Two podfics (due South and Avengers)

[luzula]

Title: Star Spangled
Author: boombangbing
Reader: luzula
Fandom: Avengers gen
Rating: G
Length: 43 m 59 s
Author's summary: Steve spends a year on tour with a couple of dozen showgirls, and learns a thing or two.
Notes: I'm not really in Avengers fandom, but this fic gave me something I've wanted ever since I saw the Captain America movie: a gen fic about Steve being friends with the showgirls in the USO. It's absolutely wonderful! And it was fun to read, too.

Download or stream the mp3 here.
Download the m4b here.

Cover by podfic_lover:


Title: On A Balcony in Summer Air
Author: darlas_mom/Heather
Reader: luzula
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Ray Kowalski/Stella Kowalski
Rating: PG
Length: 1 h 46 m 20 s
Author's summary: Stella and RayK before the divorce. Way, way, way before the divorce.
Notes: If you want adorable pre-teen het, this is for you. *g* I'm going to be recording the next part in the series, too.

Download or stream mp3 here.
Download mp4 here.

Cover by podfic_lover:

Comments

[seascribble]

I AM SO EXCITED TO LISTEN TO YOU READING THE BB!RAYK/STELLA FIC. I finally read the second part, and I just. Gosh. It is everything wonderful and I am trying really hard to block out the inevitable sad ending.

I'll have to give the Captain American fic a shot too, as that is a story I did not know I wanted to read, but that sounds awesome!

[luzula]

Yay! So glad you're excited about that one. There's really not a lot of long fic about Ray and Stella, so I've been having a lot of fun recording these!

And yay for giving the second one a try, too! : )

[darlas_mom]

Hi, hi, hi! I'm sorry I haven't said anything sooner! Things were busy, and I wanted to wait until I had the chance to listen to it before I left a comment!

Well, I've now listened to it three times, and holy crap, this is awesome. ♥ ♥ ♥ I'm really new to podfic, and I normally don't like it very much (a lot of people who record them don't seem to have a concept of them as a performative medium, so their readings don't really come across very well), but I was really floored by how well done this was. You have a great reading voice, and you're not afraid to actually inflect things or show emotions. I'm actually very impressed. I don't usually spend much time with my own work after it's written, but I really want to listen to this several more times, just for your performance. You were amazing.

Your profile tells me you're Swedish? So I also wanted to take a second to compliment your English and your accent, if that's okay. It really is very good- I very nearly didn't notice!

On a slight critical note, about three lines seem to have been cut from your recording- nothing very serious, and I almost didn't catch it (which is embarrassing as the person who wrote it /o\) but I thought you might want to know. And you did mispronounce a couple of words (casual and patio).

Still, this was really, really amazing, and I am so grateful that you did this. Thank you, honestly, from the bottom of my heart. ♥

I see you recorded one of Alex's fics, too! :D! She and I used to be friends back when we were both in "Heroes" fandom and while I haven't spoken to her in a long time (I lost touch with a lot of people as fandom migrated away from LJ, alas), and "Avengers" isn't really one of my fandoms, I'm going to grab that one to listen to as well, as long as I'm here. It sounds like it'll be great!

I hope you don't mind if I link to this post in my LJ/DW? It's fabulous and I'd love to tell what's left of my flist, "LOOK LOOK LOOK, SOMEBODY PODFICCED MY STORY AND IT WAS AWESOME!"

Thanks again! ♥

[luzula]

Oh hey, this comment made my day! Thank you so much. ♥

I've been podficcing since 2007, and I really feel I've been learning and getting better over the years. In my early podfics, I was really sloooow because someone had told me you have to consciously slow down for listening comprehension, and when I listen to my old stuff now, it makes me wince. Sure, it's important not to go too fast, but the way to aid listening comprehension (besides articulating clearly enough) is to make appropriate pauses, IMO. Like, you can say a line of dialogue fast, if you have appropriate spacing around it to let the listener take it in, and often it'll have more impact if you do it that way. And I'm so glad to hear that the emotion comes through! That's one of the things I try for, and one of the things I've gotten better at, too. I sound much more flat in my earlier recordings. And acting things out is a large part of what makes podfic fun!

Er, so this long digression means that you might not like the podfic of Alex's fic as well--especially the first part of it. I recommend my more recent podfic (and kind of wish I could take some of my earlier pieces down, but I won't, because I know there are people who like them).

Thanks for the accent thing! I am Swedish, but lived in the US two years as a kid, so that's where I learned English.

