Getting into podficcing

[jajalala]

I have an unfortunate curse wherein my wrists are delicate, easily-pained creatures, but basically all of my hobbies (and my work) require wrist usage (writing, playing instruments, drawing, gaming, etc). Some of the activities are more or less straining (writing is probably the worst, drawing generally isn't too bad), but when I am supposed to be taking a break I am left to do... what? Watch television? Perhaps I should, but I have a semi-constant Craving For Creation that means I get antsy and feel like a wreck if I spend too long only consuming things and not creating.

(Also don't worry I'm typing this post with my wrist braces on. They are not a perfect tool nor a replacement for rest, but I'm a menace, have recovered somewhat this weekend, and want to chat)


So I decided to get into podficcing! It's a nice low-wrist activity (At least recording is... editing/posting ends up requiring the wrists again, but not as much as writing for long periods of time does). I can go like, a whole half-hour session or so only very gently scrolling down the screen occasionally to read more text.

I've been podficcing other people's works, so it's also a nice way to sort of stay engaged with community and feel like I'm "creating" in a unique way, but also not have to write/develop entirely from scratch. I also listened to some other people's podfics to get a sense of the craft and... I'm finding it really cool actually? I always said I'm not an audiobook person and often struggle to retain auditory information, but after listening to a few I'm finding it more pleasant and understandable than expected. So I'd like to contribute and give people who love listening more options.

I've done a couple so far over the weekend and the past few days, made a new AO3 account for it (JustAJuicyVoice) because I am addicted to dividing and separating every facet of my hobbies/identities etc (and I think it's nice to have it all localized to one place and be able to bookmark on that account things I want to read aloud).

So far it's been fun (and again, great for wrists when recording... I'll sit for half an hour or even hours just talking and talking, wrist barely moving to scroll as needed) so I'm hoping to keep doing it and expand my skills and repertoire.

That's the general update, I have more nitty-gritty thoughts below:



Okay right now I'm using audacity, it's light-weight and I already had it downloaded. My microphone is an odd USB one I got from my old roommate whose family bought it on a whim but never used it, back when COVID-19 happened and college went full-remote and I technically had to finish a music thesis album at home with no equipment she was kind enough to lend it to me and then told me to keep it.

Plosives and Esses: Oof ouch plosives and esses (P's and S's are my bitter enemies). They make loud "pops" and obnoxious waveforms that are harsh on the ear (and interfere with the normalization process, becoming peaks that prevent me from bringing up the sound of the rest of the track). The esses I've reduced using a notch filter tuned to the frequency I generally make the s sound in, though it's not perfect and idk if it's actually a good method, but I felt like it generally reduced it. The plosives I've tried to be gentler as I speak, but worst-case I sometimes will literally MANUALLY edit them down (like de-amplify them) if they're like, especially loud (or even in rare cases CLIPPING). I've now ordered a pop-cover online (which is basically a nice barrier between the mouth and the mic that buffers the air so those sounds don't "pop" the mic) so hopefully I can use that in the future and solve the issue at its source instead of the post-recording editing.

Editing out mistakes: I will live and die by the clap method, AKA when I make a mistake I do a large clap, pause a moment, and then restart the sentence. It's a little tedious editing, but it's so easy to just scan through the audio file looking for distinct clap wave-forms and spot-editing those bits, definitely much more manageable than trying to listen through the whole audio file (especially since the audios can get long).

WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU HOST BIG AUDIO FILES??? At first I uploaded stuff to a github repository, where I could get a raw link to the audio file and just embed that into the AO3 (and it's downloadable too), but it turns out github has a 20 MB limit for files, and EVEN THOUGH I export mp3 in mono, once my stuff gets past around the half hour mark it gets too big for that. Then I tried soundcloud, but the embed on soundcloud is SO fucking ugly (and I couldn't find a way to link the raw MP3) and it turns out the free version only allows you to upload to three hours of audio, Which would be fine for a bunch of 3-5 min songs, but uh.... a podfic takes awhile, so I would get restricted pretty quickly.

In theory maybe I should pay for a fancy plan, but #1 I don't want to and #2 I do have a fear that for some paid plans, if I ever fall out of the hobby or die or something and don't renew the payments for it, then it'll become inaccessible to listeners. So I'm wary of that.

