Post by graemesmith on Apr 8, 2018 5:52:20 GMT -8
So recently I stumbled across VAC while pondering software. At the risk of talking utter codswallop (heh, one of my few talents), I then posted a question here:
Me and my big mouth (blush)
Very generously, benedict replied - and, I regret to say, your fate here was sealed.
I'm bloody staying, so I am! :-)
But if I'm going to stay, whether to lurk, hang out, talk the aforementioned codswallop (never deliberately, but probably frequently (blushes again)), I thought I might as well give y'all an idea who I am, so you can duck and hide if/ when I post! :-)
Er - first, I know. I use waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many emoticons. I'd apologise, but I probably wouldn't mean it - or stick to not using them. Text without emotional flavour is, to me, a bit like 'no fat cheese' - bland, plastic and best avoided. So I try not to be too plastic , I probably fail, but I try. My wife tells me I'm very trying, so that's a Good Thing, right? Er - right? :-(
OK - on with the motley - whatever motley may be.
WHO AM I?
Well, the picture's me. The name's me as well - or, at least, one of me. And if that sounds like 'too much personal information', it isn't. Not really. Er - I don't think. They're both on book covers, so 'out there' already.
Er - yes. I'm an author. Buuuuuut.... well, but before anyone throws a fit, I'M NOT HERE TO TRY TO SELL BOOKS. Oh, and I'm not any author you ever heard of. I'm small market/ Indie published, but I _am_ multi-published. And I have another pen name, who writes in a field I can;t talk about at work, but is self-pubbed and lets me play with cover design.
WHY AM I HERE?
Well, I'm not here because I think I can make a squidgeillion dollars a minute as a VA. Which is not to say there aren't people who can, but they're not, for a number of reasons, ever going to be me. I _am_ here because I have an interest in the field - eventually I'd like to be able to VA my own male Main audiobooks. Not because there isn't already amazing VA talent out there, but more because I can't afford them :-). Oh - and because I wrote the ratted things, so I wouldn't have to explain _my_ POV on emotional content/ how/ where characters where feeling what, or what I think they sound like.
WHAT ARE MY LIMITATIONS?
Well, I'm short, fat, bald and ugly - on the other hand, I'm lucky. My wife has lousy taste in men :-). But, I know, that wasn't what you meant, right? So. Limitations:
I still work full time, and my wife (again, not too much PI, but it's relevant) has advanced Multiple Sclerosis. She's wheelchair bound and I'm her sole carer. Which means acting classes, voice training - anything like that? Can;t go there. At least, not until I retire. She's alone all aday, and I'm not bloody leaving her alone at night while I swan off to school :-). Besides, our cat would kill me if I wasn't there to give her treats after I get back from work. On the other hand, I know damn well I need to develop Voice, pace, accent and similar skills.
I live in a condo. Not great for building a home studio. That's going to have to wait until I retire in five years. But that's good because I need to become an at least vaguely proficient audio engineer for post-prod as well. I have a little self-taught Audacity experience, and now I'm messing with Audition and Reaper. Why not stick with Audacity? Well, it's back in that thread up there - Audacity only reads two channels (at least, unless I were to compile my own with ASIO support - that might give me more). So I need to climb the DAW learning curve properly, after I've picked a horse to ride in terms of software.
WHAT'S MY RIG LIKE?
Well, I have two. My desk rig is a Core i5 with 16GB of RAM. On that rig I've got a Scarlett 18i8, with an Audio-Technica AT2020. Which wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't in the main living area, and didn't have a bunch of IT gear right behind it (NAS unit, two UTMs, two switches, the electric keyboard I also haven't gotten round to learning to play yet) - all with a zillion fans. Sigh... so I also have a second rig in my, quieter-mostly, bedroom. A ZOTAC Nano passive cooled PC (to not add noise), a Scarlett Solo I want to upgrade to a second 18i8 (to get access to the mixer), and another Audio-Technica AT2020. Both mics have shields and anti-shock mounts.
So this is me - Graeme Smith. I write about people who believe in magic and dragons, and who live where the crazy folk are the ones who don’t. Now I guess I'd like to talk about them too :-).
