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What Do Bren And Jago Sound Like?; A discussion of character voices
Topic Started: Dec 4 2012, 11:09 PM (1,387 Views)
Sable

Citizen of the Association
Hi everyone:

I have gotten so much information from you all about the sound the Wi'itkitiin make that I had to start a new discussion.

What do you think the characters sound like? Now, I want you to know up front that the voices of the main characters in the audio drama production (our "A Movie in Audio") are approved by CJ. We present to her the actors we have picked and then, if she agrees, off we go. If she doesn't, a new search is on.

This way, when any of you tell us... these voices better be right... they are, according to CJ.

But... what are you looking for? What do you hear when you're reading the books?

I really truly want to know.

Thanks,
Sable
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BlueCatShip
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Some thoughts. (And, unrelated, I owe you an email when I'm on my laptop next.)

I get the feeling Banichi's voice is deep, but perhaps not quite in the James Earl Jones and Barry White ballpark. (Besides, only James Earl Jones can sound like himself. Man, what a voice.) there are a couple of voice actors playing the new Master Splinter and Shredder in the newest TMBT, though, who sound impressive. At least one's natural speaking voice is good, but much more easy-going. I though, back when I was first reading Foreigner 01, that Banichi and other Guild members might have that characteristic "samurai rumble" gruff voice. But it didn't last that way in my head. Banichi is taciturn, not a real talker, but he has a clever sense of humor. He jokes with a straight face, and probably checks to see if anyone got it. Bren almost always gets it.

Jago seems like a tough customer, but comfortable being a lady, feminine. When we learn later a few women, very elegant ladies, are Assassin's Guild, Bren feels foolish for not having guessed the chance. He's used to Jago being in a paramilitary type uniform. But this makes one wonder if Jago were dressed as a court lady, wouldn't she fit the part, really, and not mere camouflage? The lady Ilisidi, aiji-dowager, is both elegantly ladylike and tough, not a woman to take lightly. So Jago and she may have something in common, personality and manner.

Tabini-aiji -- While the Audible.com audiobook reader does overall a good job, in my opinion, he makes Tabini sound wrong, too much a dilettante or delicate nobleman. To me, Tabini is very engaged and enthusiastic about anything new or curious. But he's also solid as a leader, and can be tough when needed. He is his grandmother Ilisidi's grandson. He's just more laid back about it most of the time. I get the feeling he's like one of the Enlightenment scientist or philosopher upper class. Think Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin, René Descartes or Isaac Newton or the like, always into something, and committed to improving life for his citizens. Tabini's vital, active, likes sports and the ladies.he's the type the ladies like and the men admire, a manly man, not that affectation stereotyped dandy fellow.

Bren -- Bren is an intellectual. Exotic people and places and the pursuit of words appeal to him. He is no slouch at dealing with courtesies and diplomacy and tact. If anything, he's maybe too careful about that. He did not expect to be shot at, poisoned, or interrogated. Somehow, though he's not stupid at all, he just didn't imagine being so threatened. He's active, likes some sports. He is good at gauging others' emotions and actions and motives, but not his own, and not his personal relationships. There's a psychological blind spot there, a distance. I'd guess Bren has a pleasant speaking or singing voice, closer to tenor than bass, a good radio voice, oddly enough :atwink capable of being serious or in command, even though he doesn't see himself as a commanding leader. I'd guess women like him a lot. I'd also guess attention makes him uncomfortable. He is very self-critical and analytical.

Madame Saidin is always the picture of grace and courtliness, refined, elegant, hospitable, modest, and doesn't miss a single thing. She could be, figuratively, a European lady of a certain age, or an Asian lady of a certain age. (I was fooled about her position as Bren was.) I think she'd be an alto or low soprano, a warm personality, not cold. She's genuine and good at her job. Any job.

Damiri, I think pushes some, a bit brusque or strident at times, but more often well mannered and concerned for people for whom she's responsible or equal to. She doesn't seem to want to slight or abuse people. But she's fine with testing them a bit to see what they'll do.

Deana Hanks -- The less said about her the better. Lower voice, not too low an alto, though. Contentious and borderline rude. Prejudiced, but hides it well. ambitious. But somehow managed to pass exams to become he apparent paidhi-successor. One suggests a bar of soap for her mouth, perhaps tape her mouth shut, and earmuffs, and send her packing post haste.

