64. The Way of the Audio Drama
How to make an audio drama.
By Austin Peachey | March 19, 2024
How to make an audio drama.
By Austin Peachey | March 19, 2024
Remember Brad “Big Brad?” Dillard? He loved radio and wanted to be on the radio, too. Inspired by shows like The Shadow, The Lone Ranger and Fibber McGee & Molly, he shared his dream with Mr. Whittaker. As everyone knows, Whit is full of surprises. He surprised Brad with the news that he owned some radio equipment. That’s how Kids Radio was born.
That was in 1988. If you wanted the creative freedom to create your own radio drama (or more commonly known now as audio drama) and have it heard by people other than your own household, you might need a Whit in your life.
Fast forward to 2021. Buddy, Zoe, and Jay were working on their own audio drama all on their own (with some help from Vincent). No Whit or Kids Radio equipment needed. At least, it’s implied since there is no mention of the two in that episode.
If you’re like Brad, Buddy, Zoe (please don’t be like Jay), you may have an urge to create your own audio drama. I have good news! Much like the kids’ school project in Please Adjust Your Frequency, you could be making something like that. Not the group project drama, hopefully, but the making of an audio drama.
It’s a lot easier to create something like Adventures in Odyssey nowadays. Technology and the cost of entry is at a point that anyone can create and share an audio drama. If you’ve had your own idea for a great show, wait no more. I’ve written some tips on how to start your audio drama journey.
A little disclaimer here: although I have been involved in the making of several audio dramas, I don’t consider myself to be an expert. These tips and directions are by no means the be-all and end-all of how everyone should go about creating audio dramas. A lot of this is me sharing my experiences and gleaning info from people much more talented than me and putting all of that into this article. I’m sure there are some differing opinions on the order of some steps and how to go about accomplishing those steps. This will just be a general overview of the different stages of development for an audio drama. There are some more specifics on certain things that I won’t get into for the sake of not being too long with this article, not going into the weeds, and not overwhelming someone getting started in this field.
Okay, let’s go!
Writing Your Script
First and foremost, you need to have a good story. You can’t have a good audio drama without a good story. At the end of the day, the moments you usually remember most from an AIO episode is because of the buildup, dialog, and structure that led up to it. The episode Karen in which Donna’s friend Karen dies, is a heart wrenching and beautiful series of events. Do you remember a specific sound effect or music cue the most or is it the moments between characters? Of course, the acting, sound design, and music are important but they are serving the telling of a good story. As Odyssey’s co-creator Phil Lollar often says “Story is everything and everything is story.” Before you look into what microphones to buy or think of which of your friends can act, settle on a narrative that is compelling. In my experience, even if some music, sound effects or other elements are not the greatest, I’m more likely to listen to an episode or feature length drama if the story grabs me.
The best way to start is to consume great stories. Of course, if you’ve been listening to Adventures in Odyssey for any length of time, you’re well on your way. Along with that, read classic literature, see one of Shakespeare’s plays, or just observe the people around you. The more stories you consume, the easier it will get to spot a good story and stay away from bad ones.
Write down everything you can about your story. Character names, character bios, the sequence of events, locations, and maybe even a title. Getting all of these out on paper will make it much easier to assemble them later into script form (more on that soon).
A big thing that will be helpful to you is outlining your script. I know, I know. If you’re like me, you may bristle at the idea of making one. As tedious as they can be, outlines are your friends. An outline can help you get all those names, events, and places in a timeline that will help you keep everything straight. A good resource for how to do this is Architects, Gardeners and Planning Too Much, an episode of StoryChat with John Fornof. Actually, all of the episodes of this podcast are great for inspiring your writing and getting tips on the writing process. It’s one of my favorite podcasts and has helped me tremendously with my career. You can also write a beat sheet instead. It’s basically summarizing what happens in each scene in a paragraph or two. If outlines scare you, this might be a better option for you.
Now that you have your story and outline in hand, now’s the time to write the script!
Unfortunately, there’s not a general consensus on what kind of format to use when writing scripts for audio dramas. There’s the BBC style, the kind that Odyssey uses for their scripts, and some other forms. If you want to see copies of scripts from AIO, the AIO Club episode extras occasionally have the scripts for the episodes. Cars, Trains, and Motorcycles is one of them.
Although you can use something like Google Docs or Microsoft Word to write your script, I would suggest something more robust. You especially want something that will help you stay within your script template and automatically add line numbers. This will save you a lot of headache when recording and editing.
