Why Don't You Listen To Audio Trek?

[jaksajak]

First reply hit the nail on the head, really. Audios are best experienced when you are giving your attention to something else but not really thinking about it, such as when driving a long distance.

With a fan film, you can sit in front of your computer and watch it, and that's enough. But you can't sit at your computer and just listen to something. The screen is there right in front of you----there's the unavoidable compulsion to do something else while you listen. And that typically means reading something online. Well, you can't read and listen at the same time, not effectively. So your attention drifts and you lose interest in one or the other. Sometimes both.

I think in this climate, fan audios are going to have a tough time presenting themselves as individual episodes to be played on a computer. But if they're packaged as entire albums per-season in a manner which facilitates easy CD burning or iPod transfer, maybe even with a printable CD cover, they could perhaps gain some traction with the audiobook crowd.

Good point, Lindley and others. Computers can often present a multi-tasking environment that diverts attention one way or the other. I've noticed this when listening to audio Trek. In fact as I'm writing there's a youtube on about 'The History of Math' in the background. I'll have to rewind it and watch again to get something out of it. Anyways, as Barbreader says, it could be a great idea for people to burn these to CD or put them on iPod/mp3 to listen on a drive etc.

I checked out the site, it looks pretty cool! I like the illustrations of the characters and the synopsis for each. It's all good information, but it would also be good to include even shorter summaries at the top/beginning of each bio? What I mean is give a few sentences that may reveal some of their relevance in a plot or scenario without giving too much away. This is another way to give clues about what's going on with the story and get people interested. I also like that you have a voice sample to go with each character. This makes for a good connection with the audience.

I'll try to participate on the forum sometime but I'm somewhat busy. I'm also working on projects and a Star Trek fan animation which takes up plenty of time. I look forward to corresponding with all of you more and if time permits I plan to listen to some episodes. Are there ones you would recommend to get started...or just from the beginning?

This brings up another point. Every few episodes are there ways of 'bringing people up to speed?' Sometimes it can seem daunting to go through all the episodes, but sometimes there's a good place to start in the middle and work forwards/backwards from there? Another question, how important is the continuity of these episodes? Is it very continuity-heavy or can some of the episodes stand alone? This can be another good way to advertise...if there's a 'big' episode that brings people up to speed, sometimes people can get into it and work backwards.

Just some thoughts, looking forward to talking with everyone more.

 

[Kirok_of_LStok]

Computers can often present a multi-tasking environment that diverts attention one way or the other... In fact as I'm writing there's a youtube on about 'The History of Math' in the background. I'll have to rewind it and watch again to get something out of it.

I've often heard it said, usually by women, that women are the experts at multitasking. Me, I don't do it so well! I can listen to music in the background whilst I'm doing something and it will give me a subliminal "feel" - pumped, blue, cool - but anything aimed higher up my cerebral cortex has to be focused on!

The best experience I've had of an audio drama has been when I listened to it late at night over our loungeroom speakers. I can't do it too often because I get the "what on Earth is THAT you're listening too?" from the family. However if you come across a production that you really like, listen to their next episode on good speakers and sink into the experience. You'll be surprised at the sound engineering that has gone into some of these shows - even good headphones can't give you same 3D sound that quad speakers can give you!

Just once. I'll see if I can pick out a good example from the many.

I checked out the site, it looks pretty cool! I like the illustrations of the characters and the synopsis for each. It's all good information, but it would also be good to include even shorter summaries at the top/beginning of each bio? What I mean is give a few sentences that may reveal some of their relevance in a plot or scenario without giving too much away. This is another way to give clues about what's going on with the story and get people interested. I also like that you have a voice sample to go with each character. This makes for a good connection with the audience.

Sounds good, uh, which one was that?

This brings up another point. Every few episodes are there ways of 'bringing people up to speed?' Sometimes it can seem daunting to go through all the episodes, but sometimes there's a good place to start in the middle and work forwards/backwards from there? Another question, how important is the continuity of these episodes? Is it very continuity-heavy or can some of the episodes stand alone? This can be another good way to advertise...if there's a 'big' episode that brings people up to speed, sometimes people can get into it and work backwards.

