The First Ever Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast Casting Call
Monday, October 20th, 2014 3:44PM CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, PodcastPosted by: ScottyP Views: 104,551
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If so, the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast may be in need of you! No one is permanently leaving the show, but as your ears may have been able to tell, some of our longtime regulars have grown-up, responsible adult type stuff to do that's taken away from the time they can spend podcasting. Due to this, we're looking to bring on one new regular cast member. Potentially, we'll add more than one, but that's only if we're just blown away by more than one applicant.
Here are the qualifications for a potential cast member:
- An absolute love for the Transformers brand - Not just the toys, not just the comics, not just the shows, not just the movies, not just - well, you get the picture. Even if something isn't your favorite, you'll need to keep up with the latest and greatest and be ready to discuss it. Our show is known, as least partly, for the depth of knowledge of the cast, and new crew should keep up that standard.
- Drive and desire to make the show better every episode - This is purely volunteer work and every episode will come with some responsibility. No one on the show gets to show up, record, and forget about it. You must be driven to actively contribute and help make this the best Transformers podcast on the internet.
- An outgoing personality - Not much explanation required here. Shy personalities need not apply. Have to have the ability to keep up a long conversation and be able to treat occasional guests like they're old friends.
- Ability to have fun, opinionated arguments while never losing your cool - We don't all agree on everything, and that's awesome! Anyone coming on to the show needs to be able to get into a good, intelligent debate, and keep it professional. If you get angry and irrational during arguments over opinions on Transformers things, we're not the show for you.
- Team first mentality - We're not looking for the next celebrity. We're looking for a piece of a team that can contribute to the whole of that team. If you're looking at this and your first thought is that it'd be a great way to plug your Youtube channel or personal blog, then you're probably not what we're looking for.
Here are the absolute, non-subjective, technical requirements:
- Must be an active member of the Seibertron.com community - As a cast member on the Twincast, you become part of the Seibertron.com staff. You must be an active member of our community, and you must be willing to continue to post on the forums regularly after joining. Staff members of other Transformers fansites are not eligible to be a regular Twincast / Podcast cast member, however current Seibertron.com staff are eligible to audition. Regular contributors to other podcasts will be considered on a case by case basis - if you're doing sports talk somewhere, whatever; if you're doing Transformers talk elsewhere, we need to know this.
- Weeknight availability - Must be available on most Thursday nights, but also Tuesdays or Wednesdays as needed, with the occasional other night thrown in as needed around holidays. Recordings are around 8:30 PM Eastern time. This one is completely non-negotiable, as availability issues are why we're having to look for new voices!
- A good internet connection - You probably need at least a 20 megabit down connection to participate if you live within the continental US. If you live outside of the US, you may need a much stronger network, otherwise the entire production may have difficulty remaining stable and at a good quality.
- A Skype account - We won't always use Skype into the future, but for the time being, this is the medium used for call recording.
- Decent microphone or headset - As long as it sounds good, it works, but your built in laptop mic, for instance, probably isn't going to cut it. Also, need some decent headphones. Speakers cause echo and may not be used during a recording.
Here's how to apply if you feel you meet all the requirements:
You'll need to record two clips, and send them in to us in mp3 format. One clip should be thirty seconds long, and the other should be one minute long. No other formats will be accepted and no clips where the talking exceeds the time limit will be accepted (if your file starts with three seconds of silence and ends with a couple and it's 1:05, no big deal, but if the time from your first word to the last is over the limit, your entry is disqualified). Yes, these requirements are a test, and you need to pass. Please do not spend money to do this, there's plenty of free software.
For the thirty second clip, give your thoughts on one of the following three topics:
- Comics Topic: How do you feel about Megatron's turn to the Autobots, and did you find it handled well stylistically?
- Toys Topic: Talk about your favorite toy from Transformers: Age of Extinction's toyline.
- General Topic: What is your favorite era (could be a whole era like "Unicron Trilogy" or single period such as "Beast Wars Season 2") of Transformers?
For the one minute clip, answer one of the following questions. Your choice from here should address a different area of the hobby than the thirty second clip. In other words, if you picked a toy topic for the short clip, do not pick a toy topic here, and vice versa:
- Comics Topic: What is your favorite era/book/mini-series of Transformers comics, and why?
- Toys Topic: Do you think Hasbro's "Combiner Wars" theme for 2015 will help combat potential sales lost to third party companies?
- General Topic: What keeps you interested in the Transformers?
Each clip should be recorded as if the host has prompted you to answer it on the show. Once you have them ready, send me a Private Message here on the forums to let me know that you're interested. This will allow us to verify that you're an active community member here. Once we've done that, you'll be sent an email address to send the actual clips to, and that's it!
