[ORIGINAL] Anti-Glory: Episode 4

[Mochan]

Anti-Glory: Episode 4

Cast:
Crystal: Sayaka
Mr. Larson: Bomberman61
Jessica: Laura Post
Len: Dymatrex
Mayla: Mirielle


SFX:
Sounddogs

Music:
Chrono Crusade OST
.hack OST
Wolf's Rain OST

This is a short episode to sort of get us prepared for all that is to come and to give a little bit of insight into the minds of some characters. Only a little. =P

Note: Mirielle's voice is VERY soft and I couldn't amplify it anymore because she had some bad background noise. So I hope it's not too bad. -_-; Oh yes, turn the volume all the way up or put on headphones. >_> My bad.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?vogkrmzxtdd
Stream: http://media.putfile.com/Anti-Glory-Episode-4

Length: Approx. 7 min.

Also: B Squared now has their own RSS feed for ALL of its radioplays. Go here: http://bsquared.mypodcast.com/index.html

[Sayaka]

Oh, wow! Chapter 4 is out already.

Mr. Larson: I enjoyed hearing Bomberman61 as the Mr. Larson again. Mr. Larson's likability is questionable, but Bomberman61 portrayed the character alluring well. There's an sense of pride and "not to be pushed around" attitude in his voice, it's fantastic! Loved it. Emotion-wise, it was perfect.

Jessica:You know I adore your voice and performance. As usual, your emotions were top-notched. No complaints.

Len: Dymatrex was perfect in bringing out the character character in Len as the monotone-spoken, guard-like ex-brother to Mayla. ^^ Fabulous job!

Mayla: Mirielle, like Laura, your emotions and overall performance was amazing and masterly presented. Loved it, as always!

As for the technical side: Mochan, this clip is wonderfully mixed. The sound effects were nicely fitted for each situation, and you had the right piece of music used to help further enhance the emotional state of the characters. You are already aware of this, but indded Mirielle's clips were indeed softer compared to the the rest of the cast. Other than that, I can't really find any other flaws. Well, Bomberman61's lines had quite a few puffs in them, but nothing too severe.

As for the story plot, I absolutely loved how it dwelled into the mind of the characters, yet it didn't revealed too much, not yet anyway. The story gets more intriguing with each chapter. Even as a cast member, I still find myself completely absorbed when I listen to the final product.

I adore this all way too much. ^^

[Data Drain]

YES! FINALLY! <33333333333

Gonna edit this post for a review just as soon as I listen! =D fjsaklfsa I'm excited!

EDIT:

Okay, now that I've finished my fanboy tangent and actually listened...

Amazing episode, as always. First and foremost, although I think every part of this production is absolutely stellar, I need to comment on my favorite aspect of this radioplay; the plot. It's a great mix of a slow build-up matched with hints and twists that keep you thinking. The character of Jessica in particular is one that I can't get enough of; I really just don't know what to think of her. She definitely blurs the line between good and evil in a way that is absolutely intriguing. So, if the long and meandering sentences didn't give it away, here it is: I love love love love love this story!

Crystal: Sayaka's performance just keeps getting better and better with every episode. She plays the role of the right-hand (wo)man extremely well, and there's a quality in her voice that just particularly matches Crystal's character.

Mr. Larson: I'm glad this role came back, because Bomberman6 makes it sound really great. He does make Larson sound like a jerk, but this isn't at all a bad thing. I like the emotion in his voice; it sounds completely believable!

Jessica: Wow wow wow. I really can't stress how amazing Laura is for this role, from her matter-of-fact tone to her emotion when it calls for her to be upset. I'm not sure if anyone else could pull of the character of Jessica the way that Laura does.

