Another day spent here at COAF. I started the day learning about kendo from the Ito Dojo, then went to Tony Oliver's panel about the Power Rangers. After that, I interviewed Bridget Hoffman and then attended her “Back in the Day” panel. Throughout it all I saw lots of folks with great, cute, or funny cosplays. Here's a little preview as well as my notes for the day.
COAF is back! In spite of heavy snow, anime fans have made their way to the Denver Tech Center to share their love of Japanese animation and culture. I'm here this weekend for two reasons. First, to help Crystal staff her artist table. Second, to record a few panels, take some photos, and interview a few of the guests. All of those recordings and photos will have to wait until I have a chance to select and edit at my computer. For now, enjoy my notes from the panels I attended today.
In today’s episode, I have a recording of part of Kyle McCarley’s “Getting Started in Voice Acting” panel. Unfortunately, I was late to the start of this panel and missed the first few minutes. When I got my recording equipment up, McCarley was talking about preparing a demo reel for voice acting. He talked about the need to produce multiple demo reels for different types of voice over work, how to tailor the demo, and how to hire a professional to help you. McCarley also gave some general indication about how much producing a demo should cost and what to expect when working with an audio engineer. Next, he talked about some options about how to set up a home studio, including where to locate it in your house, some microphone recommendations, how to reduce room effects and noise, and home user audio editing software. After that, McCarley talked about where to find work, how to communicate with potential agents and clients, and how location can influence your ability to find work.
Starting this week we will be featuring audio that we recorded at Colorado Anime Fest 2023, and we will begin with the convention opening ceremonies, hosted by the singular Ciaran Strange. We hope that you enjoy this episode, and come back for more.
Another year another convention filled with cosplay. This year was a little different though. Instead of being on the floor I was honored with the chance to photograph the judging for the cosplay contest which can be found here. As a result the floor photos are a bit sparse, but enjoy nonetheless!
Hi folks, we’re trying something new with this episode. Today, we have a big batch of interviews that we recorded with regular convention attendees on the floor of NDK 2022. We asked each person two questions: “who are they cosplaying?” and “why?”. Listening back as I was editing the audio this past week, I was delighted to be reminded of these little interactions with other fans. When we started doing this, I was incredibly nervous to approach people out of the blue (you can probably hear it in my voice in the first few). But the little stories that so many of these fans had reminded me of how fun and cool it is to love art and media. I hope you enjoy listening to these as much as I enjoyed editing them.
Our penultimate podcast from NDK 2022, a panel with John and Olivia Swasey.
Please enjoy the winners of the NDK 25 Cosplay contest! The passion these folks showed this year was incredible!
Read MoreOur second podcast from NDK is a panel featuring Dr. Alisa Freedman and Queen D.
In theory, a professor and a drag queen would seem to be an odd pairing. But when you put Dr. Alisa Freedman and Queen D together in a panel, the conversation is non-stop. The panel, dubbed the Doctor and The Queen moved rapidly through many subjects: sharks, Doctoral thesis, conspiracy theories, football fans, retro-gaming, and travel planning just to name a few. We hope you enjoy listening in on this panel from NDK’s Bert and Ernie duo.
Here is our first piece of audio from Nan Desu Kan 2022: a panel featuring the history of NDK with Dr. Alisa Freedman, Guy Davis, and special guest Kevin McKeever.
This year marks the 25th Nan Desu Kan. The convention has been held annually since 1997, with the exception of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented gatherings of large groups of people. In light of this Dr. Alisa Freedman, Professor of Japanese Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender at the University of Oregon, and Guy Davis, the NDK historian, and member of the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Anime Association, convened a panel to discuss the history of NDK as it relates to the wider history of anime in North America. They were joined partway through by Kevin McKeever of Harmony Gold (localizer and publisher of Robotech and Macross). The panel presented background on the origins of NDK, the early history of anime localization in the US, and how the convention evolved in its early years alongside the anime market. Near the end of the panel, there was a question and answer period that included discussion about what the future of NDK may look like.
