Alright, since postponing the deadline and posting will make my life easier and most people seem in favor of doing so (or at least not against it), I'm going to go for it.

The deadline for submissions is now Monday, June 4th and posting will begin Monday, June 11th. Anyone who gets their projects in by the initial May 25th deadline will get bonus awesome points and my eternal gratitude, since it'll allow me to spread out the workload better over a longer period of time.

I will warn that I'll probably be stricter about extensions past the June 4th deadline, since I'm giving everyone an extra 10 days. Please try your hardest to get things in so we can all bask in the glory of a gazillion long, satisfying podfics. :)

I've been getting a lot of requests for extensions, so I'm seriously considering simply pushing back the submission deadline to Monday, June 4th and starting our posting schedule on Munday, June 11th. Would this be helpful to you guys? I think a little extra time would relieve some of my own stress with getting everything organized (there's more going on behind the scenes right now than you know, lol). Cast your vote and let me know your thoughts.

Poll #1842053
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 37

Should we push back the submission deadline and posting?

seussian has finished the podfic for All the Comforts of Home, a due South fic. If anyone is able to provide last minute art for it, you can claim it here. It's wasn't on the claims list before for various reasons, so if you can't remember seeing it, that's why.

Guys, this is just a quick note to let you all know that I'm alive! I've been dealing with some real life stuff (nothing bad, just time consuming), so I've been a bad mod and haven't been giving this community the attention it deserves, especially now that we're nearing the deadline. I'm probably going to be mostly incommunicado until next Friday or so, I swear next weekend will be devoted entirely to answering questions, uploading submissions, finding out if we need pinch-hits for art, and making some final decisions regarding how the posting process will go.

Please continue getting me your submissions. Remember that zip and rar files are fine if they're easier for you! No need to upload a dozen individual files if you don't want to.

Also: if you signed up as an artist, PLEASE send me a copy of your cover art. Don't just say it's embedded in the mp3. There's still a small chance that I might be able to have the web site updated and ready in time for posting to begin, so having art to add to the site template would be helpful. I think a few people have done original music compositions rather than cover art (which is really exciting--I love variety!), so if you want me to upload those and add a streaming link to the site template, I need your submission. If you've done vocal contributions to someone else's podfic or helped find good fx, I probably won't need any actual files, but if you have notes you want on the site when the projects go live, you'll want to submit those.

If you run into a crisis situation over the next week, go ahead and PM me. I'll TRY to check my messages regularly.

Remember: Projects are due by May 25th.

Check-In

All projects are due May 25th. That said, how is everyone feeling about their project(s)? Are you sure you'll finish in time? Let us know!

Poll on Posting

As many of you are aware, posting will proceed a little differently this year. There are too many participants for me to manage to update the web site and post all the podfics in time. Instead, I ask that you all submit your work. I will upload all content to the site and send you links that you are encouraged to use when you post. One member of your podficcer + artist team will need to post the masterpost for the project (template pending) when the time comes.

This leads me to the poll. Please vote to let me know whether you prefer that posting proceed according to an assigned schedule or whether we should simply open the community to posts for a 1-2 week period. There are pros and cons to each option.

( Poll behind the cut. )

The community is now accepting podfic submissions. Please reply to this post with the following information:

<b>Your DW/LJ Username(s):</b> <b>Your Email:</b> <b>Story Title:</b> <b>Story URL:</b> <b>Podfic Download URL(s):</b> <b>If you're submitting a podbook (m4b), who compiled it?:</b> <b>Beta Listener's Username (if any):</b> <b>Artist's Username (if any):</b> <b>Briefly Describe the Artist's Contribution:</b> <b>Other Contributor's Username and Description of Contribution (if any):</b> <b>Reader's Notes (if any):</b> <b>Credits (if any):</b>

Guidelines:

