A Request For Help For an Audio Project

[Brinniel]

For my audio class this semester I get to do my final project on anything I want, which got me thinking about how awesome the work was from the Would There Ever Be a Possibility...? that everyone was doing. And I would love to do something similar, except for it to be my project I must start from scratch rather than continue where we left off. The recordings will include speaking, sound effects, and music.

While I could so easily just find some actors from my school, I find it far more interesting to use BDers who have more devotion to the subject. Which is why I'd like your help. What I need are people who are willing to lend me their voice or musical talents. The only requirement is that you have a good quality microphone and the responsibility/time to record the audio to send to me by December 1 (after all, it's a school project and I have a deadline).

I have two excerpts in mind, that I haven't decided on yet. Perhaps you guys could give me feedback for which excerpt would work best. Here are the excerpts:

1) From The Silmarillion in the chapter Beren and Luthien:
When Beren is taken to Thingol. Starting from the line, "Who are you [...] that come hither as a thief, and unbidden dare to approach my throne?" And ending with the line, "And if there were hope or fear that Beren should come ever back alive to Menegroth, he should not have looked again upon the light of heaven, though I had sworn it." (three pages)

Voices:
Thingol
Luthien
Beren
Melian
Narrator

2) From The Fellowship of the Ring in the chapter A Long-Expected Party:
Bilbo's speech. (three pages)

Voices:
Bilbo
Hobbit Extras

If anyone likes to write and play music, your contribution would be appreciated. Otherwise I will use songs that already exist.

So if you're interested in helping me out, please post on this thread. Any suggestions are also welcome.

[Gollum the Great]

I think that the piece from the Sil. would be more interesting. It might even spark interest in those who know Middle-Earth but slightly were it performed well, given great sound effects, and compiled better.

I would volunteer a male voice (not Bilbo though, assuming we did that excerpt) and might even find time to compose a (well, probably short) piano piece, but beyond that the only audio assistance can offer is most likely to be computer modified stuff. Not exactly high-end, but I may by a fluke make something you'd like.

Where can we send our recordings? Please post a link.

And about the voices, are there particular characteristics you would like? Deep, gravelly (I doubt it), commanding, straightforward or anything?

[Nerwen]

Count me in.

I've finished my exams and I'm just doing my final assignment today; after that I'm free.

[Macalaure]

I would both die and kill for the opportunity to provide the voice for either Beren or Thingol - especially in that scene.

[Aganzir]

A pity you didn't choose any scene with Túrin in it, Brinn - I bet that role would be perfect for Mac.

I won't volunteer since I have practically no talent in anything musical, I don't have a mic, and you will probably find more than enough people with more suitable voices than mine, but I, too, think the Silmarillion one is better.

Having heard Nerwen's voice sample, I think she'd make a perfect Melian.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I suspect that my kind of composing (symphonic) is not the kind of music you're looking for, Brinniel, but if you can find anything in my Tolkien-inspired works that you'd like to use, you have my permission to do so. What is available for download can be found here. Good luck with the project, however it goes.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Having heard Nerwen's voice sample, I think she'd make a perfect Melian.

*is flattered*

[Thinlómien]

Just tell me if I can help you somehow. I doubt I can, though, since I'm not musical either and my voice doesn't quite suit any of those roles - unless you want to have a Hobbit extra with a Finnish accent.

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

*is flattered*

Heh but you have a special voice; it holds enough authority to sound like a credible Melian and at the same time it is, well, elvish/Maian.

Oh and you Brinn can tell me, too, if there's any way I could help you - I just couldn't think of any. A pity you don't seem to need any artwork.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Gollum

Where can we send our recordings? Please post a link.

I would link my email address here, but that's against forum policy. So tomorrow evening I'll send a PM to everyone who has shown interest.

Originally Posted by Gollum

And about the voices, are there particular characteristics you would like? Deep, gravelly (I doubt it), commanding, straightforward or anything?

Well, Thingol definitely has to be commanding. And Bilbo...hobbitish? Otherwise, I'm pretty flexible. And keep in mind I might alter your voices slightly with special effects to my liking.

