Cerebral Lounge’s Post

Today, we take closed captioning for granted, but it was a long journey to get to where we are today.  Let’s take a step back in time to see where it all started. Read more below 🤓💡

I have been learning more about 'Upstreaming' in recent months, especially as our organisation has been facilitating Planet Youth in Scotland. The concept fits so neatly into what we are trying to do to help improve the lives of young people across the country from the get-go. Sticking plasters only offer a temporary solution! I'd explain what it is, but I think this animated video does a rather wonderful job of it, by using Dan Heath's book as the inspiration. https://lnkd.in/d9ucz-je #upstreamthinking #upstream #improvingqualityoflife #improvingoutcomes

Squeaky clean stamper! 🚿 Note: No actual squeaks are audible. 😉 #CleanStamper #VinylPressing #RecordMaking #BehindTheScenes #VinylRecords #StamperCare #VinylCommunity #RecordPressing #VinylMagic

Interesting listening to John Cleese on the radio this week, explaining that it took 6 weeks of #creative effort to produce the script for a single episode of #FawltyTowers. Makes me think about the rare instances of 30-day sprints we see in #softwaredevelopment today. Shorter sprints have now become the norm, but has some of that extra time for creativity and rework been taken away in place of pushing out more features in a shorter timeframe? What do you think? https://lnkd.in/dq3DwFj5

I had an amazing opportunity to speak on one of the topics very close to my heart with Clement Manyathela on Family Matters today. Here is the link below if you would like to have a listen. This is such a relevant, meaningful and loaded topic!!! https://lnkd.in/dB9V2yTG

I've just finished recording 52 episodes as a roaring troll father for The Crunchers (with thanks to the tireless Paul James at Wafer Audio) and wanted to share a bit about my experience with ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement) because I have a feeling that it can often be seen as original recording's poor cousin. To illustrate it here's one of my favourite sequences from Peter Rabbit, in which I voiced Jeremy Fisher (as well as Tolly Tortoise, Jack Sharp, and Ginger and Pickles). The animation had already been completed using the original American voiceover. The tricky task I had was to create a character and performance which fit exactly to the existing lip synch, along with non-verbal sounds like grunts, impacts, panting, effort, wheezing, sneezing, screaming and the all-purpose "huh?" ADR is very technically demanding (after watching once or twice to familiarise yourself, you read your line while keeping one eye on the character's movements, the other eye on the script, and your brain on the original's pace, tone and pauses). It's particularly difficult if the original recording is in another language - an oddly translated idiom can mean you need to squeeze a formidable phalanx of polysyllables... into a tight gap. It takes concentration, skill and flexibility! But it can also be a great gift. A voiceover artist giving an original performance for a show often has little in the way of visuals. You're very early in the production pipeline, often relying only on the script, what you remember of your performance in the audition, and the director's description. Sometimes there are designs, very rarely a storyboard or animatic. With fully completed animation you can see the relationships between the characters and their environments, and witness the actual timing of physical actions. Animation is perhaps the most collaborative medium, at every stage phenomenally hard-working and talented people add things that surprise and delight. You can miss something on the written page which leaps out at you in the finished version. The timing of physical comedy, beautifully designed and rendered characters, props and locations, unusual sound effects, even an unexpected pause can alter a scene entirely. With ADR I'm getting to watch the results of countless hours of painstaking work, and tailor my performance even more closely to the visuals. After an ADR session I'm buzzing, but in a completely different way from a normal voice session, where I sometimes (ok, always) find myself on the way home ruminating on my performance, wondering if I could have dialled up the performance another notch, if my accent was quite right, if I squeezed enough out of the scene. With ADR you see it all slot into place piece-by-piece. Like magic.

And here is yet another fabulous guest on my podcast! In this episode I chat with prolific television producer Jon Eskenas, whose development and on set expertise has been credited to several Hallmark and Lifetime movies and series. Having enjoyed professional interaction and a peer to peer friendship for 15 years, together we celebrate the power of Christmas and romance films, and let Jonathan's wisdom guide us in the process from script to screen. Get some valuable insights on: The mysterious alchemy that binds the genres of horror and romance, and how the essence of character dynamics can elicit strong viewer investment. The Hallmark formula and the craft of character evolution. Behind the curtain of script development and the meticulous orchestration involved in television production. The allure of a unique log line and the initial magic of character introductions, revealing the intricate dance between writer, producer, and network. The unpredictable tides of filmmaking, where empathy and the art of living in the present emerge as our guiding stars.

If you're a #steam advocate who loves promoting the idea that artists and scientists can work together in harmony for good, then check out this video of books at Barnes and Noble that I found after I saw the latest "Bob Marley" film, which is good, albeit it skipped most of Marley's life. #steambooks #artandtechnology #techbooks #artmatters #booklovers

Feeling the pressure of long hours and high demands in production? 🌟 You’re not alone. Join me, Ruby Valls, in the latest episode of Beyond Deadlines, where I have an inspiring chat with Brian Grady 🎙️ We delve into the art of balancing professional demands with personal well-being. Brian shares his journey of maintaining a thriving career while staying true to his passions outside of work. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that could help you find your own balance. 🎧✨ #Podcast #BeyondDeadlines #WorkLifeBalance #ProducerLife #MentalHealth Discover his strategies and insights by tuning in here:

In this third part of our Heroic Journey Blog Series, we're unraveling the Heroic Journey as a character arc and how it sets the stage for dynamic and engaging characters that resonate with viewers! Learn all about it here > https://buff.ly/4cn4GIX