And thanks for the concrit! I usually do have podfics beta-listened to, but that didn't happen with these because I recorded them up in a cabin in the mountains without internet, and if I were to re-record bits of them later for correction of mispronunciations and such, it would be obvious that I'd spliced in bits that were recorded in a different acoustic environment. IMO that is as noticeable as a mispronunciation (if not more). I know it's not ideal, but that cabin is otherwise so perfect for podficcing--I have so much time when I'm up there, and it's quiet, with no cars or noisy people around.

And hey, I've recorded about a third of the sequel! Actually, if you wanted, I'd be happy to have you beta-listen to it? You sound like you'd give really useful podficcing beta feedback. Although for various reasons it would be a while before I can get around to finishing the podfic.

[darlas_mom]

Oh hey, this comment made my day! Thank you so much.

I like to give credit where credit's due. ♥

Er, so this long digression means that you might not like the podfic of Alex's fic as well--especially the first part of it. I recommend my more recent podfic (and kind of wish I could take some of my earlier pieces down, but I won't, because I know there are people who like them).

Er, Alex = boombangbing, I was referring to the other podfic in this post. ;-) Or was that recorded a very long time ago? (I have issues with time. After about six months, I lose track. "The Avengers" could've come out this most recent January or two or three years ago, I wouldn't know the difference without looking it up.)

And thanks for the concrit! I usually do have podfics beta-listened to, but that didn't happen with these because I recorded them up in a cabin in the mountains without internet, and if I were to re-record bits of them later for correction of mispronunciations and such, it would be obvious that I'd spliced in bits that were recorded in a different acoustic environment. IMO that is as noticeable as a mispronunciation (if not more). I know it's not ideal, but that cabin is otherwise so perfect for podficcing--I have so much time when I'm up there, and it's quiet, with no cars or noisy people around.

Ahhh, I see! That makes sense, then. Wow, that does sound like a great place to work. Do you get out there very much?

And really, it isn't very noticeable- in point of fact, with one of the missing lines, it sounds better without it and I'm debating sneakily cutting it from the text version of the fic. *g*

As far as the mispronunciations, they're also not really that noticeable, I just figured you'd like to know for the future. ("Casual" sounds like a smush of "cash" and "usual," rather than a smush of "cause" and "usual," while "patio" rhymes with "daddy-o." ;-))

I'm actually terribly envious that you have a place like that to work. This fic was written in my living room, doing my best to ignore cats and family members noisily moving about. The major reason Part 3 is coming along so slowly is that I'm writing it in summer, when my daughter is off from school and at home most of the day, vs how Parts 1 and 2 were written between October and December, when she was at school from dawn until late afternoon.

And hey, I've recorded about a third of the sequel! Actually, if you wanted, I'd be happy to have you beta-listen to it? You sound like you'd give really useful podficcing beta feedback. Although for various reasons it would be a while before I can get around to finishing the podfic.

Ooh, wow, yes, please! I'd love to hear what you've got so far. Send it on over! (And hey, if you want to make it an even trade, you can have an early look at what I've got of Part 3.)

[luzula]

Er, Alex = boombangbing, I was referring to the other podfic in this post. ;-) Or was that recorded a very long time ago?

Oh, okay. I thought you meant alex51324, whose work I've recorded earlier! No, I'm happy with the boombangbing podfic, and it's recent. : )

Wow, that does sound like a great place to work. Do you get out there very much?

Sadly it's only once a year--it's a remote research station in the mountains where I work a month every summer. There's a recent post about it in my journal if you want to read about it.

And yes, I do want to know about mispronunciations for the future! That is a thing that is very useful. : )

Ooh, wow, yes, please! I'd love to hear what you've got so far. Send it on over! (And hey, if you want to make it an even trade, you can have an early look at what I've got of Part 3.)

Sure, that would be great! My email is luzulae@gmail.com. But my internet is kind of sketchy right now, and I'm not sure it's up to sending a large file, but I'll try. If it doesn't work, you can have the podfic file in a week or so (am on the way to my parents' summer place now, and they only have a slooow connection).

[luzula]

Uh, I just realized that I haven't actually edited most of what I recorded of Throwing Pebbles, so I'll just have to do that first... : )

[darlas_mom]

LOL, yeah, I may also be frantically trying to clean up Part 3. /o\

[luzula]

Hey, what's your email? You may have given it to me before, but if so I can't find it. You can email it to luzulae@gmail.com if you want.