As a general rule a new season is a good place to start in one of the longer series and, yes, continuity is a problem with audio drama in my opinion. When you have an audio drama series that at best releases once a month - sometimes only once a quarter! - its hard to keep track of who the different characters are just from their voices and the few clues we get from their dialogue. Another reason for getting them as a "season CD" and listening to them one per day, say.

Some productions get around this by making "bottle shows" or 1-2 episode arcs, for longer series I like the idea of a trailer - "Previously on The Good Ship Lollipop! ..." or something in written form like the type of thing Excelsior did (still does?).

Cheers

K

 

[FreddyE]

Have a look at www.startrekunity.com (nothing to do with the one mentioned before) right now they are on audio drama...2 episodes so far. Only one episode per year (so far) but very high quality. After two more audio episodes they will switch to CGI-Animation.

Episode 1:
http://www.startrekunity.com/disunity1.html

Episode 2:
http://www.startrekunity.com/disunity2.html

 

[Kirok_of_LStok]

Have a look at www.startrekunity.com (nothing to do with the one mentioned before)

Actually it was Unity that I listened to over our Hi-Fi - great work guys! The Foley and ambiance in the caves made me expect to see phaser fire come over my shoulder!

K

 

[Barbreader]

This question is addressed to those considering listening to audio drama... why are you intimidated by an existing long series? Given how long it is between fan offerings, when I see a set of 15 or 20 episodes, in which I can start at the beginning, I'm delighted. If you start with the current episode, you may have to wait a long time for the next one. If there are 15 or 40 episodes, you get to listen (or watch, in video) at your own pace.

I can understanding wanting to listen to a single recent offering in case the first few are not of equal quality, to decide if you want to slog through it. But when I see a long existing series, all done and ready to listen to, I get happy!

In fact, my website, http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/ is all about finding EXISTING material rather than waiting for the stuff the producers of fan media are just getting ready. It's not like you signed a contract. If you are listening to a series which has released 40 episodes, you just listen when you feel like it.

Being intimidated because a series you like has too many episodes to me is like being intimidated because you have too much money in the bank... and yes, it's really yours, it's not an error. I just find it confusing.

 

[MikeH92467]

That's very impressive work Barbreader! You're enjoyment of the fan production genre shines through and as someone involved in a production I can say it's very gratifying to see someone taking our efforts seriously.

For all the folks mentioning that long story arcs can be a bit intimidating, please note that the next episode of Star Trek: Excelsior is a bottle show that brings back one of our most popular characters and reintroduces some of the scariest villains from the Star Trek continuum. www.starshipexcelsior.com

We're currently in pre-production with release scheduled for Boxing Day, December 26th.

 

[Barbreader]

That's very impressive work Barbreader! You're enjoyment of the fan production genre shines through and as someone involved in a production I can say it's very gratifying to see someone taking our efforts seriously.

For all the folks mentioning that long story arcs can be a bit intimidating, please note that the next episode of Star Trek: Excelsior is a bottle show that brings back one of our most popular characters and reintroduces some of the scariest villains from the Star Trek continuum. www.starshipexcelsior.com

We're currently in pre-production with release scheduled for Boxing Day, December 26th.

I think that occasionally producing a 'bottle show' for newbies to sample is a great idea! In fact, perhaps you should feature whatever your most recent 'bottle show' on your front page so that the newbie can sample it. However, I still think that your collection of already-produced shows is a library of wealth!

I don't have cable TV. (Yes, only about 10 per cent of American households are still without cable... I'm one of those. But I've been on the net almost 15 years.) But when a cable show I wanted to watch is done, and a local over-the-air channel then shows it, I watch it. I only saw Michael Phiffer's (sp) "The Dead Zone" series last year. So what if it was made in 2001-2005? It was new to me! I see no difference here. Would you refuse to read the Harry Potter series to a kid just growing up now because it's finished? Should children not be shown Alice in Wonderland or Alice Through the Looking Glass because they were written over 150 years ago? I find that idea silly!

Older fan film and fan audio and other productions simply need a library and review system. Trekkie Central is trying or organize the whole thing, http://www.trekkiecentral.info/# (I don't think he really wanted this link released yet, the audio linking system isn't up and running yet, but you know where to look in about six months) while I admit I am listing fan audio when I find it, but only trying to organize fan films ... I have now located and partly processed over 220 of them, and that's only the ones I've processed somewhat, I'm fairly certain I have just located over 100 more, but haven't even begun to place and process those (I am counting all of Star Track as one film, all of Stone Trek as one film, so there are really a lot more in the partly processed group than I just said.)

