A Question of Vengeance
The wrongful deaths of those we love can sometimes prompt us to contemplate insanity. Place the emotional turmoil of such a loss in the context of a war of ideology, mix in some science fiction and some technobabble, and the stage is set for atrocity.
“A Question of Vengeance”
Story by Peter Hodges
Dramatic Reading by Kate Baker and Peter Hodges
Music: “No Mercy” - Tyler Bates (From The 300 Soundtrack); “Fight in the Shade” - Tyler Bates (From The 300 Soundtrack); “England Prevails” - Dario Marianelli (From the V for Vendetta Soundtrack); “The Dominoes Fall” - Dario Marianelli (From the V for Vendetta Soundtrack)
Pete on May 15th 2007 in Podcasts
Pete responded on 15 May 2007 at 7:48 am #
Author/Director Commentary
I thought that this piece might be especially conducive to having a multi-voiced cast. Lacking the funds and the means to secure paid actors, I was forced to do some of the recording myself. I am less than pleased with the result. My personal opinion is that this type of recording WILL work, but it needs the right kind of voices. We’ll continue to experiment in the coming weeks.
As always, please give us your feedback and constructive criticism. The ONLY way in which we get better is for people to tell us what they like and dislike. Once we know that, we can make the adjustments necessary to a great audio experience.
Kate responded on 15 May 2007 at 9:42 am #
Reader/Director Commentary
This is one of my favorite podcasts! I had so much fun editing it. A few things that we need to work on. There are few spots where the mic is bumped or you can hear Pete’s Popping Ps. My S’s are rather ear piercing as well so that’s just a mic tuning issue. The next one won’t have those. Also the volume of the music needs to be addressed.
All minor things. I don’t think they detract from the story.
Pete, I’ve told you time and time again that I think your voice was perfect for the part. You are your biggest critic. It brought a level of depth to the story. I hope to work with you again.
To any of you who listen/dl it, please let us know what you think!
Blitzfike responded on 15 May 2007 at 10:31 am #
I liked it again.. I agree that the audio processing needs some tuning. The sound quality of Pete’s feed is less than the rest of the production. Overall, great job. I see improvement with each session. Blitz
Durmiun/Jason responded on 15 May 2007 at 1:05 pm #
Well done. Things I liked: Pete’s muffled voice, interpreting a man with tape over his mouth. Maybe now he knows what all those damned sheep felt like back in the day.
But, seriously, you guys are doing great with these. Pete, the main problem I had with you on there was that you seemed hesitant to try and portray emotion while speaking in your initial lines. Further on, you got much better, adding inflection and tone that makes it much more worth listening to instead of reading it. Keep it up
AmbianceForce responded on 15 May 2007 at 8:15 pm #
The story
Good, but seeing some of your other works in the past, I felt it was too type-set and lacked some of the magic that makes your truly original work great. Granted, type-set storytelling is a staple of literature for as long as there have been stories to tell, but I could have sworn I saw something like this in a movie sometime. I think the dialogs is what did it. It was, well, too canned. Then again, with the mass of 24 episodes, James Bond and James Bond wannabe movies, I’m guessing about every possible variation on the interrogation torture conversation has already been hashed.
That said, what I like about the story is the reversal. The captain could have blown them all at any time. The whole time it was portrayed that he was the tortured, hopeless, and desolate case with only a future of misery and defeat before him. In reality, he was the one toying, torturing and condemning the captors. They thought they were going to get what they wanted, but the truth is, the captain went all-in with a bluff and got everything he hoped and dreamed of. In the end, the last moments rewrote the entire story. Very M. Night Shyamalan.
Voicing
Again, another stellar performance from Kate. Actually, your starting to sound a lot more comfortable than a couple weeks ago. Pete, pretty good, although I agree w/ Durmium. You got off to a rocky start, but you picked it up. Very well done for something so new from you both. I would have sounded like a chicken in a deathswing if I had to do it.
Technicals
The problems with the popping P’s, the slushing S’s, and the other audio issues are more a symptom of the hardware than anything. I gather you’re recording on your PC with a standard headset mic. While good for comms and such, the compander mics used in headsets lack the audio range, impedance and power throughput for a quality recording. Compander mics start with audio compression via hardware. Computer recording use an audio compression algorithm. The final save after editing into the mp3 format is a 3rd compression algorithm. Add the fact that you’re using a consumer grade sound card or on-board audio instead of a $1200 professional grade sound card. Also, your home PC is a torrential environment of electromagnetic interference instead of the shielded, isolated and properly ground (not to mention expensive) gear used in recording studios. Thus, by the time the final is pushed out, you’ve got hissing and popping and other little artifacts inherent in degrading audio conditions native to digital recordings in a consumer grade environment.
The point for all that? For 3 weeks people have commented on the audio conditions, so now you know why. Considering the recording environment, the podcast sounds really good. If you are wanting more, swing by a music store and grab up about $400 in used recording equipment along with a good 58 mic.
Pete responded on 15 May 2007 at 8:49 pm #
226 downloads so far. Hopefully my voice acting doesn’t scare you away!
Foxbat responded on 16 May 2007 at 6:47 pm #
Excellent! Kate was great, but the male voice was spectacular! Unbelievable! Tremendous! (Where a thesaurus when you need one…) All you need now are sounds effects such as knife and fork sounds on a plate, the gurgle of wine poured into a glass, boots walking in and out. It’d be a neat trick to also have the Captain test the crystal by rubbing the rim and see if it makes that sound…
Anyhow, keep it up!
Pete responded on 16 May 2007 at 7:17 pm #
503 downloads.
Pete responded on 17 May 2007 at 11:30 am #
AmbianceForce,
VERY VERY helpful comments. This is exactly the kind of criticism I need to get better.
Thank you VERY much.
Kate - Go buy a REAL mic or something. Geez.
Kate responded on 17 May 2007 at 11:40 am #
Why don’t you start paying me then?
Pete responded on 17 May 2007 at 8:53 pm #
983 downloads/listens so far.
*eyes pop*