Interesting Audio Stories

Patrick McManus Audiobook Sample - from The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

The most important part of an audio story is the story itself. In other media, various other senses are stimulated, but the audio story only has our auditory sense to stimulate. So first and foremost, the story must be good, it must captivate. This is why yarns and mysteries make for such great audio stories, as far as fiction goes. Plot is paramount. A pitfall that is important yet difficult to avoid is simply recording someone telling a story. The medium of audio for the distribution of stories has it’s own conventions. One cannot simply record a written story and expect it to captivate. The voice of the story is important in this regard. A good voice will go a long way. The printed story is written in a printed tone. The audio story must be recorded in the tone of someone telling a story. When your grandpa read you a storybook, you probably fell asleep, but when grandpa told you a story, you were captivated. It’s not that grandpas have better stories than story books, it’s the method of distribution. It’s the conversational tone. I don’t mind listening to podcasts about current events or special topics, but the audio stories that resonate with and captivate me the most are yarns--real life tall tales.

I love the stories of Patrick F. McManus. They conjure memories of the long car rides of my childhood and adolescence. I became so used to the narrator, Tom, that when I was given a printed copy of one of McManus's books, I couldn't read it. I wanted to hear the stories, not read them. We had several of his audiobooks and listened to them on road trips--which were frequent during my childhood. The combination of a clever writing--mostly comical yarns--and creative and engaging narration made for fascinating audio stories. Whenever the term "audio stories" is spoken, many people think of the old radio mysteries before the popularity of television. I instantly think of listening to Pat McManus audio books. What makes them great--beyond the stories themselves--is how captivating Tom Stechschulte is, not just a narrator, but a true voice actor. Listen to the short audio sample, and you'll be want for more. 

Effective Audio Story

    Audio stories are fairly unique ways to tell stories nowadays. However, simply listening to stories is how humans have done things for thousands of years, so, really, it isn not that strange at all. An audio story should have several components in order to be interesting. First, the subject matter should be something that is intriguing, or of some value to learn. If it is not, then people will not want to spend their time listening to it, especially when they have so many other entertainment mediums they could choose from. Next, the person relating the information will need to have a voice that makes people desire listening to them. Monotone and uninterested speakers would surely be unfit for the job. Finally, the story must be told in an interesting way. When words are chosen carefully, they can create a vibrant world that listeners can see clearly in their minds, causing them to be more interested and involved in the story. In the future, I hope to avoid projects that go against these points, as it would greatly lessen the quality of my stories. Also, I hope to be able to tell interesting stories that deal with important issues in a way that is both engaging, entertaining, and helpful because those types of stories are what really strike me. They can really help to bring home a point and shed light on things that people may not spend much time thinking about.

Adventure!:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/play_full.php?play=448

    There were several things I enjoyed about this story. The content was the biggest draw for me--I love talking about ideas and ambitious adventures. However, they also did a few other things correctly. For example, several times (generally when the subject was shifting or changing) they incorporated music to either act as a transition, or just have it in the background, which made things more interesting simply because I wasn’t only listening to a person’s voice, but also to whimsical music. Overall, I thought this was an interesting and engaging piece that caused me to want to keep tuning in.

Break-Up

I think something that makes a good audio story is a good voice. This might be a bit superficial, but it’s true. It doesn’t necessarily need to be deep, sexy, or soothing as long as it’s interesting and fits the mood of the story. I think, also, that audio stories should be visually descriptive, like in writing. The cool thing about audio stories, as opposed writing, is that you don’t have to use just words. You can use all sorts of sounds and music to accomplish this. As I start making audio documentaries, I hope to avoid a couple of things. The first is misuse of sounds. Aside from the artificial, inappropriate sound effects, I hope to also avoid annoying humming sounds and the like. I’d also like to keep from making a boring story. This is harder with an audio story (instead of a visual one) because the bore factor gets multiplied by ten if all you can hear is a voice.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/339/break-up

I like this story because of its personal, real-life nature. The beginning is good because the interview takes place in real time as they walk down the street. You can hear the car noises other people on the street (still without being distracting) and see the apartment building as she points and describes her break-up. I also like the back and forth cutting between the narration and interview. (On a side note, I was completely sucked in the moment the jazz music began in the background. I love Jazz.) On not a side note, the music is another element that makes the story interesting. I think it is good that the interviewer asks personal questions about the interviewee’s break-up. This makes the audio documentary much more personal for the listener as well. It brings in a deeper, emotional aspect to the story that makes it more interesting and relatable.

