Friday, June 29, 2012

Kids Comics Revolution! (A Podcast)

Hey Internet Friends! Today I give you a tiny peek at what’s on my desk right now and, below that, an important announcement. First the peek:

And now the announcement:

Have you read Zita the Spacegirl and do you have feelings about the book you would like to share in audio form? Well good golly are you in luck today because Kids Comics Revolution is going to devote an entire episode to an in depth discussion on Zita the Spacegirl. And they’d love to hear from you.

Cool huh? I’m posting everything you need to know (sent to me from KCR) after the jump:


From KCR:

KCR is looking for a variety of content to edit together into a fun-filled listening experience. We believe enthusiasm is infectious, so our goal is to encourage more people to get involved in book-talking their favorite comics. 
The first installment of the Book Club will be dedicated to Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, published by First Second Books. 

The episode will be the 5th episode of the Kids' Comics Revolution podcast, released on August 1st. Deadline for submissions is July 19th. 

We are looking for 2-4 minute audio recordings. Some suggestions of what we’d like include

If you've read the book more than once, let us know how many times! 
Where you read the book, and if there was anything especially memorable about that experience. 

Descriptions of your favorite scenes/moments from the book. 
Anything especially scary? Funny? 
Favorite characters, and why. 
Memorable lines of dialog that are fun to say out loud. 
What you thought of the artwork. Colors. Panel layouts. Lettering. 
Other books or movies Zita reminded you of. 
Who you would recommend Zita to. 
What you think will happen in Book 2: Legends of Zita. 
If someone liked Zita, what other books do you think they might like? 
Feel free to be totally excited! We’d especially love for you to get creative and think outside the box...Audio plays, original songs, poems, etc. would all be fantastic additions! We’re open to anything you come up with! 
Check out YA! Cast to hear the various ways they approach book  talks (yes, even for graphic novels!) in the podcast format: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ya!cast/id397431813 

All content submitted to KCR should be rated PG. We hope to make it accessible to parents and educators who may want to share episodes with their children. 

Be sure to send us a short bio and URL if you’d like us to include it with your contribution and in the show notes. 
Kid contributors should give first names only, and mention their age and what state they are from (if they want). 

Please understand that sending us an audio file does not guarantee that we will use it in an episode. We reserve the right to edit all submissions and use them however we see fit. We don’t own the content exclusively, so you are welcome to post your stuff on other sites if you wish.  
We will definitely contact you if your contribution is used and let you know when the episode is expected to go live. 

RECORDING INFO:
Files can be sent to us as .Mp3 .wav or .aiff (you can email them, or use yousendit, or dropbox)
Software for recording audio: GarageBand (on Mac or iPad) or Audacity, which is a free program for Windows or Mac. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Equipment for recording audio: The mics on iPads and iPhones are surprisingly good if used in a quiet room. Blue/Snowball mics are recommended, but the mic on a Powerbook is probably fine.
Do some test recordings first! Make sure there are no open windows or other noises that will compete with your voice.
EMAIL US FILES AT: kidscomicsrevolution@gmail.com
RECORDING TIPS:
--Record in a small room vs. a large room.
--Make sure there isn’t a lot of background noise.
--Record at the highest sampling rate possible. CD quality is 44.1 kHz; DVD quality is 96.1 kHz. It's important to record at the highest quality that your recording device will allow. When using a small digital recorder, the size of the memory stick is the usual limiting factor. On a computer, however, there is usually enough hard drive space to record at any level.
Listen to current episodes of the Kids’ Comics Revolution! on iTunes, or at: 

http://comicsaregreat.com/category/kidscomicsrevolution