Barb. A thorn in the side. Socialite or social climber, likes the fast lane, parties, etc. not, however, an airhead. More like um, manipulative. The kind of woman who is both trophy wife and yet a power in her own right to get what she's after. And just perhaps a government agent for those not friendly to Bren. But I'd sooner her than Hanks. The problem with either is not to overplay them into caricatures. They need to come across as real, believable, and capable of fooling an otherwise sharp Bren.
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joekc6nlx
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kendo bain sidhe
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Wow, Ben, what an insightful response.
I'm pretty much in agreement with you on most of the voices, especially Bren's.

I believe Banichi has a deep voice, but as Ben said, a rumbling type. When he speaks, he speaks softly, and is concise and to the point. I had actually envisioned his voice as somewhere near James Earl Jones's (but not JEJ's voice) or Paul Robeson.

Jago's voice would be higher in pitch, but not necessarily like a human woman's voice. I do hear her voice as definitely female, but still deeper than say, Barb's.

Tabini to me has the vocal qualities that make him a charismatic, dynamic leader. He speaks decisively, his voice somewhere in the range of a low baritone, and definitely NOT soft.

I'm not sure about Damiri-daja. After reading Intruder, I thought differently than from before when the Atageini's apartment was shot up.

Deana Hanks has never projected anything but a belligerent, smart-assed, almost screaming tone. She never has anything good to say about anyone, probably a product of her upbringing in the Heritage Party. She's definitely immature, she knows she's not as good as Bren even at his worst, and she hates the atevi. That's just the perfect combination for a paidhi-aji, because after all, we're going to take over the planet, just as soon as we can get the death-rays working on the station, and drop cell phones all over the mainland.

I kind of leave Barb's voice alone, because I get the feeling she's whiny when she wants something (or someone), and probably sounds like a 15 year old girl (to me).
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BlueCatShip
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Thanks, Joe. Nice of you.

Adding about Hanks. She is probably that arrogant kind of student who makes all A's by work, but won't let anyone forget it, how smart she thinks she is. Very bad with people. This leads me to think there was huge pressure to pick her for a backup paidhi translator, and huge pressure because the reactionary, ultra-conservative ... bigots see her as just what they want. And she is, to my mind, exactly what you do not want negotiating with a foreign group, company or political or military. But she is there -- and she is convinced she is absolutely right.

I'm only in Inheritor, so I haven't seen more of Damiri-daja yet.
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asdrin
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Anybody as big as the atevi are, with that human-like physiology will have to have a comensurately larger trachea and longer vocal cords, hence lower pitched voice. IOW, about like a similar sized human--never singing soprano!
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magicdomino

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asdrin,Dec 6 2012
06:08 AM
Anybody as big as the atevi are, with that human-like physiology will have to have a comensurately larger trachea and longer vocal cords, hence lower pitched voice. IOW, about like a similar sized human--never singing soprano!

That's what I was thinking. Atevi would have lower voices, overall, with the exception of Cajeiri (who doesn't appear until much later in the series anyway.) Bren would sound like a tenor, especially in contrast to atevi voices; Jago would be low alto, maybe, if she was real. I believe someplace Jago is described as saying something in her "low" voice. However, human listeners would expect Jago and other women to sound more feminine, or at least have higher voices than Bren.
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Hakkikt
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Jago always sounded like Angela Bassett to me: Lornette 'Mace' Mason in Strange Days & White House Chief of Staff Rachel Constantine in Contact. Strong, positive female action character.

Kkkttt! Hkkt 0916 [2216GMT, 1516PST] Fr. 7 Dec. 2012.
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Sable

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Nadiin!!!

You all are fabulous. Such excellent comments. As the director on this journey you give me plenty to think about although... I will say this... we are very much of one mind in many of our opinions on the voices.

How gratifying!

Now I have a favor... I've mentioned that we are on facebook and I've been posting questions there also. I would love it if you would check the page out and chime in there too. It seems to me that many of the people who have "liked" us so far are, indeed, fans of CJ, but some are new and some have never (I assume) partaken in any detailed discussions of such things as vocal quality or, in the case of one of my questions... what, in the evolutionary history of the atevi, caused their unique eyes?

