Category: Media (Page 28 of 45)

Learning How to Eat Your (Radio) Vegetables

June 26, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

Aden Rolfe, whose series A Thoroughly Wet Mess is getting a kind of kickstart of its own through the powerhouse Serial, thinks its about time for people to get back to some audio creativity. According to the article from The Sydney Morning Herald, The digital age has taken radio to both the cutting edge of modern broadcasting and back in time – delivering the freedom of independently produced, listen-when-you-like podcasting that at the same time is a throwback to the medium’s golden age – pre-television, when radio serials were the dominant form of household entertainment.

“I think the main thing that comes off the back of things like Serial and some of the other podcasts … is that it creates a real audio literacy,” Rolfe says.

Rolfe says that about ten years ago audiences were a little scared listening to creative radio, but thanks to Serial it’s opened the field wide open.

Feeling a little smug are you? Just because Audio Drama listeners aren’t above the trend, doesn’t mean we’re not above a little backslapping each other for either. Congratulations!

Seaburn Goes Down Easy

June 25, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

Sonic Society alumni, Jay Sykes who brought us the awesome Seaburn, has just won the gold for Best Student Radio Drama at the New York Festival’s International Radio Program Awards for The World’s Best Radio Programs. Wow! Congratulations Jay, from all of us here at the Sonic Society, you entranced us with your entry, it’s only fair that you seduce the rest of the world with your work. All the best to the future, and send us more shows!

Tending the Garden

June 24, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

It’s been a slow ride through the RSS feeds and the gentle eddies of subscription space, but as we wind down our tenth season of the Sonic Society and a pretty busy one with three shows a week (Sonic Echo, Sonic Speaks and of course the Sonic Society) it’s important to see how far we’ve gone and where we’re actually going to be.

Witness in case of point, the article in the New York Times by Farhad Manjoo entitled Podcasting Blossoms, but in Slow Motion. Podcasting is very much like gardening. You have to constantly tend to your feed, weed out the flubs in your recordings, and let the listenership bloom. Manjoo says that after ten years the growth is still slow, but it is continually growing. We’ll get there, together.

Rising Again

June 23, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

More fantastic zombie news! The dead walk again! Or at least, the unliving monsters from KC Wayland’s zombie epic We’re Alive. Wayland’s back, and in this article with Army Times describes what he’s already revealed to Sonic Speak listeners last month that his new parallel tale from the post apocalyptic nightmare- Lockdown will be coming to a podcatcher near you!

Support KC Wayland and the We’re Alive Podcast at its Kickstarter campaign where YOUR donation may be just what is needed to finish this fantastic new voyage into terror.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Into the Water…

June 22, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

From the amazing studio that brought you Powder River, The Martian Chronicles, Captain Blood and other thrilling tales- now adapted from the pure zombie nightmare comic- Dead Ahead! Written by Mel Smith and adapted for radio by Jack J. Ward, this terror-filled blood bath will keep you away from the water, and safely aboard while the moans from the unliving remain.. Dead Ahead. Listen to this trailer and look for the summer release from Colonial Radio Theatre in August!

Floyd Radio

June 20, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

Radio Drama OTR and new skits will be performed live tonight! The Floyd Town Jubilee is in Floyd!

From the SWVA Today article:

“The Town of Floyd presents The Floyd Town Jubilee featuring the popular Floyd Radio Show tonight (June 20) at 7:00 p.m. in the Warren G. Lineberry Community Park.

The Floyd Radio Show with hosts Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle is an old-timey variety show with original radio plays, comedy bits, ads, jingles, music and more. The show will feature special musical guests: Minton Sparks with John Jackson, The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters and Town Mountain.”

Irish Radio Award Winner

June 15, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

Conor Malone is one of the latest recipients of the PJ O’Connor Awards. If the name of the awards sounds familiar, O’Connor was the late head of RTE Drama and represents the latest in best new Irish writing for Audio Drama. Malone, who manages the Balor Arts Centre in Ballybofey, won third place for his forty minute play entitled “The Fund”. Inishowen News has all the details here.

