Marvel Salted Fish Kryptonian

Michael said: "Ms. Hepburn, the audiobook in the form of a radio drama you mentioned, in fact, a long time ago, I had discussed a similar way of expression with my wife.

"Simply put, it's about a person in a story telling a story, and using this framework to form the content of an audiobook. For the second story, we plan to adapt the work of Ms. Mary Shelton.

"The stories we can choose from include Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and other excellent works that have been adapted into Disney animations. The copyright part is also not a problem, as Disney's copyright does not cover audiobook adaptations of the original works.

"We plan to select four to five stories and edit them into about an hour of content, including the storytelling itself. We will also add music, rather than letting the reader be the only protagonist.

"Although there is a concern that this may distract the reader, I believe Ms. Hepburn will not mind such a small matter and will agree to use this richer expression method to make the audiobook even better."

Audrey Hepburn asked curiously, "It sounds like your plan is good, so why haven't you produced it before?"

Michael smiled wryly and said, "In the past, in the audiobook market, literary works themselves still occupied the leading position. Some people didn't even care who the reader was.

"My approach further downplayed the importance of the reciter, so I couldn't find anyone willing to work with me. And the child actors I could hire cheaply didn't deliver the lines I wanted.

"The plan was put on hold until Ms. Hepburn made a special request for an audiobook, hoping to present it in a radio drama format. Only then did we see this opportunity."

Audrey Hepburn looked at the documents on the table, the last stack in the middle, with the title "A French Woman's Magical Fairy Tale" on the cover. She asked, "Is this... a script?"

Michael explained: "This is a script that my wife and I conceived and then had someone polish it. It is about a French woman who recalls her childhood when the composer Maurice Ravel visited her home and told her a story.

"If you're willing to participate in the production of this audiobook, you'll be the main character, acting as yourself. Oh, and of course, you'll just need to record the voice in the studio, so it won't be too much of a burden on you."

Audrey Hepburn's health condition was already a semi-open secret. After all, even her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador had to be suspended, so anyone who wanted to know the reason would naturally know.

If a publishing company requires a woman to cooperate with publicity, hold book signings, etc., such a publishing company will be rejected early on and will not appear on the list of possible partners for a woman to choose.

For a moment, the only sound at the table in the cafe was the shuffling of papers.

For Audrey Hepburn, who loves reading, she certainly would not be like a number of big stars with dyslexia who needed someone to explain the script and then orally guide the big stars to recite the lines.

Ms. Hepburn read very quickly, and this was not when she was carefully pondering the content of the text, but just taking a general look. If there was any difficulty, it was her presbyopia, which made it a little difficult to read the standard font on the typewriter.

He let the woman read the entire script in one sitting, praising her. "The story is quite complete. And the music is supposed to be the Mother Goose Suite?"

"Yes. This is also the work of Mr. Maurice Ravel," Michael replied.

"How are you going to perform the music part?"

Michael said: "If I can work with Ms. Hepburn, I would like to find a symphony orchestra to work with. I must make every aspect perfect.

"You don't have to look for famous symphony orchestras. There are many excellent groups in Hollywood. Oh, ma'am, you are also from Hollywood. I believe you know more about this than I do."

Audrey Hepburn did not deny this statement. He took out a pen from his handbag, pointed to the script in front of him, and asked, "Is it convenient?"

"Please, please. No problem." Michael said with a smile.

Ms. Hepburn discussed some passages in the script with Michael and Deborah. Since Deborah was one of the conceivers of the original script, she had a lot to share.

However, these discussions are basically what would happen once the film enters the production phase. We haven't even signed a contract yet.

Judging from Ms. Hepburn's attitude, it was almost certain that he would cooperate with the couple. He did not think about waiting for other publishing companies to propose plans to see if there were better opportunities.

This is actually the reality of the entertainment industry: there's no such thing as fair competition; it's a first-come, first-served system. Those who are well prepared will definitely have more opportunities than others.

However, since this was their first meeting, the materials Ms. Hepburn had before her were not yet finalized, so the discussion was brief. Michael and his wife still had a lot to revise before they could finalize the project.