Len: Dymatrex's voice is excellent, although this episode, his voice was a little more subdued, and while the plot called for it, I hope that soon he can start showing the same emotion that he did in the earlier episodes. Not to say that his voice was bad in this one--he sounds fantastic--it's just that his raw emotion in the opening chapters were just unbelievable. Here's hoping we hear more of that eventually! =D

Mayla: Mirielle knows that I absolutely adore her voice, and her performance as Mayla isn't any different at all. I did have a bit of a hard time hearing her, like you said we would, but her lines in this were still excellent; the way she pulled off that emotionless-but-on-the-brink-of-feeling-SOMETHING tone for Mayla in this episode, as well as the last. It was great!

The mixing was excellent, aside from the whole "Mayla being so quiet" thing, but I did have headphones on so that it wasn't too much of a problem. I particularly liked your music choices for this episode, especially during the argument between Jessica and Larson. All in all, keep up the good work!

This radioplay is my crack. I NEED MOAR. =O

And one last question: is it pronounced An-TIE (rhymes with die) Glory or An-TEE (rhymes with bee) Glory? Been bugging me for days and I've been forgetting to ask. xD

[Mochan]

Data, you're like, Anti-Glory's number 1 fan. I love it! >D You keep me motivated, for serious. Thank you SO much for listening and reviewing! ^^

And it's An-TIE (rhymes with die...coincidence? Maybe. =P ) Glory. :)

EDIT: EEE, you're even plugging us! I wuv you. :3

[bomberman61]

Braving dial-up to hear this episode...I can't wait!

Can I get the one back in my name? When did I become Bomberman6? I sound like a movie. :P

[Mochan]

You're not a movie? D=

[Sayaka]

It would be an interesting movie, would it not? =^^=

[Monotori]

Bomberman61: Couple of puffs here and there. No biggie. :)
Laura Post: Better every episode; I love the emotion you put into this! Sounds awesome.
Sayaka: Much better this time; I'm not sure if it's because you opened your mouth more or you just enunciated your words, but I like it better like this.
Dymatrex: Sounds fine to me-- you didn't have many lines so I can't really judge.
Mirielle: Turned up my speakers a couple of times. xD Still, I agree with Data Drain; the emotions were perfect.

Man. I can't wait to be a part of the action again (but my mic disappeared so I probably won't be joining any time soon ;_; )

[Zankoku no Yami]

As far as VAs are concerned: Bomberman, I felt, was very monotone and needed some more emotion on his part. I mean, i really felt no emotion or strength behind his words. Dont take me the wrong way! Just pointing that out so hopefully he can work more on that in future eps. Laura stuck out ad was great as always. And the rest of the cast did their respective roles greatly~
(sorry, I'm not as great of a reviewer for VAs unless I am working one on one with them; as I am for mixing. So sorry that I cant give a more detailed review for each of you! Please dont take it the wrong way! I would have just ended up saying the same thing mostly... heh... sorry...)

Mixing:
-Volume levels between Laura and Bomberman were quite noticable (mostly in the first part. The second part, it was much more even). Also in the ending part of this episode, Mayla and Len are both rather quiet (though this may have been done to keep the volume level consistant). In cases like this, where one person is louder than everyone else, its an easy fix. Lower the loudest persons volume. Working with volume levels, for me at least, means finding the most quiet person and the loudest person, and trying to find a happy medium surrounding those lines in which were somewhere at an even volume. In most cases, you can lower the volume of those louder than the rest, and bring up the ones who are lower.
-Now, this would be hard given Mayla's volume, yes? Well, i'll need some more information on how you went about her lines to be sure on the proper advice. Because trust me, no matter how low the persons volume, it can be dealt with. Usually i amp the volume REALLY high (not TOO high though) and grab the noise profile, then undo, bring it to the volume you want, and noise reduce (if you bring it too high, you could end up grabbing noise that will interfer with the actual line). Or, sometimes, dont have your VAs noise reduce at all so that you can add the approipate noise reducing, volume editing and filtering.

