices, gives you a chance to figure out how you’re going to read certain lines, etc. it’s just nice to practice and hopefully get all your mistakes out before you start recording. Don’t be alarmed if it takes a long time. One of my podfics which ended up being an hour long took five hours to record and another ten to edit. It was insane and I felt like I was going crazy, but I was really pleased with the end result. (Side note: do NOT start your first attempts with long fics. For your first couple tries I suggest capping word count at 5-10k words) I also prefer to read the whole thing in one take. It just helps keep voice, ambient sound, volume, etc. consistent. Makes it sound more like one fluid piece rather than something chopped together, even after editing. Snaps will also be your best friend. This is a tip I wish I had learned sooner, but as you record it you make a mistake or don’t like the way you read a line or get interrupted or anything you want to cut, snap near the microphone. This will make a sharp line in the sound waves of your recording which will make it easier to come back to when you’re editing. Finally, when you’re editing, give the whole thing one full listen before you even think about starting to cut. Get an idea of how it all sounds, figure out where your cuts are, re-record any sections you aren’t thrilled with. Once you’ve listened to the whole thing, then you can start to tear it to shreds.
Emiliana Darling — A Beginner's Guide to Making Podfic by...
Here I’ve included a post with tips from someone MUCH more informed and practiced that I am. A lot of the points are ones I’ve shared with you, but there are some really helpful resources. This post was my gospel when I first started.
Sorry this post got away from me a little bit, but I really hope it helps. Godspeed anon, I hope you’ll share your work with me when it’s finished!
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