Therefore, Ms. Hepburn planned to follow past practice and let her agent negotiate with the other party for the next contract negotiation.

Some conditions could be discussed in person, though. So the woman said directly, "I hope the proceeds from this audiobook can also be donated to charity. Of course, that's after deducting costs."

The agent asked, "Ma'am, are you going to donate to UNICEF?"

"Well, I think the amount won't be too much, and it's a long-term income. Donating it to a children's foundation is also possible, but do you have any other suggestions?"

The audiobook market isn't huge, but it's not small either. But compared to the fundraising gala Ms. Hepburn hosted for UNICEF in New York, this little bit of revenue is truly insignificant...

Deborah Raffin then said, "Ms. Hepburn, if you would like to donate to other charitable causes, how about the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)?

"They are also headquartered in New York, and their aim is to 'provide effective means to prevent animal cruelty in the United States.' They were founded in 1866, so they have quite a history."

Hepburn nodded and said, "Then I'd like to trouble my agent to help me research the ASPCA and I'll make a decision later. The negotiation will be left to you." After that, the lady stood up and prepared to leave.

Everyone present also stood up and escorted Audrey Hepburn out, with Henry, the seemingly invisible assistant, following closely behind.

Chapter 182 Dove Recording Book Company

Dove Recordings was originally founded in Michael and Deborah's garage, but now also has offices and a dedicated recording studio in New York City.

Henry drove Audrey Hepburn to the company's recording studio in a rented car. Deborah Raffin and the company's recording engineer were waiting.

The two women exchanged a warm kiss on the cheek, while Henry, the assistant, served coffee to everyone, especially the sound engineer. "Kig, low-fat and low-caffeine, right?"

"Oh, thanks, Henry. I feel lethargic all day without this morning."

After delivering the coffee, Henry took out another paper bag, opened it, and asked, "We have sandwiches, hot dogs, and chocolate donuts. Which one do you want?"

"hot dog……"

As the sound engineer was talking, Henry took out the hot dog and handed it over. Unexpectedly, the other party grabbed the paper bag and said, "I don't want the hot dog, I want everything else."

Looking at the lonely hot dog in his hand, Henry was stunned for a moment before saying, "Don't you think that the little calorie share you earned from coffee is not only lost from this sandwich and donut, but you also owe yourself a damn calorie debt."

"Who told you to buy only the best stuff, damn kid? The donuts at Daddy Hood on the corner are Madfake's salvation. Same with Annie's sandwiches."

At this time, two ladies on the side were dissatisfied and said, "Hey, gentlemen, there are ladies here. Use civilized language."

The cowardly Kryptonian apologized directly: "Sorry, boss."

The recording engineer just shrank his neck, stuck out his tongue, made a face and got the job done.

While the two men were stuffing their mouths with food, the two women were discussing the content of today's recording.

Finally, Audrey Hepburn selected four children's stories, Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Beauty and the Beast, and Ledronet, Queen of the Pagoda, as stories within stories and recorded his voice reciting them.

Deborah Raffin was in the recording studio as a producer, but she couldn't offer much guidance to the Oscar-winning actress in terms of acting skills or experience.

So the way they interacted was not like a director interacting with an actor or a producer interacting with a singer. Instead, Deborah provided her thoughts from the audience's perspective and discussed with Ms. Hepburn whether there were other ways to express a certain line.

Henry and Kiger were not idle either. They were not only eating but also chatting.

A reel of original tape was playing, with both of their headphones halfway up. As they listened to the rock music, they chatted, "Look, the low-frequency band is best suited for bass and drums. If you can clean up the sound of other instruments in this frequency range, delete them completely."

“According to the characteristics of the instruments, highlight their characteristics in certain aspects and delete unnecessary ones. This will make the sound of each frequency band sound clean and clear.

“Compression and EQ need to be used with caution, as they are very powerful. Basically, we can use these two tools to make the sound fuller, smoother, more powerful, or cover up some singers’ pronunciation errors.

