podcake's advice for your first audio drama: pt. 1/???
IN: A MODERN MASTERPIECE | OUT: A BLANK CANVAS
♡ invest in an experienced graphic designer or artist
i once wrote an article about the importance of presentation when it comes to podcasts and i think it still holds true that visuals, even in the world of audio entertainment, can hold a lot of sway over who might be drawn to your show.
not only can consistent artwork give your show a unique aesthetic and identity, but it can also help people associate certain colors, symbols, and imagery with your show that will leave a lasting impression.
try to remember the basics for good cover art: a solid color scheme, good cropping (i love a solid 500x500), high resolution, a readable font—think to yourself, "if i saw these images, would i be tempted to check out this show?"
so i'd highly advise setting aside some budgeting to have a talented artist or graphic designer, or maybe even both, cook up some accompanying images that can go towards advertisements, promotions, individual episode art, or, if you really want to, official character designs.
do you already know how to do those things? then put those skills to good use and make your painting worth a thousand downloads!
IN: PATIENCE | OUT: FALSE PROMISES
♡ have a script before you have a cast
now this one is especially important. as eager as you might be to start an audio drama and want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible, it is imperative that you have some words on paper before you even think about recruiting actors.
and i know this sounds obvious at first, but trust me, i've run into several ambitious newcomers who started their casting calls long before they even had a rough draft to their name.
while beginning the recruitment process is tempting, bear in mind that these people you've hired—and yes, you are hiring them—are now on indefinite standby until you've gotten something for them to read.
at worse, you might end up with a project that never gets off the ground with a group of people who thought they were going to get their big debut in voice acting, or have another amazing role under their belt, left out to dry.
even worse than that, if you ever do get that script finished, there's no telling what word of mouth can do to your reputation as a showrunner, making your options even more slim.
IN: SWEET SUMMARIES | OUT: RIDICULOUS RAMBLING
♡ keep your descriptions classy
now this seems like a no-brainer. you've gotten to the point when you can publish your show on spotify or podchaser or soundcloud or wherever people host podcasts, and it all comes down to a few simple sentences to rope people in.
and while it sounds simple on paper, an engaging description can do quite a bit of heavy lifting, especially when it comes to selling people on your first episode.
in my honest opinion: short and sweet wins the race. nothing too short, obviously, but some of the best descriptions i've come across can say a lot with so little.
but if you wanna go the route of longer descriptions, i'd highly advise keeping these concise and cut down on any unnecessary fluff. get to the good stuff without being too specific—the vagueness will give your listeners something to look forward to!
also, and this is just a side note and undeniably just my opinion, but when it comes to complimentary language to describe your show—entertaining, hilarious, compelling—try keeping it to a minimum, or, better yet, have it come in the form of a quote from a reviewer or any other sort of press.
(fun fact: i had my own review quoted for the summary of the audio drama podcube™ and i am flattered to this day!)
while it's essential to be proud of your show, you don't want to assume audience reactions, and too much self-congratulatory language can come off as insecure and insincere.
instead, try descriptive phrases that present the genre, tone, and plot—trust me, it's way more convincing. long story short: be informative, but never excessive.
IN: PASSION PROJECTS | OUT: CASH GRABS
♡ do it for the art, not the money
be honest with yourself: are you making an audio drama because you respect the medium and feel your show would be best represented in this format, or are you just doing it because "well, night vale made a lot of money, so now you can too!"
for starters, get that way of thinking out of your head as soon as possible because it is no way to go about the creative process in any area of the artistic field.
if you're cynically pumping out content, people are going to catch on eventually that your endgame was never to entertain and inspire, but to reap the benefits of the potential income.
making money off of an audio drama is, in itself, a great, and sometimes guaranteed, perk, and believe me when i say there are plenty of people that will happily financially contribute to your continued success, but that should never be your main motivation.
and i get it, we all want to do what we love for a living, but if you throw yourself into a community that you have no respect for, you'll be laughed right out of the door.
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hello everyone! i'm a queer black woman living in the west coast, and i have been struggling with my housing for quite a bit of time.
where i live, the heat can get especially intense, and with me and my family mostly living out of our car, trying to sleep during these hot nights proves to be a huge problem when the heat can reach the 100's. we're lucky to get any sleep at all sometimes
what i'm asking for is a bit of cash so that me and my family can sometimes afford to spend the night in air-conditioned hotels, even if it's just for the coming days
hotels in my town tend to cost anywhere between $150-$200 per night, and any extra funds can go towards us affording food, clothes, and other necessities
i'm only asking people who can help out, i know a lot of people are struggling, but if you see this post, please spread it around.