 

[FreddyE]

Have a look at www.startrekunity.com (nothing to do with the one mentioned before)

Actually it was Unity that I listened to over our Hi-Fi - great work guys! The Foley and ambiance in the caves made me expect to see phaser fire come over my shoulder!

K

Yeah...Tanver Naseer and they guys really put out great quality. I used to be a founding member of the team but I had to quit for personal...and "other" reasons. I play a one line part as communications officer in Disunity Part 1.

 

[Wowbagger]

Some productions get around this by making "bottle shows" or 1-2 episode arcs, for longer series I like the idea of a trailer - "Previously on The Good Ship Lollipop! ..." or something in written form like the type of thing Excelsior did (still does?).

This conversation continues to be fantastic to follow, and I am very content just watching the conversation unfold. But, since you asked: yes, Excelsior still does the written synopsis (though with me in Rome and Mike running everything himself -- which is crazy lots of work -- I think it's finally gotten a bit behind). However, since we know that most people don't read the synopsis (analysis shows that it's one of the least trafficked sections of our website), we do a 1 - 2 minute recap at the start of most episodes. In short, we try to make Excelsior as easy for newbies as it can possibly be... hopefully with some success.

At Excelsior, we make a big effort to make every season a self-contained story. Plot threads do continue from season to season, but the major lines are all wrapped up in the finale. Thus, if you're looking to sample Excelsior, I recommend either of our season premieres ("The Valandrian Expedition," season one, or "The First Two Deaths," for season two), or either of our one-shot "bottle shows": our musical special, "The Line: A Tale of the Dominion War" (which is actually an extended flashback), and, like Mike advertised, "No One Gets Out Alive," coming December 26.

Alright, that got a little bit advertise-y. Sorry!

So far I've got:
1. Season-compliation packs
2. Visuals
3. Combat multitasking... somehow.
4. Advertise our existence?
5. Pray for kind-hearted people to review us. Hope they like it.

Carry on! This is very fruitful for us!

 

[Barbreader]

Wowbanger, nothing wrong with pointing people to those bottle shows!

 

[MikeH92467]

Wowbanger, nothing wrong with pointing people to those bottle shows!

Agreed! All publicity is good publicity! Hopefully if we can give people a taste of what we do, they'll come back for more!

 

[The Lensman]

I like audio productions, and a good Trek audio production would be awesome. BUT.....I'm really only interested in the original Trek era and would like to hear someone do something there with authentic original Trek SFX. Any classic era audio productions out there?

It'd really be awesome if someone did original Trek era stuff, but like it would've been had it really been made in the 30's or 40's. Throw in some fake commercials and stuff. That'd be awesome!

 

[FreddyE]

I like audio productions, and a good Trek audio production would be awesome. BUT.....I'm really only interested in the original Trek era and would like to hear someone do something there with authentic original Trek SFX. Any classic era audio productions out there?

It'd really be awesome if someone did original Trek era stuff, but like it would've been had it really been made in the 30's or 40's. Throw in some fake commercials and stuff. That'd be awesome!

Have a look at www.startrekunity.com
It TOS era.

 

[Solarbaby]

I remember as a child listening to a radio play of The Magicain's Nephew which is a prequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It blew my mind. Much better than any film could. The books were amazing to read- but listening to the professional actors was even better. But I had grown out of that, plus I am not into fantasy all that much.

I had never considered listening to the show other than whilst sat at a pc. I shall give it a listen next time I'm on a journey on my iphone. Are these avaialble to download as mp3s?

 

[MikeH92467]

I remember as a child listening to a radio play of The Magicain's Nephew which is a prequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It blew my mind. Much better than any film could. The books were amazing to read- but listening to the professional actors was even better. But I had grown out of that, plus I am not into fantasy all that much.

I had never considered listening to the show other than whilst sat at a pc. I shall give it a listen next time I'm on a journey on my iphone. Are these avaialble to download as mp3s?

