I'm sure we've all heard the radio play on today's Quackcast, but if you haven't… http://www.drunkduck.com/quackcast/episode-43-maxwell-mcduff-private-eye/

So? What did you think? I think I speak for everyone on the project when I say we'd all like some feedback. I know ayesinback sure does!

It was better than I expected, not that i expected it to be bad but it came together very well considering the way it was put together.

well i might be biased but i loved it and i loved being a part of it. it was a major activity that really gave people something to do and have while the duck was stumbling around. hopefully enough people will be interested enough to do another one next year!

It was wonderful and hillarious!!!!!!
WOW Nicky P, your voice is amazing. Why aren't you a pro voice actor?

I fell off my chair laughing. The talent was extraordinary and Ayes' editing was excellent.

Now when do we start on 2012's?

EDIT: Gah, I can't figure out quotes right now. But this is in response to OZ.

(long post warning) Honestly? I never acted on it (lolpun). It's been something I've wanted to do almost all my life, something I've seriously thought of doing, but never actually took steps to do it… but I guess I wassomething of a performer for most of my life.I was in a lot of plays in the later part of my childhood. In my early teens I was in a chorus that performed in all kinds of venues, including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. And now, aside from showing up in my film-maker friends' videos, I'm studying law and participating in debate competitions and mock trials.

So yeah, I like to hear myself talk, I guess :P But it's nice to be reassured about doing my “what-if” job. I've had people tell me I should be on radio, TV commercials, and even stand-up. But of course, I was also told by judges and other lawyers that I was born to be a trial advocate, soo..

I wouldn't say I'm amazing, though. I have to give props to Snevilly, pieguy and gene hole; I personally think they did a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life. We complimented eachother rather well.I tried to play my role withlittle emotion and monotone, and they added that burst of flavor needed to make it all work. So I give a highfive and a fist bump to the three of them especially.

But if you really do like my voice, then (shameless plug in 3, 2, 1..) you could always check out my video comics on Youtube. I basically take one of my comics and act them out, usually with a friend. I'm always looking for more to do, so if you or anyone else wants to volunteer your talent and do one with me, let me know! Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXVbTpcPWy4

Well done.
It reminded me a little of the Firesign Theatre's Nick Danger stuff.

*this is an entirely refurbished post*

one thought – I'd like to figure out how to incorporate EVERYBODY who sends in a recording – maybe some kind of Greek chorus.

and/or, if we have musicians, instead of sending in a voice recording it could be a recording of their original tune/s?

ayesinback wrote:
*this is an entirely refurbished post*

one thought – I'd like to figure out how to incorporate EVERYBODY who sends in a recording – maybe some kind of Greek chorus.

and/or, if we have musicians, instead of sending in a voice recording it could be a recording of their original tune/s?

How about background noise? You know how in movies or TV shows there's usually a brief pause of like, “mass talking?” Like what sounds likea large group of individuals talking all at once, yet you can't understand any of them? Sort of when you go into a big stadium. Like that.

… OR if we do make a musical, they can be part of the chorus. Almost every showtune has background singers.

I liked it, I just think the next one needs to have songs.

I think I'm gonna start making that one right now.

Kroatz wrote:
I liked it, I just think the next one needs to have songs.

I think I'm gonna start making that one right now.

D'you plan on writing your own music, or just writing lyrics for existing songs?

I have a question for everyone, getting back to the most basic of basics, and that is:

When is the prime time of year for most people to have that bit of extra time to participate?

The first contest started off in October and ran into difficulties with all of the holidays coming up. The second one started up in April when I think a lot of people were prepping for finals, etc. And then on the heels of finals, there were a number of vacation plans.

Do people have a preference? If so, please make it known, or it will just be arbitrary Czarina-choice again.

Thanks

Well your imperial highness, if indeed you will be leading us once more maybe it should be at your convienence.

Whatever time of year there will always be those who will have an excuse not to get involved because their schedule will not allow it. That is a fact of life. It's hard to schedule anything to suit everybody. Face it, there's never a good time as far as everyone's schedule goes.

School schedules are no more universal than work schedules. I work overnights at a job where I can draw and work on my laptop to pass the time. I also know how to squirrel away an hour or two a day to do specificprojects if need be. But then I don't have cable TVand eschew all video games so I do have that time.

But I'm still working on wasting time on the internet.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I know it took me about 3-4 hours total to record all of the 70+ recordings I did for Maxwell (I had multiple takes that I liked equally).

