RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

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RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by NickCrotser »

Hello All, This is the Official thread for Radio Free Housepets! (Formerly Housepets! Radio).
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Radio Free Housepets! (also known as RFHP!) was a weekly (PG-13 rated) webcast for Housepets! and other webcomics.
RFHP! was Hosted by traitor and it's killer Gary Shi, voice actor David "Brownie" Cramer, and voice actor Joel "Slice of Dog" Hunt. It was produced by artist Nick Crotser

RFHP! could be found at: http://radiofreehousepets.net
An episode list can could found at: http://www.radiofreehousepets.net/p/epi ... chive.html
Keeping up with RFHP! was possible on iTunes by subscribing to "Housepets! Radio"
RFHP had a Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/HousepetsRadio
Follow RFHP! on Twitter as well! https://twitter.com/#!/HousepetsRadio
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by NickCrotser »

Within one of the next four episodes, we're going to have Rick on again,
so if there's anything you'd like to hear email it to [email protected]
we'll let you know when we decide the exact date.

Also, if there's any suggestions, comments, etc please let us know ([email protected]) as we can't improve unless people tell us what they want.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

Guys... what's with the radio? :| been a while since you created anything.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

Yeah, we went on a bit of a hiatus while we all finished our school/Uni years or were busy with work etc.
We did actually record an episode the other day, though, so we'll be editing and releasing that soon :)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

Glad to hear :) I was worried you might drop your project.
Good luck wish school/work then. And waiting for your podcast.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

New episode of RFHP! is finally here. Hooray and all that.

http://ubuntuone.com/4laUwcaJ2K1aEbm6ScXngc

It features myself and our new co-host Gary, as well as guest 7THeaven, and we discuss the arc The Trial in Heaven.

Please give any constructive feedback you can think of, and thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy it.

(This episode hasn't yet been added to our site's episode archive, since I am inept and need to wait for Nick to do it. So for now, this is a world exclusive. You lucky people you)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Sinder »

mmmmmmmmnope

EDIT: eeeeeeeeeeyup
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

I'm glad you finally updated :) I like your British accent, Slice. I missed it.

But there's something you must do with the noise, Slice. I know you're recording everything through Skype, but it's a bit hard to understand everything you say when noise is in background. You must find some way to reduce it and make your voices sound more clear.

I must say that you made a great improvement over yourself. At the beginning if your work over podcast you were clearly scared and unsure of what you're doing, as it was presented with your moments of awkward silence or things like "uum", "err" and so on. Now your speech was smooth and you totally knew what to say, without making a pause. You were very well prepared for your recording, both practically and mentally. Well done :)

Conversation was very nice and I liked 7THeaven's point of view over the Trial In Heaven arc. He was enthusiastic and for sure he had some fun while reading it, especially with the "dragon in robocop helmet" ;p . And he also sounded real friendly, his voice was enough already for me to enjoy this podcast.

But there's something that bothered me a little bit. Or two.

First is that your current episode is named "Vanguard and Heaven", which already indicates that you're also going to talk about the comic currently being created by 7THeaven. When I was listening to your podcast, I was wondering when I'm going to hear a discussion about it. Something about this comic was at the end, but it was very short, which dissapointed me.

And also I think that you should've made a small interview with 7THeaven since he was your guest. Not as big as you did with Mr. Griffin, but enough to bring this person a little closer to us. All I know that he creates his own comic and made some awesome Housepets! fan arts. I think you should've talked with him - who is he, from where is he, why he draws, why he likes making fan art and what he thinks about our community and so on.

But... that's only my suggestion :) After all, you plan the program and you realize it your own way.

By the way, Slice... I browsed your site and there's that thing called "Slice of Story". I observe it for some quite time now and I am wondering are you still going to work on this project and will you post anything, like Sinder's Star Crossed?
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

Ah, thanks Sinder. To me the link works, but I think it's because I'm signed in. I'll be cheeky and replace it with the one you've linked to here, which I'm reliably informed by Nick to be the official link.

And Karlos: wow. That is the kind of feedback we love!

Thanks for listening, glad you enjoyed it, and thanks a lot for your comments.

