This week was our last week of classes for the studio, although ‘class time’ has been fairly non-existent the past couple of weeks since our priorities have been to work with our groups in different spaces and complete this gargantuan project.

Despite the several different foci our Episode Four group still had to address before project completion, the main one was to finish the edit, including all the dialogue and foley sounds we had recorded and sourced over the recent period. In order to alleviate some of the editing stress from our lead editor, the team each took upon a scene or two to edit themselves, before re-collating each scene back onto the same device for any final adjustments. Admittedly, my audio editing experience was, and still remains, rather limited, meaning that my cut of the episode was slightly less technically competent and immersive than my peers’ edits. Yet, I appreciate that everyone needs to start somewhere when it comes to using a software that is foreign to them, and I believe that even the basic level of knowledge I learned about audio editing will come in handy in some form or another for future projects.

Nevertheless, the challenges we faced with this project were overcome in the end, as the submission cut of the episode sounds excellent. Although we misjudged the length of the episode, as it now sits six minutes longer than our preferred target length, the content of the audio-drama remains engaging throughout the episode’s duration, which I hope will reflect as effectively in the client’s listening experience. Before the final submission, however, I was tasked with organising the cue sheet for the sounds we had used in the podcast, explaining how it was recorded or sourced, who was responsible and when that sound appears in the episode. As a person who enjoys the administrative organisation that this undertaking required though, I found this to be hardly a chore and was pleased to contribute any more I could to the Episode Four production group.

The project was successfully submitted in time, along with all associated documentation, and while it has certainly been a hectic few months, it has been equally as enriching and gratifying.

Dom Apolloni

Week Twelve