Audio Drama Production Podcast

Nostalgia might be a bit of a fad at the moment, but we’re genuinely delighted to have comedy double act Trev and Simon back in our lives. The pair were essential Saturday morning viewing in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s, and it’s exciting to hear that they’ve returned with their wacky brand of comedy – only this time, they’re making an Audio Drama! strangenessAnd what better way to make an Audio Drama than to hook up with Clare Eden from the Minister of Chance? Clare joins us in this episode to talk about how this project came about, why they chose the audio medium, and how it was funded. The first episode of Strangeness in Space was released recently after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and it’s one of the funniest and most surreal shows you’ll hear this year.On top of diving into the nuts and bolts of getting a show up and running, Clare also gives her thoughts on writing family-friendly comedy, and we chat about the curse of the podcast categories and how Audio Drama is still seeking that hard

Background conversations are an opportunity to subtly fill your story with bits and pieces of information, as unnamed characters chat amongst the dips in your main dialogue. Master this art and you can further reduce the need for narration and over-expositional discussion. We had an email in from listener Klim asking about the best way to record some background ambience for his rowdy medieval tavern. In this episode we discuss background conversations as part of the layers of your soundscape. We also give examples on how to create crowd walla and background conversations, and direct you to some written resources such as The Sound Effects Bible & Audio Theater.

The fantastic Tanja Milojevic joins us for a chat about voice acting, visual impairment, and more. Tanja has her own Audio Drama series, LightningBolt Theater of the Mind, and has also starred in countless other Audio Dramas, including our all time favourite show Edict Zero FIS.During the conversation, Tanja talks about her home recording setup, and how she deals with external noise, as well as having some tips for aspiring voice actors. She also offers some great insights into how to bring your characters to life when behind the microphone.

Making Audio Drama with children

When you write or build a scene in your story, you are visualising a living, breathing world in your head. Is it your job then to try and recreate the most “authentic” representation of this for your listener?Is it also your job to try and make your listener “see” exactly what you imagine when they visualise the world around your characters?In this episode we dip into the roles of sounds and soundscapes, covering what might add to, and what might detract from the pictures you are trying to paint when telling your stories.

On this episode, Sound Stages Radio’s Sibby Wieland joins us for a chat. Sibby has carried out a lot of great work in the Audio Drama community over the years, and most recently organised a panel to discuss the medium at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Sound Stages Radio were also instrumental in bringing about Audio Drama Day on the 30th October, we talked about it’s impact and reception both inside and outside of the community, and how it might evolve and grow in the future.We covered the discoverability of Audio Drama, how do people search for and find content? And will they find your own show?We also talk identity, what is Audio Drama, and how do we explain the medium succinctly to others?And do we have enough presence at conventions? How can we go about improving on this so we can make more of an impact?Sibby also has loads of experience putting on live shows. We asked her what’s involved, and what benefits can a producer, director or troupe gain from going down this route.

The big news in Audio Drama this week was the funding of We’re Alive: Lockdown on Kickstarter. They raised nearly $5000 over their $50,000 target with over 1000 listeners pledging money to ensure that the project will go ahead. We discuss what this means for the medium, and if it validates a mainstream demand for quality and consistently released Audio Drama.How does a independent Audio Drama production achieve a goal like this? There’s no real shortcuts. It takes years of hard work, patient growth, and becoming a huge part of your listeners’ routines and lives. For more information on the background of this project check out interviews with Kc Wayland on Radio Drama Revival and The Sonic Society.Spanning from this topic was a discussion on release schedules, and how it relates to building an audience that will be prepared to support you further in crowdfunding projects. If a monthly release schedule is the minimum expectation for building traction, can you achieve this on your own? Should you attempt it on y

The music you use can make or break your production, so it’s about time we talked about it on the podcast. On this episode, a household name in Audio Drama – the legendary Kevin MacLeod of incompetech.com – joins us to chat about the creative commons model, his workload, and the ways you can potentially commission him in the future to score your own shows.On top of that, we’ve brought another great composer to the table, friend of the show, the tirelessly prolific Kevin Hartnell. You’ll have probably heard his work already in some recent Campfire Radio Theater shows, and he’s already created a big library of music for our up and coming anthology series Valenhigh.Some of the things mentioned on the show, Kevin McLeod’s Patreon account. GLS microphones. And the fact that we’ve turned Tuesdays into “Reviewsdays” to encourage you to take a few minutes each week to rate and review your favourite audio drama shows on directories like iTunes and Stitcher.