"But don't over-compress the track just because it's easy to use. This can make it sound choppy and inconsistent. We need to consider the overall quality and the individual characteristics of the sound.

"As for those effects, I think they are used in the final stage, to polish and establish personal characteristics. During the recording stage, instead of focusing on the mixer, it is better to consider the studio configuration.

“Not all sounds are suitable for close-miking. Although we can reduce the noise in the recording space, the track will be dry and boring. Using spatial reverb can give instruments a sense of space and add a unique tension.

"Even which instrument is on the left, which instrument is on the right, and which instrument is in the center will have a different feel. This is why the lead singer is usually kept in the center. In addition to the lead singer's status as the protagonist, the spatial sense of the sound cannot be ignored."

Looking at Kiger's messy notes and listening to his explanation, Henry couldn't help but say, "Good boy, even though these things are written in relevant books, if you haven't actually heard them, you really don't understand what the words in the books are talking about."

Jig said proudly, "No matter how many books you read about these things, it's useless if you haven't listened to them. And you also need a good pair of ears, otherwise you can't hear the subtleties and can only rely on your feelings, thinking that this adjustment is good and that adjustment is bad.

"Then no matter how many books you read, you won't be able to understand what the masters are saying in their books, or you will just take the nonsense of those charlatans as your guiding principles. The worst part is, readers can't tell whether the author is genuine or fake.

"I've seen many so-called masters in the industry, but they actually just use the same formulas over and over again. If the singers themselves are less talented, their works will be terrible."

Henry's eyes lit up, and he asked with an expression as if he was listening to gossip, "So, which master did you learn from? Do you have any industry secrets?"

Jiger smiled and said, "What master? I'm just an amateur. I started out as a submarine sonar operator. I honed this skill by just being bored underwater and trying to pick out whale calls. Have you ever heard a whale call? I'll play it for you."

Without waiting for Henry to agree or refuse, Kiger rummaged through his tape box and soon replaced the rock music with the whale sound tape.

Henry put on both headphones and listened carefully to the voice of the largest creature on earth.

The sound of the seabed is very special, completely different from the sound transmitted through the air, especially the echoes, which are layered. Add to that the high-frequency sounds of the whales, and it is truly fascinating.

Pulling up one earphone, Henry asked curiously, "Did you record this on the submarine?"

"How is that possible?" Jiger said with a smile, "The sounds recorded on the submarine, whether in combat or not, are classified. If they were to be released carelessly, it would be fatal.

"The whale sounds you're listening to were recorded by a research vessel belonging to the Oceanographic Research Institute. What you're hearing now isn't the most complete sound. Just a few adjustments on the mixer... eh, just a little!"

Watching Kiger manipulate an adjustment key, moving it up and down, Henry said, "Another poor contact?"

“Yeah, below -6db, it seems to have no effect.”

After removing the panel of the mixer stand, Henry used a flashlight to look at the tangled wires inside.

Kiger, who had also squatted down to inspect it, sighed, "If you hadn't come to fix it, seeing this mess, I'd just want to take a pair of scissors and cut all the threads here like Alexander the Great untied the Gordian knot. This Madfake thing is older than me."

Chapter 183 Recording Progress

Henry held a screwdriver, a penlight between his lips, and remained silent. If he didn't have this ability, would Kiger be willing to teach him his unique skills? And act so affectionately?

It was because not many people understood how to fix this antique that Henry had the opportunity to get closer to Kigra.

For a Kryptonian who has studied audio equipment and built a home theater-grade audio system in his own rental house, repairing this antique mixer is not a big problem.

The reason why the wiring of this mixer is so messy is not only because the maker has bad habits, but also because this mixer has been modified several times.

The subsequent modifications seem to be an attempt to repay the trouble caused to the modifier by the copycat author. The modifier will not deliberately organize the wiring, but will make the wires he added a mess, making the chaos even worse.

Seeing this, Henry didn't dare to rashly cut off all the wires and rewire them neatly because the length of the wires would also affect the performance, although the effect was minimal, but anyone who could hear it would be able to hear it.

