QUICK TURN AROUND: Narrator needed for short story
Project Overview
Male narrator needed for a short story on our weekly sci-fi story podcast, Escape Pod. It's dark comedy, if you're old enough to know either, think Bradbury mixed with Critters.
This role is unpaid, but it will get you into our narrator pool and we are working on budgeting to pay narrators something in the near future. For this project, your payment is experience, a work credit, and promotion on our website.
Your audio quality does not need to be top quality, but it should be pretty good and it does need to be recorded in quiet surroundings. You also need to be able to edit out your own long silences and re-dos. The remaining requirements are below.
This project will be cast 7/8/15, and I will need your finished file returned to me before or by midnight on 7/20. If you cannot handle the short turn-around on this, please do not audition.
STORY LENGTH: about 4,150 words
APPROXIMATE TIME FOR RECORDING AND EDITING: 1-2 hours
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Escape Pod Narrator Guidelines
TECHNICAL SPECS:
We prefer uncompressed mono WAV or AIFF format files, FLAC, or Apple Lossless (m4a).
A sample rate of 44.1 kHz is best.
Your file will be too big to email; we have a web tool you can use to upload it. Just go to https://www.hightail.com/u/EscapeArtists
EDITING:
Please edit the file yourself to remove long pauses and multiple takes. We will do a final screening as part of producing the episode, but it is a great help to us if you can minimize the editing on our side. While we do want you to edit your mistakes, please do not run a noise filter on your file, we'll do that.
We reserve the right not to use recordings we deem unsuitable.
READING TIPS:
Make sure your reading starts with the title and author.
Escape Pod prefers a clean, 'audiobook' style of reading (NO sound effects), but with some energy and personality to it.
Pacing is the most important thing. In particular, don't read too fast -- that's hard on the listener. Wherever there is a break in the text (several empty lines and/or something like ### or * * * *) please leave a silent pause about 3-4 seconds long.
Please avoid extra noise- gesturing, fiddling with pens, etc, - these can thump the mic or make background noise.
Keep your face in front of the mic. Otherwise you will get fades.
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The voices are going to be a challenge, but do your best. The aliens as short (I picture "Station" from Bill & Ted's...) and they think they are tough, but they are inadvertantly helpful too.
The promise of a half price rejuvenation treatment was too tempting an offer for Pelle's first customer to resist. Pelle thought the middle-aged woman was fit and attractive, though there were small cracks lining her skin. He explained the treatment was best done in the nude, and he blushed when the woman, winking to her gathered friends, started to disrobe in the lobby. Acting quickly, he had the woman follow Mr. Huggy into a private room.
"Hug me!" came Huggy's shrill voice from behind the door a minute later.
"Well, okay," replied the woman, her voice partially muffled.
"Oh! Oh my!" came the woman's voice. "By Jum, that feels incredible!"
The woman burst from the room, draped haphazardly in one of the spa's robes. "Look how shiny and smooth my rinnats are!" she exclaimed to her friends. "The Commodore will love them!" The woman opened her robe, showing her companions, and once again Pelle blushed.
"How much to do me?" one of the woman's friends demanded.
The others jostled around Pele. "Umm, ten..." he started to reply.
"One hundred credits," said Fix-You. "But today is coupon. You tell friends."
By the end of the day, the Timantti Spa's appointments were booked solid for the rest of the month, and the price of the Lelutian rejuvenation treatment had tripled.
Pelle felt a bit baffled when he sat down to square the day's receipts. Figures were not his strong suit. He was grateful when Fix-You offered to look after the shop's scheduling and finances.
"No worry," she said. "Six interviews tomorrow for new employees. And we expand soon. Find new shop."
"Are there enough of your people to cover all the appointments?"
Fix-You smiled. "We make more."
Pelle looked around and noticed many of the Lelutians hugging one another. "You're sure an affectionate bunch."