• If you have both a DW and LJ account, please specify which you would prefer the web site link to when your project is uploaded. If you don't have a DW/LJ account, just make sure I have your preferred pseud.
• The Podfic Download URL should include a link to the mp3 version of your work; you are also welcome to submit an m4b version. If you do not submit an m4b version, we will compile one for you.
• Not all artists are providing the same sort of contribution, so please be sure to tell me if they are providing Covers/FX/Additional Voice Talent/anything else.
• If anyone other than the artist who claimed you has contributed to your project, please give the username and indicate what was contributed. An example might be if you are given permission from an artist to use pre-existing art for the cover.
• If you're waiting on cover art, there is no need for that. If the cover isn't already embedded, I'll embed it myself once the artist submits it.
• I'm obsessed with metadata and I tend to like standardizing it on my desktop. I use an MP3 tag writer to add all my metadata, but my scheme can pretty much be summarized with screencaptures of the iTunes file Info tab and Video tab. If you don't want me to standardize your metadata for the bang before I upload it, just let me know. I'll try to restrain my librarian impulses.

Posting

At this point, I find it unlikely that I'll have the time to have the web site updated and ready to launch in time for Round 2 (it'll probably be a summer project), so podficcers will likely be asked to post their own projects to the community during the posting period. More information on this soon!

I will begin emailing out the Direct Download links to your projects shortly before posting begins.

Remember: Projects Are Due May 25

The community is now accepting art submissions. Please reply to this post with the following information:

<b>Your DW/LJ Username(s):</b> <b>Your Email:</b> <b>Project Title:</b> <b>Podficcer's Username:</b> <b>Art Download URL(s):</b> <b>Brief Description of the Sort of Art You've Provided:</b> <b>Artist's Notes (if any):</b> <b>Credits (if any):</b>

Guidelines:

• If you have both a DW and LJ account, please specify which you would prefer the web site link to when your project is uploaded. If you don't have a DW/LJ account, just make sure I have your preferred pseud.
• If you are submitting graphics, you may embed them directly in the comment, rather than just linking to them. Vids, original musical compositions, etc. should just have a link.
• If your art is something that will exist only in the podfic itself (e.g. additional voice talent, sound enhancements), just say so.
• Not all artists are providing the same sort of contribution, so please tell me what you've done. For example: Covers/FX/Additional Voice Talent/Vids/anything else.

Posting

At this point, I find it unlikely that I'll have the time to have the web site updated and ready to launch in time for Round 2 (it'll probably be a summer project), so podficcers will likely be asked to post projects to the community during the posting period on their own. Art will be included in those posts. More information on this soon!

I will begin emailing out the links to your projects shortly before posting begins. Even if I'm unable to update the entire web site in time for posting, I may be able to put together some artist galleries. We'll see how it goes!

Remember: Projects Are Due May 25

If anyone needs to drop out for whatever reason, please respond to this post with a link to your associated project thread on the claims post, so I can do my admin thing. If you are matched up with a podficcer/artist, please let that person know that you are dropping out as well.

Artists: If the podficcer you have been working with drops out, you are still welcome to submit something for the project you signed up for, though you are not required to do so. If you've made cover art, you might consider submitting a version without the podficcer's name and just let it be a generic cover for the fic itself (though you can keep the podficcer's name as you like--I leave it for you to decide).

Podficcers: If your artist drops out, poke me via PM and I'll make your project available for claiming again.

On an unrelated note, I've had a few questions about podficcers wanting to do art as well: if you want to create alternative variations of cover art or add FX or create vids or whatnot for your own project, you don't need to ask my permission or warn me that you'll be doing so. Though your artist (assuming you have one) will probably want to know that you've been inspired to create some additional art of your own.

This is our second check-in for Round 2! By now, most people who requested artists ought to have one, though there are still a few projects in rarer fandoms open for claiming. I apologize for not having time to update the list recently. Other projects and RL obligations have kept me pretty busy. I'm sure you've all been pretty busy too! I hope you've all had a chance to at least start thinking seriously about your projects. For this check-in, let's discuss the following:

• Podficcers
1. Have you started recording yet?
2. How far along have you progressed?
3. What part about your project are you enjoying the most? What part is giving you the most trouble?
• Artists
1. What project(s) have you chosen?
2. What sort of art do you intend to provide?
3. What have you been working on so far?

All questions are optional. Feel free to squee or rant as needed. Betas are welcome to chime in as well.