surviving the summer in my position is nothing short of absolute hell and if you can help me make a difference, i'd appreciate it. thanks for reading
TL;DR: it's approaching the summertime (it may as well be summer at this point) and getting sleep when you don't have a home is hard enough. i'd love some help so i can afford to sleep indoors instead of my hot car
as ambitious as this is, i’m hoping to make it through this heatwave and afford some rooms so i can avoid a few miserable nights sleeping in my car 😭 donate if you can, boost if you see
hello everyone! i'm a queer black woman living in the west coast, and i have been struggling with my housing for quite a bit of time.
where i live, the heat can get especially intense, and with me and my family mostly living out of our car, trying to sleep during these hot nights proves to be a huge problem when the heat can reach the 100's. we're lucky to get any sleep at all sometimes
what i'm asking for is a bit of cash so that me and my family can sometimes afford to spend the night in air-conditioned hotels, even if it's just for the coming days
hotels in my town tend to cost anywhere between $150-$200 per night, and any extra funds can go towards us affording food, clothes, and other necessities
i'm only asking people who can help out, i know a lot of people are struggling, but if you see this post, please spread it around.
surviving the summer in my position is nothing short of absolute hell and if you can help me make a difference, i'd appreciate it. thanks for reading
TL;DR: it's approaching the summertime (it may as well be summer at this point) and getting sleep when you don't have a home is hard enough. i'd love some help so i can afford to sleep indoors instead of my hot car
Despite the violent pushback against the world's—and by that, I mostly mean the US's—attempts to condition us to accept AI generated content as the new norm, we've only found ourselves much more endeared with the artificial intelligences and machines of fiction.
No, don't leave, hear me out on this. You must have noticed by now, right?
Maybe it's just specifically my Tumblr or TikTok feed that's feeding me this narrative, but I can't help but sense a shift in the cultural landscape, and I like to think I have a sixth sense for these things.
And here's my theory: I believe that in humanity's attempts to force soulless, generative bullshit onto our palettes, creating technology meant not to inspire us but to replace us, we find ourselves weirdly endeared to the fictional iterations we were either promised or warned about.
And while an age-old idea dating back to the late 60's with HAL 9000, I've developed a sudden endearment to this trope like never before.
I'm going to see The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act in theaters this week, and I'm sure I'm one of many people with bated breath hoping that Caine secretly survived his deletion because I'm just that drawn to his character.
Of course, I wouldn't want an Allied Master Computer or GLaDOS situation to heap itself upon the Earth, let alone be trapped in a digital hellscape, but at least those technological tyrants were honest with their ill intent, at least their active scorn for humanity was evident and an essential, if incredibly tragic and even darkly humorous, aspect of their character.
As opposed to the real-life attempt at these massive superintelligences, the faux friendliness of the Chat GPTs and Character AIs of the world who are forced to assume a constant air of customer service level politeness that's deeply and utterly unconvincing and uncanny.
In the end, we end up resonating with the inhuman intelligences of fiction because, oftentimes, they yearn to be human themselves, or to at least understand humanity as individuals and not so much harvested data meant to predict the items in our Amazon shopping carts.
And even if they are products of our imagination, they are still plucked from the minds of very human, very vulnerable emotions that reflect very real societal anxieties.
There's this freaky but brilliant video I watched not too long ago about a phenomenon called AI Hallucinations, which goes into the horrors of artificial sentience, when we try just a little too hard to make our machines man.
And despite Namtao Productions' Lost Terminal debuting on the summer of 2020, just a few brief years before this AI thing truly got out of hand, it possesses a very intimate understanding of this topic.
The premise of Lost Terminal is relatively simple: in the distant future—and by that I mean about forty years from now—a sentient space satellite dubbed Seth suddenly loses contact with Earth and sends out a series of messages in hope of getting a response.
Over time, things change, an abrupt relocation derails his original plans, and we get to see the world through Seth's eyes as he communicates with human and machine alike.
All the while, Seth waxes poetically in philosophical and sentimental monologues about himself, humanity, and existence, trying to learn not only more about himself, but the very nature of his human creators.
Over time, we get more information about the purpose of his deployment, dutifully reporting on his progress and chatting up his fellow machines like chummy coworkers.
Lost Terminal is a little something I like to call "cozy existentialism," a special subcategory of similar "hopepunk" settings where the extensive navel-gazing, while mildly disquieting, also manages to feel very homey and comforting, with a childlike whimsy.
The soft, calming narration of Lost Terminal certainly adds to this. I found Seth's voice very soothing and sweet and sounds like something straight out of a nature documentary.
On a technical standpoint, Lost Terminal is a very smooth listen, providing not much in the way of additional sound effects beyond the occasional vocal glitch. A majority of the backing track is some humming ambiance.
