How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Post by **Oxnard Montalvo** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:18 pm

I've just gotten hold of a vocoder app that does a respectable Cylon voice... But for the life of me all my attempts sound awful. Can anyone shed any light on what tone of voice\accent is needed to speak into the mic?

For example I saw one of the star wars sound guys on a documentary saying that the perfect line delivery for battle droids, was to talk like the guy from the B52's!......

What does a Cylon sound like without the vocoder? :byyourcommand:

Post by **FLIGHTLDR SERPENTINE** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:12 pm

There's another thread here somewhere discussing a vocoder app. Not sure about it, myself.

You pose an interesting question about what the actor's voice sounded like without the effect. I suppose, in trying, I would want to be low, pronounced and monotoned.

Post by **GoldCylon** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 2:31 pm

Oxnard Montalvo wrote:
What does a Cylon sound like without the vocoder?

A human.

Post by **FLIGHTLDR SERPENTINE** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:06 pm

Post by **Red Eye** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:59 pm

This is the man behind the Centurion voice:

Post by **137th Gebirg** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:12 am

FWIW, the final Galactica 1980 episode "Return of Starbuck" had a Cylon named "Cy" who was malfunctioning after a crash, befriending Starbuck, and his voice started changing and becoming more human-sounding. You could clearly hear the actor's (Rex Cutter) real voice with the vocoder voice over-dubbed - only time it was ever heard sounding like that, and the voice sounded normal, with normal inflections - no monotone. That was all done by the vocoder and over-dubbed at various volume levels by a mixer.

Post by **Red Eye** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:56 pm

Don't want to play the wisecrack here, but Cyrus was voiced by Gary Owens.

Post by **GoldCylon** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:41 pm

Glad you said it Red Eye.....LoL, but I wonder if he really meant the in the suit actor. They did speak the lines also, but were later replaced in post production.

Post by **137th Gebirg** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 10:43 pm

Oops. IMDB must have credited the suit actor. Sorry about that.

Regardless, that's the one time in BSG history, IIRC, where you can hear the voice actor's real voice in sync with the vocoder voice.

Post by **aussiecylon** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 1:42 am

Yeah, but it sounded

awful. Not like Cylons are "supposed" to sound like. Just my opinion.

Post by **137th Gebirg** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 12:49 pm

Agreed, it sounded a bit "off". I think the idea there was to demonstrate Cy's "evolution" to a more understanding/sentient/human-like robotic being. This stood out in contrast particularly when a patrol of "normal" Cylons showed up at the end, who had the standard vocoder voice without the human voice underneath it. Full points for concept, but maybe left a little to be desired in execution.

Post by **Sabre6** » Thu May 05, 2016 3:15 pm

Kropserkel just posted recently on their Facebook page ....
We are also very excited to be able to offer our long awaited On-The-Fly Cylon Voice Emulation System VT-3 as an optional accessory. The set up enables the user to speak as a classic Cylon with Vocoder matched emulation with a portable power unit, an amplified speaker system, and head mounted microphone for an additional $550 US.
Images of the Kropserkel Cylon can be seen on our webpage at http://www.kropserkel.com/cylon.htm

I can't afford it yet but something to add to my list for Santa.

Post by **Red Eye** » Fri May 06, 2016 6:01 am

Are there any audio samples available?

Post by **Sabre6** » Fri May 06, 2016 3:33 pm

The only sample I can find is a short video posted on their Facebook page back in Nov. 2014. Sound's pretty good though.

Post by **FLIGHTLDR SERPENTINE** » Fri May 06, 2016 7:00 pm

Sign me up if it works!

Any chance of posting a link to that sample?

How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

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Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

Re: How to sound like a Cylon (not what you think!)

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