Dracos Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Well, after some research I decided to post back here just in case it is helpful for others in the future. The top two sound systems out there tend to be the iComm and the rom/fx. The iComm has a great static click and the plug and play is very attractive - options you can choose include point to talk or voice activated. It however doesn't alter your voice, though with the Aker system in place it can amplify it. The rom/fx has options to distort the voice a little and it can lower the pitch a bit, but in the end even with those alterations you will have to change your voice yourself in order to not sound female. Currently I'm not seeing much out there that is in a reasonable price range or that doesn't include wiring and circuitry skills that are beyond my ability. So that means that the whole voice issue comes down to my own ability to sound masculine. While it would've been a nice option, I can also understand why it isn't readily available. Stormtroopers are a niche market. Add to that the percentage of female troopers, and trim that down to those of us who really want anonymity. . . . hehe yup. I may end up sounding like myself simply because while I'd be willing to pay out an extra couple hundred dollars for a system that does what I want, I'm not sure that I'm willing to shout myself hoarse or continually attempt to mask my own voice by dropping it down. For me that's probably going to sound weird no matter what. Some folks have varying abilities to do vocals. My ability is on one side of that bell curve opposite of Robin Williams on the other. I do like the option of being able to plug an ipod into the system to play sound effects (and the Imperial March) so I will probably end up with the iComm, since none of the options have actual voice masking, other items on the checklist start coming into play and for the price point I figure the iComm is where I'll head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daennika Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Mysie, I'm totally with you about the natural voice range and having to work on that if we want to pass as male. It's a pain if you focus on it too much... But once you're out there, especially in conventions, some people will be able to tell that you're a woman just by looking at you. Might be the hips and whatnot. In general, people will assume that you're male, even if you're super short, and when you speak they won't have the shadow of a doubt. You'd still be a short, high-pitch vocaled male to them! Because most people are obtuse and think that Star Wars is only for boys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 For "line control" duty at WonderCon last weekend, I was with my son who started out calling me TK-6818 and really wanted to learn to be a handler. (Yes, he's 6.) He was dressed as little Anakin. And bored. After about 20 minutes of a 2+ hour tour of duty, he kept shouting "Mom...blah blah" whatever. Like "Mom, what time is it now?" So after a bit I stopped bothering to be "male-ish" and just went with whatever was comfortable. It's kind of hard to pretend to be male when you're a "mom" Didn't get my bum slapped by teen girls this time, but I did get called "Mrs. Stormtrooper" or equivalent more than once. So relax, enjoy it, make it work when it can, and when it can't, remember: as long as you're not a dancer the Emperor won't harass you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-8224[501st] Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) My husband has a vortex with pitch control on his Vader, and when he lowers the pitch it sounds awful! You can still hear his voice through the helmet, so it sounds like two people speaking in two different pitches. I can only guess that it'll be worse through an abs helmet, his Vader is padded fibreglass. Be a woman and be proud of it! Edited March 20, 2012 by TK-8224 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnnfr72[TK] Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I think I'll just shake my head for "yes" or "no" when I don't want to let onto my gender. A menacing stare can work wonders! Muuuuuuu waaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaa....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dracos Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 For "line control" duty at WonderCon last weekend, I was with my son who started out calling me TK-6818 and really wanted to learn to be a handler. (Yes, he's 6.) He was dressed as little Anakin. And bored. After about 20 minutes of a 2+ hour tour of duty, he kept shouting "Mom...blah blah" whatever. Like "Mom, what time is it now?" So after a bit I stopped bothering to be "male-ish" and just went with whatever was comfortable. It's kind of hard to pretend to be male when you're a "mom" Didn't get my bum slapped by teen girls this time, but I did get called "Mrs. Stormtrooper" or equivalent more than once. So relax, enjoy it, make it work when it can, and when it can't, remember: as long as you're not a dancer the Emperor won't harass you. LOL - Mrs. Stormtrooper. Heh I can so see that happening to me - though oddly enough I'm the one who wants armor. My husband isn't dragging me into this - though I'm hoping that in a few years I might be able to drag him in. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK5492[TK] Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 This is a very interesting topic to read. The Empire certainly had girls in their military. It's more prominent in the novels though. I defiently agree with leaving your voice as is. I would love to talk during troops! I feel so akward speaking English when I know no one understands. Japanese people are very funny though. They are convinced that Stormtroopers are foreigners because the movie is just translated with subtitles here. They think we all speak only English anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arbayer2[TK] Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 This is a very interesting topic to read. The Empire certainly had girls in their military. It's more prominent in the novels though. I defiently agree with leaving your voice as is. I would love to talk during troops! I feel so akward speaking English when I know no one understands. Japanese people are very funny though. They are convinced that Stormtroopers are foreigners because the movie is just translated with subtitles here. They think we all speak only English anyway! I'm sure some of them know that native Japanese people do hold rank in the Japanese Garrison. At least, I hope so... That's gotta be an interesting dilemma even when not in armor! I've been idly considering moving to Japan in the future for years, how did you break that language barrier anyhow? On Topic: Pretty much all positions on masking women's voices I can agree with. Overall, it depends on the balance between wanting to conform to the character and wanting to break loose and be free in expressing yourself inside the Legion so I guess it depends on the individual person. I'm glad that, being a male, I don't have to worry about that issue, but then again I'm sure I'll run into several other issues when it comes to whether I want to disguise my voice, add mic static effects to it and what-have-you. In the end, regardless of gender, we're all in it together when it comes to acting the part and having fun while we do it, and I'm proud of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavalier Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 WHEREAS WHEN I TALK, I SOUND LIKE A GIRL... (Attempting to sound like a guy in type) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnnfr72[TK] Posted March 26, 2012 Report Share Posted March 26, 2012 WHEREAS WHEN I TALK, I SOUND LIKE A GIRL... (Attempting to sound like a guy in type) We'll just have to make recordings of deep sounding males voices like how Arnold did with the french dude in True Lies. Couse, with my luck, I'd have the wrong responses and scare all the little kids away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 (edited) This is kind of off topic (I love catching up on old threads), but it has to do with voice. Some guys at a division of my work (where the genius nerds who got picked on in school are now the geniuses who bring us all the best stuff in the world...) showed me something I'd only heard about for the past few years and it's made me OBSESSED. So obsessed that I have to go ask those guys if I can work with them now. Without pay. I can't say what it was. But let's just say that when a person is in costume, there is a way for that person to have thousands of canned, pre-recorded lines at their fingertips, so that every experience with every "fan" is unique and there is a response for everything, including active listening. They have not quite got it into the costume yet, and their "fan" experience is far more complex than ours, but I am now determined to try this out with the handful of movie lines from the SW movies somehow, so that while in my TK I can say "move along" when people are taking too many photos, or "there's one, set for stun" during a droid hunt... can you see where this is going? I simply imagine several PTT-type buttons in my glove, or a few under the ammo boxes on my belt, which activate pre-recorded lines. You could even record more lines and do all the voice changing in software and then export the clips to your little gadget. This could be done via hardware or software, depending on the genius who builds it. (Which is obviously not me.) This way, it really DOESN'T matter if you're a girl or guy! or if you have an iComm or ROM/FX! because you're always going to sound like you're still on screen! Hope I don't get fired for this - if you know who/what I'm talking about, please don't post it and don't tell them. Edited April 22, 2012 by LadyInWhite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27555[TK] Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Are we assuming that there are no Female stormtroopers? I have The Essential Guide to Warfare, which says that there were, not a 50/50 ratio to males or anything crazy. Just 3 in a Legion of 8,192, so rare but not unheard of. Has anyone else read this book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Haven't read it but sounds interesting. I thought some 50% or so were still clones, and some 50% or so were human recruits, or some proportions thereof... of the clones, none would be female of course. People assume automatically that's you're male, unless you're pretty obviously female. So as long as I fit that assumption, I prefer it. Then there are those days when I'm happy not to be. "TK-MOM!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27555[TK] Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 According to the EGW, by the battle of Yavin, clones shrank to about a third of the overall Stormtrooper Corps, Also I just realized the women (it presents her through her "memoirs") is quoted at 33 ABY, about three decades after Endor. But I found this on Wookieepedia, : "George Lucas, when composing background information for licensees in 1977, stated that females did exist in the Stormtrooper Corps, although there were few stationed on the Death Star. He suggested that they were numerous in other units. As a result, few female stormtroopers are depicted in Expanded Universe sources." The more you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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