Guy Noir: Private Eye

"A dark night, in a city that knows how to keep its secrets..."

Garrison Keillor has been, for years, my modern day equivalent to Orson Wells' radio shows. Nearly every week for many years now, Garrison Keillor has performed in his show "A Prairie Home Companion." This becomes a radio composition that paints a very unique picture of characters and people -- both fictional and otherwise. One of his regular segments is about "Guy Noir," who is a sort of noir private eye detective. What has made Garrison Keillor such a long-standing tradition, in my opinion, is his combination of music and sound effects to create a radio play and an entire universe utilizing only sound. He has used elements that also regularly incorporate modern-day concepts and trends in a noir style, composed with wit.

Here's a link: Guy Noir

This particular clip, that was featured around New Year's Eve a few months ago. It covers a very clear story using unique combination of narration, sound effects, character vocalizations, as well as an entire atmosphere created using only sound. Garrison Keillor has become a master of his radio entertainment domain.

Power to Change a Missionary

After listening to all of the audio documentaries, I really liked having music behind the first one. I know the first one was meant to be a 'bad' example, but I really appreciated the music. While the subject may have been a little boring and repetitive, I liked that it showed his talents and switched it up now and then. I also have a really hard listening to anyone who's going to monologue, particularly for a long period of time. I would like to find creative ways of telling the story of the person. For example, my roommate is extremely talented. She can play the piano really well, but her major is music therapy. She's using her music to help other people. I would love to get stories of how music can help, what she hopes to do, examples of her music. She also has an incredible personality so I hope to capture that by keeping the camera on, even when she may or may not be sure it is on, that way more of herself comes out.

http://broadcast2.lds.org/ldsradio/HistoryOfHymns/2009-07-0070-nearer-my-god-to-thee-64k-eng.mp3

The first time I heard an audio show, I was in the MTC. While I was there, they outlawed this, but my district would always go to the lds.org show and listen to the Mormon Channel. Now it has a website of its own. But my favorite one was this one. It goes through the history of the song, Nearer My God to Thee. It demonstrates its development with a lot of different renditions of it. While I loved hearing the evolving of this song, I really liked just hearing the different versions. My favorite one is at 28:08 by Vocal Point. I love it! I would get lost in the song and it would remind me of how close I could be God and inspired me to do better. Anyways, that was the first time that I realized how much joy I could find out of an audio program.

Interesting Audio Stories -- Ryan Adams

To me an interesting audio story needs to have much the same structure as any other story. It needs to have something to hook me at the beginning, it needs to progress, and it should have somewhere to go and it should end in a satisfying way. With an audio story such as a podcast you can cut out a lot of the dead space that might not be easy to edit in a video interview or story -- for one, because there shouldn't be dead air in a broadcast or the listener loses interest quickly, so that allows the editor or podcaster the chance to keep things interesting. It can sound smooth and seamless. I'm not much of a podcast listener but I will listen to something that has to do with things I'm interested in -- musicians I love or comedians I admire. Most other podcasts I see linked around are just noise. I don't really see them.

Click here to listen to Ryan Adams on World Cafe.

I loved this interview for a few reasons. I was already a Ryan fan so that's what drew me to click on it in the first place. I also loved the stories he told-- a look into his personal life and his personality that you can't really get just through playing his albums. I love his attempts to speak creatively and poetically in conversation because he is poetic but when he's just talking he sounds like a stoned teenager. The interviewer asks him interesting questions that prompt interesting stories and rants that sometimes don't even answer the question asked. (I love him describing his wrist break and the way they tried to fix it.) And lastly, I love the musical selections he plays. In some cases I think the performances he gives in this informal interview are better than the record he released which is enjoyable to hear as a fan. They're also rewarding tidbits that break up the interview into manageable pieces.

