Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with spoken

Speak the speech trippingly. Or pitched low. Or with a mumble.

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:07:15 -0800

Is there a resource that lists and explains the various effects one can use to accessorized speech, such as altering pitch, speeding up, slowing down, etc.? As a director, I often have to help actors make vocal choices. My company regularly employs doubling -- that is using one actor to play multiple parts. So that the audience doesn't get confused, it's great if the actor makes each of his characters sound different.

Some actors are naturally gifted this way. Others need help.

Note: like most modern actors and directors, I take a psychological approach to character work. So I would never simply tell an actor something like "speak more quickly" or "raise your pitch." But once we've done the psychological work, it would be awesome to see an array of choices from which you could pick an appropriate set of effects.

The vocal instrument is flexible but not infinite. There are only so many things one can do while speaking: add gruffness/gravel, change the pitch, change the speed, change the degree of annunciation, try an accent, etc.

I would like a complete list. The perfect list would include effect, example (e.g. an actor who naturally talks with that effect, such as George C. Scott for gravel) and any hints/pitfalls to help create the effect without hurting your voice.

I have a bunch of Voice-For-The-Actor books, but none has the list I'm looking for. If such a list doesn't exist, maybe we could compile one together here.

Shameless music that'll grab our son and your daughter in the arms of a jungle, animal instinct - massteria!

TochterAusElysium — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:29:05 -0800

What's this kind of talking/singing music called, and what else is like it? I particularly like a kind of music that I can't really name, as it spans several genres, and I'd love to find more like it. Generally speaking, it's almost like proto-rap; more spoken or chanted than sung, usually with elaborate non-repeating lyrics. It's hard to describe (for me, at least).

Some examples include Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, I Do the Rock by Tim Curry, Modern Major General by Gilbert & Sullivan, I've Been Everywhere by Hank Snow, Trouble in River City from The Music Man, Come On-A My House by Rosemary Clooney (kind of), and so on.

Tell me a story.

smitt — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:12:31 -0800

I want to see more movies that feature a storyteller, similar to movies I've seen recently like "The Man From Earth" and "The Wild Blue Yonder"... Know of some? I love stories that feature a story being told, as if by one person to another (or to a group). I'm not looking for a movie with a faceless narrator, there are tons of those.

But if you've seen the movies I mentioned there, you have an idea of what I mean. I'm looking for movies that actively use the viewer's imagination to tell a vivid story.

Those are the only two examples I could easily come up with. I was racking my brain to think of other movies that featured someone telling a story as such a major portion of the movie, and couldn't come up with any others that really fit the bill.
(For example, The Princess Bride fits pretty closely, but not entirely).

What can you come up with?

Cheap Mic for Recording Spoken Word?

airguitar2 — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:17:47 -0800

I'm looking for suggestions for a cheap mic I can plug into my MacBook to record spoken word into GarageBand or Audacity. I'm new to podcasting and so don't want to shell out for a massive set-up right away. Can I spend under $30 and get a recording that'll sound okay as a podcast, or am I deluding myself? What mic would provide the best bang-for-buck?

(This question was asked on MeFi in 2005, but I imagine mics have changed!)

Thanks much.

Looking for music that is similar too Lazyboy and Baz Lurhman

Rolandkorn — Sat, 05 May 2007 13:43:14 -0800

Looking for similiar music recomendation so far i can only think of two songs in this type of genre which are LAZYBOY Underwear Goes Inside The Pants and Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen) Baz Lurhman. I know there is a few type of rap song that are in this genre that are spoken word stuff that is design to make you think set to a beat i am hoping other in the hive mind might be able to share a few recomendations.

Intelligent Podcasts

alby — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 01:54:06 -0800

Where can I find more podcasts like the TED talks? I'm on a spoken-word podcast kick at the moment and I'm consuming anything that has clever people talking about stuff.

I've watched everything from TED, and followed up anything else from the websites of the speakers at TED.

I don't mind if it's video - I've been watching BBC documentaries on Google Video in the background and most of the time you don't need the visuals.

Where can I find more intelligent speech? Clever people talking about clever things.

Setting up a spoken word studio environment with a Mac

whatevrnvrmind — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:49:39 -0800

I have the latest PowerBook G4 and would like to set something up in my home to record spoken word. I'm looking for recommendations on preamps, microphones and maybe software. From what I have read GarageBand can record vocals just fine. Does anyone have any experience they could share on that subject as well? Cost isn't really an issue, but I don't need anything super fancy or complicated.

Language in the 18th and 19th century.

stupidsexyFlanders — Sun, 18 Jan 2004 09:15:01 -0800

Did people really speak in such formal, flowery language in the 18th and 19th century? (more inside) For example, Benedict Arnold challeges someone to a duel in a recent TV movie thusly: "If your great umbrage would care to meet my high dudgeon at 12 paces, I would be happy to entertain you at dawn." Did people really talk this way, or is this just how they wrote, and we're extrapolating because we (obviously) have no recordings of casual, everyday conversation?