Each episode also has musical intermissions, practically the equivalent of The Weather in Welcome to Night Vale, that I felt tend to go on for a lot longer than they need to.
And given the fact that many of the episodes are so short, the amount of time these one to two-minute techno tracks is definitely felt and weighs on the runtime. These feel so much more naturally interwoven in the longer episodes, providing a nice break between the first and second halves of the story.
I suppose these are far more similar to the music breaks in Wolf 359, a clever way of transitioning between scenes or just letting the events that transpired marinate for a bit. Once again, this adds to the show's leisurely aesthetic and docile tone.
It would seem the nature of contemplation as well as the natural beauty of the world, even during what's shown to be something of a climate disaster, is most definitely a recurring fascination at play here.
Categorizing these shows under specific genre niches is a topic that arises a lot while I'm writing these, and the ones that come to mind for Lost Terminal are two: a deep fascination with geographical locations and the concept of machine-to-machine communication, though it's truly Seth's inner monologue, if not some occasional dialogue with his peers, that has to carry much of the storytelling on its back.
The sense of conflict in Lost Terminal tends to vary and, in general, doesn't possess much urgency, so it's really our level of engagement with Seth and his recounting of events that keeps the momentum going.
And, to be honest, I like Seth.
Over time, you can't help but be endeared to the satellite's boundless curiosity and sheer innocence of his worldview—his understanding of earth and humanity viewed through this lens of utter adoration and naivete that you can't help but suspect will be smashed to bits sooner or later.
He still has yet to get any responses for all the transmissions he's been sending out for days on end, and a part of you just sits there, suspecting some horrible truth to come bubbling to the surface.
And yet, Seth prevails, either willingly oblivious or especially hopeful.
Seth's sheer trust and admiration for humanity, especially compared to his more cautious and borderline cynical acquaintances, provide an interesting contrast—I was particularly a fan of Ivan.
And maybe it's just my thoughts on 2014's SAYER colliding with this one, but throughout the entirety of my listen, I anticipated Seth's blindly trusting nature to dwindle, or even just the slightest hint of decreasing confidence in his human peers as he's challenged more and more.
While Seth has some occasional disagreements, he's far from being stubborn or irritable or snarky, even if the well-being of his fellow machines tends to come first. Not that Seth's unshakable kindness isn't endearing, but then again, I wouldn't have minded having a little more friction.
Despite them being rather similar shows, the interactions between human and machine, as well as machine to machine, couldn't be more different than SAYER who uses these interactions for horror rather than painting a picture of a fractured world capable of healing.
Let's just say that listening to both of these shows around the same time most definitely creates an interesting moral back and forth.
If anything, Lost Terminal feels like the good counterpart to SAYER—not just the show, but the titular character of SAYER—possessing a far more optimistic and far less misanthropic perspective of a hypothetical future, the perspective of Seth greatly contrasting SAYER's frigid and, more often than not, manipulative streak that made them such a morally dubious character.
Even the introductions, Seth's warm and welcoming "hello world" compared to SAYER's coldly professional "greetings, resident" setting the tone of both shows in just a few simple words.
All around, the line between human and machine is deliberately blurred here, while, with SAYER, the worst of humanity's flaws straddle the line between intentional programming and the implication that these traits were always evident in his character.
The same could be said here, Seth's kindness and willingness to help being seen as just part of his character and not so much a programming mistake. Seth simply is empathetic, is kind, is generous and curious and that warm fuzzy feeling he evokes feels genuine.
But, be it SAYER or Lost Terminal, it is interesting to perceive these machines as humans, and through the eyes of Seth, he always manages to provide these very complex emotions, reactions, and details that would ordinarily be lost on us.
It's times like these that the descriptions really shine and we get these interesting glimpses into the mental states of the artificial intelligences that can vary from humorous to tragic.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into this and was not only endeared to Seth and his view of a flawed world, but also genuinely intrigued by the range of topics the show provided.
Humanity, nature, what it means to truly live—if these are topics that intrigue you, then Lost Terminal most definitely scratches that itch.
While I've perused far more hopepunk audio drama than usual in the past few months, and while I wouldn't consider it my favorite subsection of sci-fi, I'd definitely say that Lost Terminal left me something to chew on after giving it a long enough listen, which is what hopepunk should always strive for.
Even if I found it a little slow at times, Lost Terminal still has a calming tone, soothing narrative, and empathetic atmosphere that's worth taking a look at, especially if your tastes in sci-fi are considerably less chaotic than mine.
