A113 - I have an application called Levelator that’s designed to solve this very issue. It adjusts the volume so that podcasters using different setups have the same volume. But I agree that it would be better to somehow increase the volume of your microphone. On a Mac there’s a slider in the sound preference pane to adjust the input level. Is there a similar setting on a PC (assuming you have a PC)? Have you turned it all the way up?
I know there’s a setting on my Windows XP that adjusts microphone volume. What i don’t know is whether to slide it to the top or to the bottom. 
You can try the Skype Test Call once with the slider at the top and another time with the slider at the bottom and choose the setting where your voice is louder.
Great idea, Peter. Thanks! 
Am I correct in saying that we will be recording the Ratatouille commentary one week after the YFTR test commentary session?
A113 - Would you be more comfortable if I replaced the word “rules” with “expectations”? Just a general list such as the ones we’ve got already are fine. I want this to be fun, too, and I am pretty sure it will be but general guidelines are a good idea. 
We may have to give people 5 mins leniency, especially if it is our first time and people may have to get hooked up. But try to be early, everyone, or at least on time. (It really annoys me when people are consistently late, too. So arrogant.)
Ha ha ha! Well, just make sure you use the rest room beforehand. snicker
But in the case of Ratatouille, I think qxgnxamy said we are going to have regular breaks to make sure everything is in synch. So when we pause recording, people can go and get something to eat or drink (quickly), or use the bathroom, stretch your legs etc But I’m glad you brought it up, 'cause that crossed my mind as well. Heheh.
Good idea! I’m really behind on doing my research, I need to get my act together…
Don’t you mean “best”?
It will look like a regular computer headset, except it’s got a microphone attached to it that you can move in front of your face. Like the ones pilots wear. You should be able to buy a fairly cheap pair.
ATTENTION TO ALL INTERNATIONAL COMMENTATORS:
(outside of the US, or even if you aren’t you may want to read this)
I’ve made a post in the other thread regarding the PAL and NTSC problem that we are going to have. Basically, for this practise session, if you have a PAL version of the Ratatouille DVD, Your Friend the Rat will play 4% faster than the US/Canadian version of the DVD, causing our session to go out of synch. You will need to obtain Your Friend the Rat from the US DVD. If you don’t know how to do this, private message me. We may have do to a check early next week detailing the exact minutes and seconds that YFTR runs for so we will be in synch.
No. 
I meant all future commentaries should get better and better, so they aren’t disappointing. Get it?
Heheh… I think this one is gonna be really good because it’s the first right ? 
Ha-ha. Thanks.
qxgnxamy - I was thinking of purchasing this headset, but I want to be sure that the quality and performance of the product is genuine. Have you ever purchased anything from the Skype store before, and, if so, what comments would you give on their service and merchandise?
Heheh. Yeah, I’ll be sure to do that. (snigger)
I see. Good idea. I’m not too crazy about the idea of pausing the film at regular intervals, but it sounds as if it will be necessary to do so in this case.
Nah, don’t worry about it. I haven’t even looked at Ratatouille yet so as to jot down notes on the subject, even though I meant to do just that a couple of days ago. Heck, I haven’t bought a headset yet, dang it. There’s only ten days left until the session. I’ve gotta jump on the bandwagon here!
– Mitch
Mitch - I’ve never bought anything from the Skype store or Plantronics before, but I think that Plantronics has a good reputation. I read that the Skype store charges a 15% restocking fee if you want to return merchandise, so keep that in mind. On the Plantronics website there’s a compatibility checker and it says that that headset isn’t compatible with Windows XP, Vista or Mac OS 10.5 (hopefully that’s incorrect; it’s just an analog headset so it should be compatible). Otherwise that looks like a good headset. I think I might buy one myself. If you want I could test it out to make sure it’s ok first before you buy one.
qxgnxamy - Oh no, I wouldn’t want you to waste your money on my account. Restocking fee aside, I think that I just might purchase this headset. It should work fine on either of the two computers that my family owns, so hopefully (any) complications will be nonexistent.
Thank you very much for the information, once again!
– Mitch
Rachel- The PAL DVD thing applies to me- I just checked my Ratatouille DVD, and it says ‘PAL’ at the bottom. I’ll PM you now, and thanks for the heads up. I completely forgot about the timing differences between PAL and NTSC!
lizardgirl, Archibald, Pixar.rocks - I got your PMs, just give me a day or so to sort something out… =)
A reminder: A113, Archibald, lizardgirl, M-O and Pixar.rocks, I still need you to PM me your Skype names.
On my Canadian version of the DVD, YFTR’s running time is 11m 18s. Could someone in the US please check exactly how long their version is? I assume it would be exactly the same, but I want to know for sure.
Sure, no problem qxgnxamy! I’ll do that right away- thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for the reminder, Peter! By the way, i tried our my microphone; it’s extremely loud, even at the lowest setting. Thanks for your advice. 
I"ll try ti keep my voice down rofl
rachel - On the US DVD, YFTR’s running time is 11m 19s. Close enough, yes?
qxgnxamy - I didn’t know whether 1 second’s difference would matter… I guess it wouldn’t. If we really wanted to be in synch we could say to each other that everyone should pause YFTR on the very first frame (the blue Disney logo) and we can all press play at the same time.
How long is the US version of Ratatouille, then?
rachel - It’s 1h 51m 2s. Pausing on the DIsney logo sounds fine. The logo fades in, however it is possible to find the first frame of the logo after the black before it. We’ll need to use frame by frame to find that frame.