At least on the voice recording end, it shouldn't be something that a few minutes a day couldn't handle.Of course not everyone has a straight 3 hours of spare time, but if you set aside 20 minutes a day you can have your lines done in a week.

None of that matters right now though, because we still need a script.

I listened to it yesterday and it is a great effort! I think it should be done again, it could be a staple of the DD community and source of great fun. :)
EDIT: if you ever need help with a script, drop a PQ my way, I'll be really happy to help :D

Yeah, Im going to write lyrics and Ill try to make the music as well.

I think that something as cool as a radioplay could be created over a time of about six months, start one up in January, have it finished in June, start the next one in July, have that one finished by December. We then have about half a year every timeto write new scripts, perfect the accompanying comic, promote it, even off this site, and stuff it full with awesome. This would also make sure that it becomes a tradition here on DD.

Right? I'd love to hear some opposing opinions.

I had heard snippets of it before. I thought it was well put together and were able to spot few people with recognizable voices/accents. Was kinda surprised about that reveal, prior to the play, though. Didn't expect it to be so gossipy :/

I don't have a single complaint. Everyone was exactly how I imagined them in my head. MAD props to NickyP – You NAILED it!

I'm definitely going to write another script, I just can't decide if I should return to the Maxwell McDuff character or if I should write an entirely new script with a new premise.

Perhaps I will write both! :D

Edit:

On a side note, I was really nervous about people thinking the whole project was too corny. My kids were going to be listening to this and I had to make it family friendly. I am glad that the “goofy humor” in the script was executed by the actors SO WELL that it was entertaining enough for an adult to listen to.

And it's probably been said elsewhere, but way to go Ayes! Amazing editing! It was amazing for a first try.

All around, excellent. SO glad I can finally log on and listen to it.

Welcome back Alley! Everyone would LOVE a sequal!
-And we need Nicky P in the main part again :)

my 2 cents (again):
ALL Are Welcome!! Challenge the script!! Challenge the lead!! Challenge the Czarina (if you think you can).

I'm totally psyched to run a 2012 version (in 2012), but I have to tell you – the comments about “great for a first try” –which I truly take as compliments (so thank you!) – also rather confirm my belief that my amateur-level editing capabilities could be replaced by some DDers who have more experience with sound editing.

So if there's someone out there who'd like to step up for the mash-up / sound-editing portion, don't be shy :-)

Or I could do it again - but I'm not confident that the next play would sound much smoother.

To stimulate script contributiona why not give it a title like Maxwell McDuff and the End of the World, Maxwell McDuff and the Mystery of the Mayan Calendaror The Case of the Achovies and the Bowling Ball, or Maxwell McDuff and the Case of the waterfowl empress or Max McDuff in the the Duck Tiara caper.

Just having it totally open leaves a lot of us scratching our heads. But a title plants a seed that will germinate into a marvelous work of comedic genius. I could not write a script as I haven't the talent and certainly not the time to write anything beyond a 30 second spot.

I agree with you bravo!

My best guess is that I'll propose 2 or 3 titles and 2 or 3 settings in January. If people want to post about other thoughts / ideas in the mean time, that's great.

But I'm feeling rather fastidious about keeping the actual workings of the 2012 version in the calendar pages of 2012.

I also like bravo's idea; lets decide on 3-5 titles, then let people cook up the scripts based off them. It adds some kind of structure, and really lets the imaginations of the script writers shine. I mean think about, what kind of story WOULD “Maxwell McDuff and the Case of the Waterfowl Empress” be like?

Of course I'll do Maxwell again! It's pretty cool to hear from the script author herself that I fit the main character so well. So yeah, count me in to reprise the role. Though I also wouldn't mind having tryouts again for the character. To be fair, I was fairly unknown here until the Radio Play, so I think it's only fair to give someone else a similiar opportunity. Who knows, maybe there's another user here with a cooler voice than mine? :)

I haven't posted since the site change over and I can't figure out why it won't keep spaces in between my text, so I apologize if this is one giant block of text, or some other crazy format, when you read it.



Yay, I finally got to listen to it this morning! I just wanted to tell everyone how much I enjoyed it. There really was some amazing voice talent, I felt so floored when I heared it all together. It was entertaining and fun. NickyP, pieguy, and gene hole stole the show and Ayes did an amazing job with the sound. Fantastic, fantastic music. I really thought the comercials were a nice touch. I checked the comic out as well and it looks great, a lot of the pages have so much personality. I think everything worked together very nicely. :) It was a lot of fun to participate in and I would definitily like to give it another go in the future.