Originally Posted by Ibrin

I suspect that my kind of composing (symphonic) is not the kind of music you're looking for, Brinniel, but if you can find anything in my Tolkien-inspired works that you'd like to use, you have my permission to do so. What is available for download can be found here. Good luck with the project, however it goes.

Why thank you, Ibrin. I listened to some of it and your music is very lovely. I might consider using it, it all depends on whether others are interested in composing as well.

Originally Posted by Lommy

Just tell me if I can help you somehow. I doubt I can, though, since I'm not musical either and my voice doesn't quite suit any of those roles - unless you want to have a Hobbit extra with a Finnish accent.

Oh, I don't know about that...I think the Finnish accents works wonderfully. And you should get Nogrod in on this too...I know you guys have got a good microphone.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Oh and you Brinn can tell me, too, if there's any way I could help you - I just couldn't think of any. A pity you don't seem to need any artwork.

Nope, it's just sound. But maybe you can be a hobbit extra at the party.

I decided it's just too difficult to choose between the two excerpts. I like the section for Beren and Luthien, though Bilbo's speech would probably be more fun to edit. So I've decided just to ask for recordings from both excerpts. One will be for my project and one can be for fun. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to complete both (audio suites book up fast at the end of semester), but I'll certainly try and post them here when I'm finished. And that way I don't have to choose between the excerpts right away.

[Brinniel]

So far I have seen interest from these people:

Gollum: Anyone but Bilbo
Nerwen: Melian (?)
Mac: Beren or Thingol
Lommy: Hobbit extra (?)

I still need:

Bilbo
Luthien
Narrator
Hobbit Extras

For the Hobbit extras, I'm just looking for random cheers and comments in between the speech. Basically whatever's mentioned in the book. And the hobbits do interject quite a bit. If multiple people can record as hobbit extras together, that'd be even better. But the only ones I know who could possibly do that are Lommy & Co. Unless you guys have non-BDer friends who would love to participate.

I'm not gonna go to a huge effort to assign roles before hearing recordings...I just want to make sure all the characters are covered. If multiple people are interested in the same role, that's fine. I'll just suggest to record whatever characters you'd like and after hearing them, I'll choose the voices that I think fit best.

For music, I'm looking for:

For the Beren and Thingol scene, some dark, quiet background music that is fitting for a hall. Pianos, harps, guitars, strings, etc will work.

For Bilbo's speech, some light and happy background music. Perhaps a fiddle or a flute.

[Gollum the Great]

I'll be Beren if I may. I 'd offer to be the narrator but my voice sort of cracks and flexuates (if that's even a word) in long speeches. Perhaps I'm just too used to reciting in beats, considering that I spend long minutes in heaven repeating bits out of Tolkien's Lay of Leithian, which is just about the only time I speak at any length.

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

For the Hobbit extras, I'm just looking for random cheers and comments in between the speech. Basically whatever's mentioned in the book. And the hobbits do interject quite a bit. If multiple people can record as hobbit extras together, that'd be even better. But the only ones I know who could possibly do that are Lommy & Co. Unless you guys have non-BDer friends who would love to participate.

Ooh I'd be happy to be a hobbit extra, assuming Nog, Green & such also show interest.

[Nogrod]

If you need a bit more "mature" or lower male-voice, I might give it a go Brinn! But I'd not like to do very long parts (like two page-monologues) as I'm not a native speaker.


And we can make the extras for you, sure...

Just recording the host of us here ten times on top of each other with different settings...

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Gollum

I'll be Beren if I may. I 'd offer to be the narrator but my voice sort of cracks and flexuates (if that's even a word) in long speeches. Perhaps I'm just too used to reciting in beats, considering that I spend long minutes in heaven repeating bits out of Tolkien's Lay of Leithian, which is just about the only time I speak at any length.

Go ahead and try any role you would like. And as I said before, feel free to try multiple roles. It'll give me more options.

Originally Posted by Nogrod

If you need a bit more "mature" or lower male-voice, I might give it a go Brinn! But I'd not like to do very long parts (like two page-monologues) as I'm not a native speaker.