Effective Audio Stories

Audio stories are just audible narratives, so in order to create an effective audio story one must simply employ traits of a successful narrative: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, falling action, and resolution. Regardless of the medium, audiences desire to be entertained and drawn in by well-crafted narratives, and this is no different with audio stories. There are several ways to do this, but one of the most successful methods seems to be a semi-narration where live recordings are over dubbed with narration that explains the visual elements of the scene. For example, while an interview is being played back, a narrator will explain what the interviewee is doing or presenting so that the audience is not lost. This is effective because it allows you to use natural dialogue while still being able to inform your audience. Furthermore, ambient noise or Foley during narration further draws your audience into the scene you are creating. One thing that I have noticed that detracts from the mood is when audio with bad quality is used and is necessarily difficult to hear. Only good quality audio should be used so that the audience never has to struggle to understand what is being said.

The audio story I chose to analyze is from season four of Radio Lab. As I talked about above, the author does a very good job at perfectly meshing together interviews and narration into a coherent story that is easy to follow and comprehend. Furthermore, the author several times mentions the name of someone during his narration who immediately begins speaking, which serves as a very fluid and pleasing transition from narration to interview. Finally, the sound effects and ambient noise which accompanies the spoken word perfectly creates a mood for the listener. Indeed, without the background noise creating the mood, the story would be quite different and not nearly as enjoyable.

Duh duh duh...

Interesting audio stories seem to possess a lot of the same elements that make for any sort of interesting story. I imagine the best audio stories show a change in one or more of the characters involved in the story. As part of that, I think an audio story that helps the audience learn something—large or small—about the human experience qualifies as interesting, even if the subject matter isn’t immediately appealing. Interesting audio stories are bound to focus on something specific which has enough personality to be entertaining, though…at least in my mind…

Moving forward, I want to avoid the pitfall of confusing listeners by not offering enough introduction to the material or to individuals in the segment. It seems like most of us get confused when something new is presented and developed without much introduction. I think the snippet we listened to in class about the radio swap ‘n’ shop show introduced the concepts and the main participants pretty well. These sorts of stories, about small-town, everyday sorts of things tend to resonate with me; I grew up most of my life in a small town with a unique history and lots of quirks, and I can connect well with stories and storytellers that convey their little brand of Americana.

I was really intrigued by this Radio Lab episode, entitled “Patient Zero.” The Radio Lab guys investigate the case of Typhoid Mary, who purportedly caused numerous outbreaks of typhoid fever in the Northwestern United States at the turn of the 20^th Century. They include two different experts in their investigation, as well as some dramatized readings of letters and (probably made-up) reenactments of dialogue and whatnot. It was really fascinating! They interweave narration, “interviews,” music, and dramatic noises to build up their story, first about Typhoid Mary and her quarantine, then about AIDS and the breakdown of the “Patient Zero” theory in light of AIDS history. The Radio Lab guys mix their narrations and the narrations of their guests in creative patterns, interspersing bits from several different people to form one chain of narration. It sounds like it might be confusing, but it really worked for me. Their dramatic music and sound effects built up suspense at just the right moments. And I think they introduced new narrators well. Pretty darn neat.

http://www.radiolab.org/2011/nov/14/

THE SOUND AND THE FURY AND ETC.

I imagine all good stories are probably compelling. I can't think of any great narratives that consist of spinning wheels and a lack of ideas. Though maybe I am just dumb! The same idea is applicable to audio stories. Probably even more so than a visual medium. From our examples in class, I quickly decided that an audio story should have a lot going on, but in a manageable, subtle manner. As I looked into other audio stories (particularly those on This American Life), I realized that a production can be pretty sparse, as long as it has forward propulsion and an engaging tale to tell. There were some stories with the same sort of musical interludes and sound effects used in the pieces we listened to on Tuesday. There were others that were simply people recalling past experiences, occasionally with some interjections from the host. Sweet, sweet Ira Glass. It was audio stories of this variety that eased my worries about what mine should be like. I was preoccupied with the idea of trying to balance dialogue and music volumes, soundtrack selection, the inclusion of my voice, and so on. After a little bit of research, I'm more focused on just finding 3-5 minutes of genuinely interesting material. After that, the rest should fall into place.

