Category: Media (Page 34 of 45)

The Rise of Audio Books

1245551Desert News is buzzing about Audiobooks: A Rising Industry and a Multi-tasker’s Dream and it makes one ponder.

If audio books are on the rise because- as audiophiles have said for years now- it’s easier to do things and listen to stories, then are we on the cusp of seeing Audio Drama make another burst into the consciousness of main stream?

What will happen when the whole world starts to realize the power of spoken word and the value of it over all things video?

Will we enter the third age of Modern Audio?

Who Listens to Audio/Radio Drama?

radiodramaWho listens to Audio Drama anyway? That’s always been the big question we who create new Audio plays always asks. Is this a medium that’s still mostly appreciated by Baby Boomers? Or is it the Gen X’ers who listened to A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Star Wars Radio Drama in the eighties which sparked their imaginations for all things audio?

Well, David Farquhar from Moonlight Audio and Voices in the Wind Theatre has some interesting stats.

Without taking up more ink, let’s let David describe his findings.

 

WHO LISTENS TO AUDIO THEATRE? YOU MAY BE SURPRISED!

Audio Theatre or Audio Drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance and with no visual component, depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story. As noted by Tim Crook in his book Radio Drama Theory And Practice “It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension.”

Audio Theatre has been around in one shape or form since the 1880’s when they were listened to on cylinders. It wasn’t until the late 1920’s that audio theatre achieved widespread popularity on the emerging medium of radio. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s, however, audio theatre lost some of its popularity, and in some countries has never regained large audiences. So, does this mean that this once popular art form has just faded away into oblivion? Only listened to by the over 65 crowd?

Now, this is where it starts to get really interesting! By looking at the download demographics we can find the answer as to what age groups are actively listening to and downloading audio theatre.

(The following statistics are derived from Moonlight Audio Theatre’s website traffic and download traffic as calculated by Google Analytics and Moonlight’s Podcast Provider)

DOWNLOADS / LISTENS BY AGE GROUP
18-24 – 27.5%
25-34 – 33.5%
35-44 –15.50%
45-54 – 12.50%
55-64 – 5.50%
65+ 5.50%

As it turns out it’s the under 34 age group that represents the majority of audio theatre listeners at 61% compared to the over 55 age group that represents only 11% of listeners. If you include in the 35-44 age group that percentage increase to 76.5%! The ratio of male to female listeners is approximately the same with males at 54.15% and females at 45.85%.

So clearly, the modern day revival and rejuvenation of this old art form is being driven by a younger demographic and by technology. The visionary media guru Marshall McLuhan once said ‘The medium is the message’ and that medium today is the Internet, Smartphones, Tablets, Apps etc. It’s ‘Cool’ to listen to audio theatre.

Audio Theatre has never faded away; it just keeps morphing with the times. As long as there is a good story to be told, there will always be an audience for this most imaginative and creative art form called audio theatre.

David Farquhar, Producer
Moonlight Audio Theatre
http://www.moonlightaudiotheatre.ca/

The Magic of Radio Drama

This lovely posted video of “Because the Scenery is Better: The Magic of Radio Drama” gives a fun look behind the scenes in British Audio Theatre of the 1980’s! It’s hard to imagine, but it’s grown more popular world wide now since those “heady” days! Return with us, ten years later and we’re

Loaded for Bear!

4605566080_957x538What a fantastic project! Free Firearm sound effects!

From the Free Firearm Sound Effects Library website:

The firearm sound library was the brainchild of a team of college students with a mutual passion for the audio and  visual arts. In November, 2013 we launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop an extensive open source firearm sound effects library, and on December 7, 2013 our project was funded by an incredible group of backers and we went into full tilt production. This website serves to connect our backers with our two libraries, as well as to give credit to the backers who made it all possible.

Along with the availability of these sounds comes the need to understand their proper application. The metadata included in the sound files along with some instructional videos will help make these sounds serve you to their full potential.

Our team holds CC0 NO RIGHTS RESERVED for this library. It may be used without royalty or credit (though we would love to hear how you’ve used our sounds) for any application, personal or professional. Have at it!

Grab the raw files, or refined ones. Select which sound effects you want or grab the whole bunch!

On top of that help them complete their Medieval Weapons Sound Effects Library by donating to kickstarter!

 

 

 

P.G. Holyfield Could Use Your Smile- Rise and Shine

1965850_1408294617.4618And with that, listeners were transformed by the tale that P.G. Holyfield told.
I began audio drama in the first wave of podcasting back over a decade now, and even though audio books and audio drama swim in different circles we do cross back and forth occasionally.