Powder River Wraps Up!

June 10, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

What keeps Jerry Robbins going? The very thought of being able to sustain a powerful series, let alone a fun action-oriented, grounded in history western such as Powder River for eleven seasons is mind blowing to us at the Sonic Society. But, we’re grateful he does and like many other fans, never want it to stop!

Here’s the latest wrap up news from the CRT Blog:

This week was a milestone for our POWDER RIVER series, as it wrapped production on its 11th season, and recorded it’s 150th episode! Not bad for a show that was a summer replacement program for THE NEW DIBBLE SHOW with a 15 episode run. However once it went on the air the listeners wanted to hear more, thanks in part to the three episode arc that concluded the first season, and several month later we were back recording RETURN TO POWDER RIVER – planning on ending after our 15th episode. But, that didn’t work out either, and here we are 11 years later still in production.
In celebration of our 150th episode, CRT would like to thank the cast and crew who have brought this show to life over the years.

Keep an eye open and your powder dry for the next release from Colonial Radio Theatre!

The Audio Drama Rating System Update!

May 30, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

It’s been a few years since our first release of the Audio Drama Rating System that we released in the incredible Audio Drama Directory. Many audio drama groups, companies, and individuals have been using the rating system to help identify what their content contains with thanks to Matt Leong’s artistry for the rating system badges!

Some people have asked why even have a rating’s system in the first place? Here was my answer back then:

Audio Drama on the Internet has become a renewed golden age of entertainment. So many new companies and individuals have created plays and stories and are distributing them through Internet Radio, Direct Downloads, Streaming and of course Podcasts. But as we become a larger and more robust community, it becomes more and more difficult to sort out which show is most appropriate for which audience. As an educator and a father, I know I would love to be able to point more families, teachers and students to a number of different audio play productions.

In the old days of radio, we had specific requirements banning certain language and adult situations. Today we have virtually no limitations in the breadth and scope of our tales! So, to help sort appropriate audiences, I have, with the consultation of several folks, developed a basic ratings system. It is my hope that many organizations and audio drama producers will sign on and agree to rate their shows so that many more people can listen and enjoy!

And it’s only become more important today with so many productions as we move through the Silver Age of the Modern Audio Drama movement and find fantastic new shows and new listeners.

In the tone of that collective effort I’m proud to provide folks with the BRAND NEW AUDIO DRAMA RATINGS VOICINGS by none other than Tanja Milojevic famous from Lightning Bolt Theatre of the Mind (and the upcoming Biff Straker) and John Bell from the hilarious and compelling Bell’s in the Batfry (and the aforementioned upcoming Biff too!)

Please feel free to download the new audio drama ratings and use on all your shows. Let’s help spread radio drama far and wide!

Excelsior!

Download Required

May 28, 2015 / Jack / 0 Comments

There’s a strange new trend going on with some new audio drama companies, and it’s hurting their audience.

Loads of companies are putting out youtube videos and soundcloud audio. The problem with streaming audio is that it doesn’t allow for asynchronous listening. And this kind of distributed listening is by far the most effective distribution of audio drama.

In other words, please make it easy for your listeners to find you! Add a download link every time you download a show. If you’re planning to distribute your audio drama freely, the purpose is to give the widest, best possible opportunities to find new ears.

Most listeners either use direct downloads to mp3 players or subscribe to an RSS feed– usually through itunes. Many audio-philes listen while driving to or from work or when exercising or doing chores. To expect in this rush of a life, that most audio drama listeners will stream an audio drama from their computer is at best short-sighted, at worst intentionally hurting your marketshare of an audience.

We love audio drama in the Sonic Society. We respect and buy professional radio plays, but if you’re planning to make it free- by all means put it up for streaming, but please make it free to get for all!