Our podcast is back to dropping weekly episodes every Friday!
Glad to finally share these, just click on the logo above for the first episode in a long time.
What's Up - MQBD is back!
in What's up
Voiceover
What's Up - 10 Videos of Creature Comforts Resort!!!
in What's up
I’m proud to say I’ve still got some of these animations in the works, and that I’ve put out 10 episodes now!
The excessive talent in my guests here is the real highlight, and this whole thing has lent me a reason to be back in touch with people that I’ve missed since we’ve been socially distancing.
I’m looking forward to doing more, and learning more from the program I’m using. It’s only getting easier to navigate, so let’s hope that shows!
Check out the series on Youtube HERE
Or on Instagram @creature_comforts_resort
What's Up - High Sierra Spot
in What's up
Did a lil spot for High Sierra Music Festival. Quick turnaround! Looks like an amazing lineup!
Source: http://highsierramusic.com/
Me, Mary B Jan, Chris Illing, Donal Skehan, Sebastian Zillner, Ryan White
What's Up - Paneling at Studio SIXTY 25
in What's up
This is me experiencing a little bit of impostor syndrome, which, I imagine is an experience many first time panelists have gone through.
These are my questions to myself:
What do I have to offer to the world of content creation?
How am I sitting at the same table as a prolific, hilarious comedian?
And a professional YouTube cook?
And a professional musician who has built this amazing studio?
And that representative from a quality mic company?
To ignore these self doubts I focused on the questions posed and tried to add in any new insight if my fellow panelists had covered my sentiments thoroughly. My wife has done a panel before and said this is just how it goes - you hope that someone hasn’t already said what you’re going to say.
That happened plenty, yet I still managed to say something slightly different here and there, and that might be of value to someone looking to make things. To be clear, I have nowhere near the metrics of my fellow panelists.
But one question that I thought was interesting was essentially - how has your content creation changed?
How have I adapted? I honestly don’t think I have very well yet. My answer was that I am thinking of shorter form content. Which is why you’ve seen a couple of animations on my page recently. I’m looking to make more of those. They’re fairly easy to make happen, and I can make them all on my own.
So look forward to that! If you have any ideas for me for animations, I’m game.
Press - The Cake (Barrington Stage)
in Press
The Cake is traveling, and my voice travels with it to certain productions.
Here's a favorable review (meaning they mention me!) from Berkshire Edge about my voice in the Barrington Stage Co.'s production of this delicious thing -
My favorite part is when they describe me as 'already well known'.
If you're checking out this page, you probably already know me, so I guess that's true?
© Darrett Sanders
Press - The Cake (LA Times Critic's Choice)
in Press
We've had quite a few reviewers in to see The Cake. Most have been raves, with a small number taking exception to parts here and there.
Probably my favorite review mentioning me says I'm "Also fine...".
It's like 'He was there', or 'he didn't mess up!' But hey, this was the review that was mixed, so I'll take it as a win.
The Cake is a LA Times Critic's Choice and Ovation Recommended.
Check em out -
Press - Water Bear
in Press
Check it out!
I'm stoked that this thing is being received well. It's a really fun project to work on, and very excited for the new talent throwing down in this weird ocean.
WATER BEAR IS THE WORLD'S FIRST ANIMATED 360 DEGREE COMEDY
Hilariously weird is a good title for the memoir that I'll never write.
Now Playing - Water Bear VR Animation
in Now Playing
Behold, the first virtual reality comedy animation series!
Featuring the voice talent of Kate Berlant, Lucas Kavner, Amanda Lund, Rob Huebel, and myself!
It started out with four of us in a musician friend's workspace to record one episode, the two actors huddled underneath a blanket with a microphone, and most recently has grown to a full cast recording in a studio.
The shares on this thing are fun to watch blossom, and people are loving this strange fish out of water story.
Many thanks to Alex Paplinger and Michael Ashton for having me on to record three of these extremely fun episodes.
Wrapped - Water Bear VR VO
in Wrapped
Studio goals - three separate recording rooms, an abundance of microphones, music stands, and a bomb mixing room. After building my own tiny box for recording, I'm only more impressed with the mastery required to put together something like this.
Octopus is coming back at you in this immersive animated series, which is soon to hit virtual reality screens errywhere. Stoked to have been with this project from the beginning and see it evolve. The other cast is insanely talented. Their names rhyme with Bate Kerlant, Lamanda Mund, and Hob Ruebel. As always the writing is a boatload of fun. It's all being produced by a savvy group of guys, who are jumping head first into the ocean of possibility that is VR.
Wrapped - VR VO
in Wrapped
Lookit! Last month/year I voiced a cartoon octopus for a virtual reality scene. If you haven't tried VR yet, bug your friend who has one to give it a whirl. It's pretty crazy how entertaining it is. I can't wait to share this one once it's up.
Happy New Year!
What's Up - Vocal Isolation Booth Build
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The many stages of vocal booth creation.
As a novice builder, I found this gentleman's tutorial videos extremely helpful.
Last year I ran into a consistently annoying problem. How do I record a VO audition/audiobook/podcast if I have to stop recording and wait for the sound of a passing plane, large truck, motorcycle, church bell, school bell, water pipes, computer fan, or friendly cricket?
Solution - build a small room where no sound can enter or leave. Having never really built anything, I decided to do some research and planning to make sure that if I'm spending a good amount of money, I do it right. I scoured the internet for pictures, videos, and forum threads that dealt with the various stages of building this giant recording box.
If you're at all thinking of this I recommend these forums to get a sense of the work ahead of you/plethora of problems that will arise:
www.gearslutz.com
www.soundonsound.com
www.homerecording.com
There are a few senior forum members that everyone listens to. Rod Gervais is one of those members who not only offers advice frequently, but also has a book about this very thing. If only I had bought it at the beginning of my planning and design, it would have saved me time. Many people echo this sentiment on the forums.
The planning took me the better part of January and February. The building took me most of my free time in March and part of April.
Home Depot and Baller Hardware sold me most of the building materials, the other stuff (like fans, window glass) I got online.
Now, for the most part, it's done. There are still a few tweaks that need to be made, but when a helicopter passes overhead or a leaf-blower passes next door, I don't hear it, so I can focus on my performance.
It wasn't possible without Rod Gervais' book and the help of many friends - Matthew Watterson for his viking strength and know how (and drill), Brian Nichols for his carpentry expertise, David Graziano for his sage advice and the loan of woodworking tools, and my fiance for many hearty home cooked meals.
What you're looking at is this - A ventilated room with a double pane tempered/laminated 1/2'' glass window. The walls are built with staggered studs for decoupling, a 1/2'' ply outer sheath, 3'' Roxul Safe N Sound Insulation, with two layers of 5/8'' drywall on the inner wall that are separated by a layer of Green Glue. The floor is plywood on a concrete slab, with Flor carpet tiles on top (I plan to add a rubber underlay later when budget allows). The ceiling is built much like the walls, except that I used chicken wire to secure the insulation.
For room treatments I built a panel resonator into the corner, and attached acoustic foam to most of the corners and wall. I'll probably continue to tweak this as I find what sounds best for recording.
I built a small shelf on the panel resonator to attach my scissor arm mic stand, and a fold out table for the podcast mic. The booth comfortably seats two people, and stays cool even with temperatures of 80-90 degrees outside.
The Escape Pod is now open for business.
The finished product (for now). Behold y'all - The Escape Pod.