Volume issues, I do be believe, is the only thing I could really critique in this episode. And yes, they are always hard; I know I still have problems with them *tear* but we keep trying until we get it! Aside from that, I like the use of SFX. Though, I did have some tips. For example, I was thinking of adding a hallway reverb to when Crystal is running in the hall at the beginning. To give that feel or something that she is running up to Larson. But that is just an idea I have been wanting to apply myself, haha.

So, again, great use of SFX. Mixing quality was quite good. Use of music, for the most part, was good. Though the .hack soundtrack sticks a tad out of place at points. But for the most part, I really not much to critique or complain about, haha. So you are definately improving! The next step after coming this far, I'd say, is trying new things. By that, I mean giving a little more umph to the surroundings or what not. I dont know. Just a suggestion (because its always fun to put layers in your stuff if you can~).

Story:
Not too much for this episode. But still intriquing and I look forward to hearing where this is going! I am hoping the next episode is a doozy~

Great job to the VAs and the producer, Mochan!

[Mochan]

Aww, Zank. As always you give awesome critiques that help me tremendously! I just tried to amplify Mirielle's volume. For some reason I didn't even think about lowering everyone elses. o.O My bad. ^^; I'll do that next time.

The next episode WILL be a doozy, oh yes. Oh my. Thanks so much!

And thank you Sayaka and Monotori for the critiques, as well! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it. =D

[Zankoku no Yami]

Aww, Zank. As always you give awesome critiques that help me tremendously! I just tried to amplify Mirielle's volume. For some reason I didn't even think about lowering everyone elses. o.O My bad. ^^; I'll do that next time.

The next episode WILL be a doozy, oh yes. Oh my. Thanks so much!

And thank you Sayaka and Monotori for the critiques, as well! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it. =D

Yeah, the trick is to mess with multiple peoples volumes. Sometimes you will have one person with the volume in which you find most fitting, and so you want to mold everyone elses volume to fit around theirs. And as long as you have music, if there is a bit of noise you couldnt get rid of when amping some volumes; it usually becomes not too noticable.

Edwyn told me once that he likes to mix everything at a lower volume, then when finished, bring the volume up on the fully mixed piece. Might be something worth trying sometime.

And I am glad to hear the next episode will be a doozy! This episode was good; but felt more like a teaser~ meaning, I really want to hear what you have in store for the next episode!

Again, great job and I am looking forward to hearing the next episode!

[Mochan]

I do mess with some people's volumes, but a lot of the times I think most of the levels are good and I try to just up the other people's volumes to the loud ones. Which..isn't good. I don't know why I didn't think about just lowering the louder voices. Der. >_o

Edwyn and you have great ideas and I think I'll use them next time. :)

[Batgirl]

Yes so as others have said, the volume levels are harsh, thats probably the most tedious part of mixing, but you've always got to keep the volumes relatively even so that I'm not listening and go "ow ow ow ow!" and turn it down and then "Wait what did she say??" and turn it up, and then go back to "ow ow ow" when the next character comes back.

I caught some mouseclicks when Mayla first came in, but it was only the first couple lines of hers.

The mixing otherwise was very good. Check out the noise reduction tutorials and stuff. I don't know which program you use, but theres lots of info on the boards, and if you have Cool Edit, I can answer some questions/show you some tools as well.

As for the cast:

Sayaka: As a couple others have said, Diction was a LOT better in this episode. I think you could have gone a little farther with your acting in the first scene, you could have sounded more angry/frustrated/ARGH with Mr. Larson. But other than that scene, I thought the rest was pretty strong. Especially when you were running toward Len and Mayla, you've got a strong sense of proximity and expressing what your character is doing.

Bomberman61: I missed a little of the chemistry between you and Jessica in your first appearance, but it wasn't a bad performance by any means. You have problems with Puffing/Popping so I'd turn your head slightly away from the mic to avoid that in the future.