This clip contains the retelling of a Valentine's day mishap and the quick thinking that led to a nice resolution. The tone is conversational--the story, not well rehearsed. Regardless, this six minute tale makes for interesting and amiable listening. It lacks production value, and perhaps could have used some polish, but I think it is effective as is. I like it because it's bare-bones and basic, but boy, it's not bad (ALLITERATION). I reminds me of the florist interview, not because it is lame and boring, but because it is a funny and enjoyable story told in a raw and ordinary sort of way. That is a pretty cool thing!

Wake Up and Dream

I’ve discovered that even if audio stories aren’t about a subject I’m already interested in, I can still be really interested while listening. If they follow the right recipe, I get sucked right in. The most important part is having an interesting guest to talk to. If the story is scientific or meant to be knowledgeable, they have to be knowledgeable in their field. It’s frustrating to hear someone simply speculate about a topic. If the story is meant to entertain or teach about a different facet of life/culture, it helps if the interviewee is interesting. An interesting person can elevate a seemingly boring conversation. Sure, I may not be interested in the lives of middle school students, but if they have something unique or interesting to say and do so in a compelling way, then I’m drawn in. Their excitement is often contagious.

I’ve always loved hearing people get excited about…whatever it is they get excited about. For example, even if I dislike a movie, I can listen to someone talk it up as long as it’s personable and well supported. I would hate to try and interview someone who is completely boring, one of those people that answers questions with the two or three same words. That’s my biggest fear.

My favorite recent episode of Radiolab would have to be their Wake Up and Dream story. A few months ago, my friend turned me on to lucid dreaming. She is extremely passionate about it and is always willing to share her latest meet and greet with Jim Henson. I’ve tried it myself (with little avail) and even purchased a few books on the subject. This topic is definitely on the fringes of science and acceptability, so it was awesome for me to hear scientists discuss it so matter-of-factly. This episode resonated with me personally, but I think it would be effective for others as well. It starts out with a wonderfully creepy story about a man whose dreams are haunted. Once he masters lucid dreaming, he is able to combat his demons and find out a lot about himself. This type of story instantly draws in the listener. As a follow up, the episode includes these scientists who mention the benefits and techniques to lucid dreaming. For someone who already enjoyed this sort of thing, it was like a much needed kick-start.

"Words"

PART 1:

Audio stories are different to what I am used to. I tend to rely on visuals to help me fully take in what I am being exposed to whether it be entertainment, art, a complicated situation, or even math. Without any visuals to accompany an audio visual there are some major elements that need to be included to make an interesting audio story.

                The first element is narration. With a narration the listener has the ability to feel orientated instead of disorientated. It allows for a more natural and logic to be structured and pieced together by the listener instead of having the listener struggle with confusion as to what they are really listening to.

The second element is music. I find music to be the attention grabber.  Music has the ability to give the listener power to attract sounds that work well with each other. This in turn keeps the listener attentive. On the down side it can be a distraction from what is being said if the listener gives more or all attention to the music.

The third element is interview. An interview is needed because then there is some evidence that listeners can grip. It backs up the narration of the audio story and it benefits audio stories by adding some personality.

 The next element is archival/existing material. An example of this may be an audio clip of an old Boston Red Sox verses New York Yankees baseball game.

Last but not least is the element of scenes and sounds. If an audio story creates a scene with sounds for the listener to create and imagine, then it has succeeded in being interesting. This is because all of a sudden the listener made the audio story theirs by creating what the story may be. The listener has then participated in the story therefore, making it about them, pertaining to them personally.

As I move forward with my audio story I hope to incorporate many of these elements.  I hope to keep listeners entertained and interested in what is being said by using appropriate sounds to allow listeners the opportunity to create that scene. I also hope that my audio story will also have some meaning to listeners and that they will take away something of value.  Stories that resonate with me are stories with issues that have been present in my life at one point or another.