Responding to them point by point, sorry about the noise! I'm not normally the one who records it (I believe Nick usually does, but possibly it's David. Either way, neither of them, evidently, were here for this episode) so I wasn't really set up to do it. I'll fiddle with the details of the programme I use and see if it's better next time I record. Hopefully though we'll be back to Nick/David recording next and it won't be a problem anyway. But valid point!

Glad we seem to be getting into the hang of things. It can be surprisingly awkward at first. Conversation flows great when we're just talking outside of the podcast, but as soon as we hit record it can sometimes come to a grinding halt. Glad we're improving on that front, and I'll take the chance now to give a shout-out to Gary and 7th, who both seem very at-ease with it all, and made this episode very easy to do.
However, the difference you noticed is also down to more dutiful editing, I think. We are improving, but I did go through and delete and major pauses. Mostly it was lag, because Gary was in China at the time and everything had about a 2/3 second delay, but either way I'm pleased (if not surprised) getting rid of the pauses made it better to listen to.

I'm happy that you liked 7th, we'd definitely be happy for him to come back any time he likes. And yes, Karlos, absolutely good point about the interview with 7th. I'm quite poor at thinking of things like that, but it's a very sensible idea that we should have done, and next time we have a guest host I'm sure we'll take it on board! How much time do you think should be dedicated to introducing new hosts/guests? It will certainly be nice to do that, and let people get to know them a bit before the actual discussion starts, but we wouldn't want to get carried away with it. Would you say 2 minutes would be enough of that?

And the title... I'm going to be cheeky and play the blame game here, but the title wasn't my idea. Nick called it that. But I will let him know (if he hasn't read this already) ^^

Finally... yeah... Slice of Story... that's a thing isn't it >_>
Heh, I worked on it a lot at first, but then it halted and... never really started again. I intend to finish it, and hopefully soon, but it's a lot of work and things tended to come up like Uni work and such, and it always got shoved to the side. Once I've finished this one I'll see about getting other voice actors to do different characters, because the whole story plus editing is a lot to do for one person (at least as far as lazy old me is concerned!)
As far as a progress report goes, all narration and all characters except Grape are done. Once Grape is recorded it will all be edited together and then RELEASED! Hurrah!

I tried to add a sample of what I've done so far, but apparently can't upload mp3 files to my posts. Stand by for alternate method...

Alternate method imminent:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8251666/
That's a short sample of what I've got so far. As I said, just need to do Grape now.
Hope you enjoy. You too Sinder! :p
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Sinder »

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

sliceofdog wrote:Conversation flows great when we're just talking outside of the podcast, but as soon as we hit record it can sometimes come to a grinding halt.
All is in your psyche. I used to have the same problem when I was working in school radio. It takes some time before you will learn to neglect the fact that you're on air and make your conversation sound like any other you typically have during your day :) If you will practice and make record often, you will learn that.
sliceofdog wrote:However, the difference you noticed is also down to more dutiful editing, I think. We are improving, but I did go through and delete and major pauses. Mostly it was lag, because Gary was in China at the time and everything had about a 2/3 second delay, but either way I'm pleased (if not surprised) getting rid of the pauses made it better to listen to.
Sometimes lags could be heard, so I thought that you probably had some delays. You did a good job indeed at getting rid of those pauses :) And I can imagine how hard it had to be for you to edit those to make match sound perfectly.
sliceofdog wrote:How much time do you think should be dedicated to introducing new hosts/guests? It will certainly be nice to do that, and let people get to know them a bit before the actual discussion starts, but we wouldn't want to get carried away with it. Would you say 2 minutes would be enough of that?
2 minutes will be too short for an interview with your guest. I'll say 5 will be enough :)

And this is what I think about your Slice of Story sample:
You have a natural talent for voicing characters. You're able to change your tone to sound like it was really someone else. I especially liked how you did Peanut's voice. You imagined how someone who is young, full of energy and naive can sound like. And you did that. if you will work hard over your voicing, I'm sure you will go far in future.
However, you really must correct your narration. Remember, narration is the thing that builds up whole story and expresses situations. If you play it well, you will be able to have influence on your listener's imagination. And you read everything way too fast. Instead of trying to imaginate everything by using your voice, I must focus on what you're trying to say. You must slow down :)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