Don't worry, there aren't any Gandalf-like roles in these excerpts. Would you be interested in doing the voice for Bilbo? All you'd have to do is recite his speech from the party, which can be divided into segments to allow for the hobbits to be heard in between.

I'll send out a PM with my email to everyone who has shown interest, so be sure to check your inboxes.

[Macalaure]

So if Gollum is Beren, I shall be Thingol? Alright.

Of course, I could be a hobbit extra, too, if you like.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

A pity you didn't choose any scene with Túrin in it, Brinn - I bet that role would be perfect for Mac.

Ever since I put up that picture I get comparisons of that sort.

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Well, Thingol definitely has to be commanding.

Good, that comes naturally to me... wait.

Originally Posted by Gollum

Perhaps I'm just too used to reciting in beats, considering that I spend long minutes in heaven repeating bits out of Tolkien's Lay of Leithian

Hehe, I think a while back I was able to cite sections of it from the top of my head.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Would you be interested in doing the voice for Bilbo? All you'd have to do is recite his speech from the party, which can be divided into segments to allow for the hobbits to be heard in between.

I could give that a shot. I loved trying Bilbo when we made try-outs for the "Would there ever be a possibility" thing. (Which by the way should be ready soon enough - I just need to get Lommy and Greenie to do their parts so that I can get into editing it. Patience, patience...)

I might also think about some music if no one else will. But that's no promise unlike me trying the Bilbo-thing is.

[Brinniel]

Mac, I got your emails. Very well done...you make a great Thingol.

Btw, I still need a Luthien if any females are interested. She only says one line, so not much is required.

[Brinniel]

An update on the roles:

Silmarillion excerpt:

Thingol: Mac
Beren: Gollum
Melian: Nerwen
Luthien: ??
Narrator: Brinn (yes, I reluctantly recorded myself)

Bilbo's speech:

Bilbo: Nogrod
Hobbit Extras: Anyone and Everyone

As I was re-reading Bilbo's speech, I noticed this bit in more detail:

Noises of trumpets and horns, pipes and flutes, and other musical instruments. There were, as had been said, many young hobbits present. Hundreds of musical crackers had been pulled. Most of them bore the mark DALE on them; which did not convey much to most of the hobbits, but they all agreed they were marvellous crackers. They contained instruments, small, but of perfect make and enchanting tones. Indeed, in one corner some of the young Tooks and Brandybucks, supposing Uncle Bilbo to have finished (since had plainly said all that was necessary), now got up an impromptu orchestra, and began a merry dance-tune. Master Everard Took and Miss Melilot Brandybuck got on a table and with bells in their hands began to dance the Springle-ring: a pretty dance, but rather vigorous.
But Bilbo had not finished. Seizing a horn from a youngster near by, he blew three loud hoots. The noise subsided.

If anyone has any sort of hobbitish instrument, it'd be absolutely wonderful if you could record playing some notes...it doesn't even have to be a tune. I do need some sort of song at one point if someone wants to compose that, or else I'll find something online. I'm not sure about the firecrackers...I have some firecracker sounds, but they're not exactly fitting. But then again, I probably won't do this exactly to the narration...I don't want there to be an overwhelming amount of noise. I'd still love BDers to provide some musical noise though. It's a shame I have no access to instruments myself...I'll probably go find stuff online, but the less of that I use the better.

For the Beren and Thingol scene, I did find some ambient music off of Garageband just in case, but of course I'd still prefer anything provided by fellow Downers. Also for those playing the voices, any direction I have is indicated in the text. For example, Melian speaks in a whisper tone. And just before the line where he says, "For little price do Elven-kings sell their daughters," Beren gives out a laugh.

I'm leaving for North Carolina tomorrow for Thanksgiving and won't be back until Monday...but I plan to have internet access, I just probably won't be online as often. I'm scheduled to start editing my project together on December 5th, so I'll definitely need any audio before then. If for some reason you can no longer provide your voice, just be sure to let me know sooner than later. Thanks.

P.S. I still need a Luthien!

[Brinniel]

Nerwen, I received your email and your recordings sound excellent.