PART 2:

This audio story is interesting. It uses many elements that make an interesting audio story. Elements included are narration, music, interviews, scenes and sounds. All of these put together create a successful audio story. I admire how interview is molded into a story. There are creative audio cuts between the interview and the narration which literally makes it a story. Also, random comments from the interviewer are kept in the audio story that are logical reactions to what the interviewee was saying. It did a splendid job at captivating emotion. This story is about what life is like without words. A concept and reality that is interesting to wrap our minds around. All this plus a hint of humor makes this an interesting audio story. 

http://www.radiolab.org/popup_player/

6 to 8 Black Men

I think an interesting audio story is one that has depth and is interesting. To me this means having good characters, not simply average people doing average things, but perhaps average people showing color. It’s hard to explain but the example of the Mormon musician was just so so so awful. The guy didn’t talk about anything interesting or show any depth or dynamic range to his character. He was just a bro who wanted to be a rock star. Why? Who knows, maybe some generic answer about how music makes him feel. BLAAH. Maybe I hated it more because his music was so cookie-cutter, but either way it was not appealing and definitely something I wouldn’t listen to or every aspire to create. I want to hear interesting stories about people who are trying to overcome obstacles, better their world, or achieve the extraordinary (but not the cliché).

I can’t find the airing of the show I was looking for, but it was an interview with David Sedaris on the radio that I heard a while back (several years). I really liked the interview because David has character. He is funny, but also interesting. He is ordinary, but has achieved great things. I will link to a video of him reading one of his most famous short stories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUHTDrca4s

Audio Stories

A good story to me be it on the radio, or be it on film is one that builds suspense. I listened to the entire lectures by Ira Glass on what makes a good story and this is one of the main themes he kept pushing. A story that keeps the audience guessing and interested is a good story. One of my favorite things he said is that your story, as soon as it is recorded be it for radio or TV, is constantly trying to be “crap.” It is our job as storytellers to make it interesting, and to make it good. He goes on saying that we may have good taste in radio and film, but at the start our projects are not very good. It takes time to get to the point where they are good. It takes time to make something that is consistent with your taste. As I move forward with this particular assignment I want to make something that is obviously interesting, but even more than that I want to build suspense. I want the listener to really want to know what’s going to happen. I want to make it so they can’t zone out, and can’t change the station. I want it so that the audience is so involved in the story that even though it lasts no more than 5 minutes they can’t pull themselves away.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast

What I Did For Love:

This radio show is a little long, but it is good! The thing that is great is that they chose a topic that everyone can relate to. The other thing that I really like about this radio show is that Ira Glass talks with a normal voice. He doesn’t talk with an awkward “radio voice” trying to put on a show, but he makes it feel as if you were right there with him. I also love the great follow up questions he has. He asks the questions that the audience is thinking. It’s a great example of what we need to do in our interviews.

I See the World Through Different Eyes Now

I think an interesting audio story is one that reveals or illuminates truth about life or the human condition. Everyone is unique and has a unique perspective. There are no two individuals that are the same. As we interview people, I truly believe that if you dig deep enough, and ask the right questions, you will find that everyone has a gripping and emotional story to tell. No two personalities or sets of experiences are the same, and that leads to a wide and interesting diversity. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder than the average casual observer.

As I move forward with audio documentaries, I hope to successfully capture someone’s unique personality. I love it when an interviewee is just a little quirky, or a little unusual, because it captures my attention and makes me wonder how they became that way. There are also several pitfalls I hope to avoid. First of all, I want to avoid boring people to death. It’s easy to just cut together the first things that come to someone’s mind and call it good, but usually that’s not the most interesting to listen to. We all get introduced to new people all the time; I want to find something a little deeper. I also want to use music and sound only in a way that helps my story, not detracts from it.

The audio story that I chose is a recording of John Lennon’s last interview. When I first heard this interview, I listened almost reverently, knowing that hours after this interview premiered, Lennon was killed. What really touched me, though, was the way that Lennon had stripped down life to its very basics. Love, peace, understanding. That’s all he really cared about. This is profound to me, because he spend so much of his time searching for truth and light in strange and diverse places, but none of them really yielded anything but an understanding of these basic principles.

In the recording, there is only the interview, but it has become archival and has been passed down and listened to through the years. I think the reason why this works, even though it’s just an interview, is that it is Lennon speaking from his heart and telling the world how he feels about life. It’s this type of meaningful story that I hope to capture in some small way in my audio documentary.

http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/lennon.html