@stereoforest.com
StereoForest.com specializes in directing and producing video-first podcasts & audio dramas. Posts by @jendehaan.com: Remote voice acting, improviser, writer, producer and director. Made in Canada 🇨🇦 by humans
Radiohead is demanding that the Trump administration take down a pro-ICE promotional video featuring a version of its song “Let Down” without permission.
Full statement from the band:
100%. Made a whole page about why & how, it's almost completely ignored (and when it isn't, ridic excuses made). Worst is the Canadian former-politician activist who is all "elbows up" & "buy Canadadian" with a *paid* sub tier in peak hypocrisy. Specifically ignores every one of us posting about it.
"it looks like y'all really had fun up there" - improv coach
Jen with quizzical face and text "stop asking"
New Your Improv Brain episode. This one is about why questions at the top of your scene can stall things and what to do instead. I also talk about why making assumptions about other people's characters felt genuinely weird to me when I started improv. Find episode at improvupdate.com/improvbrain
Your Improv Brain is back - new ep on podcast and YouTube (fwiw they are separate recordings for each platform/format).
dog on leash standing on thick moss in a forest, looking away towards sunshine. long stick with a DJI mic clipped on aimed at dog
Recording sound for the next audio drama, which is a science fiction adjacent for-serious drama. There's a dog. Susan is good at acting dog in forest sounds!
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
"NPR Voice" flattens vocals to sound professional. But the brain needs what are called Prosodic Cues like pitch and volume changes to process information. Being monotone doesn't help comprehension and can limit what you want to communicate to the listener.
#Podcasting
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
Prosody is the hierarchy of sound. We speak louder and slower for new ideas. We speak faster and lower for old ones. If you deliver everything at the same speed and volume then your listener cannot tell what matters.
#PodcastThreads
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
Simulation Theory explains why stories work. We do not just listen to words. We simulate the physical experience of the speaker. You cut that connection when you strip the emotion out of your voice. Show don't tell.
#PodcastThreads
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
Try the "Why Pass" on your next script. Go through your segments and ask "Why do I care?" If you are angry about the topic then be angry. If you are excited then be excited. Practice at level 11 emotion, then do your regular read and see what happens.
#PodcastThreads
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
You can't fake your charisma because of mirror neurons. When you speak with passion your listener's brain simulates that physically. Faking it = their mirror neurons stay dormant. "Deep Acting" communicates your genuine feelings about why you care about the topic.
#PodcastThreads
Red and orange show art. Show logo at the top "Podcast Performance Lab. Episode text "Better comprehension? Emotion"
Want your listeners actively engaged? You gotta be too! Your listeners physically mimic the tension in your voice, which is called Emotional Contagion. If you sound bored then they tune out. New ep of Podcast Performance Lab is out.
#Podcasting
I had a Reddit post removed from an “Ask” subreddit because the mods said it could have been answered “by a search engine.”
Have any of them used a search engine lately? Search engines don’t answer shit anymore! They’re all completely enshittified. Why do you think I was on Reddit?
😊 🐐
More info in the "Podcast Performance Lab" series. Get it where you get podcasts. Science always linked in the show notes.
The "Uncanny Valley" happens in audio too. We strip out the humanity when we over-edit or when we record while anxious. Listeners can feel that disconnect. We have to prioritize connection over perfection to build trust.
More info in the episode: From the "dead eyes" podcast episode on "Podcast Performance Lab". Get it where you get podcasts. Science linked in the show notes.
You can visualize a friend's face on the camera lens if you don't have a photo. Scan their face for reactions while you speak. These micro-movements in your eyes make you look engaged. Staring straight at the lens makes you look glazed over and it's harder to connect that way.
screen shot of the video from the original post by Merriam-Webster with the word GOAT
Quintuplets!
Lucky! 🥔 (was in my most used emojis, apparently)
More info in the episode: From the latest podcast episode on "Podcast Performance Lab" is about dead eyes. Get it where you get podcasts. Science linked in the show notes.
Stanislavski had a concept called "Circles of Attention." The Small Circle is you worrying about yourself. The Large Circle is you worrying about the audience. The Medium Circle is you connecting with one person. Stay in the Medium Circle to fix your recording anxiety.
... but evaluate your own before and after.
The latest podcast episode on "Podcast Performance Lab" is about dead eyes. Get it where you get podcasts. Science linked in the show notes.
Try the "Talk to the Face" drill. Tape a photo of someone you like next to your camera lens. Talk to them, you can even address them directly in practice (or clip it out). This change can cue your innate safety response. Your voice might drop a bit (pitch) and your eyes will crinkle...