Boy, that should be a good discussion... But I need some help to get it going!

/www.facebook.com/CJCherryhMovieInAudio

Sable

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gakusha
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Honorables -

Not everyone visits Facebook for information or uses Twitter for communication.
Also, not everyone trawls YouTube regularly for news of the "World".

I would hate to see our discussions here in the relatively secluded environs of Shejidan move to the more public stages of any of the above.

- Gakusha
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BlueCatShip
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I'd hazard that the atevi eyesight and hearing and dark coloration all point to a more nocturnal or dawn/dusk predatory ancestry, similar to many Terran carnivora (dogs, cats, bears, etc.). Dark hair and skin are camouflage in low light. The eyes that shimmer or glow with reflected light are typical of night-time animals on Earth, especially predators. There's a biological reason: that glow is a mirror-like component that amplifies the ambient light to send the best night-time image to the retinas and on to the optic nerves for processing in the brain. The glow or shimmer increases with light reflected onto the inner surfaces of the eyes. Better night vision in Terran animals tends to mean slightly reduced acuity or color sensitivity in other vision, and a higher sensitivity to detect motion. But further improvements through natural selection or mutation might well make up for those weaknesses too. With less ability to see at night, better hearing and smell and touch are more important for either a good hunter or a good dodger to getting caught.

Note: Yes, many large Terran dawn/dusk/night predators have medium or light colored coats or patterns. Why? Because they may also hunt in the daytime, they need to avoid becoming prey themselves in the day or when sleeping, and because their environments may mean that blending in, camouflage, is better with a patterned or lighter coat. For example, sandstone or grasslands can be conducive to a tan coat like in lions or cougars, while forests or dark rocks may be conducive to stripes or spots, or to a darker coat. Wolves tend to have a range of colors, but overall, brindled light over dark coats. Note also that both chimpanzees and gorillas have dark brown or black hair, and most humans have dark hair too.

So atevi looks and senses would fit those origins.
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Xheralt
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Melanin in human skin is a defense against extreme sunlight, whether temporary (suntan) or built-in tropical/desert tribes, but this doesn't seem to match the circumstances of the atevi earth. If anything, Bren (and by association the average human) tends to be cold. Going the other way, atevi skin may therefore be a means to capture as much energy/warmth of the (dimmer) atevi sunlight as possible, no camouflage element involved.
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BlueCatShip
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Either way, those are as good reasons for their dark skin as what I'd said, and Xheralt-ji's explanation might fit the facts better.

I'd thought of something else, too.

I remember from a Time-Life book on Evolution an example with two butterflies (or moths?) representing two regions in England. The explanation was that the lighter, greyer one was the original variety, and the coal-black one was a variation among the grey-patterned ones that had gained dominance in its region around 150 to 200 years ago, when coal-burning power had added coal and soot to the area's city and port industrial atmosphere, while those out in the countryside stayed in the original distribution. -- Not that it has a direct implication for atevi, but it's a factor to consider. Something in atevi ancestry could have favored dark black/bronze skin over other possibilities. Compare black versus spotted leopards as two genetic variants. The gold and black spotted rosettes are the most common kind, while the all-black coat is rare. With selection pressure, it could turn the other way around. I seem to recall that there is "ghosting" or watermarking of the rosettes on the all-black coat.

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Xheralt
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We know that's the case with Eushu's coat, at least, I didn't know it applied to larger cats as well. :Acat:

This kind of leads me to another thought, with the golden eyes being a low-light adaptation, maybe the atevi sun is slightly dimmer than Sol? Or the atevi earth is slightly further from it? Mospheirans -- and shipfolk, for that matter -- have no basis for comparison. They haven't seen the naked light of any sun other than the ateva one.
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Sable

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Great discussion everyone.

Wish I could get such discussions going on over on Facebook.

Why?

Because the more people we get actively interested in the project and books the better chance we have of getting funded on Kickstarter when the campaign finally goes up.

sj
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magicdomino

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Partly because there are too many other distractions on Facebook, partly because some of the chatty people here aren't on Facebook like Yours Truly. So, if the discussion moved to Facebook, you wouldn't have my comments at all.
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