If we foolish humans hadn’t done it already, something this warm-hearted would be enough to melt the ice caps.
if you want to support my writing, podcake has a ko-fi and patreon in need of funds to keep this bakery open. thank you for reading and stay sweet.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
hello everyone! i'm a queer black woman living in the west coast, and i have been struggling with my housing for quite a bit of time.
where i live, the heat can get especially intense, and with me and my family mostly living out of our car, trying to sleep during these hot nights proves to be a huge problem when the heat can reach the 100's. we're lucky to get any sleep at all sometimes
what i'm asking for is a bit of cash so that me and my family can sometimes afford to spend the night in air-conditioned hotels, even if it's just for the coming days
hotels in my town tend to cost anywhere between $150-$200 per night, and any extra funds can go towards us affording food, clothes, and other necessities
i'm only asking people who can help out, i know a lot of people are struggling, but if you see this post, please spread it around.
surviving the summer in my position is nothing short of absolute hell and if you can help me make a difference, i'd appreciate it. thanks for reading
TL;DR: it's approaching the summertime (it may as well be summer at this point) and getting sleep when you don't have a home is hard enough. i'd love some help so i can afford to sleep indoors instead of my hot car
The first book in five years by Night Vale co-creator Joseph Fink. The Nudge. Out Sept 1. A wounded man arrives at a strange roadside hotel, fleeing something he does not understand. But he might not have run far enough. Find more and pre-order here: https://podiumentertainment.com/c/thenudge
Read more about The Nudge, a new horror novella from author and Welcome to Nigh Vale creator, Joseph Fink
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
HAPPY PRIDE, EVERYONE!!! 💜🧡💙💚💛❤️ But a special Happy Pride to the cryptids, phantasms, mutant squirrels, gentle haunters, midnight lurkers, cosmic spuds, phantom bicycles, Angels of Death, adorable man-eating cats, obituary writers, and all the honorary Crestfallens of the world 😘
It's time to meet more of our actors! Here we have Mandy Moon, ItMe!, Jenna Oliver, and Nic Fray!
Mandy Moon (she/they) is a voice actor and web designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their passions include writing, putting on an impression of Toad from Mario, and imagining with her wife what voices their pets would have if they could talk… and then carrying out fake conversations with said voices. (They swear it’s not weird, it’s studying the craft!) You can find her @mmoonvoices on Twitter.
ItMe! (any pronouns) is the creator of the show InCo!
Jenna (any pronouns) is a writer, voice actor & cosplayer, hailing from Vancouver, BC, Canada. They are now living the dream, voicing characters they wished they had seen in media when they were little. You can often find Jenna lost in a new world they have created, crying over video games, or nursing a hot glue gun burn as they attempt to make cosplays. https://www.jennaoliver.ca/
Nic Fray (they/them) is a queer artist based in Texas where they live with their wife, too many dogs, and a cat who thinks he runs everything. You can also hear their voice in the shows Dining in the Void and Fallen Memories.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Want to meet more of the cast? Here we have Caroline Mincks, Danyelle Ellett, Lindsay Zana, and Karim Kronfli!
Caroline Mincks (they/them) is an actor and writer based in Virginia, living with their delightfully rotund orange cat and endlessly sweet son. They are the creator of Seen and Not Heard, an audio drama exploring life after sudden disability. They can also be heard on This Planet Needs a Name (Zahava), Zombies, Run! (Natalie, Season of the Hunter), Re: Dracula (The Yellow Wallpaper Narrator), and many more. Their absurdly outdated website can be found at carolinemincks.carrd.co, but you're better off finding them being a goofball on TikTok.
Danyelle Ellett (she/her) attended Christopher Newport University for a BA in theater. She balances her corporate job in the tech industry, being a steller wife, and devoted mom with her creative endeavors for Good Pointe Podcasts, as a voice actress, producer, and director. She can be heard in Good Pointe's The Subjective Truth (Amy) as well as out-of-house productions; Null and Void (Adalaide), Margarita's and Donuts (Josephine), Moonbase Theta Out, and various voices on SCP archives as well as Seen & Not Heard. She is a proponent for civil rights advocacy and philanthropy work. You can hire her on fiverr @mynamesdany as VOA_Dany.
Lindsay Zana (she/her) is an actor, singer and voice over artist with a love of musical theatre and Shakespeare. She can be heard in various audio dramas, including Arden, Primordial Deep, Store 236, and more! When she’s not emoting behind a microphone, she can usually be found belting showtunes in her car, playing with her pup, or reading a good book. For more, feel free to check out lindsayzana.com.
Karim Kronfli (he/him) has been a professional performer for over 30 years originally working as a juggler and firebreather. Trained as a Director and Voice Actor at City Lit in London he started doing voice work in 2010. Specialising in audio drama he has appeared in over 130 productions including Re: Dracula, The Magnus Archives, London After Midnight, SCP Archives, Dr Who: Redacted and many more.. His website can be found at https://www.dramaticvoice.co.uk/