So I was struggling to find a good host for awhile, like googling "where to host mp3s free" etc etc.... Which kept giving suggestions for music similar to soundcloud where they had a time limit and such.... but then I had a revelation, and searched up "podcast hosting free". Turns out there's not a ton of options suitable, but I found that acast at least didn't have a limit on how many hours of audio you could post! Plus I can pretty easily get the raw mp3, so it looks more consistent/simple embedded on AO3. So I'm using that for some larger audio files, and using github for some of the smaller ones.

If you happen to know any better options (or know an expert podficcer who has it all figured out) let me know because this definitely doesn't feel perfect, but at least it's customizable.




Voices? I think it's cheesy and dangerous to attempt voices, but also... I worry that if I just say the dialogue in my general voice, it can get hard to track that it's dialogue. With reading you have the obvious quotation tag, but reading aloud it's less obvious, so I feel compelled to act it out a little so there's some sort of auditory cue that it's dialogue. I've tried not to do like voices voices for characters, but mostly just adjusting my normal voices tone/demeanor and putting in some emotion, whereas I read the prose in a generally neutral-ish voice. Not sure if it's cringe or not, but I guess I'll find a natural balance as I go along.

Little album covers: You can technically add artwork to mp3s and such, so I've been taking a little time to add some basic covers for the podfics, that way if someone downloads it then it'll be easier to identify visually in music players that show covers. It's a fun low-stress addition, I try to keep it small and simple but it's fun to do! (I've been using Canva to make em).

Theme music? I may technically have a music degree... I'm not actively composing right now but I enjoy it. Partly I'm not composing because I don't really have a proper setup, it was really feasible in college because all the equipment was available to me... But for various reasons I have ended up with a macintosh laptop which comes with garageband, which is one of the most easy-to-use and accessible digital audio workstations available to hobbyists. I used a lot of Logic back in college (which is garageband with much more customization and shit), and although garageband doesn't have the same capabilities, it's functional enough and free so I'm trying to get comfortable with it. Still, I'm not really comfortable composing whole songs right now, but very brief ditties to set the mood for a story? A very low-stress and low-stakes way of easing back into it. The few I've done are INCREDIBLY basic and more-or-less messing with various pre-set instruments and arpeggiators in garageband, and just a simple melody line and a basic bass, but I think that's suitable for quick mood music that's not meant to take up too much stage. It's kind of a bitch using a laptop keyboard for recording MIDI though, so I've ordered a cord that'll hopefully connect with the piano keyboard my roommate and I share. Maybe with that slightly-fuller setup I'll feel more comfortable getting into actual song recording again.

I'm not always using my own theme music though. I'm currently trying to put together a podfic that's got a very gothic feel, so I ended up on freesound.org looking for "dramatic organ" XD. I think it'll depend on each fic and my own energy levels whether I compose a quick theme music or if I find some free-use stuff online (with attribution, of course). I might also set up a few themes of general moods and just use them for multiple fics (like a fluffy one and an angsty one etc).

Sound effects? I've heard some podficcers use sound effects... but that seems very high-level and easy to fuck up (or overuse). For now I'm not doing sound effects, but I suppose we'll see what happens as I continue.

Comments

[vriddy]

The lovely person who did a podcast of a fic I wrote hosted it on mediafire.com after asking experienced podficcers at hand. I think one of the reasons was the download counter, since podfics tend to get less feedback as people forget to come back after.

As for the wrists, I know you didn't ask for advice but please allow me to recommend these two minutes stretches (don't let the "unprofessional" editing put you off, the exercises are really good). Like you, most of my hobbies revolve around a computer or other devices making heavy use of wrist and I got to the point where the pain was so bad that just moving my hands while sleeping would wake me up because it hurt so much. These started helping within a day or two, doing them 3 times a day or so - and they take so little time. They worked really well for two artist friends as well. I can't recommend giving them a chance enough and hope that they do help in addition to the braces!

Wishing you well both with the wrists and the podficcing adventures :D It sounds super cool and wow on having done several already :D You're flying!