The reason why Kieger has been using this mixer is that, besides the company not having the money to spend on a new and better one, it is better to continue using this antique. At least the performance of this antique is not inferior to those new and expensive mixers.

In this case, the best option is to keep things as they are as possible.

The reason the adjustment knob stopped working was indeed, as Henry had initially suggested, a poor connection. Loose screws, aged wires, and brittle plastic packaging were all causes of mixer failure.

The solution is quite simple: tighten any loose screws. The wire is copper-core and should not be affected by aging. The packaging needs to be rewrap with insulating tape. As long as it doesn't short-circuit other wires, you should be fine.

And in this mess, there is no need to consider the interference between the magnetic fields of the wires. Because the weak magnetic field is already a mess, anyone who sees it will lose their appetite.

When Henry crawled out from the mixer stand, apart from Kieger's ugly face, which was not surprising, Audrey and Deborah were also looking at the Kryptonian who had just repaired the machine.

"Is it fixed?" Audrey Hepburn asked. "We're ready to record."

"Boss, it's fixed." Henry looked at the sound engineer and said, "Kig, test it. If there's no problem, we can start working."

Kiger, wearing headphones, adjusted the control keys that had been unresponsive. After confirming that everything was normal, he gave Henry a thumbs up.

"OK, time to get started." Henry reinstalled the pedestal panel and took the assistant's seat. Audrey Hepburn also walked into the studio, tested a few notes, and began today's recording session.

During the recording phase, the sound engineer only needs to ensure that the sound is recorded correctly, without much adjustment work. On the other hand, the producer needs to concentrate on the performance of the sound so that he can respond in time.

But even with the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Raffin didn't dare slack off. Don't think you can get the Best Actress award right the first time.

Also, after each paragraph, Audrey herself would listen to her own recording and discuss with Deborah whether such performance was appropriate.

For Deborah Raffin, a current actress, this was like a private lesson from the actress. While it wasn't comprehensive acting instruction, the voice and psychological aspects were all connected. So, she couldn't help but focus on the task.

Henry, now free, could just sit back and read a book. He had no work to do during the recording phase anyway.

However, when Kiger is in a work state where he doesn't need to concentrate and can be distracted, he will want to chat with others. If he is allowed to touch his own things and focus too much on external matters, it will be detrimental to the recording progress.

So at times like this, Henry would chat quietly with Kiger.

Most of the time, Henry would also pick up a pair of headphones and listen to Ms. Hepburn's voice while also listening to Giger's suggestions for adjustments to the recorded sound.

But today Henry asked about another matter and said, "Kig, do you know what the progress is on Michael's side?"

Kiger thought for a moment and replied, "Michael hired Lalo Shiffrin as conductor and rented a large recording studio for another symphony orchestra. The rent there is not cheap, and the cost of hiring a symphony orchestra is not cheap either. He is keeping a close eye on the progress."

"According to the production plan, it will probably be finished within the next day or two. Ms. Hepburn is also recording the final story, the Queen of the Pagoda. Once both are completed, we can move on to the next stage of production."

Henry nodded and said, “It’s great that everything went well.”

"Any plans for the future?"

"Ms. Hepburn will be going to the West Coast for medical treatment in early November. If everything goes well here, she'll probably stay in New York for the rest of the time to see if there's anything else that needs to be improved on with the recording. By November, I'm afraid she won't be available."

"Do Michael and Deborah know?" asked Kiger.

"I know. I've already told them." Henry explained, "When we started production, there was still more than a month of ample time. Considering the lady's physical condition, we didn't arrange too much work.

"But I was also worried about what would happen if there were any unexpected situations or accidents that delayed the production progress and delayed medical treatment. Now everything is going smoothly, which is really gratifying."

"God will bless the good people." Kiger made a cross on his chest and said.

Henry said unexpectedly: "Are you religious?"

"Don't you believe it?"

Henry was stunned by this question. Should he believe in God? What kind of God should he believe in?

Faith should be revered because it is unknowable, unfathomable, and inviolable. As the saying goes, distance creates beauty.