Yes, you can cry now. Or laugh :-). And I'll try not to be a nuisance... though I can't promise I'll succeed :-(. Over to y'all...
Me and my big mouth (blush)
Very generously, benedict replied - and, I regret to say, your fate here was sealed.
I'm bloody staying, so I am! :-)
But if I'm going to stay, whether to lurk, hang out, talk the aforementioned codswallop (never deliberately, but probably frequently (blushes again)), I thought I might as well give y'all an idea who I am, so you can duck and hide if/ when I post! :-)
Er - first, I know. I use waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many emoticons. I'd apologise, but I probably wouldn't mean it - or stick to not using them. Text without emotional flavour is, to me, a bit like 'no fat cheese' - bland, plastic and best avoided. So I try not to be too plastic , I probably fail, but I try. My wife tells me I'm very trying, so that's a Good Thing, right? Er - right? :-(
OK - on with the motley - whatever motley may be.
WHO AM I?
Well, the picture's me. The name's me as well - or, at least, one of me. And if that sounds like 'too much personal information', it isn't. Not really. Er - I don't think. They're both on book covers, so 'out there' already.
Er - yes. I'm an author. Buuuuuut.... well, but before anyone throws a fit, I'M NOT HERE TO TRY TO SELL BOOKS. Oh, and I'm not any author you ever heard of. I'm small market/ Indie published, but I _am_ multi-published. And I have another pen name, who writes in a field I can;t talk about at work, but is self-pubbed and lets me play with cover design.
WHY AM I HERE?
Well, I'm not here because I think I can make a squidgeillion dollars a minute as a VA. Which is not to say there aren't people who can, but they're not, for a number of reasons, ever going to be me. I _am_ here because I have an interest in the field - eventually I'd like to be able to VA my own male Main audiobooks. Not because there isn't already amazing VA talent out there, but more because I can't afford them :-). Oh - and because I wrote the ratted things, so I wouldn't have to explain _my_ POV on emotional content/ how/ where characters where feeling what, or what I think they sound like.
WHAT ARE MY LIMITATIONS?
Well, I'm short, fat, bald and ugly - on the other hand, I'm lucky. My wife has lousy taste in men :-). But, I know, that wasn't what you meant, right? So. Limitations:
I still work full time, and my wife (again, not too much PI, but it's relevant) has advanced Multiple Sclerosis. She's wheelchair bound and I'm her sole carer. Which means acting classes, voice training - anything like that? Can;t go there. At least, not until I retire. She's alone all aday, and I'm not bloody leaving her alone at night while I swan off to school :-). Besides, our cat would kill me if I wasn't there to give her treats after I get back from work. On the other hand, I know damn well I need to develop Voice, pace, accent and similar skills.
I live in a condo. Not great for building a home studio. That's going to have to wait until I retire in five years. But that's good because I need to become an at least vaguely proficient audio engineer for post-prod as well. I have a little self-taught Audacity experience, and now I'm messing with Audition and Reaper. Why not stick with Audacity? Well, it's back in that thread up there - Audacity only reads two channels (at least, unless I were to compile my own with ASIO support - that might give me more). So I need to climb the DAW learning curve properly, after I've picked a horse to ride in terms of software.
WHAT'S MY RIG LIKE?
Well, I have two. My desk rig is a Core i5 with 16GB of RAM. On that rig I've got a Scarlett 18i8, with an Audio-Technica AT2020. Which wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't in the main living area, and didn't have a bunch of IT gear right behind it (NAS unit, two UTMs, two switches, the electric keyboard I also haven't gotten round to learning to play yet) - all with a zillion fans. Sigh... so I also have a second rig in my, quieter-mostly, bedroom. A ZOTAC Nano passive cooled PC (to not add noise), a Scarlett Solo I want to upgrade to a second 18i8 (to get access to the mixer), and another Audio-Technica AT2020. Both mics have shields and anti-shock mounts.
So this is me - Graeme Smith. I write about people who believe in magic and dragons, and who live where the crazy folk are the ones who don’t. Now I guess I'd like to talk about them too :-).
Yes, you can cry now. Or laugh :-). And I'll try not to be a nuisance... though I can't promise I'll succeed :-(. Over to y'all...