Deadline:
Deadline for entries is 6 PM Eastern Time on November 9th, 2014 and we will not accept any more submissions after that time.
Judging:
All interested candidates will be contacted by November 12th at the very latest. At that time you'll either be moving on to the next phase of consideration described below, or we'll let you know that we won't be moving forward in having you on the show.
We'll pick our favorite 2-4 clips (more if there are more really good submissions, less if there aren't), and then those folks will, one by one, get to appear on an episode for a tryout. This tryout will be the ultimate criteria used in final judging. Depending on the number of folks we want to audition, there may be one person auditioning on an episode, or we may have someone audition for an hour, then we'll have them leave and bring someone else in for other segments. Just depends on what we get and what feels like the right thing to do when we cross that bridge.
There's no set criteria for judging the folks that audition, it will come down to a vote by the seven current members of the Twincast crew. Chemistry is everything, you may be the next big thing in Transformers podcasting, but if you don't have chemistry with us, you just don't have chemistry with us. Seibertron (Ryan Y.) has final approval and veto authority, since, you know, he owns the site! Of course, even though the final decision is in our hands, listener feedback in the podcast thread for the episode(s) where audition(s) occur might sway our opinions.
Good luck, and we look forward to hearing from everyone that applies!
Disclaimer: An offer to join the Twincast team stemming from this event does not guarantee any permanent arrangement. If circumstances occur that lead to any requirements not being met in the future, performance (real or perceived) after audition period drops below an unacceptable standard, or if responsibilities beyond recording your voice on the show are not completed, invitations to appear on future episodes may be revoked.
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Posted by kaliaticus on October 20th, 2014 @ 8:17pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on October 20th, 2014 @ 9:05pm CDT
Unless I personally go and request a change to my work schedule to make it so I don't work on Thursdays (which I can do, but feel hesitant to do), I can't guarantee that I'd always have the night free to participate in each scheduled recording.
Posted by Samsonator on October 20th, 2014 @ 10:46pm CDT
Posted by megatronus on October 20th, 2014 @ 11:28pm CDT
Posted by LE0KING on October 21st, 2014 @ 1:45am CDT
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on October 21st, 2014 @ 4:08am CDT
Posted by ScottyP on October 21st, 2014 @ 9:57am CDT
kaliaticus wrote:This is pretty cool! But without been pretentious: besides been part of this awesome podcast, is there any benefit for the winner?
Ryan bought me a beer at Botcon this year sooo... that was pretty cool. Plus, you get to be just barely internet famous. I gained like ten twitter followers since coming on the show!
Posted by Va'al on October 21st, 2014 @ 10:17am CDT
ScottyP wrote:kaliaticus wrote:This is pretty cool! But without been pretentious: besides been part of this awesome podcast, is there any benefit for the winner?
Ryan bought me a beer at Botcon this year sooo... that was pretty cool. Plus, you get to be just barely internet famous. I gained like ten twitter followers since coming on the show!
Also, advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics. If I send them.
Posted by ScottyP on October 21st, 2014 @ 10:45am CDT
Va'al wrote:advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics.
Just makes me appreciated the ink and paper versions that much more.
Posted by Va'al on October 21st, 2014 @ 10:51am CDT
ScottyP wrote:Va'al wrote:advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics.
Just makes me appreciated the ink and paper versions that much more.
*squint*
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on October 21st, 2014 @ 11:33am CDT
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on October 21st, 2014 @ 11:37am CDT
Posted by QBKiller94 on October 21st, 2014 @ 12:00pm CDT
Va'al wrote:ScottyP wrote:kaliaticus wrote:This is pretty cool! But without been pretentious: besides been part of this awesome podcast, is there any benefit for the winner?
Ryan bought me a beer at Botcon this year sooo... that was pretty cool. Plus, you get to be just barely internet famous. I gained like ten twitter followers since coming on the show!
Also, advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics. If I send them.
You guys get all the perks! Great idea. I may toss in a submission for kicks and giggles. Looking forward to hearing some new voices. Should be fun!
Posted by ScottyP on October 21st, 2014 @ 1:42pm CDT
OptimalOptimus2 wrote:I really want to join, but I don't know where exactly to get a decent headset w/ a microphone without it being expensive.
I'd just check Amazon reviews for inexpensive stuff, many reviews on there are from podcasters. That said, I really don't want folks to spend money since we're voting on stuff and I'd hate for someone to spend too much and not end up on the show, so please only buy "at your own risk"
OptimalOptimus2 wrote:And if I do want to join, I don't want to get mocked. (I still don't fully trust certain Seibertronians.)
