[school-discuss] new release of audio book production software by etc ...

[mike eschman <meschman@engima.com>]

hello,

for the past year or so, we have been refining a set of tools to produce audio 
books from texts which are suitable for use in public school districts.

Thanks to an inspirational performance of Messiaen's music i found on DVD
[believe it are not] we made a fundamental connection with our intentions.

this means we have completed a new release of the software that performs 
significantly better than any of our previous attempts.

we have used the technology to create a new dramatic reading of 
Robert Sheckley's "Bad Medicine" @ 1956.

It is a science fiction comedy set in a large American city circa ~2150.

The protagonist is a corporate employee who is fighting to stay sane,
fighting an impulse to kill his best friend.  He goes to a computer store
and buys a therapist.  He is in a hurry, and buys a floor model, paying cash.

He leaves with a floor model without doing any paperwork.

The salesman inadvertently sells a Martian model, instead of an earth model.
How will it affect our hero? 

A hard-bitten gumshoe is brought in by the manufacturer to find him,
and the martian therapy machine.

An introductory music segment of about three minutes signals students and 
teacher that a reading is about to begin.

A musical epilogue of less than two minutes signals teachers and staff that 
the reading has ended.

Voicing :

The protagonist and narrator share a voice.

The salesman and his manager have distinct voices that are derived from the 
narrator's voice.

The gumshoe has a unique male voice.

The therapy machine has the only female voice, and benefits from musical sound 
effects that forshadow her participation in the play.

No words are mispronounced.

Emotional state of a reader is conveyed by meter of the reading, loudness, how 
fast or slow a phrase is read,  and emphasis of particular words.

Students take this product and convert it from a dramatic reading into a radio 
play, following directions in a supplied workbook.

sound effects are added from a cd, following directions in a workbook.

This results in an .mp3 production that can be broadcast on the internet.

It is entirely computer generated.

In bad medicine, the characters mix humans and machines.

i hope to work with "the blue moon theater" here over the summer, to produce a 
workbook and a new radio play that replaces the computer readings of humans 
with live actors.  The computer voice will continue reading as the therapy 
machine.

I need teachers and students to review and critique' the computerized dramatic 
reading.

i can make .mp3 files available for download this weekend.

please help me out - download, give a listen then send as detailed a critique 
as time and generosity allows.

we will also broadcast this play.

thanks.

mike eschman, etc ...
http://www.etc-edu.com
"Not just an afterthought ...