Audio Drama Production Podcast

Listener Habits, Trends, and Bad Reviews

Matthew with Kc in Anaheim. In the background is ‘The Arena’ that inspired the infamous We’re Alive storyline.Kc Wayland isn’t just the guy behind We’re Alive and Lockdown. He’s the very reason many of us are listening to and making Audio Drama of our own.It’s always a real pleasure to welcome him onto the show, and this is another conversation packed with insight and value.With Lockdown in the can and available for release, Kc will also be working on an Audio Drama with Laurence Fishburne later in the year.On top of that he’s currently writing an Audio Drama production ‘bible’ titled “Bombs Always Beep” which will form the basis for a course he’ll be teaching at a University in Southern California.

On this episode we’re joined by Zoe and Leon from WordPlay. I’ve been keen to get them on the show for a while to talk about the audio drama workshops they’ve been running in schools, bookshops, and community centres. They have their own podcast too so be sure to listen and subscribe!“We run radio drama making workshops for children and adults across the UK. Take up the WordPlay challenge and script a short radio drama, perform it in our pop-up studio and broadcast it LIVE on air with all the sound effects to go with it! We also offer training to everyone and anyone who wants to delve into the world of podcasting, and run courses for children who want to learn the ins and outs of presenting & producing their own talk radio show, concluding with a live broadcasting party!”Elsewhere on the show, The Cleansed and Radio Drama Revival join the Wondery podcast network, along with the legendary Tom Lopez (who was recently featured by NPR)

Episode Lengths – How Long Should My Audio Dramas Be?It’s a frequently asked question in Audio Drama, and an interview with Brian and Jerry at Great Northern Audio Theater (which can be heard in the second half of this episode) prompted our discussion on the subject.Great Northern Audio recently produced a 90 minute one-off ‘feature length’ Audio Drama called In The Embers. So does it matter if you make a 5min episode, or a 2 hour episode? How do you decide what length your episodes should be? Or is it something you should simply ignore during the writing process?Also mentioned on this episode, The Behemoth, Breadcrumbs Magazine, Pen & Paper, Greater Boston, and Alba Salix.

Wooden Overcoats – a story of two rival funeral directors on a small fictional island – is a Audio Drama series that ticks all the boxes. Brilliantly written, with a talented cast, and first class studio quality sound, this show sets the bar very high. It obviously took a lot of knowledge and expertise to put Wooden Overcoats together, and on this episode we’re able to pull back the curtain and learn from two of the show’s creators, Head Writer David K. Barnes, and Director/Producer John Wakefield.There’s more material about the making of Wooden Overcoats out there for you to enjoy too. Check out How to Write a Sitcom by David K. Barnes, and Andy Goddard’s Making Radio Drama for Less.And, as if that wasn’t enough first-class material for one week, friend of the show Fred Greenhalgh has released a free eBook called Field Recording for Audio Drama: A Filmmaker’s Guide. Be sure to check out Fred’s post-apocalyptic epic The Cleansed too if you haven’t already.

Big thanks to Joseph Tucker, creator of The King Strikes Back, who sent us a great interview with Chris Winstanley. Chris recently pitched an audio comedy series to Audible and was commissioned by them to make a pilot episode. This is a valuable insight if you’re planning to pitch an idea to Audible. If you’ve not already heard it, we had Eric Nuzum (SVP of Original Content at Audible) on the podcast in Episode 76.

John Dryden is the man behind the Audio Drama that’s taking the world by storm at the moment. The epic Tumanbay.I wanted to ask John his thoughts on ‘Audiblegate‘, as well as find out exactly what he’d do if he was back in the position of being an aspiring Audio Dramatist once more.At the time of recording we’re still on a broken computer induced reduced service with the podcast. Normal service will hopefully resume next week. I

Bryan Lincoln returns with another Audio Drama writers roundtable. He’s joined by Jay Smith and Chris Jarvis as they discuss how to execute the adaptation of an existing work for Audio Drama.What considerations do you need to make? And how do you balance working in a purely audio format with remaining true to the original story? These questions and more are answered on this episode of Writing for Audio Drama.