Hah, you're a con-crit giving machine, aren't you? :p
This is great, and very helpful. Everyone else, please take notes ^^
You have a natural talent for voicing characters. You're able to change your tone to sound like it was really someone else. I especially liked how you did Peanut's voice.
Thank you very much! It's something I hope to capitalise on! Although please don't get your hopes up for Grape, I've just finished recording for her, and I don't think I've done very well. Still, only time will tell.
And you read everything way too fast. Instead of trying to imaginate everything by using your voice, I must focus on what you're trying to say. You must slow down
Ah, interesting. Yeah, it's something I've been trying to work on for a while, actually engaging with the script instead of flatly read it, but obviously I'm not quite there yet. I'll have to listen to my narration again before I say anything, but I may have just glossed over that in a desire to get it finished. Not sure, hopefully it won't be too bad (since I'm not recording it all again! I want this project finished XP)
In any case it's something I'll try to work on for the next one I do.

Thanks :)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

sliceofdog wrote:Hah, you're a con-crit giving machine, aren't you? :p
This is great, and very helpful. Everyone else, please take notes ^^
Hehe :oops: :) I just speak out loud whatever is in my mind. And I also know how important is for someone to get honest thoughts of his watchers/readers/listeners. So I always try to help as much as I can :)
sliceofdog wrote:Thanks :)
You're welcome :)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

I've been going through it editing it together, and you're absolutely right. Narration is too fast. Hopefully it doesn't spoil things too much, but next time I do one I'll work on that.

On which note... any suggestions for what fanfics and stories to read out in the next Slice of Story? I'll also be looking for fellow voice actors so it shouldn't take as long next time.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Sinder »

there aren't many that were actually finished or aren't supremely long

Symphony in Periwinkle, for example, is really good, but also lengthy and incomplete

I guess you could theoretically do All The King's Men, which is one-third furret

There's also Boondock Jake's "Let It Out", which works well as a one-off

And Rollofthedice's "Reminiscence - A Tale of Dreams", which is short, sweet, and sad
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

sliceofdog wrote:I've been going through it editing it together, and you're absolutely right. Narration is too fast. Hopefully it doesn't spoil things too much, but next time I do one I'll work on that.
Many people who record stories for audiobooks know that they must give everything from themselves to express all the emotion rightly through narration, thus absorbing the reader fully into story because of the influence of narrator's voice. If you know some stories that you read and enjoyed a lot, and you also have some free time, I suggest to find audiobooks of them and listen how narration is being read there. it might be helpful for you to make a proper style of reading :)
sliceofdog wrote:Any suggestions for what fanfics and stories to read out in the next Slice of Story?
Sinder is right about Symphony in Periwinkle. It's one of the classics here that forged Two_Twig's name in Fan Project's section and also influenced many future fan fiction writers. Though it's discontinued, I believe it deserves to be read.

There's also GameCobra's Wet Blanket, which also is a classic.

Teh Bralwer wrote two fan fictions I liked: A Spark from the Matches and Frantic Forest Fratelli.

There are also fics that are pretty long and reading all of them would take you a lot of time, but you can always choose just a fragment :)

But my personal wish is this one: Remnants of the American Nomad, which was written by Mr. Griffin as an addon to his book. it's not a fan fic, but still very worth to be read by you.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by RandomGeekNamedBrent »

well if you're looking for fellow voice actors, the Radio Show forums would be a good place to start.

as for suggesting stories, are you limited to one shot stories or could you read like the first part of a multi-part fic? because you could read the first episode of Housepets! the Series, maybe the first two parts of Coatl-Ruu's Dogs of War. and I'd suggest my own if it wouldn't seem like I'm tooting my own horn.
and also, Housepets:Matt by Karlos is good, so you could do the first update of that.