Star Trek: Excelsior is available in mp3 form at www.starshipexcelsior.com. Please feel free to join our forum as well if the spirit moves you!

 

[Solarbaby]

I remember as a child listening to a radio play of The Magicain's Nephew which is a prequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It blew my mind. Much better than any film could. The books were amazing to read- but listening to the professional actors was even better. But I had grown out of that, plus I am not into fantasy all that much.

I had never considered listening to the show other than whilst sat at a pc. I shall give it a listen next time I'm on a journey on my iphone. Are these avaialble to download as mp3s?

Star Trek: Excelsior is available in mp3 form at www.starshipexcelsior.com. Please feel free to join our forum as well if the spirit moves you!

I clicked download and it only links to another page where it plays the sound. I thought download meant the file was saved on my pc so I can put it on my iphone

 

[MikeH92467]

I remember as a child listening to a radio play of The Magicain's Nephew which is a prequel to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It blew my mind. Much better than any film could. The books were amazing to read- but listening to the professional actors was even better. But I had grown out of that, plus I am not into fantasy all that much.

I had never considered listening to the show other than whilst sat at a pc. I shall give it a listen next time I'm on a journey on my iphone. Are these avaialble to download as mp3s?

Star Trek: Excelsior is available in mp3 form at www.starshipexcelsior.com. Please feel free to join our forum as well if the spirit moves you!

I clicked download and it only links to another page where it plays the sound. I thought download meant the file was saved on my pc so I can put it on my iphone

When you click download it takes you the download page where you can see this message... In ten seconds, this file will begin playing in your browser. Right-click and save-as here to download the file. That will let you save it for later playback.

If that doesn't work for you, drop me a pm and I'll e-mail you the file of any episode you wish!

 

[Solarbaby]

Ok. Thanks

 

[baxart]

I'm a little late coming to the thread, but as a struggling audio producer myself, I thought I'd chime in.
I've been developing my own internet start up production company for the last year (crippling computer crash threw my production schedule out the window) and one of my pet projects is an audio Trek series.
I've listened to a number of Trek audios, although ST:Unity is new to me and I'll download and listen asap. My problem with most of them is their format. More often then not they sound like the TV is on in the next room and I'm listening to the episode but not watching it.
That isn't radio theater, it's more a full cast audiobook with sound effects and a score.
In researching my production company I've devoured hundreds of hours of old time radio from the excellent Johnny Dollar, Shadow, Mercury Theater, and Lone Ranger (to name a few); to the truly awful Shandu, Blackstone the Magician Detective, and Candy Matson (again to name a but few that should be only be played in Gitmo).
I do believe that Trek can be successfully adapted to audio, and we've seen some very valiant efforts (Starship Excelsior and Section 31 defiantly stand out).

My advice to you Wowbagger is to tighten your focus on a smaller group of core characters (Ex: Captain, first officer, medical officer) as these characters need to be more easily identifiable to the listener. You can always use other episodes to expand the focus from the core cast, but you need to firmly establish your core first. Using Next Gen as an example, the core there was Picard - Riker - Data. So the majority of the first season was spent focused on these characters, with the second string serving basically as "walk-on" roles. I know you guys have a fairly large cast over there and while that works for a video where scene changes are more obvious I think it's a liability for audio.

Take a listen to Mark Yoskimoto Nemkoff's Shadow Falls season 1 and I think you'll hear what I mean.
http://shadowfalls.mevio.com/#show-episodes
When this first came out, I thought it was fantastic, now after studying old time radio I want to strangle him. Too many plotlines, scene changes that will have you wondering who's talking now and a large cast with such convoluted back-stories that you'd need trading cards to keep track of them all. And that's just episode 1!

I am working on getting some of my audio ready to release and hopefully will get off my dead arse soon.

 

[Hudson_uk]

SNIP
That isn't radio theater, it's more a full cast audiobook with sound effects and a score.
SNIP

I'll have to disagree on that count, imo, this is the point. OTR is a different beast entirely. The different styles that audio drama can take appeal to different people. Some people like them all.

Most of the Star Trek Audio Drama's would bill themselves as "Full cast audio dramas" and not OTR.

If they reinvented themselves as 3 actors and a mic I would stop listening as I don't believe this style suits Trek.

That said, this is my opinion only of course and ymmv.