Well, well, well. What have we here? It's not Santa Clause, but ooooh - I'm pretty scared.
While I adore chronicling the ups and downs of this weird little world I share with you guys, I felt it was time to have a more organized, professional place to showcase my work to potential clients. And thus with a flatulent burst of templates and sheer will of the heart (and lots of mochaccinos), the official page of DustyOldRoses pooped into existence! Happy Birthday, little dude!
That's right! The big girl pants come on (or off, depending on your preference). My own domain name and e'rr thang. So while not much will be going on over there, I invite you to check it out and have a listen to the demos and such. I'll still be posting at my other haunts regularly. And if you have any friends in the film/animation/games market or even just students looking for voice overs, this'll be a good place to start.
Beyond the new site, I'm also working on a new (very small) soundpack that should be done before the weekend's out. Nothing fancy, but if you've been aching to use my voice in tandem with Source Filmmaker keep a look out.
Oh, and Otakon? WHAT. A. BLAST.
Dropped this puppies like bombs ALL over the con. Like puppy bombs!
Relaxation and partying had a baby, and that baby was OTAKON 2012. Nothing else quite like it. I got to mingle with some awesome cosplayers, chat it up with the vendors, grab so sick swag, and of course pepper my name around to the public for any animation enthusiasts. My postcards were gorgeous and done just in time, thank goodness. No water cooler station was safe from my self-promoting carpet bombing.
I'll be back with updates about some new videos and other news, blogspot-faithful. See you soon.
More Otakon swag. I wonder who these two cuties are...? :D
I try to be better about maintaining the blog, but I totally crashed after Femgineer was complete. Oh, by the way, Femgineer got complete!
Delayed reaction much? Why announce the release on my own blog first, right? The truth is the release was sudden and not so sudden at the same time. Then Resonance happened. But I'll get to that in a moment; for now I'll discuss the unspoken bits of Femgineer.
Story time, sugar...
Several things kept tripping up my end of the project. If you've been following the blog, you may have heard a family member of mine fell ill for quite some time and was hospitalized because of it. This left me to tend to their household affairs while they were getting better and left me a very small window in which to record female engineer when I returned from my job.
Once things balanced out back home, I now had a completed sound pack with no edits. IanSuffix sent me his edited pack and it was then passed onto Mr.Dude20652 for lip syncing.
LIP SINK! GET IT?! HAR!
The pack proved to be too quite in game though. Ian had to go back and bump up the amplitude. Thankfully, Mr.Dude found a way to export his work so the sync data could just be imported to whatever newly edited pack Ian sent back. This is important because and edits to the lip synced sound files, such as making the volume louder, would wipe out the hard work MrDude did.
I couldn't be happier with both of them and they have my everlasting thanks.
I will need to update this pack, however, as it slipped my mind to export the female heavy alternate lines. As it can't be more than two or three lines, I'll put it off for now.
For anyone wondering if there will be any more female TF2 soundpacks from me, here's what I have to say about it:
I will not actively seek to do any more full female TF2 soundpacks unless I am approached by a modeler with such a request and if I have the time in my schedule between work and family. Presently, the shortest possible class soundpacks that could be produced would be Pyro (redundant), followed by Medic. I have been toying with the idea of a second iteration of the Female Medic since ChemicalAlia's major update of the model's appearance sometime ago. She approached me asking if it would take much time to do a replacement soundpack as people were requesting a new voice. This was before female engineer had begun. I was fine with the idea, but it was then decided it could wait, if it even needed to be done at all, as Femgineer came into development.
Now that I have voiced two of ChemicalAlia's four female class models for tf2, I don't think it wise to take up a third, considering I have also done a pack for the female scout model by AyesDyef, my own independent project.
The short story is I've not closed my mind to the idea, but I don't think it's best for me to pursue any more packs. I doubt if even the majority of the community who uses the packs would want that. Though it seems there are many mix sentiments about this:
Top comments
But whether good or bad, one thing is for sure:
There was one option I was mulling over, one to be explored in the maybe-distant future:
Female Engineer and Spy's soundpacks were done in collaboration with the model creator, ChemicalAlia. We agreed to create and ship the two together when the project was released to the community. In other words, I worked together with ChemicalAlia (and you all) to develop what most everyone involved felt was the best voice for the character.
Female Scout, on the other hand, was an independent project I chose to undertake on my own - that is to say with no input or permission needed from the model creator AyesDyef (not independent of people like MaxofS2D, MrDude, and IanSuffix). This soundpack was NOT shipped with the original model and the model appearance was in no way affected by my choices or vice versa (though I did keep the youthfulness of her appearance in mind). Also, I made minimal changes with use of community feedback in order to speed up the release.
If there were people who wanted it bad enough and I had the time and will, I could do another "independent" soundpack as with Female Scout - something not intended specifically for any one particular model. But that will depend on the public demand for such a thing from the same voice over talent who did three female classes already. Some people don't want to use all female models and will have no problem with this, but for others the novelty will come in having an entire team comprised of females. I respect that and, frankly, am part of the latter group.
My opinion is that regardless of what soundpack is shipped with whatever female model might be out there, anyone who wants to assume the task of creating an original soundpack should do so and with gusto. Don't throw away the idea simply because "there's already a" ____ model or soundpack. Community content is from the community, and the beauty of that lies in that there is a whole spectrum of different takes on the same idea.
I'm more than happy to assist others seeking to take on such a project. No doubt you'll be hearing more of my current voices in my silly shorts YouTube, as well as my idea of what some other female classes would sound like if I were portraying them. But no in-game stuff for a while. (Hey look! It's the short answer!)
That's all for now, space cadets. Sorry for the wall-o-text. I'll make it up to you one day.
So what's really weird is that I started planning this last year around this time. The scout's mom pack was so well received I figured - after having watched a few scenes from Disney's Tangled and falling desperately in love with Donna Murphy - that this parody would be fun to write and perform. Of course I could think of none other better suited to the task of playing Scout than my super talented co-worker on EBF2 and all around great guy Raikujo.
Then life, femscout, and femgineer happened. Leaving me with one month to write and record the song before Mother's Day 2012. The best laid plans, as they say...
At any rate, this was a blast and I hope to do at least on more parody relatively soon.
Sometime in the middle of March, I was approached by indie game developer Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games (the same people who brought you Gemini Rue) to do fill a little role in his newest game - Resonance.
A payinglittle role.
... Geeeeeeeehhh...!
It's been almost two months since it happened and I STILL can't get over it. My first PAID role. And it's in a GAME. I couldn't be more happy with the way this year started for me. Resonance is a beautifully crafted point-and-click adventure featuring a fully voiced cast of four playable characters and and a story that looks juicier than prime rib fresh off the bone. And achievements!
I play the mother of one of the four playable characters, Anna. There isn't much dialogue, so watch out for me and don't blink your ears. There are many more details to give beyond that. From what I've been able to see of the development it should be great fun.
I'm super grateful to Dave Gilbert, Devon Mack, and Kimlinh Tran for opening this door for me. And of course the same gratitude goes to all of you who support me, aid me, wish me well, and enjoy the work I do. A year ago this was a distant dream. I never believed it could be here at my feet in so short a time. Most especially my thanks goes to:
ChemicalAlia (Shaylyn Hamm)
MaxofS2D
Minifett
Raikujo
IanSuffix
MrDude20652
SourceMachinimaMaker(Dr.Hooves)
The fellows at Kritzkast (Agro, Tempest, Ruskeydoo, & Chronos)
and the love of my life, my fiance Shane (psychoshinobi17) for being relentless in their support. These special people chose to give me that little extra kick here or there that made pushed all my work into the next level. You're all phenomenal and no amount of blogging can attest to this.
In other news, promo icons! Neat, huh?
So what else... shoot. What else, what else...
There's a tumblr now. Which basically means no one will ever read this thing anymore. Aaand...
Oh! Mother's day is coming. I'd look out for something if I was you guys. I swear, I'm gonna be the next Kath Soucie if this keeps up: playing everyone's mom. ... and I'm GREATwith that! ^_^
Things are starting to cool down on the home front as far as my ill family member is concerned, but it's still a steaming semi-molten mess.
Toasty...
As I keep saying, I don't want to get into details, but some people have expressed genuine concern and this touches me greatly. So I'll just update on the basics:
1.) Said family member is doing well and is stable, but I am still in charge of their affairs that can't be handled from the confines of a hospital room (bills, business calls, their share of the rent, paper mail, etc.). As such I'm traveling an extra 2 hours after work, so time's super tight. Not to mention I loose all this sweet wi-fi access at work once my high up gets back from vay-cay.
All of these will be completed in due time, but I will try to stay as close to the order as when they were accepted as possible.
3.) I don't go above and beyond to record during/immediately
after the time I'm sorting this family member's affairs out with them.
In short, I'm not looking to burnout, so no worries there. Those who know me on Steam, I'll see you again one day... one day...
Neat, huh? I kinda want to do something special in honor of that, but I can barely get the stuff I have to do done. I have all these crazy stupid fillers in mind and another fun contest, but it's tough with all this Murphy's Law in my face.
That's more writing than I'm used to these days, so we'll do lunch about all this some time. Maybe grab some gelato.
I don't like to get into personal matters... wait, didn't I already write something like this? In theory I could go back and read the old posts. But many things are better left in theory. Like the Big Crunch theory where the universe is predicted to revert to its former state of milk chocolate and rice puffs.
...What was I talking about?
Oh. Right. Illness. Someone's been hit pretty hard with the bad luck stick in my family. Lots of things are falling back on me to organize now so I'm going to be even more scarce than I typically am. Stuff is still being worked on, most notably Femgineer (but everyone else who's waiting on my Glados contribution and some other tiny projects are getting wrapped up).
I'm a bit ashamed it's taken me this long, but I'll do my best to make things run smoothly.
Not like the Big Crunch. Those aren't smooth at all.
If Valve has taught me anything it's that you can take as long as you want to make something so long as you eventually make it and make it well. In retrospect this was a terrible lesson, and no amount of hats will ever rehabilitate me to function properly in society ever again.
NO LIP SYNC OR RELEASE VIDEO YET! The FULL release will be on my channel. This is just an early bird special for you blog and Twitter lurkers. Still works! Just no lip sync yet.
This link will be gone once the full release is made on
my YouTube channel, so be sure to go back there to pick up the fully lip synced version and to check out my sassy release video!
To all my supporters, critics, friends and family - thank you doesn't even do my heart justice. I won't get all Lifetime special on anyone, but for now I'll just humbly express my gratitude. For your patience and faith me and my work, I thank you. As often as I was discouraged, you were all just as often rooting for me. Making it impossible for me to give up on such a massive, trying project. You cheeky bastards.
If you thought you read the last of me, take this moment to feel ashamed. Now let's proceed to the future:
FEMGINEER:
- 300+ lines, much less than Femscout (roughly 40, 45 canned atm)
- More quiet/soft lines = more time to burn recording w/o waking people up
- New Yeti mic makes this one fly by
FEMSCOUT:
- Over 390 lines canned out of 418
- Retakes being done with the new Yeti mic, makes for quick edits
- I don't loathe this one as much anymore
I'm not into sharing my troubles with people I know in person, let alone the internet. But my mom's not doing so well. Seems her legs are going on her and rather fast. As such, mobility is becoming an issue to be dealt with and I'm the only family around. That plus this shiny new job has put serious strain on my free time.
Speaking of capitalism, one more way my job keeps me from keeping tabs on the tubes is it's lack there of at my desk. That's right. No internet. I hold up better under dental torture. So there's that.
Some of you who keep up with my assorted networks of sociability may notice a significant dip in my... being around... ness. Rest assured, by spring's end, this should be mostly rectified.
This is more writing than I'm used to these days, so I wish you all well and hope to be writing more frequently once I can sneaky my bulky laptop into the office.
And in the meantime, enjoy this footage of the auction! I only feel pain watching this, knowing that for a full hour before I couldn't get in touch with my server admin about the ninja TF2 update. The JOYOUS pain of CHARITY!
Now that I'm all mellowed out on ibuprofen, let's take a moment for charity!
Why would you give away your unusual?! It's so hard to get one!
While I know these are highly sought after by some, the rarity of this hat doesn't compel me to keep it. Especially since it's a hat for a class I rarely play. I considered trading it off for like a bunch of keys but that just seemed like a waste too. And I didn't like the idea of trading it to someone for their money - thought I know plenty of people do that.
Then I thought, you know what rhymes with rarity? Charity!
See? There's a reason for everything. ಠ_à²
Why only one item? Couldn't you raise more money with more stuff?
In retrospect it would have been nice to make the auction a little bigger and open to more items from other donators who were on board with the idea. I've already received a surprising number of requests to contribute their items for auction, which warms my heart greatly. But I felt that with the date already being so close to Christmas, and with me being so preoccupied at work and home, and with this being the first time I've ever organized something on this level for an internet fundraiser, I thought I'd take it slow at first so I didn't mess anything up. It's HIGHLY likely I'll accept people's contributions and make future auctions provided I can get server time and free time. It's even more likely this will become an annual thing if I get a positive outcome.
How long have you been giving to Child's Play?
I was on the executive board of my university's gamers/sci-fi club for my final two years of attendance and helped organized seasonal fundraisers to Child's Play as it was our charity of choice. It's so easy to do and I love kids so much that it was just a no brainer who to give this auction money to.
Why only ten bidders?
Easy to keep track of. I'm only one woman - though my fiance will be there to help, he's not much of a woman unfortunately.
This is great and all, but I didn't get into the bidders slot and still wanna give!
Wow, aren't you awesome! Well, Child's Play couldn't make it easier for people to donate.
You could also buy a child a toy on the CP wishlist on Amazon.com or Ebay.com.
Youcould even text a $5 donation from your phone! Seriously, check out their website and see what you can do. I'm sure you'll feel just as good as we all will.
I kinda wanna do something like this! How can I start my own fundraiser for Child's Play?
There's a whole packet filled with great info on how to start your own fundraiser, from large scale events to smaller internet-only ones like these. It should be under the "Donate" tab. Have fun and good luck!
I had several concerns when it came to testing Female Engineer's voice. Apparently from the feedback I received, many viewers wanted to here her even DEEPER to differentiate from Female Spy.
This perplexed me, until I stepped away from the first video for a few days and came back to it with fresh ears.
One of the other reoccurring suggestions was "less happy" or simply more subdued and serious. Whether it was my own excitement over starting a new big project or just something in the air that night, I came to realize that the first rendition was indeed too cheery and bright, as well as too fast.
I'm so happy people caught this. It does bring something to light however. I think now that I've taken time to assess my first approach, I can say that it may have been that bright tone that gives the voice a "higher" feel. However, when taken with a new approach and slowed down, I think I can obtain the desired affect. It's been difficult to find good Texan references for the time period. At first I was looking at Mary Martin as a potential source, more in tone and less in accent. But then I found myself wandering into Ma Kettle territory! At present it's just a scramble, but that's why I want community feedback.
There so much more I could write about but why make more clutter? We'll see how this goes and in the end, let's all have fun.
Well, here's my Halloween Update, nearly late though I may be.
Why a Femscout update on Halloween? Because it's fucking scary how much this soundpack irks me. >_<
Nevertheless, this frightful holiday has also given me an excuse to attempt a "Let's play..." of sorts. But this wont be a regular thing. Just for kicks. Fraps is apparently an unspeakable enormous monster. See? More Halloween tie ins!
I know I typically post here before I release to Youtube and for that I'm sorry. I've been so busy lately and exhausted lately I kinda had a brain fart. I've taken my brain Beano, so we should be back on track.
I had fun with these. I see the excitement as totally out of place and awkward given the character, which is hilarious to me. "Ooh, slap my hand! See?! Isn't that cool! It's fun! Oh my God, why has no one ever tried this before?!?!!" Like Princess Diana finding out she REALLY likes Cheetos.
I need time in my life again to work on some assorted gmods that need getting done. My heart is sad though that HeavyWeaponsGull has flown the coop. He was an awesome gmodder and brought me many giggles. Always had something nice to say about my work. I hope he returns some day.
Work's been good to me. I'm making more now than I expected to, but much of that delicious wampum has to go to student loans and my future wedding fund.
Oh. That's right. He liked it so he put a ring on it. ;)
But enough on old news. New news is the best news. Otherwise it's not news. It's olds. And that's stupid.
So more filler to come, then another Femgineer test soon. Femscout still wears a helmet to dinner so give her time.
Finally, after several weeks in development, I present to you your requested Glados lines as preformed by me and edited in Melodyne by Dr. Hooves!
Well, not ALL your requested lines. They were all equally good. But some were just more equal that others. It's an Animal Farm thing. You know. Four feet good, two feet bad. You understand. I knew you would.
Female Engineer notes look great so far. If you can believe it, I'm waiting for even more feedback before I jump on that one. Female Scout, as always, is chugging along as the special child of my voice over endeavors. She wears her own special helmet and everything.
In more local news I've decided that come hell or high water, by hook or by crook, I'll be attending NYCC 2011. There business cards shall be distributed shamelessly and mingling so hard the center is sure to collapse in on itself. As a result of this, I may not come back alive. Undead maybe. In the event of my reanimation, I ask that you all remember me as I was - alive.
That's all for now. Perhaps one of these days I'll write about something entertaining.
Wow. Can anyone believe it's almost been a year since ChemicalAlia agreed to have me do the voice replacement for her Female Spy model and our crazy journey began? Seems like just the other day. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful that year has been and how grateful I am for so many supporters in that time. I strive to get better and to challenge myself, and if you are reading this you have had a hand in that yourself.
Is there anything I can say or do to possibly express that wealth of pure gratitude?
So the narration's up if you haven't found it yet. I meant to post it to the blog first, but preparation for work this morning got my wires all crossed.
I'm pretty content with it and hope you all were too. As I said, I want to keep things interesting and keep pumping out a mix of different projects.
In other news, ChemicalAlia has shared a concept sketch for her female Engineer. It's exciting news and it's getting a great deal of positive response. As for myself, I've thought about auditioning for this one, but the final say is with Alia and her preferences.
Female Scout is proving to be even more of a royal pain than she was the first round of recording sessions I tried last year. In truth I feel that someone can do a better job (or let's say more fitting job) than what I've been producing for her. This isn't insecurity; just personal preference.
There's a gal out there who'll pick up the character and wow us all, I know it. And when she turns up, I'll be using her soundpack!
But enough on gender bends. There's still Portal to think about and something of a melodic project I've been eyeing for a while.
And about that last poll! I'm taking it seriously and considering all those options. We'll see what ends up on the channel next. For now, take care and stay crunchy in milk.