It's just been announced that this year's amplificathon is happening a good deal earlier than last year (March 15-April 30), so we don't really overlap at all. Sorry if you guys were counting on using your big bang to rack in the points! I hope you all will find the time to participate in both. :)

ETA: Schedule Reminder

Final Projects Due: May 25
Posting Begins: June 1

Artists should feel free to claim a project now! Podficcers may sign up as artists as well, if inspiration strikes. For the time being, artists should only claim ONE project. In two weeks we will open to the claiming of multiple projects and artists may go crazy.

Until tomorrow, podficcers can submit their titles late to the claiming post.

We're in pretty good shape, guys! According to my records, we have 48 poddficcers requesting art, 9 poddficcers who don't need art, and 27 poddficcers who have not yet submitted a title.

Please check the current list on LJ or on DW to make sure I haven't missed your title submission.

All titles should be submitted here by Thursday, March 1st. Please, thank you! Claiming will begin Friday, March 2nd. If you're going to be late, let me know or I'll assume you've dropped out.

Don't forget to Check-In on LJ or on DW, if you should feel so inclined. We would love to hear from you!

Here we are: at our first check-in for Round 2! Titles are still due on March 1st and claiming will be opening on March 2nd @ approximately 7PM CST. With that in mind, lets consider this an introduction post. Here are some questions that you may consider answering:

• If you have not submitted a title yet:
1. Have there been any unexpected complications in finding a story you wish to record?
2. Are you having trouble gaining permission to record?
3. Are you likely to need more time to submit a title?
• If you have already submitted a title:
1. What story have you chosen to record?
2. Why did you choose that story? What makes it such an appealing choice?
3. Have you started recording yet? If so, how far along are you?

Lets get this conversation rolling! All questions are optional. Feel free to squee or rant as needed. Betas and prospective artists are welcome to chime in.

I finally had a chance to go through and list out all the fandoms currently represented in our title submissions. We have 25 different fandoms! It's very exciting!

( List beneath the cut. )

Tomorrow I will open a check-in post. The check-in is optional, but I would love to know how everyone is coming along with their projects. Anyone who is finished (or nearly finished) should totally leave a note about that with their title submission so that artists have a good idea of what's likely to be ready by the deadline.

I was thinking that I might throw together some generic podfic covers for podficcers who aren't matched with an artist in the end. Would that be something you guys would be interested in? Are there any other folks interested in creating some generic podfic cover templates?

According to my records, we have 83 podficcers signed up and 36 titles already submitted. I included links to the title submission for each podficcer, but titles are still screened.

There have been a couple cases where people submitted a title without signing up, but I think we've got that mostly ironed out. If your name isn't on the list and you think it should be, please let me know.

Keeping this list updated in two places was driving me crazy. See the list at DW.

I'll post a list of fandoms reflected in current title submissions very soon! We've got a pretty diverse number of fandoms. It's going to be great!

Question: How does everyone feel about having some periodic (optional) check-in posts? I think it might be fun to have a place for participants to flail. Also, artists might find it helpful to know where podficcers stand with their recordings before claiming a project. I'm thinking of starting a new check-in post on the twentieth of each month? People could post short teaser clips and things, if they like.

I've just closed the podficcer sign-up posts. In the next week or so I'll post a list of participating podficcers so that everyone can see how positively FANTASTIC this year's round already looks to be. I'll also post a list of fandoms listed in the title submissions so interested artists can check to see if there's any projects they may be interested in contributing to when claiming comes around.

I'll be sending out some email alerts around the end of the month just to make titles are submitted and artists are aware of when projects are open to claiming.

Alright, folks! We have a little over a week left before podficcer sign-ups end and already this year's big bang is looking to beat out last year's by quite a margin. We have 60+ podficcer sign-ups, with 20+ titles already submitted. That is amazing. Hopefully we'll get more artists interested in participating as match-up time approaches.

Also, I was a little conflicted about making chosen titles public for a while. Titles will continue to be screened on the community, but you are obviously free to squee about what you're working on from your own journals.

Feel free to make match-ups with artists on your own if you so desire; just make sure to let me know when you submit your title that you don't need an artist, give me your artists username, and ask your artist to sign-up so I have their contact info if the need arises.