If you’d really like to start making your own Audio Drama, but you have 101 reasons why you can’t just yet, then this episode is for you.We’ve got two guest segments. The first is from Brian Mock who has literally just started his own Audio Drama production journey. Brian has started a zombie apocalypse show Z-Poc Nation, and he’s encouraging you to get over the many fears and doubts in your mind as you ponder starting your own show. Brian’s message is simple, getting set up doesn’t need to be difficult, or expensive.The second is from creator of The Fall Audio Drama and man of many voices Dayn Leonardson. In Dayn’s piece he’s going to explain how he voiced multiple characters in his show, and offer you a few tips and tricks for doing the same in yours.We also have a splendid trailer for Audio Epic’s Witch Hunter Chronicles. And creator Domien De Groot has a special offer for Audio Drama Production Podcast listeners. You can get this 13+ hour epic for only $10 by using the coupon code ADPP when you check out

Some of the most famous and classic examples of sound being used to tell stories come from the world of cinema. On this episode we’re joined by Dr Kenny McAlpine of Abertay University as we take a look at what we can learn from film sound.The main focus of this discussion is to define some specific terms that are common in connecting emotionally with the subconscious of the viewer – and to think about how we use this techniques for a listening, rather than watching audience.We’re going to look at empathetic and anempathetic sound. Does the soundtrack serve to support the tone of the scene, or contrast it?We’ll also look at diegetic and non-diegetic music. Is the music in your story part of the story world, or exclusively for the listener? Why might you choose one over the other, and does it matter?And if you want to delve deeper in to this subject, I recommend a book called Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen by Michael Chion.With thanks to Boyd Barrett of Roswell BC for creating the intro to this week’s show.

Happy New Year to you. We’re kicking off 2016 with the SVP of Original Content at Audible.com Eric Nuzum. Eric spent 11 years at NPR as the Vice President of Programming and has a wealth of experience when it comes to identifying quality audio content.In this chat we find out his opinions on Audio Drama, and what he believes makes for good content with potential for mass consumption. We also talk about the pitching process for creators who want to be commissioned by Audible, and ask for some advice for writer/producers aspiring to work professionally.It’s a short interview but extremely valuable and insightful. We offer some of our own thoughts afterwards, but we’d really like to hear yours too.

Are you still waiting to make the leap and start creating your own shows? How long does it take to become an Audio Drama producer?We’ve seen a few new faces emerge in the world of Audio Drama Production in 2015. One such new face is Austin Beach of Audioblivious Productions. Austin and the guys recently released their very first show Natural Selection, and they have big plans for the future.If you’re yet to get started creating your own Audio Dramas, this is a great example of how you just need to make that leap. Less than a year ago Austin had never opened a piece of audio editing software. DAW-Matt-LeongTwo of the big takeaways here are that you don’t need to try and learn everything over night, and that you don’t need to release everything you mix. Practice and experimentation is key. Yes it will take time, along with a lot of trial and error, but you can be an Audio Drama producer by this time next year.There will undoubtedly be even more new producers emerging in the medium in 2016 than there were this y

The Winter’s Tales UK International Radio Drama Festival is taking place from the 22nd to the 27th February 2016 In Herne Bay, on the South East of England. winters-talesJoining us on this episode is one of the event’s organisers Sue Austen to give details on how the festival will look, and what will be going on throughout the week. This will range from public broadcasts of Radio Dramas, to workshops on writing, production, and acting.

When you plan out a story or write a script you will begin to introduce characters. These characters need to have lived their entire lives up until the point where they arrive in your story. You may want to establish these details in advance, as this can help guide you when it comes to finding out how they’ll act towards others, how they’ll react to situations, what their main motivations are, and why.So how can you go about fleshing out your characters? Here are some tipsMake a checklist!Ways to expand your character; Fill out a questionnaire – lots onlineTry to imagine their possessions – what and why?Things to consider; Physical/Aesthetic CharacteristicsCharacter Beliefs and core valuesLikes and Dislikes Strengths and FLAWSWhat’s their full history? Family and friends, as well as enemiesRomance Upbringing and educationBest and worst moments in their livesFoibles Unusual laughHums whilst thinkingMimics othersDoesn’t understand `personal space`Pedantic Bites fingernails or OCD

