the speed of the delivery
24 Mar 2010 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigouI had CP watch the first episode of Durarara!! and he noted that the conversation speed is, well, conversational. Faster-paced than usual in most anime (and even many of the doramas, from what I gather), and not nearly as clear in terms of pronunciation. Seeing how I can't actually understand the language, what I'm twigging on here is the cadence.
Since I have three different series sitting on my hard drive that have Mamoru Miyano in them, that seemed like a good voice for comparison. Have a listen: the first two clips are from Gundam 00 (Setsuna), the second two are from Fullmetal Alchemist (Ling), and the last two are from Durarara (Kida). The clips from Durarara are heavy on the ambient noise, even when there's soundtrack. The series seems determined to force the entire foley team to put in hours of overtime -- and the soundtrack (as you'll notice) is a dominant element, nearly rivaling the voices. (Also, in the final clip, the characters are eating ice cream, which compounds Kida's slurring, but it was the only other really good conversational clip I could find.)
[http://www.karinoyo.com/media/miyano2.mp3]
A few notes about that last clip: although the voices are competing with the soundtrack way more than I'm used to, I went ahead and used that clip partly because I keep thinking I know that melody, but I can't place it. Auuuugggh. Driving me bonkers.
Second, per CP's comment about slurring: at 1:27, it sounds like he's saying "baahn" -- but he's actually saying "baka", given the translation. Now there's some slurring. The last exchange, between Kido and his friend MIkado, consist of Kido rattling off about something, and Mikado's line -- of which only like two syllables is really audible -- has subtitles something like, "where do you come up with this?" To which Kido replies (and the last line of the clip), "out of the atmosphere." Yes, I also picked that exchange because it's quintessentially the characterization-in-tone for Kido and the main protagonist, Mikado.
The cadences of each, though, didn't really stand out until I listened to the clips back-to-back, and it got crystal clear when I looked at the clips' sound patterns. I lined up three to show you what I mean -- the top is the first clip from Durarara, the middle is the second clip from Gundam, and the third is the conversation that begins with the end of the second clip from FMA. (Curiously, Ed from FMA is one of the few characters/voices that stomps on other characters' cues -- when he's speaking, there's a distinct mashed look to the waves, but that's not because one person is speaking rapidly but because Ed can't seem to let Ling finish a sentence.)
The second set (middle two rows) really make it stand out just how, hrm, deliberate Gundam paces its voices. (Out of sheer curiosity, I even dug out clips I had from Gundam SEED and from Gundam Wing, and they both show the same pattern: loooong pauses, way more than normal speaking speed, both between character lines and within a character's own lines. Like maybe Gundam characters have to draw much deeper breaths or something.) On the other hand, I'd bet it's for battle-scene contrast, and if I were to snag a clip of a battle... oh, uhm, no, actually, still some long breaks there, though within a character's individual section, the spacing is slightly shorter.
Stomping on cues is very much a fine art, and it's not one you really see much (except in dramatic situations on dramas like ER and its kin, where doctors and nurses will all be talking at once). It's very much a Robert Altman trademark to have three or more conversations going at once. Few directors really try it, because it requires multiple overlapping conversations, and that's really hard to write and keep any level of coherency, not to mention trying to direct or film it so audiences can follow.
What do I mean by cue-stomping? Mostly that the pacing doesn't allow for breathing room. Here, have a listen to one example, from Kurenai (which cue-stomps pretty regularly, even when it's not an argument).
Since I have three different series sitting on my hard drive that have Mamoru Miyano in them, that seemed like a good voice for comparison. Have a listen: the first two clips are from Gundam 00 (Setsuna), the second two are from Fullmetal Alchemist (Ling), and the last two are from Durarara (Kida). The clips from Durarara are heavy on the ambient noise, even when there's soundtrack. The series seems determined to force the entire foley team to put in hours of overtime -- and the soundtrack (as you'll notice) is a dominant element, nearly rivaling the voices. (Also, in the final clip, the characters are eating ice cream, which compounds Kida's slurring, but it was the only other really good conversational clip I could find.)
[http://www.karinoyo.com/media/miyano2.mp3]
A few notes about that last clip: although the voices are competing with the soundtrack way more than I'm used to, I went ahead and used that clip partly because I keep thinking I know that melody, but I can't place it. Auuuugggh. Driving me bonkers.
Second, per CP's comment about slurring: at 1:27, it sounds like he's saying "baahn" -- but he's actually saying "baka", given the translation. Now there's some slurring. The last exchange, between Kido and his friend MIkado, consist of Kido rattling off about something, and Mikado's line -- of which only like two syllables is really audible -- has subtitles something like, "where do you come up with this?" To which Kido replies (and the last line of the clip), "out of the atmosphere." Yes, I also picked that exchange because it's quintessentially the characterization-in-tone for Kido and the main protagonist, Mikado.
The cadences of each, though, didn't really stand out until I listened to the clips back-to-back, and it got crystal clear when I looked at the clips' sound patterns. I lined up three to show you what I mean -- the top is the first clip from Durarara, the middle is the second clip from Gundam, and the third is the conversation that begins with the end of the second clip from FMA. (Curiously, Ed from FMA is one of the few characters/voices that stomps on other characters' cues -- when he's speaking, there's a distinct mashed look to the waves, but that's not because one person is speaking rapidly but because Ed can't seem to let Ling finish a sentence.)
The second set (middle two rows) really make it stand out just how, hrm, deliberate Gundam paces its voices. (Out of sheer curiosity, I even dug out clips I had from Gundam SEED and from Gundam Wing, and they both show the same pattern: loooong pauses, way more than normal speaking speed, both between character lines and within a character's own lines. Like maybe Gundam characters have to draw much deeper breaths or something.) On the other hand, I'd bet it's for battle-scene contrast, and if I were to snag a clip of a battle... oh, uhm, no, actually, still some long breaks there, though within a character's individual section, the spacing is slightly shorter.
Stomping on cues is very much a fine art, and it's not one you really see much (except in dramatic situations on dramas like ER and its kin, where doctors and nurses will all be talking at once). It's very much a Robert Altman trademark to have three or more conversations going at once. Few directors really try it, because it requires multiple overlapping conversations, and that's really hard to write and keep any level of coherency, not to mention trying to direct or film it so audiences can follow.
What do I mean by cue-stomping? Mostly that the pacing doesn't allow for breathing room. Here, have a listen to one example, from Kurenai (which cue-stomps pretty regularly, even when it's not an argument).
[http://www.karinoyo.com/media/kurenai1.mp3]
Setting aside what's being said, try listening to the repetition of words (or at least consonants): you'll hear echoes of the youngest character (Murasaki) saying a word, with a variant repeated by the young man (Skinkurou), and then the word will show up again in the young woman's reply (Yuno). But if you'd rather hear the same style in English, how about a listen to the grand-daddy (-mommy?) of rapid-fire, cue-stomping, no-breathing-room delivery.
Setting aside what's being said, try listening to the repetition of words (or at least consonants): you'll hear echoes of the youngest character (Murasaki) saying a word, with a variant repeated by the young man (Skinkurou), and then the word will show up again in the young woman's reply (Yuno). But if you'd rather hear the same style in English, how about a listen to the grand-daddy (-mommy?) of rapid-fire, cue-stomping, no-breathing-room delivery.
Just a little something to enjoy and compare and consider in terms of cadences.
Oh, and... the subtitles for that scene in Kurenai were a jumble, but the subtitles for His Girl Friday have got to be nothing but one big hot mess.
Oh, and... the subtitles for that scene in Kurenai were a jumble, but the subtitles for His Girl Friday have got to be nothing but one big hot mess.