Freesound Forums

I've posted a female voice request (multiple times, actually!) and no one has replied ever! Why is there hardly any activity in the forums of freesound? I only need a female voice to finish what I'm making. I'm sure the other people who have done voices for my animation are dying to see what I've made, but I have to make them suffer while I wait, hoping someone will do my requests!

Is there any actual reason why there's no activity?

I think a version of the '1/9/90' rule applies here:

In a typical example, most of the users that come to this site are only looking to download sounds - let's say these are 90% of the users (although it is likely to be higher).

Some of the users go further and comment or rate some sounds, perhaps even uploading a one-off sound of their own - for these, lets say these are 9% of the users.

And finally, there are users that regularly upload sounds, and are thus often present on the site, perhaps even browsing the forums like we are now - this is the remaining 1%.

Of course, all of that is speculation - the proportions may well be different - but I think it holds some merit.

In the grand scheme of things, it is a shame that these forums aren't as active as the rest of the site (I've only just started posting here myself!). But perhaps it is simply due to this site being published largely as a 'free sounds' site, rather than a 'sounds discussion' site.

I don't know - just my 2 cents!

Mudkip2016 wrote:
I've posted a female voice request (multiple times, actually!) and no one has replied ever! Why is there hardly any activity in the forums of freesound? I only need a female voice to finish what I'm making. I'm sure the other people who have done voices for my animation are dying to see what I've made, but I have to make them suffer while I wait, hoping someone will do my requests!

Is there any actual reason why there's no activity?

Indeed why? - it is one of the great unanswered mysteries of the universe, right next to dark matter and sink holes...

I think at some point a few years ago the forums were more active than they are now.
And the community seemed to be more engaged and more helpful.
I think InspectorJ is right with his assessment. The true numbers probably look even more depressing.

So what you do to make it more likely someone will help you with specific sound requests?
Well, the sad news is that the users that upload nice sounds and that respond to requests do not themselves check the forums often. And a female voice actor certainly does not get an automated email everytime someone posts a request saying "female voice needed" - Either she happens to look through the forums at that particular time or she doesn't...

As a user, if you are posting a request, search the database for the type of sounds you want. - Maybe you will actually not need to make a request, if you happen to find something that is already good enough.
When you find sounds that are close to but not exactly what you want, look up the uploaders' profiles. You will find that some users actually say they will respond to requests. Even if they don't specify this, you can always try sending them a private message.
Before you do this, check the dates on the last sounds the user uploaded. Not much point contacting users that have been inactive for years...

Also when searching, if your intention is to find someone who will record something for you, you may need to be a bit 'broader'.
Imagine, just as an example, that you are looking for the sound of a slamming door (there are plenty of those already at Freesound, but just as an example).
After searching for "slamming door", "door slam", "door close", "door shut", etc look for the following: "foley" and "field recording".
If you find users that post a lot of foley sounds and/or field recordings, these are the ones more likely to make a purpose recording for you.

Similarly, if you need a drumroll, look for users who have previously/frequently uploaded drum sounds. -> so you know they are both interested and able to make recordings and have access to a drum kit.

In my experience, I have found that direct PMs to users are much more effective than forum postings to get someone to make a specific sound for you.

Also: remember to say thank you. Give proper attribution. Post a link in the "your work done with Freesounds forum with a link to your work.
It is always nice to receive thanks. Giving proper credit and posting a link to your work will give publicity to you and the person who helped you. And you will be more likely to receive help again from that user or others in the future.

Good luck!

I do give people credit and I have a space in the end credits for the name of the person who does my requests. I have tried PMing people (even on anothersite) but nothing still.

Isn't there any way you could get more activity on the forums?

I'm getting so desperate, I'm a bit tempted to use the voice on Google translate! It's a female and better than nothing! But how do I record the voice other than getting a microphone and pressing it against the speaker?

toiletrolltube wrote:

Mudkip2016 wrote:
Isn't there any way you could get more activity on the forums?

I'm getting so desperate, I'm a bit tempted to use the voice on Google translate! It's a female and better than nothing! But how do I record the voice other than getting a microphone and pressing it against the speaker?

Mudkip. Being an uploader primarily I don't often check the Requests Forum (maybe I should), but in this instance it wouldn't help anyway as I'm male. However, the next time I see my 18 year old daughter, I'll ask if she's interested in your request. Can't promise anything though.

Also, if you want to record sounds from the internet, use an audio editor and set the input to "stereo mix" or what ever it happens to be called in your particular soundcard/operating system. You can also use a browser plugin that will download audio and video from most sites.

@InspectorJ Thanks, I haven't heard of that. A proud member of the 1 percent

http://www.freesound.org/forum/sample-requests/39715/

Finally! Someone has done my request!