Remember: I need all titles by March 1st so that I can open up project titles for artist claiming.

The fact that we have such a large turnout may mean that posting will have to happen a little differently this year. I'll keep you posted on that. Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll be able to provide permanent download links to all projects.

verucasalt123 recently asked about a place for authors to beg for podfic for their stories and I thought that was a great idea, so here we have it: a place for authors to give permission for specific stories to be podficced. Podficcers are by no means required to choose a story listed here, but this might be a good spot to look for inspiration.

Rules for Authors

• All suggested stories must be at least 10,000 words.
• All suggested stories must be complete
• Authors must give a statement of permission to record along with any stipulations.

Podfic Request Template

<b>Fandom:</b> <b>Characters/Pairing:</b> <b>Title:</b> <b>URL:</b> <b>Author:</b> <b>Word Count:</b> <b>Rating:</b> <b>Warnings:</b> <b>Summary:</b> <b>Permission to Record:</b>

Rules for Claimants

• If a podficcers wants to record a story listed here, s/he should make an obvious claim so that others know what's up.

Great news, everyone: Round 2 of the podficbigbang is a go! Sign-ups are now open.

There are some very minor changes between this year's round and last years round:

• You'll all be pleased to hear that everyone has until May 25th to complete projects! Last year all of our projects were already posted by then; the extra time should ease some stress for everyone unless you're a terrible procrastinator like me.
• We are now mirrored on podficbigbang. You may sign up on LJ or on DW as you prefer, but please do not sign-up on both sites.
• We're going to try to give artists more leeway in what sort of contributions are acceptable. For example, we'll now allow offers of voice talent for short segments where appropriate as well as fanvid trailers that advertise the podfic (perhaps with audio from the podfic?). Let's get extra creative this year!
• We're making a point of collecting email addresses so that we can contact everybody more easily. Last year we relied on LJ PMs and it was a bit of a mess.

For those of you podficcers who already know what you want to record, the title submission post is already open.

Beta/Cheerleader Guidelines

• Your mission is to support podficcers by: listening to rants; offering advice; listening to podfic and providing reviews, comments, and general squeeing about the recording.
• By signing up, you agree to allow podficcers seeking help to contact you by the preferred method(s) you specify. Please try to be prompt about replying to podficcers with your acceptance or denial.

Beta/Cheerleader Schedule

Sign-ups:

Ongoing

Sign-up Template

<b>LJ and/or DW Username:</b> <b>Preferred method(s) of contact:</b> (private message/AIM/MSN/email/etc.) <b>Preferred fandoms:</b> <b>Ratings you are comfortable with:</b> <b>List anything you'd rather not listen to, if any (include warnings, kinks, pairings, etc.)</b> <b>How many podficcers are you willing to work with?:</b> <b>Minimum/maximum podfic length you prefer to work with, if any:</b> <b>Anything else?:</b>

Note to Podficcers:

If you wish to request assistance, reply to the beta offers in the comments of this post or contact the betas directly.

Artist Guidelines

• Your mission is to make an artist contribution to the podfic. This contribution may come in the form of designing a podfic cover (300x300 pixel, multiple covers welcome if you're ambitious), providing sound effects, incorporating musical selections, or fulfilling some other creative request suggested by the author.
• You may claim a project on the title submission page starting on March 1st. We'll wait a bit to give everyone a chance to claim a first project before allowing artists to claim additional projects.
• Collaboration is key. Please make sure your goals and the podficcer's goals are on essentially the same wavelength. The project claiming post should outline the podficcer's expectations, so read carefully before claiming.
• The completed projects are due May 25th. If your contribution exists only as part of the podfic itself (as with sound effects), you need only comment to the art submission post with any notes or credits you may have. Any cover art should be uploaded to an image hosting service and linked to in the art submission post. We would prefer not to have items sent via email in order to prevent anything from being lost in the shuffle.
• Cover art will be uploaded to The Temple of Scheherazade.
• Posting will begin June 1. You may share/pimp your contribution however you like once the final project has been added to the community.

