Welcome to Pod Together 2013!

[paraka]

Welcome to pod_together! A challenge where writers and podficcers join together to create awesome projects - the writer writing something specifically to be podficced, and the podficcer recording it.

Please take a moment to check out the Rules/FAQs behind the cuts.


What does a work written specifically to be podficced look like?

That's up to you! Part of the goal of this challenge is to explore answers to that question.

In past years we've had some great variations, including submissions with filk, poetry, multiple POVs, sound effects and other languages. While this challenge primarily produces stories, so long as your submission is a collaboration with an audio component and all group members are happy, the form your submission takes is up to you.

There's no wrong way to do it, but if you want a place to start, you might look at this post about ways to make a story easier to perform or these posts (DW|LJ) on how groups did it our first year.


Okay, so how exactly will the collaborations go?

Here are entries from previous years if you'd like to see how others have done it in the past.

Again, the specifics are up to you but remember, this is a collaborative effort. You need to be flexible with the ideas you bring to the table. Writers shouldn't look at this as an opportunity to get a guaranteed podfic for a specific fic idea and podficcers shouldn't think this is the chance to have someone write them a specific prompt.

Groups should start off with conversations about shared interests and the direction they'd like to see their project move in. Here are some suggestions for where to do after that:

1. The writer can start to write several possible works they have in mind (perhaps summaries or specific scenes) and the podficcer can pick the one they connect with most for the writer to continue and finish

2. The writer can write a piece and the podficcer can beta it AND/OR the podficcer can do a test-read and writer then adapt the piece based on that.

3. The writer can write the beginning of a piece, send that to the podficcer for early beta, test-read, and perhaps a follow-up conversation, and then take that feedback into account before continuing with the writing.

During the conversation about shared interests, it's a good idea for all group members to discuss what their strengths and weaknesses are; try to see if you have any matching strengths you can both work off of.

This year, we've worked an extra week into our timeline right after matches go out for partners to take a chance to get to know one another. We'll be posting ice breakers and suggested activities for groups to do to better get to know one another. These can be done in the comments on the post or in email to one another. These activities are not mandatory.

It can also be useful to use free tools like Google Docs to share the written story, so all group members can leave notes and suggestions and also so the podficcer can start preparing for their performance as early in the process as possible.

This should be an equal collaboration, although ultimately, the writer gets the final say over the words of the work and the podficcer gets the final say over the performance of it. Beyond that, the details will be yours to decide. Be creative, have fun, and see what works best for you!


Is there a minimum and maximum length for these stories?

The minimum length is 1000 words. Writers will need to talk to their podficcers to decide on a maximum length, since it will vary from one podficcer to another how much they can do in the allotted time. Here are a few statistics that might help with this decision: 1500 words is about 10 minutes of podfic, 10,000 words is about an hour, and one minute of finished podfic takes anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes of editing.

What about translations?
Edit: New as of 06/22/13
We've been asked this year specifically about whether translations of fannish works are allowed in this challenge and the answer is yes. If all group members are happy with the idea and approval can be gained to translate the story, then it is allowed. All we ask is that the translator pay special attention to gear the translation to audio.


What is the Timeline?

June 9th group and individual sign ups open.
June 22nd sign ups close.
June 23rd assignments go out to those who signed up individually.
June 24th-28th icebreaker week.
July 7th check in #1.
July 21st check in #2.
July 28th completed writing due.
August 4th check in #3.
August 15th podfics due.
August 18th posting starts.

The posting end date will depend on how many people sign up.


What’s the difference between Individual sign ups and Group sign ups?

If you sign up as an individual, the mods will assign you to a group. If there are writers and podficcers that know they want to work with each other, they can sign up as a group rather than have a mod assign them to one. There will be separate sign up posts for each (please note, that even if you sign up as a group, you still have to follow the check in schedule and mods will be monitoring your progress).

For individuals, when you sign up, we’ll ask you to list the fandoms you’d be interested in working in. Because this is a multifandom challenge, we encourage you to list as many fandoms as you’d be willing to work in. If you only list one or two rare fandoms, we run into the danger of not being able to match you up with anyone.


I signed up as an individual, but now I have a group, what do I do?

First of all, make sure you sign up at the group post sign ups.

To cancel out your individual sign up, please leave a comment in response to your sign up comment stating that you’d like it withdrawn and a mod will screen it for you.

If you’re feeling adventurous you can leave your individual sign up as is and get a second group when assignments go out.


Will all groups have just one writer and one podficcer?

Not necessarily. When people are signing up they’ll be asked if they’d be willing to do more than one assignment if needed so we’ll hopefully be able to make sure everyone’s in a group that way but if need be we might assign more than one podficcer per writer.

Which opens up all kinds of possibilities, like script format for multiple voices. If you’re at all interested in that kind of thing, we encourage you to leave a comment to that effect when you sign up.

If you’re signing up as a group you can have as many people in your group as you want. If you want to write and podfic your fic on your own, sign up as a "group" of 1. If you have multiple writers/podficcers that want to work together, go for it!


What about artwork?

A lot of podfics are posted these days with covers, or music mixed in, which we encourage and think is awesome. However, due to the complexity of sign ups already, we won't be assigning artists to groups (this year, at least). You are welcome to create these things on your own, though, or if you know of an artist/mixer/filker/etc. that you'd like to invite to join your group, the mods will fully support you in this.


I’ve gotten my assignment, now what?/what is icebreaker week?

