Dan Musselman and Scott Brick, Books-on-Tape, Random House.
As soon as they opened their mouths -- you knew what business they are in. YOWZA! In a tag-team format, they shared their experiences with choosing books, actors (voices), preparing for the reading, and the actual how-to of the recording session.
Casting of the narrator sound like what I would imagine of any theatrical endeavor. What does the work need? Who can best meet those needs? Musselman has a database of authors and their strengths; apparently, in Scott Brick's words, his strength is 'wise ass.'
Should author's read their own books? Yes, if it's non-fiction, the author can add a note of integrity and authority to the work. Maybe not if the work is fiction. This is something the executive producer (Musselman) and the author work out.
Production things we learned: Can you hear the narrator breathing? pages turning? Does the voice change between the beginning of the project and its end? Are the 'he said' and 'she said' lines delivered in the character's voice or the narrator's? Little things that mark a professional from an amateur.
I can't wait to go play with more audio books!
Books on Tape
(Scott Brick has 181 titles listed!)
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