Muse News #12: Yet More Audio Beta, Kiranan Planning and I Bought A New Keyboard!

As you can probably tell from the headline, it's been a routine week this week (If there is such a thing on Planet Gilbert), but I'll regale you with the details nonetheless!

Yet More Audio Beta

[Photo: Jack Gilbert]

Now that my voice has very-nearly-almost fully recovered from its short time as a Barry White sound-a-like, I've been recording the audio beta in earnest this week.  Once again I find myself in awe of the actors and voice artists who record them for a living.  There is a definite way to speak when you're recording an audio book and a very precise metre that one needs to keep in mind.

In my haste to get the thing finished, I've found the whole thing turning into a bit of a production line and when one is in a hurry, the temptation to let little slips go are great.  Thankfully though, because I'm recording each scene individually, it will be (relatively) easy to go back afterwards and rerecord any sections when mistakes have sneaked through.

Muse News #10: I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue (and not much else is happening...)

I'm sorry that this Muse News didn't get posted yesterday.

I haven't settled fully into the routine of writing my posts in the days before they're due and scheduling them to post rather than manually posting them.

Consequently, when I spent the whole of yesterday evening out there wasn't any time, or anyone to write this post, or indeed post it had there been anyone to write it.

What kind of rash frippery could possibly have attracted me away from such an important matter, you ask?  Well, I was attending a recording of a radio show.  Before you get excited, the radio show didn't actually feature me.  Well, it did, but only in the distance and as part of a large audience.

The radio show in question was the BBC Radio 4 show, I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue.  For those of you who don't live in the UK, or are unfamiliar with it, it's a long-running show that is described as the "antidote to panel games".  It's clever, funny, sometimes downright silly, never to be taken too seriously and one of my favourite radio shows.  It features such legendary rounds as The Uxbridge English Dictionary, One Song to the Tune of Another and Mornington Crescent.

The show's recorded in theatres around the country before a live audience and a very good friend of mine managed to get tickets to last night's recording in Southend.  They recorded two shows (due for airing in a couple of weeks) and I actually left the theatre with a pulled stomach muscle through laughing too much.

The current series (series 65) is well under way, but if you live in the UK you'll be able to catch-up with past episodes via BBC iPlayer, or listen live on BBC Radio 4 on Monday nights at 6:30pm (BST).

If you like a healthy dose of insanity, I can't recommend it highly enough!

Other News

Not much else has happened this week, I'm afraid to say.  I've been a bit bunged-up (not sure if that's down to hayfever, or other summer-spread lurgy), so I've had to take a break from recording the audio beta of 360 until I sound less infected.  You'll be surprised how much it comes across on a microphone!  Hopefully it won't be too long before I can restart recording again.

However, I've not wasted the time and instead spent it migrating my notes from Evernote to OneNote.  There is a handy app that will transfer everything automatically, but I'm taking the opportunity to sort through my notes and revise my filing and tagging systems in the process.  I've discovered a few notes I'd forgotten I'd made, so it is proving to be a useful exercise!

Well, it's very nearly Wednesday here, so I'd best sign-off and post this before it's two days late!