Dymatrex: I don't really have much to say. You have such a strong voice, and gave an excellent performance. ^^" Completely believeable, and I'm always like "ahhhh brother and sister brother and sister" when I hear you guys together. Such Chemistry. ^^'

Mirelle: Technical dificulties aside, you have such a lovely voice. I could listen to you read the dictionary lol. You do a very good job at pulling off the Monotone-but-not-lifeless delivery. ^_^

[bomberman61]

I swear, I don't know what it was about this episode where I turned into a deep-voiced Daffy Duck. Heh.

Thanks for the critiques...I know what I've got to keep working on. :)

[Batgirl]

I swear, I don't know what it was about this episode where I turned into a deep-voiced Daffy Duck. Heh.


It was the yelling mostly. All that yelling, you expell more air. ^_^

Obviously the solution is to NOT BE AN ASSHOLE!

lol j/k. I love Mr. Larson a bunch, even if he is a dick. :D

[Mochan]

Yes so as others have said, the volume levels are harsh, thats probably the most tedious part of mixing, but you've always got to keep the volumes relatively even so that I'm not listening and go "ow ow ow ow!" and turn it down and then "Wait what did she say??" and turn it up, and then go back to "ow ow ow" when the next character comes back.

I caught some mouseclicks when Mayla first came in, but it was only the first couple lines of hers.

The mixing otherwise was very good. Check out the noise reduction tutorials and stuff. I don't know which program you use, but theres lots of info on the boards, and if you have Cool Edit, I can answer some questions/show you some tools as well.



Ok...I will sit down and really work on the volumes. I understand bomberman was WAY loud while everyone else was at pretty good volume. If you do have any tips (especially noise reduction because even though I followed the tutorials and do it right, it still comes out weird), I'd love to hear them!

Mouseclicks?? Nooooo. ;_;

Mr. Larson is one of those love-HATE relationships. ;)

[nikoshinigami]

Oh man... strong impending incest vibes O_o Which, you know, only makes this creepier and more engaging because WTF?

Leaving the dead horse be, awesome job yet again. This radioplay really stands out from others and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the main character, Jessica, is pretty much evil. The story telling itself really makes this unique.

[Mochan]

Bahahahaha. >D

Thanks so much for listening Niko! =D I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[bomberman61]

Ok...I will sit down and really work on the volumes. I understand bomberman was WAY loud while everyone else was at pretty good volume.

Mr. Larson is one of those love-HATE relationships. ;)

Why is hate in large letters? :P

I'll try to ease up on the yelling next time, too. It's an ongoing process. I've been hearing the same thing ("You're so much louder than everyone else!") my whole life, so it's a LONG ongoing process. heh.

I think my favorite part of the episode is the back and forth between Larson and Jessica. I can't pinpoint why I like it...it's a mix of good writing from Mo, great acting from Batgirl, and just the sheer intensity of the moment.

And then, as it's been pointed out, we all remember that my character is a bastard. :-P

[Batgirl]

Ok...I will sit down and really work on the volumes. I understand bomberman was WAY loud while everyone else was at pretty good volume. If you do have any tips (especially noise reduction because even though I followed the tutorials and do it right, it still comes out weird), I'd love to hear them!

Mouseclicks?? Nooooo. ;_;

Mr. Larson is one of those love-HATE relationships. ;)

LoL just a couple mouseclicks. :D

If you're using Cool Edit there are a couple features in the FFT section and the Graphic Equalizer that can help you make a person's lines listenable. I know this from trying to make someones lines in NML from almost all static to... well... comprehensible. So with just a little static like in Mayla's lines some of these features should be able to help a lot.

But I'm only familiar with Cool Edit. hee hee >>""

[Mochan]

Yep, I'm using Cool Edit. :) I haven't explored the FFT section quite as much lately, but I will very soon. So if you have any other tips and tricks about noise reduction or making lines sound better in general, I'd love a PM. =D

[Mirielle]

I'm working on getting a new microphone. Wait, correction. I'm working on getting the same type of microphone as my old one, which broke, which led me to using this horrible microphone.

Ahem, that aside, I need to listen to this episode! I will full critique afterwards~