Full-cast audiobooks are revolutionizing the world of storytelling, offering a rich, multi-voiced journey into the heart of narratives. These productions go beyond traditional audiobooks by incorporating sound effects, music, and a diverse cast, allowing listeners to immerse themselves fully in the story’s world. This article delves into the process of transforming written words into captivating auditory adventures, from scripting nuances to voice actor selection.

What are Full-Cast Audiobooks?

Full-cast audiobooks are growing in popularity in the realm of audiobooks. They are one component of curating an immersive audio experience for your listeners. Other features include audiobooks with sound effects, music, and more. Allowing the listener to go beyond simply listening to the book being read aloud. Instead, to enter the world of the book and experience this immersive experience as if they were right there with the characters themselves. This article will explain how to take your book from the written word to an immersive multi-voice experience. From scripting to casting to recording, we give you all our juicy tips on making your audiobook stand out from the crowd. 

The Journey from Scripting to Performance

Scripting for full-cast audiobooks is a delicate art. It involves adapting the written text to an auditory format, often reducing narrative descriptors and relying on the actors’ performances to convey emotions and context. This process ensures that the essence of the story is not just retained but enhanced in its audio form.

Scripting

When an author or publishing company approaches us to discuss turning their book into an immersive listening experience, they’re generally not studio-ready – yet. By that, we mean that the story is perfect for print but requires tweaking for the same story to make sense to someone if they were to listen to it. Filler, contextual words such as “she said shyly” can often be omitted. Because, of course, we already hear which character is speaking and can detect their mood and tone from what we hear in their script delivery. 

Sometimes, there will still be a role for the narrator to play, but it will vary from what is present in the printed form. During the scripting process, we work to ensure that the essence of the story is not lost but is amplified in the auditory form. 

Narrative voice

As mentioned above, there is often still a role for the narrator to play. Sometimes it is a designated narrator in the more traditional sense. Other times, one of the (usually the lead) characters may carry the listener through the story and act as the narrative voice.

Directed scene work and recording

Much like making movies for the big screen, producing a digital product like full-cast audiobooks with sound effects requires a director’s touch. We provide our voice actors with a detailed script, cues, and scene notes. But are also there with them (just outside the recording booth), guiding them through each scene. After this has been recorded, we start to edit and add music and sound effects. 

Bringing Out the Best in Voice Actors

Successful full-cast audiobooks hinge on nuanced performances. It’s crucial to avoid rushed narrations or exaggerated, unrealistic voices, as these can detract from the listener’s experience. Selecting the right voice actors, understanding your audience’s preferences, and trusting your intuition are key to producing a memorable audiobook.

Avoid over-the-top fake or cartoonish voices

Okay, maybe there is something worse than a fast-paced narrator. And that’s over-the-top, fake, or cartoonish voices. Of course, when creating a multiple voices experience, you want to have an array of voices to create distinction. But it can be so cringeworthy having to listen to these types of voices. Just like some extremely bad acting may cause us to turn off a movie on the TV, the same rule applies here, and you may just lose listeners. 

Check out their previous work

You obviously want to do due diligence for your (or your clients’) book. Check out their previous work, ideally in a similar style or story. We suggest you go a step beyond that and read the audiobook reviews. You want to see how their voice is received by consumers and catch any comments similar to “the narrator’s voice was so annoying I switched it off after the first chapter.” Of course, you can’t please everyone, so you take these with a grain of salt, but if there is an overwhelming amount of reviews similar to this, it’s best you know now before you commit to working with them. 

Poll your fans

This one can be tricky, but with a bit of hard work and research, you can learn new insights about your ideal consumers and their preferences. For example, do they prefer the sound of a male or female voice? Or a North American or British accent? These seemingly small questions can provide great insight to fuel the success of your audiobook!

Trust your gut

Always go with your gut. If you’re the author, you know these characters better than anyone else! Listen to the professionals and your production team, they are the experts on producing full-cast audiobooks, but you are the expert on the intricacies of these characters. 

Tips for casting a full-cast audiobook

• Cast a collection of varied voices. You want the listener to immediately know what character is speaking without having to pause and think to themselves, “wait, is this Rebecca or Olive speaking?”. It distracts from the story and pulls them out of the moment, removing the listener from their immersive listening experience.

• Consider the significance of a designated narrator. Because we are creating an immersive story, the traditional role of the narrator would be to state contextual words such as “he said, or, he spat angrily.” But, of course, this isn’t required in a full-cast audiobook with distinct voices. However, depending on the flow of your story, there may still be a place for the narrator in your audiobook.

• Don’t undermine the importance of intentional scripting. Of course, you have a brilliant book, but translating that into a workable script can be a rigorous process with a lot of back and forth. This phase will lay the groundwork for the project’s entirety and is crucial to your book’s ultimate flow and success. 

If you want to transform your book into a memorable and engaging auditory experience, reach out to us at Canarit Audiobooks.

Canarit is so much more than an audiobook company; we are about creating listening experiences that rival live-action theatre or the cinematic experience. 

Let’s create an immersive listening experience together, from casting to pre-production to recording! 

How to go from the written word to an immersive audio experience

Scripting

When an author or publishing company approaches us to discuss turning their book into an immersive listening experience, they’re generally not studio-ready – yet. By that, we mean that the story is perfect for print but requires tweaking for the same story to make sense to someone if they were to listen to it. Filler, contextual words such as “she said shyly” can often be omitted. Because, of course, we already hear which character is speaking and can detect their mood and tone from what we hear in their script delivery. 

Sometimes, there will still be a role for the narrator to play, but it will vary from what is present in the printed form. During the scripting process, we work to ensure that the essence of the story is not lost but is actually amplified in the auditory form. 

Narrative voice

As mentioned above, there is often still a role for the narrator to play. Sometimes it is a designated narrator in the more traditional sense. Other times, one of the (usually the lead) characters may carry the listener through the story and act as the narrative voice.

Directed scene work and recording

Much like making movies for the big screen, producing a digital product like full-cast audiobooks with sound effects requires a director’s touch. We provide our voice actors with a detailed script, cues, and scene notes. But are also there with them (just outside the recording booth), guiding them through each scene. After this has been recorded, we start to edit and add music and sound effects. 

How to bring out the best in your voice actors

Slow it down

There’s nothing worse than listening to audiobook narrators rushing through the material. It completely distracts from the potency of the story. And in some extreme cases, the listener has to rewind certain sections to ensure they heard the story correctly. Which makes it very difficult to achieve an immersive audio experience if you have to stop, start, and rewind constantly. 

Avoid over-the-top fake or cartoonish voices

Okay, maybe there is something worse than a fast-paced narrator. And that’s over-the-top, fake, or cartoonish voices. Of course, when creating a multiple voices experience, you want to have an array of voices to create distinction. But it can be so cringeworthy having to listen to these types of voices. Just like some extremely bad acting may cause us to turn off a movie on the TV, the same rule applies here, and you may just lose listeners. 

Check out their previous work

You want to do due diligence for your (or your clients’) book. Check out their previous work, ideally in a similar style or story. We suggest you go a step beyond that and read the audiobook reviews. You want to see how their voice is received by consumers and catch any comments similar to “the narrator’s voice was so annoying I switched it off after the first chapter.” Of course, you can’t please everyone, so you take these with a grain of salt, but if there is an overwhelming amount of reviews similar to this, it’s best you know now before you commit to working with them. 

Poll your fans

This one can be tricky, but with a bit of hard work and research, you can learn new insights about your ideal consumers and their preferences. For example, do they prefer the sound of a male or female voice? Or a North American or British accent? These seemingly small questions can provide great insight to fuel the success of your audiobook!

Trust your gut

Always go with your gut. If you’re the author, you know these characters better than anyone else! Listen to the professionals and your production team, they are the experts on producing full-cast audiobooks, but you are the expert on the intricacies of these characters. 

Final word

If you want to transform your book into a memorable and engaging auditory experience, reach out to us at Canarit Audiobooks.

Canarit is so much more than an audiobook company; we are about creating listening experiences that rival live-action theatre or the cinematic experience. 

Let’s create an immersive listening experience together, from casting to pre-production to recording!