Our podcasters don't get mocked! At least not that I've seen anywhere, so far, yet. Thankfully. Every time I bring that up I feel like I'm tempting fate
Posted by a Cobra Viper on October 21st, 2014 @ 2:33pm CDT
Posted by Burn on October 21st, 2014 @ 3:38pm CDT
QBKiller94 wrote:Va'al wrote:ScottyP wrote:kaliaticus wrote:This is pretty cool! But without been pretentious: besides been part of this awesome podcast, is there any benefit for the winner?
Ryan bought me a beer at Botcon this year sooo... that was pretty cool. Plus, you get to be just barely internet famous. I gained like ten twitter followers since coming on the show!
Also, advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics. If I send them.
You guys get all the perks! Great idea. I may toss in a submission for kicks and giggles. Looking forward to hearing some new voices. Should be fun!
Unless you're forum staff, then you get NOTHING.
Nothing except Facebook messages and e-mails in the middle of the night going "should I warn this person?" "what should I do with this thread?"
Posted by kaliaticus on October 21st, 2014 @ 3:42pm CDT
Va'al wrote:ScottyP wrote:Va'al wrote:advanced watermarked hard-to-read copies of IDW comics.
Just makes me appreciated the ink and paper versions that much more.
*squint*
Buaaaahahahahaha I gotta agree with ScottyP, printed versions are so much nicer but on the bright side, if I get Va'al digital copies, I can afford to wait for the TPB versions And who knows, Mr. Yzquierdo might buy me a beer or two! lol
Posted by Cobotron on October 21st, 2014 @ 7:40pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Rats! I qualify for all but the weeknight availability.
Unless I personally go and request a change to my work schedule to make it so I don't work on Thursdays (which I can do, but feel hesitant to do), I can't guarantee that I'd always have the night free to participate in each scheduled recording.
Can I nominate Sabrblade?
His wealth of knowledge is ridiculous!
There's a little rabbit and a spiderninja that I would also put on the ballet.
Change your schedule man.
I'd listen.
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on October 21st, 2014 @ 7:56pm CDT
Cobotron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Rats! I qualify for all but the weeknight availability.
Unless I personally go and request a change to my work schedule to make it so I don't work on Thursdays (which I can do, but feel hesitant to do), I can't guarantee that I'd always have the night free to participate in each scheduled recording.
Can I nominate Sabrblade?
His wealth of knowledge is ridiculous!
There's a little rabbit and a spiderninja that I would also put on the ballet.
Change your schedule man.
I'd listen.
Not to speak for him but honestly, Job security versus transformers podcast. I don't care how much anyone loves transformers job security takes priority.
Posted by Cobotron on October 21st, 2014 @ 8:53pm CDT
SW's SilverHammer wrote:Cobotron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Rats! I qualify for all but the weeknight availability.
Unless I personally go and request a change to my work schedule to make it so I don't work on Thursdays (which I can do, but feel hesitant to do), I can't guarantee that I'd always have the night free to participate in each scheduled recording.
Can I nominate Sabrblade?
His wealth of knowledge is ridiculous!
There's a little rabbit and a spiderninja that I would also put on the ballet.
Change your schedule man.
I'd listen.
Not to speak for him but honestly, Job security versus transformers podcast. I don't care how much anyone loves transformers job security takes priority.
I know. Just giving a little vote of confidence.
Vee haff a sayink een my country,
If der ist no vork, der ist no robits.
Posted by Sabrblade on October 21st, 2014 @ 10:01pm CDT
I've done something similar with previous semesters requiring that I have one or two specific days off of work to accommodate for class times on those days, so this would be like that.
Still, though, it would mean less flexibility in my work schedule...
And I wouldn't be able to guarantee my having a free night for any recording on a night that wouldn't be Thursday...
Posted by Burn on October 21st, 2014 @ 10:41pm CDT
Just saying.
Posted by Va'al on October 22nd, 2014 @ 1:53am CDT
Burn wrote:Needs more Australians and English/Italians.
Just saying.
And those people need more spare time and better time zones.
Posted by ScottyP on October 22nd, 2014 @ 8:52am CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on October 22nd, 2014 @ 10:05am CDT
Good luck to all other contestants.
Posted by kaliaticus on October 22nd, 2014 @ 10:11am CDT
ScottyP wrote:I would love to have some international voices, but I can't do anything about the sacrifice and damage to sleep schedules that would occur.
Well, this Costarrican might give it a shot Timezone should not be a big deal.