We strongly encourage writers and podficcers to start discussing their project right away. To help with that, there will be an icebreaker week where mods will be posting little activities to help group members get to know one another and get them started on their project. The activities in icebreaker week are not mandatory, however participants should use this time to determine what kind of project they'd like to make and how they plan to go about doing so. This is also the time to set expectations about what partners expect from each other and what they expect to get out of this project. The best way to make sure you get what you want from the experience is to communicate those wants clearly at the start!

In terms of the project you're creating, you may share more than one fandom, you may find you have a favorite trope in common that you want to explore or an experimental form you both want to try, and/or there may be squicks that have to be considered. Even though it’s ultimately the writer who writes the work, podficcers should be open about what kind of works they excel at recording and what they may be struggle with. For example the reader might be awesome at crack but have trouble with sex scenes. Or maybe they are great with description but find dialogue harder.

Writers can help their podficcers out by talking about what kind of mood or atmosphere is in their work, what the characters are feeling, etc.

We’ve set a deadline for when the writer has to get their work to the podficcer(s) however your group may have to set different personal deadlines internally. Some writers/podficcers are really quick others are slower. You’ll want to talk amongst yourselves to find out how much time each will need and what length the story is going to be to get things done on time.


What are the check in points?

There are 3 mandatory check ins. Check ins help you make sure you’re on track to meeting your deadlines and also give you the chance to ask for help if you need it.

On the date in question one of the mods will make a post asking teams to check in. Comments will be screened so you can let us know privately if there’s anything wrong or if you’re on track.

New for 2013: Group members are required to share their progress with each other, in order to facilitate greater collaboration. This means that at every check-in (if not more frequently), group members need to send each other what they have created so far. This could include rough drafts/notes/finished bits, whatever you've got that would be helpful for your partner to see.


What if I need to drop out?

Please let the mods and your group know right away. This is a group collaboration and if you think you might have to drop out, the more advanced notice you give us, the more we'll be able to help the rest of your group find a replacement.


How do groups hand in their finished assignments?

Posting and hand ins will be happening on AO3, under the Pod_Together 2013 collection. The collection is moderated and set to "unrevealed" so the stories will show as "mystery" works until the mods reveal them on the scheduled posting day.

Detailed instructions will follow closer to the posting date.

Both writers and podficcers will need an AO3 account.If you don't have one already, please let the mods know and we will send you an invite.

Podfics should be mp3 files. You’re welcome to send an m4b file as well; otherwise the mods will create one for you. All podfics will be hosted on paraka's website so we can ensure active downloads/streams when we post. We ask that everyone leave their podfic up for at least 6 months, however after that if you ever want/need to have it taken down, please email paraka at parakaproductions at gmail dot com.


When will my group's story be posted?

Once assignments have been handed in, the mods will make a posting schedule so you can know when to expect your story to be posted. The mods will make announcement posts to out twitter, tumblr, livejournal and dreamwidth, linking back to the AO3 post, after which you are free to link to or crosspost in your normal places.

Podficcers please feel free to use the download link provided elsewhere if you wish.


Thanks, mods! What can we do to support you?
The best way to help us out is to communicate, communicate, communicate. If you can't get a hold of someone in your group, please let us know. If you need to drop out, we'd rather hear it from you, than try to scramble something together at the last minute. If you even think there might be a problem, keep us in the loop. We're here to support you guys and make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience, but we can't help if we don't know there's a problem.


I want to participate, but I've got a busy month ahead and I'm not sure I can commit
If you find the time later (or if you finish your project early and want to do another) you can always create a Party Favor, which is a no-commitment extra project that can be submitted and posted on the last day. Party Favors have no word minimum, no pressure or commitment, and are made completely outside the bounds of the challenge, until the day they show up in our inbox as a delightful surprise! The last day to submit party favors is the day before the end of the posting schedule, whenever that turns out to be.

What are the major changes from previous years of this challenge?

There are four major changes from previous years:
1) This year, there is a little more time in the schedule. That includes an icebreaker week, where partners get to know each other and talk about their shared interests and expectations for the project, before work on the project begins.
2) This year, it is mandatory for participants to share their work in progress with each other, rather than just having a conversation and then delivering a final product. The minimum requirement is to share progress with your partner once per check-in, but more frequent sharing of progress is strongly encouraged.
3) There are stricter rules for extensions this year. Each partner may request only one extension, and in their extension request, they need to lay out how many days they would like and what their realistic plan is for how they will finish what they need to do in that time. The mods will do our best to work with you to make sure that you have the time you need and that you have a workable plan to use that time. Failing to meet the date of the extension, however, will count as an automatic drop-out.
4) In the past some groups have come up with projects that are clearly meant to be listened to, rather than read, so this year, to respect that, we're open to groups posting their projects in new ways. This can include not including the text, posting the text separately, or other ways highlighting the audio over the text. How groups wish to do this is up to them and should be discussed and agreed to by all group members.


This year pod_together has gone multi-platform! You can now follow us on DW (pod_together), LJ (pod_together), twitter (pod_together - info only, no sign ups) or on tumblr (pod-together).


If you have any further questions please feel free to ask here or email us at pod.together at gmail dot com.

Comments

[geckoholic]

I thiiiiiink I read that somewhere but I can't find it right now... /o\ We can sign up more than once, right? Like, I could sign up as a part of two groups?

[paraka]

You may! You can sign up in a group and as an individual, or in multiple groups, etc.

[geckoholic]

Alright, cool. Thanks!