There are many scriptwriting software out there, like Final Draft and Celtx. I use WriterSolo. It’s a free version of WriterDuet. You can use it as a desktop app or web app. You get pretty much everything WriterDuet (PAID version) does except for real time collaboration with other writers and saving your script automatically on their servers. However, it’s easy to download the script or use another cloud storage service (like Google Drive) to make sure your masterpiece is safe if something happens to your computer or hard drive.
Dialog, scene direction, sound effects or action taking place are all a part of the script. If you know your story well now, it will make it easier to write lines for your characters. As you’re writing, pay attention to actions made by the characters. Make sure to describe those actions and/or note sound effects that will be needed to convey the action. You don’t have to go overboard in describing each and every sound needed but get the gist of it down. This will make it much easier when you get to post-production.
Make sure once you finish your script that you don’t just move on to getting ready to record it. You just finished your first draft. No matter how experienced a writer you are for any medium, there are always going to be changes needed, editing errors fixed, or plot holes to be filled in. If you don’t get your story AND script right, your final product will suffer for it.
Let your friends, family, or teacher take a look at it. If you can get someone who already writes scripts to give you some feedback, even better. This will come up later but make sure to not take offense to any criticism you get. You want to make your story the best it can be. It may make sense to you, the writer, but if it doesn’t make sense to others, your audience, then you’re going to have a hard time getting someone to listen to more than just a few minutes of your audio drama.
Finding Your Voices
Once you’re completely happy with your script…just kidding, you’re never going to be completely satisfied with your script. Don’t strive for perfection, just strive for excellence. Now, you have the challenging but one of the most fun parts of the process to do and that’s casting. You have to find people to perform your script. Now, you may think “I can just play all of the parts!” You could, but unless you can do distinct enough voices or only have 1 or 2 characters in your story, it’s going to be rough for people to listen to it and not be confused or annoyed. Not everyone is as talented as Walker Edmiston (Tom Riley and Bart Rathbone) or Corey Burton (Walter Shakespeare and Cryin’ Bryan Dern).
Unless your dad gets rich overnight like Nathaniel Graham’s dad or you can find an angel investor, you’re not likely to get an actor from Adventures in Odyssey to star in your production. The main actors for AIO are union actors and having a union actor be in a low-budget or volunteer project can be a difficult process. However, there are plenty of people out there that would be happy to volunteer their voices to an audio drama. However, if you can pay them, you’re going to have a much better chance of them being more invested in the project and getting their lines in on time. Just make sure that you let them know beforehand what you can or can’t offer them monetarily so there’s no confusion later. If you’re a part of any online AIO fan community (Facebook groups, Discord servers, etc.), chances are there are others that would love to have an opportunity to act in your show.
So you have your cast. Now what? Now comes what I think is the most fun part of the production process: directing. You may give your actors a script but you want to make sure that they don’t just hit the Record button and do whatever comes to their minds. You want to let them know what kind of voice you want the character to have. Accents, speech patterns, loudness in voice are a few things that should be discussed before recording. You also want to make sure your script gives the actors a good foundation for their acting. Hopefully, when you wrote your script, you put plenty of direction for the characters already in text form. Things like:
That was in 1988. If you wanted the creative freedom to create your own radio drama (or more commonly known now as audio drama) and have it heard by people other than your own household, you might need a Whit in your life.
Fast forward to 2021. Buddy, Zoe, and Jay were working on their own audio drama all on their own (with some help from Vincent). No Whit or Kids Radio equipment needed. At least, it’s implied since there is no mention of the two in that episode.
If you’re like Brad, Buddy, Zoe (please don’t be like Jay), you may have an urge to create your own audio drama. I have good news! Much like the kids’ school project in Please Adjust Your Frequency, you could be making something like that. Not the group project drama, hopefully, but the making of an audio drama.
It’s a lot easier to create something like Adventures in Odyssey nowadays. Technology and the cost of entry is at a point that anyone can create and share an audio drama. If you’ve had your own idea for a great show, wait no more. I’ve written some tips on how to start your audio drama journey.
A little disclaimer here: although I have been involved in the making of several audio dramas, I don’t consider myself to be an expert. These tips and directions are by no means the be-all and end-all of how everyone should go about creating audio dramas. A lot of this is me sharing my experiences and gleaning info from people much more talented than me and putting all of that into this article. I’m sure there are some differing opinions on the order of some steps and how to go about accomplishing those steps. This will just be a general overview of the different stages of development for an audio drama. There are some more specifics on certain things that I won’t get into for the sake of not being too long with this article, not going into the weeds, and not overwhelming someone getting started in this field.
Okay, let’s go!
