The script for Chapter 13 : The Fall is now released for casting/voicing.

And so begins the effort to begin getting more episode content “in the can” farther in-advance of actual release.

Chapter 13′s script is now live and ready for voicing!

Of course it goes without saying: HERE THAR BE SPOILERZ! (zomg)

Special note: The parts of Deana Sala and Kyr Ilnni are listed as “Open” because those parts have not been filled for Chapter 12 yet.  If you’re interested in taking on one of those characters in 13, it’s necessary to audition for 12 first, please! (see the CastAgent LiveView in the sidebar to view the script auto-highlighted for an open part) :)

You can view Chapter 13′s script through CastAgent, and as always you can follow the status of published upcoming chapters in the Coming Episodes section too.

Sneaky production is sneaky

“How sneaky is it,” you ask?  Sneaky enough that nothing updates or changes on the surface, even though tons of new content has actually been created behind the scenes.  That kind of sneaky.

Okay, I’ll quit beating around the proverbial bush now.  Basically, audio production is moving along behind the scenes, even though the main episode processing hasn’t yet started.

You see, Chapter 12 requires a lot of interesting new sounds that are intended to play directly off of one another, to invoke a sense of action and desperation that I’ve been actively straining to attain in previous episodes.  I’m not going to be dropping any spoilers, but the sounds I’m talking about require a more organic means of creation.  This means all the foley pans, buckles and other bits stay in the closet while I get myself accustomed to using my own vocal chords as sound sources instead.

It took a great deal of reading, and a not-insignificant amount of trial and error, but the process flow I was looking for slowly revealed itself, and the results are hair-raising, to say the least!

With that particular hurdle overcome, focus has moved to the production systems, and ensuring they’re ready for the melee to come, which will also include capturing the production process as source material for the next episode of BackStage Pass as well.

Stand by, the real fun is just beginning! :)

CastAgent interface updated

The automated audition system is proving to be more difficult to develop than I had thought, so while I’m busy bouncing off the proverbial brick walls of code, I made a small change to the CastAgent LiveView widget in the site’s sidebar.

Instead of being presented with a (non-functional) audition button in unassigned character parts, you will now see a link in an open or auditioning character’s bar, which will take you to the first occurrence of that character on the script page, with that character’s parts pre-highlighted for ease of reading.

If nothing else, it should make navigating the system a bit easier for new volunteers.  In the meantime, I’m still working on refining the rest of the system for the veterans as well.

Stay tuned! :)

NOTE: The code that targets a given character name in the script does not take into account vocal (non-speaking) sounds that the character might be making before their actual speaking part.  If you click-through to the script from the LiveView widget, be sure to scroll up a few lines to make sure actions for the character aren’t presented above the first speaking line.

EDIT: Clicking through the LiveView widget will take you to the script with that character’s parts highlighted, and focused on the first instance of that character’s part, even if it occurs as an action instead of a speaking part.

BackStage Pass Out-take 01 is up

BSP Out-takes are (non-video) articles that offer more details on the production process.  They will post in order with BSP episodes, providing additional information and resources that relate to either the BSP episode just released, or the next one coming up.  They can be found in-line with the regular BackStage Pass Show releases on BSP’s show page.

Out-take 01 covers a general overview of the CotG production process, and the software involved.

The BackStage Pass show has returned!

BSP previously had a couple of episodes released, but they were inadvertently-lost during a drive crash and subsequent site migration.

Finally, I’ve been able to get that rolling again as well.

In this first episode, I will cover the basics of what I’m using in the studio for audio production, and why.

Future episodes will be more in-depth regarding the production process itself, so if you were looking for some kind of walk-through on the process, don’t despair: that’s coming up very soon! :)