I'm currently in correspondence with Nogrod and from what I've heard so far, things are going wonderfully. (Btw, Greenie has volunteered to be Luthien.)

Gollum, I received your first audio file and like what I've heard so far. If I can get the other two recordings that'd be great.

I just put the audio files I have for the Silmarillion excerpt in order on iTunes. It of course sounds very rough right now, but I'm excited to get into a suite and edit. I found out I'll actually get to start on Thursday morning during class.

[Brinniel]

It's done!

And I've uploaded the files since I assume you all will want to hear the results.

1. Thingol and Beren

I decided against using the narration because I felt that having it in there was taking the audience out of the scene...hopefully the scene is understandable enough to the unfamiliar audience without it. I used panning to help draw out the locations of the speakers...Thingol and Melian on one side and Beren and Luthien on the other. It sounded fine in the audio suite, but now I'm listening on my laptop the panning sounds horribly unbalanced. Plus, the panning is reversed to how I set it. It might just be my computer speakers, but someone else give me an opinion on the matter.

2. Bilbo's Speech

The ambience is so much louder than how it sounded when I was in the suite, but I guess it's not too bad.

Thanks to everyone who sent me recordings. You all did an excellent job and I had a lot of fun working on it. I couldn't have done it without you guys. I hope everyone is satisfied with the results.

I haven't decided yet on which one to use for my grade. I'm leaning towards Bilbo's Speech because of the panning issue on the other one, plus I think it's an excerpt than an outside audience will more likely enjoy. Though I think I'll put both tracks on a cd...if there's time maybe my teacher will let me play both. But if you guys have any opinions on which one I use, let me know. I turn in the project tomorrow morning.

[Lindale]

I can find only one term to describe that: ang lupit! It's not even in English, because I know no suitable English adjective. Same goes to Ibri. Great work!

But personally I think you'd fare better with Thingol and Beren. There's nothing wrong with Bilbo's speech, but that bit is already in the film, and if you use that, chances are your instructor has heard it in the movies.

[Thinlómien]

Awesome!!! Brinn you've done great job and thanks for posting them!

Macalaure is the best though. And Nerwen and Greenie's voices fit nicely for mother and daughter. Aiee too bad. Mac and Nerwen both are just way too creepy, I can so well imagine them ruling a cave palace in the middle of an enchanted forest. Love it!

Nogrod sounds oddly old and does it great (although he sounds like he says "my ear and my nephew" ) and we all make incredibly much noise for four people. And the music and the horn was great.

[Aganzir]

Wow Brinn these are great. Wonderful work.

Listening again. Incredible.

I think you should choose the Thingol and Beren one. The atmosphere is somehow better there. Plus, it's more exotic and international. I don't think the voices sound too unbalanced.
Is the music by Ibrin? It fits there really well.

I agree with Lommy about Nerwen and Mac. You're doing a great job but you're so creepy! I wouldn't want to be in Beren's place. And I love Gollum's defiance. It actually took me a while to recognise Greenie's voice - at first it sounded so different.

[Gollum the Great]

Thanks, Brinn.

Nogrod, you were great. When I first heard your voice, I thought: "That's what he sounds like????" Not that you were the only one, Mac took me by surprise as well.

[Nogrod]

Fun!

Great stuff everyone!

Originally Posted by Brinn

But if you guys have any opinions on which one I use, let me know. I turn in the project tomorrow morning.

I'd lean on Bilbo's speech as there is more interaction there. It's kind of livelier - and a bit more complex thing, with all that music and stuff, which should be good for your grades...

Also - if I were you - I'd pay a visit to the audio suite once more and turn Bilbo's voice a little bit down as well as raise the background voices a wee bit to lessen the feeling that Bilbo speaks to the microphone in front and the crowd is somewhere back there and far away.

But they're both good as they are to be sure.

[Brinniel]

Well, my teacher let me play both recordings at class. I don't know whether he'll grade one or both...we'll see.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Is the music by Ibrin? It fits there really well.

