Simon Roper
I make videos mainly about topics in linguistics, but occasionally about anthropology in general. Me and a few friends produce comedy films and sketches, some of which will probably be published soon.
I had previously used my university email address here, but I am using a personal one for the time being - it should be attached somewhere on the 'about' page. I don't have a lot of free time at the moment, so I won't be able to reply to everything :( However, I'll check emails regularly, and set aside time to respond every few days.
Simon Roper
In my latest video, a partnership with the charity 'Shout at Cancer', I look into the ways in which people can overcome the immense challenge of losing part of their vocal tract after life-saving cancer surgery.
In this event, 'Louder Than Before', a choir of people who had undergone laryngectomies sang a series of pieces tailored to their unique experiences, and in many cases tailored to the new vocal tracts that they have learnt to speak with.
I think that the charity's research and creative projects shed light on the flexibility of human communication, the challenges of losing or partially losing one's ability to speak, and the ways in which those challenges can be overcome.
If you have the time or resources, I'd highly recommend having a look at their previous and ongoing work here: www.shoutatcancer.org/
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 90
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Simon Roper
We're excited to announce that in 2026, we'll be releasing an 8-part limited series called 'Living Memory'. The series explores 8 different decades through a grounded and naturalistic lens, emerging from our interest in natural speech and behaviour in other periods of history. The series is currently set to be released in two blocks of four episodes, with the first block nearing the end of post-production now. It will be released on this channel.
The series has been produced by our production company Lipmouth Studios, with the help of some incredibly talented collaborators in front of and behind the camera - our website can be found here, with a mailing list at the bottom of the homepage if you'd like to receive updates: www.lipmouthstudios.com/
It's been incredibly exciting to work with so many new people, as well as developing our own skills as filmmakers. Thank you especially to Scott and Tom Burchell, my close friends and colleagues at Lipmouth Studios, without whom the diversity and quality of the episodes wouldn't have been possible, and to Mark Miko and Lucy Jessica, who helped us achieve the production value we were aiming for.
For now, we are releasing these stills to give you a glimpse of what's to come.
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,510
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Simon Roper
I've just uploaded what is becoming my traditional Christmas 'historical accent reconstruction' video, in which I show a progression from pre-literary Old English to a dialect of modern American English. I hope everyone enjoys it, and I'm excited to see what people have to say (and whether there are any criticisms on my conservative New York accent towards the end).
Within the video are a few brief clips from our upcoming web series, 'Living Memory', which I'll hopefully be making an announcement about soon.
I hope everybody has a good day tomorrow, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I am going to attempt not to do any work tomorrow, but we'll see how that turns out!
1 month ago | [YT] | 184
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Simon Roper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Or5Q...
Over the course of a few shoots, I've been privileged to watch this new music video by The Paperwaits come to fruition! Often, the process of watching a project be edited can desensitise me to it a little bit, so that it doesn't have the same impact towards the end - but in this case, I've loved every opportunity Scott has given me to watch an updated version, and I'd highly recommend it (and the song) if you have a few minutes :)
5 months ago | [YT] | 30
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Simon Roper
Our new feature film, 'The Mystery of the Romans', is available to view on YouTube now - sorry for the slight delay. Thanks to the entire cast and crew for working so hard to bring it together!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBeP_...
9 months ago | [YT] | 56
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Simon Roper
Hello everyone! The intended release date for our feature film 'The Mystery of the Romans' was today, but we have decided to push it to next Monday (the 28th of April). While it is more-or-less finished, my hearing isn't fantastic and audio mixing isn't my strong suit (as you can probably tell from some of my videos), so are going to work on the audio mix a bit more to get it sounding as good as we can.
If you're in search of something to watch in the meantime, my close friend and collaborator recently released a video about how he made another of his short films, after taking the opportunity to take some footage of something that would have been very hard to recreate on a small budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFLAA...
I hope everybody who celebrates it has had a good Easter weekend :)
9 months ago | [YT] | 53
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Simon Roper
Hello, everyone - I’ve looked over the comments of my last post, and decided that it might be a better idea to make both a Discord server and a Substack - they both serve different functions, and I know that not everybody likes both (and I’m sure some people don’t use either). Thank you very much to anybody who decides to investigate them - I think I've set them up right, but please let me know if there are any issues with either!
Discord: discord.gg/TCWHe2UM9y (This is a sort of forum with different ‘rooms’ for talking about different topics, as well as a room where people can voice chat with each other).
Substack: substack.com/@simonroper1 (This is more of a blog where I’ll make written posts).
11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 290
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Simon Roper
Hello gang - would anybody be up for joining a Discord server if I were to make one?
11 months ago | [YT] | 439
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Simon Roper
I've started to work on the Middle English counterpart to my really long Old English pronunciation video. As we've established something of a baseline in the Old English one, I'm going to be focusing more on the development of different dialects over time. Let me know if there are any specific questions you'd like addressed :)
11 months ago | [YT] | 721
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Simon Roper
The first of the films I talked about recently is now up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew_LB... .
Performed by Scott Burchell, 'I Hear Jazz in Central Park' was an attempt to capture the energy of New York City from the perspective of a particular character. I was very proud to watch Scott take on such a transformative acting role, and I know he would be really interested to hear the perspectives of other people who have experience with the city, whether you're from there or have just visited. Thank you to anybody who considers watching it, and to everybody who was involved in creating it!
1 year ago | [YT] | 51
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