Not Easily Squished

So you've finished your audio drama. Great! Now you've released it, and you're grateful—exhausted, but grateful. But what happens when the critics come? And the trolls? When you're emotionally invested in your creation, it's easy to let one bad review or one nasty troll haunt you forever. But you don't have to give them that power. You should embrace the fans who make it all worth it, listen to th...

There is no teacher like experience. That teacher also carries a sledgehammer called "lessons learned". In other words, learn the lesson or find out what it costs to make the same mistake again. Often, you will repeat the same mistake more than once until you learn how to avoid it or find a better way. Even worse is learning a painful lesson, allowing time to pass, and then forgetting what you lea...

Storytelling systems help you write your audio dramas so that you know what has to come next. It is your own, personalized process that makes sure you tell your story in the way you intended to tell it, without forgetting any of the details along the way. You could call this your style, philosophy, or even your approach to telling stories using the audio format. But whatever you choose to use or c...

Unlike film, which has lighting, costumes, cuts, graphics, CGI, movements, camera position, sets, and even real locations, audio only has four tools in its toolbox: Spoken Dialog, Silence, Sound Effects, and Music. Of the four, music can play a vital role in your audience's reaction to your story. You're not required to have any, but without it, you're tying one arm behind your back which it comes...

For the most part, garbage in creates garbage out. And when you're on a super tight schedule, the quality of that garbage becomes a matter of perspective. What would be an immediate re-record session suddenly becomes "good enough" when you don't have any time left. But here's the revelation that I had when doing an audio drama this way: what you think is garbage turns out to be genius! I like to c...

In This Episode Do you need the best gear to record an audio drama? Do you need a full sound stage and the best microphones to record your voice actors? Do you need all your actors in that studio at the same time? Or how about "that guy behind the glass" guy? The one everyone knows is moving around dials and switches to make all your actors sound amazing? Do you need that guy? Do you need that big...

Do you need a sound library to make an audio drama? No. No, you don't. You can get away with making your own special effects. It might not be exactly what you want. But it has a few advantages: 1. You get to decide what the sound is rather than settling for what's available 2. You don't have to search for a sound for hours 3. You own it Will it be perfect? Maybe. But for a daily or homebrewed audi...

Do you need real voice actors to make an audio drama? No. No, you don't. You can get away with your friends and family. It might not be great. It might not even be in person. But it will be recorded, edited, and done. When you get yourself a budget and have a real cast, then you can be picky. But when you're in a rush, sometimes good is the best you can hope for. Especially if you're going to do t...

Are you an imposter? Of course not because Mr. Murphy is a lair! He is fear. Fear of embarrassment, fear of judgment, or fear of making a mistake. But that's all Imposter Syndrome is -- fear of the unknown! But what if it all works out? Do you know what will happen if you don't listen to that voice? The worst thing that could happen -- You could learn something. However, nothing happens if you qui...

Welcome to Part 3 of 13 parts in my Between the Pauses mini-series that explores my thoughts while making my first audio drama: PAUSE for Dramatic Effect! If you're interested in the complete first season of Pause for Dramatic Effect you can download and listen to it for free at PAUSEforDramaticEffect.com or wherever you find your podcasts. Audio Drama is all about systems. A system for writing yo...

When you take that voice and try to sound like someone else -- that's a whole new world! In audio drama, professional voice-over actors -- or just voice actors -- use their voice as a tool. Many of them can sound like 3-5 different people. They're so good at changing their voice that you probably didn't even know the voice of two different characters was the same person. I started thinking if I co...

To design, create, produce, and promote a daily podcast, you have to have your ducks in a row. It requires planning -- lots of planning -- a solid format that you can use as a template. But what happens when you decide to make that podcast a scripted, fictional audio drama with voice actors, sound effects, and music? Does THAT work? Can THAT work as a daily podcast? Well, you don't have to wonder...

To become an Audio Experience (AX) designer, you need to exercise your creativity. One idea is to use a game I created called the Podcast Design Builder (working title) to play with other creatives. The idea is to create a podcast idea in 30 minutes after being given only a few randomly determined design constraints. Can you do it? How to Play the Game The host invites 2-4 guests to create 10 desi...

Podcast design is an act of communication. However, a common mistake made by most podcasters is thinking of ourselves as only audio communicators. We’re fortunate to speak the audio language fluently, but we need to be able to translate that thinking into visual and performance mediums as well. In other words, we need to be bilingual but not in the way you would expect. Notable Quotes "Think about...

You may have thought about everything that goes into enticing someone to press play, but have you ever thought about the design decisions that have led up to the play button itself? There is a whole world of cooperation between people, far apart and personally unbeknownst to each other, that allows your podcast episode to reach your listener. This podcast industry is a marketplace that performs mi...

When considering the creation of a new podcast there are generally two options available to you: Copy an existing format, or create your own special format. But how do you create a format that is unique enough to be different but not too unique that it scares listeners away? The answer is in understanding what existing formats are in your niche and how bespoke design thinking can make you stand ou...

Every design student at some point in their career has encountered Ten Principles for Good Design by Dieter Rams. Rams was an infamous German industrial designer and the Chief Design Officer at Braun for over 30 years. Many of the consumer products Rams created for Brauns are still used today. He was also well known for his “Less but Better” minimalist aesthetic and for being one of the first desi...

Every design student at some point in their career has encountered Ten Principles for Good Design by Dieter Rams. Rams was an infamous German industrial designer and the Chief Design Officer at Braun for over 30 years. Many of the consumer products Rams created for Brauns are still used today. He was also well known for his “Less but Better” minimalist aesthetic and for being one of the first desi...

Where do podcast ideas come from? Kyle explains how the influences of two brilliant designers -- Sir Jony Ive and Hillman Curtis -- helped form his design philosophy foundation. Lessons from Sir Jony Ive: Encouraged informal questioning and inquiry, tolerated mistakes, and promoted innovation. Make your studio into an "ideas factory" with brainstorming sessions at least two times a week -- No exce...