062 - The A to Z of making Audio Drama. New Media Europe

A = Anthology or Serial?What kind of series would you like to make? Doing a serial with ongoing story arcs and characters will give your listeners that extra reason to come back for more. But if you’re the type of person who comes up with five different story ideas a day, maybe the anthology is the route for you. For more discussion on this topic check out our episode ‘Should I make a serial or anthology series?’ B = Balancing/Blending inYour story is going to be told entirely by a collection of different sounds. You might have an actor recording lines her a bedroom in San Diego, whilst another records his in a basement in Madrid. You might have recorded some sound effects in your kitchen, and have others from a professional stock library.The point is that these must all be balanced and blended together in a way that they become one performance. Take time to make sure nothing jars the listener – if something sounds odd or alien to your mix, you need to sort it or replace it. C = CharactersWrite each character with a lot of thought. Who are they? What do they want? Why do they want it? And what stands in their way?Make your characters real people, not one-dimensional caricatures who only serve the purpose of furthering a particular plot aim. Explore their lives, their feelings, their interactions. Build relationships and conflicts. And treat ‘minor’ characters with respect – they may work well enough that you want to build future stories around them and their own lives. D = DAWA Digital Audio Workstation is the software you’ll use to build your Audio Drama. There are several great options out there when it comes to choosing one. Audacity is free and can get you started, but if you think you’re going to stick at audio production you will eventually find it quite limiting. Reaper and Audition are two popular DAWs in the Audio Drama production space. Our advice is to pick one and stick with it, better to master one than be reasonable with three or four. E = EditingContrary to popular belief, making Audio Drama isn’t all flash cars, champagne, and pool parties. Expect to find yourself hunched over a computer screen for hours on end, carefully crafting the tiniest nuances into your soundscape that literally no one is even going to notice – but at the same time you break out in a cold sweat at the thought of leaving them out. F = Final MixThis term is a misnomer in Audio Drama. Nothing is ever really finished. You will always listen back and hear missed opportunities. “Why did I not include the sound of a curtain blowing in the open window across the street?”. Get used to this.When you think you are finished though, you need to listen to your show in as many different ways as possible. Yes it sounds great through your fancy headphones, but does it still work through the laptop speakers, car speakers, or cheap earbuds? I know it’s sacrilege that people will consume your masterpiece this way but that’s just the harsh reality of the world we live in.Never do your final listen sitting at the computer staring at the multitrack, if you do this you are ‘listening with your eyes’. Take your show for a walk, literally. Go out with the earbuds in, and if you notice something missing, or a bit too low/loud, or maybe a piece of dialogue just isn’t hitting the right beat, go back home and adjust it. G = GenreWhat kind of world do you want to live in? The beauty of Audio Drama is that it is completely limitless, you can set your show anywhere. Build fantasy kingdoms, sprawling space stations, decaying post-apocalyptic cities, or set a comedy show in the living room of your own house.We often use this quote from our interview with Dirk Maggs, but it sums up the...