TI: The Audio Drama

[Silrie]

Hey everyone! I brought this up at the ooc chat, but I wanted to also post it up here, as your input and desires are crucial in the proper execution of this plan. I'll explain how below.

So, in my spare time, I do some amateur (as in I don't get paid for it), voice acting and audio production. Basically, I create audio dramas, because they're fun and I love exercising my creative muscles. I wanted to start an audio drama series for TI, but before I begin even writing out a script, I wanted to run it by you all.

The staff are all right with it, provided I follow some common courtesy guidelines which I had planned to do anyway. Namely, is there anyone who would not want there character present in such a production at all? I'm not speaking creative license, which I'll expound on below, but just, not there, absent, etc?

I don't intend to give away secrets or story arcs, but to work with situations and arcs that have already passed. As I no longer have all my logs, these situations may not be, word for word true to the way they happened, but I'd like to, at least, keep the spirit of them intact. I cannot say how I plan to have the tales be told just yet. That will take some input. I can tell them from my character's point of view if we want a limiting, non-omniscient factor, or, if we want this to run rather like a true series, I can take different story arcs or situations from different characters and work with them individually. This will undoubtedly deviate a bit, since this exercise isn't an excuse for me to discover and / or exploit character secrets, but a challenge I think it will be fun, if time-consuming, to undertake. And it may provide more advertisement for TI in a rather unique forum.

If this is something we can all agree we would not mind seeing, is there anyone who is interested in possibly assisting with this, be it checking the script for theme inconsistencies (especially in speech, as audio drama critics are a bit more critical of such a thing if you state your production should be relative to a general era), script collaboration, acting as a sounding board for ideas, assisting in, when the time comes, approving or disapproving the auditions for their characters, acting in the cast themselves, creating artwork, etc. Think about it, please. I don't need instant answers.

To give a general idea of how it would all happen, first I'd have to write out the script. As this is an ongoing series and since I do not want to write us into any corners, I wanted to plan out several episodes ahead. Mixing an audio drama is extremely time-consuming, so an hour long episode could, depending on what a perfectionest your producer is, (and I am one), take days if not weeks. Think of it like shooting a movie. The end product may seem simple, but there's a lot that goes into making it appear so. The lines are only a small fraction of it. There is the process of cleaning the lines, optimizing the volume, deciding upon sound effects, selecting music, creating fan art if we decide to do that), etc. In light of all this extra work, I'd say, and all of these things can be discussed in greater detail later, scripts for single episodes should probably represent episodes between 30 to 60 minutes. I think the general idea is one page per minute, though that might only be accurate for film scripts. I'll need to research that.

Anyway, writing the script and making certain those first few episodes are polished to as much perfection as we can get them would be the first step. Once we're all happy with that, then comes the time when I'd be asking you all to send me a voice profile of your character. For example, accent you think they'd have, voice type (baritone, tenor, gentle, medium-low tone, rich, etc). They're basically the voice descriptors. How does your character sound to you in your mind? That's paramount to giving the auditioners something with which to work. After that, auditions would open, and that can be a process, just as in films, because you don't just want to settle, but you want to find that perfect fit. This is where, if people were interested, they might wish to step in to listen to the auditions for their own characters since I'm not the one who hears their voices in her head the same way you do. Finally, after that, would be the recording of the lines and the actual assembling of the project.

So as you can see, this is not something that will happen overnight, but the first step is to gage the interest and to ask the approval of all of you. Each of you, as players, will have a huge, huge impact on how this series is portrayed. If you don't want certain things aired, they will not be. If you'd like to take gentle creative license with your characters, you can. This doesn't mean living when you died or anything truly huge that could change the very course of the game as we play it, but if there are just things you do not wish to have shared through an ooc medium that may pertain to a plotline, there are always ways around it. Is there an argument you don't want to have had? Strike. Is there a relationship or a deed or a secret you'd rather not share? There are ways to include the way it changes your character without touching upon the sensitive things at all. They can be substituted or just left out completely. Your character would still be your character, and you would be consulted on anything relating to them. My goal here is not to pry control from you, but to offer you another medium in which to exercise your creativity, even if it's just by saying yay or nay to an arc, while granting TI exposure in a medium they've not had before.

Before I close, as I know I've just blasted you all with a wall of text, I want to reassure any of you who may get involved, be it deeply or just on the side, that this is meant to be fun. It isn't meant to turn into a stressful thing, so please do not fear a tyrant of a task master. The only ones I'm generally a bit more strict with are the actors themselves, and that's just so it doesn't take them 6 months to return ten lines. LOL! I don't need answers right this moment, but this is now out there if you'd all like to discuss it amongst yourselves or think about it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to pose them here or to approach me in private messages, pboards or tells. Here, pm's and Pboards are probably best, though, as I may miss a tell if Sil's spam crafting or in a fast-paced rp scene.

Thanks for reading my proposal, and I hope to hear some feedback from you all soon!

Rena - player of Silrie

[Voxumo]

You know, I think this is a wonderful idea, and something I'd probably enjoy listening too. I sadly can't bring much to the table in terms of skills. I mean if there is a way I could help I'd be willing too, depending on what it is, even if it's just proofreading.

Though there is one tiny thing that bothers me. I mean I imagine you'll have a disclaimer or something stating these should not be taken as 'exact' retellings of actual TI Events, but fan interpretations of said events... I don't know how to explain this concern of mine, besides 'I don't want these audio dramas to be viewed as actual representations of events that have transpired in the game'. I mean that sounds bad but I can't think of a better way to phrase this.
And I'm not trying to be rude or put this idea down, I really do want to see it happen.

[Silrie]

You know, I think this is a wonderful idea, and something I'd probably enjoy listening too. I sadly can't bring much to the table in terms of skills. I mean if there is a way I could help I'd be willing too, depending on what it is, even if it's just proofreading.

Though there is one tiny thing that bothers me. I mean I imagine you'll have a disclaimer or something stating these should not be taken as 'exact' retellings of actual TI Events, but fan interpretations of said events... I don't know how to explain this concern of mine, besides 'I don't want these audio dramas to be viewed as actual representations of events that have transpired in the game'. I mean that sounds bad but I can't think of a better way to phrase this.
And I'm not trying to be rude or put this idea down, I really do want to see it happen.

No no, you bring up a valid point. I think, both on the page where the current episode is posted and within the opening credits itself, I would have it mentioned that these are, in their own way, fan retellings of rp that has happened in the game, and they are not, as you say, set-in-stone depictions of world rules or something. Things change, and this is just another forum for creative license.

[Gerolf]

I would be willing to help as I can! I think this sounds like a fun any interesting idea.

Regarding character inclusion, I have an idea that you can toss if you want, but take one of the big events that has happened, say the Longest Night, and tell the story from the point of view of an NPC. Then you can have other characters make appearances but aren't the main focus.

[Silrie]

I would be willing to help as I can! I think this sounds like a fun any interesting idea.

Regarding character inclusion, I have an idea that you can toss if you want, but take one of the big events that has happened, say the Longest Night, and tell the story from the point of view of an NPC. Then you can have other characters make appearances but aren't the main focus.

Hey, now that is an idea I didn't consider, but it would make things a bit more flexible! See, this is why I wanted all your input. 20 heads are better than one.

[Kinaed]

I am thrilled with this idea, but feel I lack time and talent to assist. That said, I can publicly reiterate that you have my blessing.

[Zeita]

Hey Silrie!

I wanted to ask how this is coming along and if you're still working on it? I think it is a wonderful idea.