The music came from the program Garageband. I really wanted to use Ibrin's music and even found a song I thought would work. But when I put it with the voices, the combination of the two was too busy and distracting. It's a shame since it would've been nice to use, but I think her music is beautiful enough to be played as more than just background music. Though if we ever do make anymore recordings like this, we should definitely try to fit her music in somewhere.

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Also - if I were you - I'd pay a visit to the audio suite once more and turn Bilbo's voice a little bit down as well as raise the background voices a wee bit to lessen the feeling that Bilbo speaks to the microphone in front and the crowd is somewhere back there and far away.

Yeah, that's actually one thing my teacher critiqued me on. What I should've done is also had some reverb to the voice like I did for the cheers. But it's hard to make things perfect when your time is limited, plus I'm still pretty new to audio mixing/editing...so far I'm enjoying it, though. If I have time, maybe I'll slip into a suite this weekend and fix the slight issues I have. But as it is the very end of the semester, there are no guarantees.

With the Beren and Thingol excerpt, I originally had some trouble attempting to balance the huge differences in room tone and quality...something I had my teacher help out with slightly last week. But after a lot of EQ-ing, there was a vast improvement. It's not perfect...and because we recorded from all over the world, I don't think it can be, but it still worked well enough.

I don't think any of my classmates were terribly appreciative of the subject matter...I guess none are Tolkien fans. They were more impressed with the fact that I managed to recruit people from four different countries to lend their voices.

Of course, I did this more for you guys than anything. The fact that I needed a project for school was simply an excuse to get into an audio suite and do something BD/Tolkien related. It was a lot of fun. I don't know if I'd do another Tolkien excerpt again for school, but if I ever have another opportunity I'd love to work creating more audio excerpts during my free time.

[Beregond]

Did I hear correctly that the hobbit crowd consisted of only 4 people? They were great!

[Nerwen]

I'm glad people liked my version of Melian.

By the way, Brinn, you and I seem to be studying the same subjects. I considered doing something like this for my audio project, but in the end I just recorded a song.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

The music came from the program Garageband. I really wanted to use Ibrin's music and even found a song I thought would work. But when I put it with the voices, the combination of the two was too busy and distracting. It's a shame since it would've been nice to use, but I think her music is beautiful enough to be played as more than just background music. Though if we ever do make anymore recordings like this, we should definitely try to fit her music in somewhere.

That's a nice thought, and thank you for having it. I'm glad you were able to find other music that suited. I realized from the start that my stuff would likely be unsuitable, as they were written to be played as symphonies or suites, meant for an orchestral presentation rather than background music. I have tendency to write what is called "program music," music intended to tell a story by itself (think Dukas' "The Sorceror's Apprentice"), so it's not surprising it didn't want to stay in the background.

And boy, do I understand the problem of getting the balance of sounds just right. I really prefer to spend my time composing rather than acting as a studio technician, dinking with balance and reverb and such, so it frustrates me when I wind up spending more time fighting with those things to get a piece to "play" right than I do composing it in the first place! It seems like a process that never quite ends, 'cause you're always finding something else that needs tweaking. My sympathies, and I hope you get a good grade.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

By the way, Brinn, you and I seem to be studying the same subjects.

Yes, I noticed that. What are you majoring in?

I'm technically a film major, thought I've been trying to switch to post-production for the past year. Which is why I've been signing up for courses which specialise in film editing and audio.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Brinniel

Yes, I noticed that. What are you majoring in?

I'm technically a film major, thought I've been trying to switch to post-production for the past year. Which is why I've been signing up for courses which specialise in film editing and audio.

Well, you don't have official majors in this course– it's just compulsory subjects + electives. Mine are mainly post-production/fx. (It's actually multi-media; some people specialise in web design instead.)

[Macalaure]

I'm glad you liked my Thingol.

Great job everyone, especially Brinniel!

[Julissa]

Hi Brinnie,

All the best for your project. My opinion is do something innovative and exclusive so as to be a 'odd number out' of the group which always have similar thinking. Hope for the best results. Best wishes!
------------
Julissa
Drug Intervention North Dakota

[Gwathagor]

Dang Dang Dang How Did I Miss This?

EDIT: I just listened to the Beren/Thingol bit! It's terrific! Gave me chills.