I never got much chance to speak to P.G., but I too was wrapped up in his novel “Murder at Avedon Hill” and was excited at the opportunity for more. P.G. and I have a lot in common, a love of role playing games, fantasy, and of course Game of Thrones. P.G. is a lover of story, a weaver of tales and a podcaster of many podcasts well “Beyond the Wall” and “Tales of the Children” are the ones I’ve listened to. He’s a favourite guest at both Balticon and Dragoncon and has an endless list of friends he’s gathered in the seven years since he first podcast his novel.

I mean P.G. Holyfield is such a presence in the podcasting culture, that I guess I took it for granted that I’d be able to interview him at any time.
so, it was with some shock that I read a blog announcement from Chooch Schubert and Vivian Muse about the recent challenges to P.G.’s health.

And after I started looking at pictures after pictures of Patrick with his friends that people posted on his Facebook and through twitter, and I listened to the love that Nutty spoke about, the fact that no one, NO ONE could say anything bad about this man… it got me thinking…

Maybe, it’s time for all of us to rise and shine a little bit more. You know the phrase “rise and shine”? My parents woke me up as a kid every morning, and I wake up my boys with that little piece of advice- Rise and Shine.

P.G. Holyfield teaches me, even now, a little bit about being a better person. Not just rising to the challenges and doing the things I need to do, but maybe “shining” just a little brighter… smiling a little more, and being just that much more communicative about the people around me.

I lost my best friend, eighteen years ago, and since then, I don’t take my friends for granted. I’m very careful to tell the listeners of the Sonic Society know how much they mean to me at the end of each season. I try not to get too sappy through out the year, but maybe the secret of P.G.’s success as a man- beyond his wildly creative talent- is that he makes people around him feel valued all the time.
Not just once in a while, and without having to say a whole lot.

I’m not a very social person normally. I have trouble feeling comfortable around groups of people I don’t know- hence my presence in Conventions have always been limited. I’m more comfortable on stage and in panels than chatting afterwards.

Maybe it’s time for me try harder. Maybe its time to rise a little to complete those creative endevours. Maybe its time to shine a little more with the people around me.

If you want to help out P.G., and rise and shine a little more yourself, go to the Go Fund Me P.G. Holyfield Cancer Support page, put your memories of Patrick in an audio or a video… Talk to friends. Whatever you do…

Time to shake yourself out of bed, and rise and shine…

Hunting for the Audio Book

witchmusicThe fantastic folks at Audio Epics need your help!

They’ve begun an Indiegogo project to complete a ten hour audio book (that’s three times as long the original audio drama series). Domien deGroot, the miraculously creative fantasy writer promises a more complete story, including a new character and the full experience of the heights of his imaginative vision.

Take a moment and toss some money their way and let’s see the award winning Witch Hunter Chronicles in this beautiful new, complete, form! The campaign begins today! Armor up and join us!

The Gig Cast

playing-on-air-radio-dramaWith apologies to my friends Scott and JT who’s beloved Gigcast has alas podfaded into the distance… Fred Greenhalgh is looking for a few good men, and women, to post, share and work on their Gigs at Radio Drama Revival. How about it Society Members? Who’s up to create some of their dreams in the Audioverse?!

Mark Time Awards 2013

This yeMark-smar’s Mark Time Award winners have been announced!

Yes, it’s finally that time of year again, to announce the winners of the Mark Time Awards for Science Fiction Audio Theater, and the Ogle Awards for Fantasy/Horror Audio Theater. After seventeen years, still the ONLY awards given solely for audio theater, anywhere in the world. These are the winners for the 2013 Production Year.

Mark Time Award

GOLD
The Truth: Biological Clock
The Truth
Written by Ira Gamerman
Produced by Jonathan Mitchell
New York, NY
www.thetruthpodcast.com

SILVER
Alone in the Night
Electric Vicuna Productions
Written & Produced by Jack Ward
Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.evicuna.com

Ogle Award

GOLD
The Legend of Springheel’d Jack
Wireless Theatre Company
Written by Gareth Parker, Robert Valentine
Producers, Robert Valentine, Gareth Parker, Mariele Runacre-Temple
London, England
www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk

SILVER
The Perhapanauts: Monsters Among Us
AudioComics Company
Written by Todd DeZago, w/Elaine Lee
Produced by William Dufris, Lance Roger Axt, Elaine Lee
Bellingham, WA
audiocomicscompany.com

There’s a lot of audio theater out there on the web. I tell people there’s probably more audio theater being made now than there was during the heyday, the Golden Age of Radio. Maybe that’s true. Maybe it isn’t. It’s certainly true that there’s a bigger variety of works available now. Science fiction and Fantasy are a very large percentage of what’s new in audio drama, partly because it lends itself so well to the medium.

We would like to thank the Geek Partnership Society (GPS) for their generous sponsorship for a dozen years or so, and thank CONvergence for their support in giving us a stage to present the awards and a chance to spread the word that there’s a lot of good audio stories out there. Please give it a listen.

 

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