MCP 014 – MAKING THE CUT: Chapter 06
Posted by Raven on 23 Mar 2008 at 12:01 am | Tagged as: Brian, Callie, Daniel, Evan/Eva, Fiona, Making the Cut, Miriam, Podcast Episodes, Sasha, Victor, fantasy, novel, podiobook, science fiction
Show notes on the Archives page.
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Great episode, except for one thing. The screaming voice sounded wrong for the character. And really, it was a bit distracting after the first bout, it just kept going. It’s the only time I’m heard the sound effects distract from the narrative in this podcast.
The screaming was actually done by Christiana Ellis, the same actor who provides the voice of Fiona. She did exactly what I was hoping for; yes, Fiona is normally tightly controlled, but this shows the other side of her character — that she is incapable of processing her negative emotions in a healthy way when she reaches the point that she can no longer suppress them. I apologize if you found the balance of the audio to be distracting — any post-production choices like that are up to me — but in terms of her performance, she played it exactly like I heard it in my head.
Oh I thought the screaming was spot on… was really gut-wrenching and added loads to the ambience.
Thought I’d give you a heads up though, I got my episode from iTunes and the episode cuts off while in the apartment … am just going through the website mp3 now to find out what happens (and see if there’s a similar problem).
Yup, just seems to have been an iTunes issue … not sure whether I was just unlucky with that particular download though
Thanks, Pewari! It looks like you were just unlucky — iTunes downloaded the episode without any trouble on my computer. I appreciate the feedback, though!
WOW! I loved Christiana Ellis’s part. I acctually called the Metamorph line and left a voicemail about it. Amazing job.
Yes, I see your point mithril that it did make the narrative a little hard to hear. But the screaming acctually sent chills down my spine. Now many podcast stories have been able to do that.
So Chris, that moves your podcast up in my mind to the realm of Scott Sigler and J.C. Hutchins. They are the only ones who have ever given me chills listening.
Great job!
Jesse From Colorado
Edit…. Not* many podcast stories have been able to do that.
You know, most of the time, I can kind of see where stories are leading me, but I’ve been pretty much on the edge of my seat the whole time with Making the Cut because I can’t tell where it’s headed. And I love it.
Chapter six was the best one, yet. I thought Christiana Ellis did a fantastic, gut-wrenching job of expressing grief and pain. It really gave the story an extra dimension. I listened to it while driving home from work, and I found myself tearing up a little as she screamed.
Good job, both writing and performance. Was she acting, or did she slam her hand in a door or something? Damn.
Keep up the great work. I can’t wait for chapter seven so I can try to figure out where you’re taking us.
I agree, Christiana’s performance was excellent. (I’ve told her as much on Twitter.) Also, the casting of J.C. Hutchins as William Westerson is PERFECT. Oh, and thanks for playing my voice mail!
wow wow wow. I am just getting caught up with Metamor. excellent production, great writing – tremendous job Chris!! All the actors do an incredible job – but wanted to really applaud Beq’s voice talent. She makes me smile at all her lines, and I really like her character. Hopefully she will be back in the not-to-distant future.
I’m a film and broadcast veteran, and I can tell you that when translating text to audio drama, there are conventions you must pay attention to. The screaming was distracting, and WAY over the top. There’s a reason that in television and old-time radio dramas that overly emotional reactions were referred to in the abstract FAR more often than they were, and are, performed. When you put “screams of rage and frustration came from Fiona’s throat and crashed against the walls of the room like the waves of an angry sea in a tropical storm crashed implacably, destructively, against a stony beach.” in text, it paints a picture that is vivid, real, and immediate. But if you actually perform it, it distracts, it takes one out of the story in such a way that any good director will do all he can to limit that type of reaction. I love the story, and the interactions, plots and personalities, but Chris, as a audio dramatist, you are a terrific biologist.