Sound effects and soundscapes are an integral part of your Audio Drama, and often the best way to get your hands on that perfect sound you envisaged when you wrote the show is to go ahead and make it yourself.Direct DownloadJohn Ballentine of Campfire Radio Theater is this episode’s guest contributor, and he’ll be offering up some hints and tips on how to create anything, from a gun clicking, to the sound of the world burning under an apocalyptic Martian invasion.There’s also a brief segment afterwards covering some of our own sound effects, which are all available for you to use on the Freesound website.

If you’re planning to write a serialised Audio Drama there’s a lot to think about in terms of your wider story arcs, individual episodes, and characters.In the first of these ‘Writing for Audio Drama’ roundtable discussions, host Bryan Lincoln assembles a wealth of talent in Dave Robison (Roundtable Podcast), Eli McIlveen (Alba Salix), and Mike McQuilkin (Hadron Gospel Hour). The guys chat about their own experiences, and provide you with a goldmine of hints, tips, and advice towards writing and structuring your own series.

It’s hard not to get excited by the thought of listening to Audio Drama in 3D. Though binaural audio isn’t a new thing, it’s still relatively rare to encounter unless you are actively searching for it online. Many people’s first (and often only) experience with this form of sound design comes from sitting in the chair of the binaural barber shop – stick your headphones on and have a listen if you’ve never heard this one before.Scottish-based Canadian producer Michel Lafrance (The Owl Field) has learned and mastered the techniques of building soundscapes in this manner, and he’s using them to create first person 3D Audio Dramas which drop you right into the middle of them as the main character.Michel is also developing a business model around his productions, and has ambitious plans to grow the company in the future. Aside from delving into how you actually make binaural audio, we also chat about his reasons behind charging for the shows (all expect Overnight, which is free).The Owl Field have also been nomina

Story ideas probably creep up on you all the time, you could be in the shower, out running, or lying in your bed. They could be fully fledged story ideas, fragments of stories, individual scenes, or short snippets of conversations. The point is, where do you go from here? Regular ADPP contributor Steve Schneider talks through his own process in dealing with these ideas, how he documents and attempts to pull them all together so that they might actually become Audio Dramas one day. Perhaps this method might work well for you? Or maybe you already have a similar system in place – if so, why not get in touch and share it with us.Elsewhere, everyone’s favorite Belgian Audio Dramatist Domien De Groot (Witch Hunter Chronicles, Will of the Woods) debuts as our first ever guest interviewer. He caught up with Tim Knofler, the man behind new Audio Drama streaming subscription service AudioFlix to find out more about the project, and if this will be the “Netflix for Audio Drama” that has been so widely discussed in rece

The adaptation of Locke & Key – originally a best-selling graphic novel series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez – into a thirteen and a half hour Audio Drama is one of the most significant developments in the history of our medium.One of the main players in this project is Mr Fred Greenhalgh of FinalRune Productions, The Cleansed, and Radio Drama Revival fame. On this episode Fred joins us to talk about how it all came about, who was involved, and what it’s like to record all that audio in the field with only a two-week window.

One of the toughest challenges when you begin producing Audio Drama is looking at ways to bring in multiple pieces of dialogue, recorded by different actors, on different mics, in different conditions, and set them to play at a consistent volume level. Dialogue tracks recorded on the quiet side will often need to be amplified considerably, and this can bring up a lot of background noise that makes these segments blocks of hiss. Dialogue_LevelsIn this episode we talk about the sound levels of your dialogue, touching on the decibel scale, which you and your DAW will use to measure the volume of your audio. We find that looking to peak at around -6db during recording offers us decent headroom in post-production, where we’ll usually then look to bring the peaks up to -2db or -3db. It isn’t always as simple as that though, you could have an actor whispering and shouting in the same scene, so use tools like your Hard Limiter to snip the peaks off these loud parts and bring the quieter audio closer to them.Noise red