Posted by mooncake623 on October 22nd, 2014 @ 10:26am CDT
her maybe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candice_Swanepoel
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on October 22nd, 2014 @ 11:31am CDT
SW's SilverHammer wrote:Oh come on, Va'al's like lord Xenu; pretty funny guy if you get to know him.
Are you sure about that?
Posted by ScottyP on October 22nd, 2014 @ 12:19pm CDT
mooncake623 wrote:I would like to hear a South African accent please. So someone from there.
her maybe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candice_Swanepoel
Her and Christian Bale were actually the front runners based on audition tapes but then we got this letter from people called "agents" trying to negotiate money, and payment in the form of Magical Seibertron Dollars™ wasn't agreeable.
Posted by mooncake623 on October 22nd, 2014 @ 12:37pm CDT
ScottyP wrote:mooncake623 wrote:I would like to hear a South African accent please. So someone from there.
her maybe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candice_Swanepoel
Her and Christian Bale were actually the front runners based on audition tapes but then we got this letter from people called "agents" trying to negotiate money, and payment in the form of Magical Seibertron Dollars™ wasn't agreeable.
What? I'll talk with Candice and convince her to take this MSD currency. Don't care about batman.
Posted by Kibble on October 22nd, 2014 @ 2:35pm CDT
Posted by Burn on October 22nd, 2014 @ 4:10pm CDT
ScottyP wrote:I would love to have some international voices, but I can't do anything about the sacrifice and damage to sleep schedules that would occur.
I don't sleep during the day...
Posted by Va'al on October 22nd, 2014 @ 5:04pm CDT
Burn wrote:ScottyP wrote:I would love to have some international voices, but I can't do anything about the sacrifice and damage to sleep schedules that would occur.
I don't sleep during the day...
I sleep little at night too, but have a PhD to complete within the next year.
Posted by mooncake623 on October 22nd, 2014 @ 5:23pm CDT
Posted by megatronus on October 23rd, 2014 @ 12:18am CDT
mooncake623 wrote:So for serious anyone with an South African accent would be awesome =]
Maybe for one of the podcasts, everyone can be assigned an accent to (badly) perform.
Posted by Blast Cannon on October 23rd, 2014 @ 5:30pm CDT
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on October 23rd, 2014 @ 6:30pm CDT
Blast Cannon wrote:and I suppose MORE Americans with their bastardised language.
Call it bastardized all you want because, well, it's true; but we call it "Americanese". It's a proud cultural landmark, much like "Spanglish".
Posted by ScottyP on October 28th, 2014 @ 12:21pm CDT
Blast Cannon wrote:I don't see why you don't have a rolling carousel of guest presenters to supplement the regular staff. You could get international members (and I suppose MORE Americans with their bastardised language) to record special 'one off' shows with you which navigates the problem of work schedules and lack of sleep. If you co-ordinate properly then it shouldn't be that much of an issue as a fun one off.
We do this already when the opportunity arises (several episodes have just recently). Additionally, we have some cool themed one-off shows in the pipe, just haven't gotten around to recording them
Posted by ScottyP on November 8th, 2014 @ 2:30pm CST
Posted by ScottyP on November 9th, 2014 @ 5:13pm CST
Over the next couple of days the cast will be listening to your clips and taking a vote on the couple of prospective talkers that we want to hear more from.
If you submitted a clip, please watch your PM inbox. Within the next 72 hours you'll either receive a notice that we aren't going to move forward in having you on the show, or you'll get an invite to come on to episode 105, 106, or potentially 107. 105 records this week, so be ready!
Posted by ScottyP on November 10th, 2014 @ 12:21pm CST
I just listened myself and holy crap y'all, you're gonna make just picking one person very tough if these clips are any indication!
Posted by ScottyP on November 14th, 2014 @ 12:07pm CST
Posted by ScottyP on February 19th, 2015 @ 9:32am CST
My eternal apologies to those involved that it's taken so long! Results will be announced very, very soon. If you auditioned, be on the lookout for PMs with either good, bad, or in-between news in the next 48-72 hours.
Posted by megatronus on February 19th, 2015 @ 10:11am CST
Posted by Kibble on February 26th, 2015 @ 3:50pm CST
Posted by ScottyP on February 28th, 2015 @ 12:29pm CST
Kibble wrote:Did I win?
You already won twice! But remember, the hold up was we need three copies of you, and the technology just isn't there yet
On a serious note, the winner, losers (I mean this in the nicest way possible because everyone was awesome but this was a contest and someone had to lose), and in between have been contacted and we'll reveal the winner on the next episode. Or is it winners?
Look for that episode in 7-10 days, we kind of have to record it first sometime this week.