Writing Your Script
First and foremost, you need to have a good story. You can’t have a good audio drama without a good story. At the end of the day, the moments you usually remember most from an AIO episode is because of the buildup, dialog, and structure that led up to it. The episode Karen in which Donna’s friend Karen dies, is a heart wrenching and beautiful series of events. Do you remember a specific sound effect or music cue the most or is it the moments between characters? Of course, the acting, sound design, and music are important but they are serving the telling of a good story. As Odyssey’s co-creator Phil Lollar often says “Story is everything and everything is story.” Before you look into what microphones to buy or think of which of your friends can act, settle on a narrative that is compelling. In my experience, even if some music, sound effects or other elements are not the greatest, I’m more likely to listen to an episode or feature length drama if the story grabs me.
The best way to start is to consume great stories. Of course, if you’ve been listening to Adventures in Odyssey for any length of time, you’re well on your way. Along with that, read classic literature, see one of Shakespeare’s plays, or just observe the people around you. The more stories you consume, the easier it will get to spot a good story and stay away from bad ones.
Write down everything you can about your story. Character names, character bios, the sequence of events, locations, and maybe even a title. Getting all of these out on paper will make it much easier to assemble them later into script form (more on that soon).
A big thing that will be helpful to you is outlining your script. I know, I know. If you’re like me, you may bristle at the idea of making one. As tedious as they can be, outlines are your friends. An outline can help you get all those names, events, and places in a timeline that will help you keep everything straight. A good resource for how to do this is Architects, Gardeners and Planning Too Much, an episode of StoryChat with John Fornof. Actually, all of the episodes of this podcast are great for inspiring your writing and getting tips on the writing process. It’s one of my favorite podcasts and has helped me tremendously with my career. You can also write a beat sheet instead. It’s basically summarizing what happens in each scene in a paragraph or two. If outlines scare you, this might be a better option for you.
Now that you have your story and outline in hand, now’s the time to write the script!
Unfortunately, there’s not a general consensus on what kind of format to use when writing scripts for audio dramas. There’s the BBC style, the kind that Odyssey uses for their scripts, and some other forms. If you want to see copies of scripts from AIO, the AIO Club episode extras occasionally have the scripts for the episodes. Cars, Trains, and Motorcycles is one of them.
Although you can use something like Google Docs or Microsoft Word to write your script, I would suggest something more robust. You especially want something that will help you stay within your script template and automatically add line numbers. This will save you a lot of headache when recording and editing.
There are many scriptwriting software out there, like Final Draft and Celtx. I use WriterSolo. It’s a free version of WriterDuet. You can use it as a desktop app or web app. You get pretty much everything WriterDuet (PAID version) does except for real time collaboration with other writers and saving your script automatically on their servers. However, it’s easy to download the script or use another cloud storage service (like Google Drive) to make sure your masterpiece is safe if something happens to your computer or hard drive.
Dialog, scene direction, sound effects or action taking place are all a part of the script. If you know your story well now, it will make it easier to write lines for your characters. As you’re writing, pay attention to actions made by the characters. Make sure to describe those actions and/or note sound effects that will be needed to convey the action. You don’t have to go overboard in describing each and every sound needed but get the gist of it down. This will make it much easier when you get to post-production.
Make sure once you finish your script that you don’t just move on to getting ready to record it. You just finished your first draft. No matter how experienced a writer you are for any medium, there are always going to be changes needed, editing errors fixed, or plot holes to be filled in. If you don’t get your story AND script right, your final product will suffer for it.
Let your friends, family, or teacher take a look at it. If you can get someone who already writes scripts to give you some feedback, even better. This will come up later but make sure to not take offense to any criticism you get. You want to make your story the best it can be. It may make sense to you, the writer, but if it doesn’t make sense to others, your audience, then you’re going to have a hard time getting someone to listen to more than just a few minutes of your audio drama.
Finding Your Voices
Once you’re completely happy with your script…just kidding, you’re never going to be completely satisfied with your script. Don’t strive for perfection, just strive for excellence. Now, you have the challenging but one of the most fun parts of the process to do and that’s casting. You have to find people to perform your script. Now, you may think “I can just play all of the parts!” You could, but unless you can do distinct enough voices or only have 1 or 2 characters in your story, it’s going to be rough for people to listen to it and not be confused or annoyed. Not everyone is as talented as Walker Edmiston (Tom Riley and Bart Rathbone) or Corey Burton (Walter Shakespeare and Cryin’ Bryan Dern).
