(6b) Production Notes

Originally, this was the first episode that had a voice other than my own.

I tend not to put too much trust in the promises of others. Humans are flakey – they get bored or tired, or something important comes up. Sometimes they die. I knew this would be a long project, and I didn’t want to have to rely on anyone else to complete it. But as I was working on this episode I was talking with my friend Drake Walker, and complaining about my lack of vocal range. There had already been two old men in the previous two weeks, and I didn’t have a third “old man” voice to use for Dumbledore. In retrospect this doesn’t matter – the extras are forgettable and would soon be forgotten. But I didn’t know that yet, and I was frustrated. While I was trying out a new old-man-voice on him, Drake suggested that he voice Dumbledore.

Drake has been my friend since middle school. He knows more about me than anyone else alive, and I trust him more than anyone else I know. In addition to that, he has a good stage presence and a rich voice. So I weighed this for a moment and asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this – it would stretch well over a year and some weeks could require a lot of time in front of the microphone. He jumped at it, and I agreed.

It was one of the best things to happen to the podcast. I still didn’t trust offers from anyone whom I didn’t know in person, but it opened me up to the possibility of collaboration with others. Eventually I opened up enough to accept lines from complete strangers (more on that when we get to the first of those episodes), and even soliciting for voice acting help.

Those who listened to this chapter when it first aired will notice I removed the “Dark Harry Theme”. Most people would recognize it as the T-1000 Theme from Terminator 2 – a low menacing swell, somewhat industrial in sound. While I feel it’s of an appropriate mood, I’m not really sure it’s needed. And it becomes harder and harder to incorporate it as Harry rotates into dark mode in the later chapters. I dropped it later on, so I’m taking it out now as I go along updating these.