As for non-gushy feedback….




The timeing is something that was unfortunate with the site change over, but assuming that isn't going to happen again any time soon, it should be fine. Holidays are obviously hectic, but with enough advance notice and plenty of time to complete work most things can be worked around, right? (I admit to cutting it close, poor Ayes had to wait on me forever. Silly me, moving to another state randomly.) Oh, were there ever concrete deadlines? If there was, I wasn't aware of them and as a tried and true procrasinator/perfectionist that made it easy to…you know…not do what I was suppoed to be doing.


It there a better way to send recordings than individually uploading them into e-mail? I like that each line is a seperate file, but boy its it a pain in the tushy waiting on my lap top to put-put along.


Also, I would like to get a copy of just the radio play. Not that I didn't find the interview with Ayes to be entertaining, because it was awesome, but now everyone I know wants to listen as well. They all have the attention span of squirrels and aren't going to sit through the whole hour and a half podcast. Is there a way to make that happen?


Oh yeah! Ayes, you did such a good job picking out theme music for each character. Next time, you should definitily post links to that if you can. :) I can't think of a better way to get into character than listening to your theme music. As I was listening to Betty's, I was like, Oh yeah, I should have gone more sultry.


Hmmm, it seems most of my critiques revolve around my own issues, lol. My other notes to self were: Get a better mic, Vodka does wonders for confidence, and next time put more effort into my donated art. I was so pleased at the time, but I defintily felt slobish when I saw how fantasticly everyone else had done, lol.

Did anyone else have to finagle their substandard equipment to make it work? (I have a pretty hilarious story involving an unaired Kareoke clip, broken speakers and my cell phone if you're into schadenfreude.)
*
Well, that's all I've got for now. I can't wait to start again. :D Once again, everyone did a fantastic job! NickyP, if you're really interested in voice acting I think you're going to be great!
*
…..So when's the afterparty?

Clearly there would be a fox/dear/cat eared woman in The Waterfowl Empress….or else it wouldn't make sense.

Snevilly gave me an idea. If the script were funny enough, we could do a mini-play about the radio play afterparty. The 2011 actors/resseswouldvoice themselves, and once the alcohol starts flowing there'd be all kinds of hijynx. 'Could be fun.

I like the idea of a bird themed title! Hmmm….what about:

Maxwell McDuff in A Murder Most Fowl

Maxwell McDuff in The Deadly Duck

Maxwell McDuff in The Early Bird Gets The Gun

Maxwell McDuff in Birds of a Feather

Maxwell McDuff in Nice Cage, No Bird

NickyP wrote:
Snevilly gave me an idea. If the script were funny enough, we could do a mini-play about the radio play afterparty. The 2011 actors/resseswouldvoice themselves, and once the alcohol starts flowing there'd be all kinds of hijynx. 'Could be fun.

:3 That sounds like tons of fun. Would we use our “character's” voices or our own? Man, someone is definitely going to spike the punch. The chaperones will have their hands full. I can just imagine the ensuing prank war.

ayesinback wrote:
– the comments about “great for a first try” –which I truly take as compliments (so thank you!) – also rather confirm my belief that my amateur-level editing capabilities could be replaced by some DDers who have more experience with sound editing.

I think it was great all around! You did a marvelous job. When I made the comment that it was “great for a first time” I didn't mean “it was awesome, but also obvious that you were an ameteur”. What I was really trying to say was "this is so well done that I can't reallybelieve it was your first time doing this"!

Snevilly wrote:

NickyP wrote:
Snevilly gave me an idea. If the script were funny enough, we could do a mini-play about the radio play afterparty. The 2011 actors/resseswouldvoice themselves, and once the alcohol starts flowing there'd be all kinds of hijynx. 'Could be fun.

:3 That sounds like tons of fun. Would we use our “character's” voices or our own? Man, someone is definitely going to spike the punch. The chaperones will have their hands full. I can just imagine the ensuing prank war.

I would think we'd be ourselves, unless for joke purposes we switch. Like, maybe someones purse can go missing, and I could say something like, “looks a job for -changes voice- Maxwell McDuff, private eye.” It could be pretty funny, we just need a script and some time to record/edit. I might have drafted a script if I didn't have a debate competition coming up in three days, and then a mock trial two weeks after that!

Also, I like “The Early Bird Gets The Gun.”Sounds like a nice mix of goofy and serious.