Artist Schedule

Sign-ups:	Ongoing until all podficcers have partners
Title claiming begins:	March 1
Project Submissions Due:	May 25
Posting Begins:	June 1

Sign-up Template

<b>LJ and/or DW Username:</b> <b>Email Address:</b> <b>Preferred fandoms:</b> <b>Artistic contribution(s) you are willing to make:</b> <b>Anything else?:</b>

Here are a few artistic contributions you may wish to offer:

• designing cover art
• providing sound effects
• incorporating music
• offering additional voice talent (generally intended for a short segment, like voicing a short newscast or radio program or reciting a prophecy/poem)
• original musical composition
• creating fanvid trailer geared toward the podfic
• whatever else you can think of

Podficcer Guidelines

• Your mission is to record a podfic that has a running time of at least one hour. We recommend selecting a story of at least 10,000 words.
• You should submit the title of your selected story by March 1st.
• You have the option of teaming up with an artist. On the title submission page, you should indicate whether or not partnering with an artist is something you are interested in. Titles will be open to claiming by artists starting on March 1st. We cannot guarantee art.
• You have the option of teaming up with a beta/cheerleader. Please scout out the beta/cheerleader post to find someone you'd like to work with.
• Your completed podfic is due May 25th. If you send us only an mp3, we will go ahead and create a podbook (m4b) version for you. Files will be uploaded to The Temple of Scheherazade.
• Posting will begin June 1. Once your podfic has been posted to the community, you are free to share it anywhere else you please. Feel free to use the direct download links for the files on The Temple of Scheherazade.

Podficcer Schedule

Sign-ups:	December 10-February 1
Story Selection Due:	March 1
Podfic Submissions Due:	May 25
Posting Begins:	June 1

Sign-up Template

<b>LJ and/or DW Username:</b> <b>Email Address:</b> <b>Fandoms that you might record in:</b> <b>Anything else?:</b>

Podficcer Sign-ups are now closed!

Claiming Free-For-All Open!

Artists are now free to claim additional projects.

We currently (4/22/2012 @2:15PM CST) have approximately 4 projects in need of art.

Guidelines

1. The claims post goes live at 7PM CST on March 2nd and will remain open until the last story is claimed.
2. From March 2nd to March 16th artists may claim ONE project. On March 16th artists may go back and claim as many projects as may be comfortably handled. Once all artists have had a chance to claim their first project, we'll open the claiming free-for-all.
3. To claim a project, reply to the project you want with "CLAIM" in the subject or body of your comment.
4. In situations where multiple titles are given, the artist need only create art for one title in order to fulfill the claim.
5. Once a project has been claimed, the artist should contact the podficcer.
6. All claimed projects will be frozen in order to prevent multiple claims.

Artist Sign-Ups

If you claim a story, please make sure you sign up to be an artist first. We are still accepting new artists.

Shortcuts to projects in need of art, alphabetical by podficcer

( Read more... )

Shortcuts to projects in need of art, alphabetical by fandom

( Read more... )

Shortcuts to projects already claimed, alphabetical by artist

( Read more... )

Reminder

Some podficcers have provided multiple titles. Artists need do art for only one to stake a claim. The title claimed by the artist will be considered the main project for this challenge. The extra titles may still be recorded as part of this year's bonus round, but we will not be doing match-ups for bonus round titles in the community at this time. If you want to do art for one of those bonus titles, try contacting the podficcer directly. I know at least one podficcer gave multiple titles and only intends to record the one claimed by an artist, so.

It's time to start thinking about the 2012 podficbigbang, I think. This post is intended to gauge interest in starting a new round come January. If you think you might want to participate in any capacity, please reply to this post and give me a wave.

Now is also the time to share suggested changes for the next round (if we have another round). If there was something that you didn't like last time, this is your chance to suggest an alternative.

Changes currently being considered:

• Keep the sign-up period open longer.
• Collect email addresses to make communication more efficient.
• Move back the final submission deadline to give participants longer to work on projects.
• Open a parallel community on Dreamwidth.

I'm not promising that this will happen, guys. There's a lot of awesome new podfic communities out there, so if people aren't interested this probably won't happen.

The art for "Ten Thousand Miles" (Supernatural gen) has been updated with a link to the podfic.