[jajalala]

Thank you so much for that video!!!! Listening to that guy talk about his escalating issues sounded all-too-familiar (I'm not QUITE at that level yet, but I have tried dictation for writing (just too different! My brain doesn't write the same through the mouth) and have learned how to scroll/navigate tumblr with my feet XD).

Your issue with the "wrist pain while trying to sleep" unfortunately is familiar too... I got some special wrist braces that have a gentler "sleep mode" to help, it did help during my worst flare-up a few summers ago.

That video was a little scary but also very heartening... I think a lot of my dealing with the wrist pain has been thinking about what I shouldn't do, rather than what I should do, and so I just despair like "I can't do x, I can't do y, I can't..." Having a proactive activity to try, especially one that's short and doesn't require special equipment, has my hopes up a lot. So again, thank you very much for sharing!!! I did one round just now and I do feel good about it, gonna try to incorporate it properly into my daily routine.

And oooh I'll take a look at mediafire!

I'm wishing you the best on your wrists as well, I'm glad those exercises have helped!

[vriddy]

Ah, I'm so happy if this was helpful! I really hope it helps, let me know how it goes! Wishing you well 💙 And thank you :D

[trainsinanime]

Wow, I never really thought about how much works goes into that! Really fascinating. I didn’t realize you even make custom theme tunes, that’s impressive! I know you said they’re simple, but I have Garage Band on my Mac too, and I wouldn’t even know where to start with that.

Thank you again for recording a pod fic of one of my silly little things!

[jajalala]

Thank you!!! And occasionally I use various free music with credits depending on the situation, but it's fun to play around with garageband.

Thank you for creating a silly little thing that I could podfic! (And also having a blanket transformative works statement)

[vriddy]

bluedreaming just shared with me some resources about podficcing you may find very interesting:

A breakdown of podfic hosting options

and a recommendation for the Audiofic Archive if you're not familiar with it: Submitting, Streaming and embedding

[jajalala]

Thank you so much for those resources!!! I'm vibing with my current workflow, but I wish I had that breakdown of all those options earlier... there's also a need to consider the audiofic archive, ngl I'm a little intimidated to email but that seems like a really lovable backup for downloads (as opposed to mediafire's spam-ad ridden pages XD)

Thanks for hopping back to an older post and sharing!

[bluedreaming]

Hello! I am popping over here from a comment thread with vriddy to wave excitedly in your direction, while trying not to be overwhelming.

I am sorry about your wrists! Mine are only a little bit bad, but I use a left-handed mouse to try to distribute the stress a bit. I have definitely found that setting up shortcuts in my audio editing program is gentler than moving the mouse around, though of course that depends on your exact wrist situation.

> it's also a nice way to sort of stay engaged with community and feel like I'm "creating" in a unique way, but also not have to write/develop entirely from scratch
I started podficcing partly because I was so burned out from writing, and it has definitely been rewarding <3 I hope you continue to find joy in it.

JocundaSykes has a great podfic walkthrough with some helpful mastering tips using Audacity and a macro (so gentle on the wrists!); I should definitely look into this one of these days.

Besides a pop filter, angling the mic can be helpful to reduce plosives and esses, though I feel like I have never properly gotten the hang of this.

Visual editing! I use a dog clicker because I am not good at snapping, and clapping jars my microphone, but same approach.

I already shared the breakdown of hosting options via vriddy-I definitely agree about not wanting to use paid services because of the (lack of) permanence issue. I absolutely recommend hosting with the audiofic archive as a mirror; I recently learned that it's accessible in China! (While ao3 and so many podcast platforms are blocked) so that is quite nice to know.

Voices are one of those things that everyone chooses to approach (or discard) on a personal level. It's all good!

Your use of music sounds really fun! As for sound effects, that's always a personal preference thing. It can be fun, but it's absolutely totally optional.

Good luck!

[jajalala]

Omg thank you so much for the resources!!! That podfic walkthrough is very helpful, I considered myself moderately proficient in audacity but it had a lot of tips and tricks I hadn't been aware of! Also I appreciated the suggestion on what to use for converting to audiobook format. I've not been doing mb4's bc I wasn't sure what software could be used (especially for free), but fortunately the audiobook binder recced on that post is compatible with my system!