If you're only looking for fics that actually have characters that Rick created, Dogs of War wouldn't be a good choice. but otherwise, it's really good.

oh, and for comedy purposes, may I suggest Fox and the Sour Grape and The *GREATEST* Housepets Fanfiction Evar! both badly written for satirical purposes, but still awesome.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Rollofthedice »

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote: oh, and for comedy purposes, may I suggest Fox and the Sour Grape and The *GREATEST* Housepets Fanfiction Evar! both badly written for satirical purposes, but still awesome.
I have to admit, those would be just as much fun to listen to as they are to read. (Bonus points if you read Fox and the Sour Grape like a noir, or in the voice of Foghorn Leghorn. "Now he was hungry, see! Hungry for love, see!")

There's a lot of options for more serious fics. Coatl_Ruu's stuff is pretty good, as is of course Sinder's. Even Symphony in Periwinkle works, though narrating the whole thing would take forever. I guess you could read Reminiscence. It's quite depressing at the end, though.

Here's some tips:

Audiobooks enunciate, and for good reason. Enunciation slows down the story, making it much more listenable. It also slows the narrator down as well, allowing him or her to read the story's content, gauge its emotion, and present it accordingly. Just remember to keep the voice of your narration or dialogue the same while enunciating.
As a reference, listen to the audio sample of Dragonflight, on the left of the page. Every word is clearly pronounced, clearly enunciated.

If you get tired narrating, take a break, maybe even record the rest later. Audiobook speakers don't record everything in a day, and neither should you.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by sliceofdog »

Ooh, thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! And a few people have mentioned this so I'll address it now; I'm happy to do stories that are too long for one segment. Obviously it'll mean I can't do as many, and it'll take a long time between segments, but it's certainly something I'd consider.

And Roll, cheers for the advice. The audiobook sample you linked to is great (although the lack of recording quality is annoying me. Makes his voice sound robotic and some parts, doesn't do it justice) and it's something I'll think about next time I'm recording.

Although;
If you get tired narrating, take a break, maybe even record the rest later. Audiobook speakers don't record everything in a day, and neither should you.
This is certainly something I'm familiar with :p
I used to feel the need to record things all in one go, but necessity forced me out of that habit. Eventually your voice just stops, especially if there are growly or shouty characters you're doing! But thanks anyway. Very pleased about the interest that's being shown.

I might have a chat with Nick, David and Gary and see if we could get a vote system going for what to record next.

(Oh, and I've just remembered RGNB's comment about the radio show. Don't worry, already thought of that. I just haven't done it yet because I want to wait until Starcrossed is finished)
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

Hmm... it's been a month since you aired last episode.
I hope you didn't decide to drop your project. it would be a great pity seeing it die.
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Post by RandomGeekNamedBrent »

no, they're still going. Gary just got access to their twitter account.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by GameCobra »

Karlos wrote: There's also GameCobra's Wet Blanket, which also is a classic.
I'm glad you quoted this. I know i haven't done any fics lately, but seeing that this was quoted as an example makes me happy. Hopefully I'll have time sometime to make another one and make it more professional! :D
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

GameCobra wrote:
Karlos wrote: There's also GameCobra's Wet Blanket, which also is a classic.
I'm glad you quoted this. I know i haven't done any fics lately, but seeing that this was quoted as an example makes me happy. Hopefully I'll have time sometime to make another one and make it more professional! :D
Well, it's considered to be one of the classics. Also it's very enjoyable in reading. So I had to remind about it :)
I hope to see another of your work soon. And I'm curious how is your book about Max going.
RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:no, they're still going. Gary just got access to their twitter account.
You Tweets always have to be way ahead than others ;p
But I'm glad they're still going. I hope they will post something up soon.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Enty »

Hey -- enty from the other Radio project here :P

Just sayin' if you ever need an idea for a segment, I don't think the guys over there would mind collaborating on something.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

Well... 5 months since the last episode is a bit long.
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by NickCrotser »

Episode 2 is now LIVE!

It might not be what you're all expecting though, that episode will follow VERY shortly!

http://www.radiofreehousepets.net/2012/ ... -2012.html
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by Karl »

RFHP wrote:Be sure to join us in 2013 for a return to our regular release schedule!
Where is my long awaited episode??? =(
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Re: RFHP! - Radio Free Housepets! (Housepets! Webcast)

Post by NickCrotser »

Shhhh....

If anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me. :D

[url] https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/105994413 ... 655/about/ /url]

[url] https://www.facebook.com/HousepetsRadio /url]
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