For my individual story, I tried a different approach on grief as my last assignment was based on my grandpa’s passing. I decided to do a story based on a break up. To get really creative, I was inspired by ‘Summer Rain’ story from Radio Atlas as I adapted the poem device and use it as a love letter hence the title of my story. The only parts scripted was my opening because I wanted to start off with a monologue style and of course, the letter. From feedback, I decided to include myself in which made more sense as the narration in the last part of my story was used. My intention was to convey feelings of detachment, as our episode is based on grief. I wanted the poem to be somewhat of the climax of the story as it showcased character development. To achieve this, I think it was her choice of words when I asked her to write the letter that made it personal and captures her feelings that shows character development.
As I love composing my own music, the reading ‘Backstory: The (subtle) art of podcast sound design and why it matters’ by Natasha Johnson really resonates with me as when I make music, it has to convey the mood for the story. The challenges that I face when I make music is to not overthrow the story and most importantly, finding the right mood. Both music and sound effects really ‘brings [the story] to life’ (Johnson, 2018). It’s not just the sound but with editing where we pan left to right, enhances the story and I guess you can say empathy as it creates some distance from the sound to your ears. For future reference, I wish I did not give my questions beforehand as it loses authenticity, the reading where it states “The point of pride is that no-one should ever know you’ve done anything” (Johnson, 2018), for me there wasn’t much editing out because it sounded a bit rehearsed.
From the reading ‘Score! Best practices for using music in audio storytelling’, I avoided clichés when I don’t bother ‘amplifying simple emotions’ (May, 2016). Instead I used silence. I feel like going back at the beginning of the semester, a pause can create tension but highlight important words. When I constructed the music for the part where my friend reads the letter, likewise to the intro and outro I composed, I wanted to have some soundscapes and harmonic synth to complement my friend’s voice. I thought the way I added layers of synths and soundscapes really captures her strength as an independent and caring person. I was inspired by ‘Her’ (2013) soundtrack as it sounded really pleasant but sad at the same time which is what the letter made me feel as a listener.
Overall, after all the feedback I received from my peers and of course Heather! I’m really proud of how much I have improved over the semester and that I get to composed music as well as storytelling.
References:
Johnson, N 2018, ‘Backstory: The (subtle) art of podcast sound design and why it matters’, ABC NEWS, 13 December, viewed 14 October 2020, < https://www.abc.net.au/news/about/backstory/radio/2018-11-13/the-art-of-podcast-sound-design/10481114>
Kristensen, N 2017, ‘Summer Rain’, radio program, Radio Atlas, viewed 21 September 2020, < https://www.radioatlas.org/summer-rain/>
May, M 2016, ‘Score! Best practices for using music in audio storytelling’, npr training, 5 July, viewed 14 October 2020, < https://training.npr.org/2016/07/05/score-best-practices-for-using-music-in-audio-storytelling/>
SFX used:
caculo – Very noisy kids in classroom <https://freesound.org/people/caculo/sounds/253761/>
Hope-Sounds – Birds taking off fly <https://freesound.org/people/Hope-Sounds/sounds/499679/>
InspectorJ – Wind Chimes <https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/353194/>
straget – Wall Clock Ticking <https://freesound.org/people/straget/sounds/405423/>
thegoose09 – Iphone <https://freesound.org/people/thegoose09/sounds/125384/>
13FPanska_Stranska_Michaela – School bell <https://freesound.org/people/13FPanska_Stranska_Michaela/sounds/378394/>
Soundcloud link: