Brainstorming

[paraka]

We're still in the early stages of planning, but I thought this would be a good time to ask people what kind of things (events/panels/etc) people would like to have at the con.

Feel free to join in suggesting things even if you know you can't make the con yourself. Also, feel free to dream as big as you want, we might not be able to do everything but you can at least put the idea out there. :)

Comments

[paraka]

At Vividcon, revolutionaryjo and I hosted a podfic party where we played "guess the podficcer." We played short clips of podfics and had the audience guess who the podficcer was. I think that might be a good ice breaker on the first day or something.

[aphelant]

Oh that would be cool! I would fail really hard at it, but it would be fun! Like playing Jeopardy and never knowing the answer, hahaha yes that is fun to me. :P

[paraka]

OMG, you would not be the only one to fail at it. revolutionaryjo and I were the ones who made the clips at the Vividcon game and we still had trouble guessing some times!

[aphelant]

What about panels that teach tricks in Audacity and/or Garageband? If there is a suitable technological setup?

[cantarina]

I second this. If I hadn't had prior training on Audacity and then handholding in my transition to Garageband, I would have been a much sadder Ewok.

[aphelant]

Everything I know about Garageband I learned by smashing it with a fist, basically. I've been eagerly awaiting more tutorials from Lunchy! I'm sure there are easier ways to edit than I've figured out. :O

[cantarina]

Clearly, the solution is to fly Lunchee back out, just for this panel.

[paraka]

That'd be cool!

[sunspot]

This this this this. Considering I know almost literally nothing, I am definitely interested in this.

[jesse_the_k]

"Forty-six ways to capture unwanted noise in a small microphone." With a seasoned podcaster plus newbies who are willing to learn and demonstrate the change. So, say, PollyPodMaker says, "this mic orientation maximizes sibilance; rotate 90 to minimize it" and NevNewbie demonstrates "She sells sea shells" in a variety of ways.

Would require two low cost mics, high quality but soft PA, room separated from other Aloud-oriented programming

[paraka]

I think it would be awesome to have a panel on multi-voiced podfics.

[yue_ix]

Yes! There could be a bit at the end where the room is invited to get into groups if they want and record something short together?

[inkjunket]

Yes! And along these lines, what about something fast and fun, like a podfic game (not really sure what that would be, but ...something involving recording silliness!). Or some kind of round robin podfic, either creating an original story out loud together, or recording in a round if there's a story that would make sense to do a rapid rotation of readers for.

Also, I love the idea of having the opportunity to do group projects during the con... nothing more concrete to suggest than just that!

[paraka]

The set up I have in mind for the con would be 3 rooms, 1 for panels, 1 for hanging out and 1 for recording! So there would be an entire room devoted to doing group podfics or other silliness and fun people wanted to record themselves doing :D

[inkjunket]

Oh, fabulous! \o/

[cantarina]

creating an original story out loud together
I've pitched a panel along these lines! It's heartening to know that I'm not the only one interested in this kind of thing :)

[yue_ix]

Throwing more ideas out there...

More Than Voices panel - to talk about music, singing, sound effects, movements, bg noises or such other things we can hear in podfics that are not the reader's conversational voice. What are you yay and nays, tricks and picks.

Picture Pofic - art & podfics; the art of art covers, maybe some as tutorials, some as size discussion. (I've read tutorials during podaware and was surprised by how many aspects of covers I had never considered even while drawing some)

Voices of the World - I could certainly talk more about this ;) It could also just about accents and the concept of foreign in a voice in general, that seems to have been a topic a lot of people had things to say on.

[cantarina]

Bess has put forth the idea of a cover art workshop, so you're not alone in wanting to see more of this!

Also, seconding "Voices of the World" SO HARD. I'd love to have that discussion about the concept of "foreign". (I understand where it comes from and I know I'm guilty of perpetuating it, but at the risk of being the pot that calls the kettle black, I have a knee-jerk reaction every time an American calls French a foreign language.)

[yue_ix]

Yay! It was bessyboo's tutorials amongst others that made me realise many new things about podfic covers, so having her continue in that direction would be awesome.

That would be a lovely discussion to have. Sometimes, like many others when we first find recordings of ourselves, I find my own accent and voice foreign when hearing it. At the same time, as you say, sometimes we forget ourselves and consider whichever type of voice we feel homely to be a sort of baseline. It's one of the many interesting contrast and contradictions that panel could have. =D

[cantarina]

What about a few listener-centric panels? How do non-podfic makers perceive their place in podfic fandom? How to they understand podfic differently and the same as those of us who record? I'm struggling to put that hat on, so maybe some purely-listeners can jump in, if there's interest?

[yue_ix]

Hm, I think the difficulty here could be to define was is a purely-listener and was isn't. Many who'd be so invested into podfics as to want to come and participate both might have tried it once or twice, wouldn't they?

Not sure if it'd fit in this panel or another, but I could have a one cent to put in, about the difference and slight awkwardness of doing a derivative work for a podfic rather than for its source fic.

[cantarina]

Definitely a line to tread! My idea is really to generate content more aimed at listeners, since a lot of the topics being suggested are workshops oriented at podders. Which is great and there are a number of ideas coming up that are more or less inclusive, but it'd be awesome if we could get something more on that track. So long as there's interest, anyway.

[cantarina]

We also need a public reccing area, whether it's a paper-covered wall in the hang-out area or a communal GDoc.

[sunspot]

This!

[revolutionaryjo]

I would love for there to be a panel about working with betas and what you can get out of it. That way, we have two panels that require us to fly Lunchee out. This plan has nothing to do with the fact that I was on another continent when she was doing her big North American tour. Nothing at all. Do doo dooooo...