If you want to build a business, earn a bit of extra pocket money, or even just get creative and have fun with audio fiction, there are other ways to do so outside of the traditional podcasting method.Our guests on this weeks show, Iain Manley (VoiceMap) and Adele Kirby (Imagineactive Audio Fitness Adventures), have created two very different, but equally innovative audio apps based around their own passions and interests. Both use audio to tell stories, so whether that’s guiding you on factual or fictional tours around towns or cities, or training you to survive an alien invasion and impending apocalypse, you know you’re going to be entertained in a very different way than simply sitting back with your headphones on.You can get involved with VoiceMap yourself by creating a route with them, just like we did. Or maybe you have some ideas on how you can use your skills as a writer, producer, or voice actor to create some sort of interactive audio app of your own.

The Sonic Society‘s Jack Ward returns to the show, looking to break down and analyse the nuts and bolts of what makes up an audio story, and what forms that story can take. The segment features clips from Gate, The Champion, Searcher & Stallion, Black Jack Justice, Crazy Dog Audio, Teknikal Diffikulties, Gusu, and Cosmo & Robetta. As well as being featured in audio form, you can also find a full transcript of Jack’s piece, below.And remember to look out for part 2, which will be featured on episode 47 of this humble podcast.

The dilemma faced by all audio drama creators at some stage is whether they should make a serialised story, or an anthology series.Here we give examples of two of our favourite serial dramas, Edict Zero FIS, and We’re Alive, and two of our favourite anthology series’, The Truth, and Campfire Radio Theater. We go on to cover the advantages and disadvantages of each method, as well as offering our own opinions, and revealing details of our first steps into a post-Aftermath series of our own (but will it be an anthology or a serial?).

Make those vital opening minutes count, give the listener reason to stick with you“The moment of arrival. This is how you drop your listeners into the story. Don’t give them a warm bed with comfortable pillows and a hot water bottle. The background and sub-text of previous histories is better explored through revelation in dramatic action. So parachute your listener into a top dramatic moment. Not the climax. That would be premature. Find the MOMENT to join the story. Avoid the slow snail’s explicatory route. Kick ’em into a high energy trip and woosh them through the rapids.”Tim Crook – Principles of Writing Radio DramaIn this episode we expand on this great piece of advice. Looking at examples of where this technique has been executed well, and offering suggestions on how we might use it to open some of our own hypothetical audio drama stories and scenarios.

Writing dialogue is one of the most important things you’ll do when creating audio drama. Without it your story wouldn’t even exist. So what makes for ‘good’ dialogue, and how do you go about writing it? Eli McIlveen, creator of Alba Salix, Royal Physician gives his thoughts and opinions.We also answer a question on episode lengths. How long should your average episode be? Is there a generally accepted standard?And there’s more on the proposed 2016 UK Audio Drama Event, we’d really like to hear your opinions so please take a couple of minutes to fill out this short survey.

We’ve come up with a list of ways you can help your fellow audio dramatists to succeed and grow, which aims to help the whole audio drama community move forward as one. After that, we have a great clip from Kessi Riliniki, creator of Those Who Sing, with some clever tips on keeping silent characters in the picture and creating a more lifelike soundscape. We also mention Episode 6 with Matthew Boudreau after talk of A Prophet’s Guide, Campfire Radio Theater’s Ghosts of Flannan Lighthouse, our brand new VoiceMap route, set in Edinburgh, titled “The Royal Mile”, and our Patreon page.

Remember the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why. “The microphone, in addition to being the ears of the listener, is where all the action takes place. In stage theater it would be the spotlight; in films and television it would be the camera; but in audio theater it’s the all-hearing, all-seeing microphone. All seeing microphone? Of course, in the audio theater it’s what the audience hears that influences what the audience’s imagination sees. (The Audio Theater Guide, Robert L. Mott, p.85)Direct DownloadTelling your story through sound means you have some choices to make during the writing stages. Which character or characters will the listener follow and remain with throughout? Which ‘shots’ will you use in each scene, and why? Steve Schneider returns to pose these questions, and play some clips to help demonstrate his points. These include The Rats in the Walls, Julie Hoverson’s adaptation of the HP Lovecraft story for 19 Nocturne Boulevard. The Truth are featured, in the form of The Mutiny, and

“To produce fan fiction, or not to produce fan fiction, that is the question” (Sylvester Stallone, Terminator 2, 1997)Direct DownloadWell, this episode has been brewing for a while now. Voice actor and all round good guy Michael Hudson (Edict Zero, Aftermath, and much more) was around these parts recently and wanted to fight the cause of those who produce fan shows. We’d love to hear your opinion on the matter too, so get in touch at podcast@audiodramaproduction.com

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