Unless your dad gets rich overnight like Nathaniel Graham’s dad or you can find an angel investor, you’re not likely to get an actor from Adventures in Odyssey to star in your production. The main actors for AIO are union actors and having a union actor be in a low-budget or volunteer project can be a difficult process. However, there are plenty of people out there that would be happy to volunteer their voices to an audio drama. However, if you can pay them, you’re going to have a much better chance of them being more invested in the project and getting their lines in on time. Just make sure that you let them know beforehand what you can or can’t offer them monetarily so there’s no confusion later. If you’re a part of any online AIO fan community (Facebook groups, Discord servers, etc.), chances are there are others that would love to have an opportunity to act in your show.
So you have your cast. Now what? Now comes what I think is the most fun part of the production process: directing. You may give your actors a script but you want to make sure that they don’t just hit the Record button and do whatever comes to their minds. You want to let them know what kind of voice you want the character to have. Accents, speech patterns, loudness in voice are a few things that should be discussed before recording. You also want to make sure your script gives the actors a good foundation for their acting. Hopefully, when you wrote your script, you put plenty of direction for the characters already in text form. Things like:
Samantha:
(sighs)
I hope that the bus shows up soon.
(sighs)
I hope that the bus shows up soon.
Samantha pulls out phone from her pocket.
Samantha:
I’m going to be late to work!
I’m going to be late to work!
Little things like beats (pauses), sighs, grunts, and description of moods will go a long way in making it easy for actors to know what the character should sound like and act.
Now, to the options of how to direct.
If you’ve seen any behind-the-scenes pictures or videos of an Odyssey recording session, you’ll see they usually record family-style. This is where you have all or the main actors in a scene in the same room (or adjoining rooms) to record. This gives the opportunity to interact with each other while saying their lines. A big part of acting is reacting to the other person’s lines, making it easier to match volume and energy. Although this is certainly the most fun and most engaging way to record, that may not be a viable option. If you have all the actors in your hometown, then it’s fairly easy (barring people’s scheduling conflicts). If you have actors outside your town, state, province or country, it’s not going to be feasible to get all your actors in the same room (unless you are able to pay for the actor’s travel and lodging).
Thankfully, this kind of recording can be done in a very similar fashion with the technology of the day. You can still have all the actors hear and see each other while they record by setting up a video call. Discord, Zoom, and other services are easy to use to gather multiple people to record. Again, you’ll have to set up everyone’s schedules but it’s easier than trying to have everyone meet at one physical location when they can easily record in their house.
If you can’t get everyone to record all at once, you can just direct one actor at a time, either in person or online. This will make it easier to get more recordings done faster without having to synchronize more than two people’s time zones and schedules. You can also read for the other characters in the scene that the directed actor is not playing. This will allow them to get a chance to do some of that reacting I talked about earlier.
Another option is to have the actors record solo. In this situation, the actor records the lines without you directing them live. This can be a viable option and work well if you do two things 1. Make sure your script is as clear as possible as to what a character does and how they say something. 2. Give some other notes beforehand that may not be something that you wrote originally in the script but, after casting the actor, you think there’s something more to be addressed. Once the actor gives you their recording, you can give feedback on any retakes needed.
Here’s probably the biggest mistake that some people may run into when directing for the first time: micromanaging. If you’re directing them in real time, you don’t need to say every line and have the actors repeat it back the same way every time. Give the background on the scene and let the actors roll with it. Once you hear the actors' first take, you can hear what needs to be changed in the delivery. Let the actors have enough leeway to try out the first take of a scene without much involvement from you. If the actor is recording alone, let them do a few takes how you want and then give them an opportunity to ad lib or try the line differently. Some of the best takes are ones the director didn’t even think about before hearing them.
An important thing to keep in mind when recording is to make sure the audio files are named clearly. It makes it easier if you have an actor’s file named something like CHARACTERNAME_TITLEOFPRODUCTION. This will make it easy to see at a glance which file is which.
Adding More Sounds
Okay, so you have all your lines recorded. Now comes the editing or post-production stage. For this you need a DAW (digital audio workstation). This is where you will need to put all the files with the actors’ lines in and start trimming them down to the takes you want. There are many DAWs out there, most of them ones you need to pay for. However, the best free one to download is Audacity. It’s open source and has a lot of features that you’d find in a paid software. I use Adobe Audition for multitrack editing and Audacity for recording. If you already have Adobe Creative Cloud, Audition is included in that subscription.
While compiling the actors’ lines, it’s a good idea to have your script open as well to make sure that you don’t miss any lines or directions. Be aware when placing the lines together that you want to be sure that timing or the space in between them is appropriate. For a comedy, you may have lines closer together to make the humor more punchy. For a drama, some dramatic pauses and hesitations can help bring out the emotions. Of course, the actors should have already followed the script direction, but if they recorded their lines without anyone else, then you may have to put their lines closer together with others’ lines to make it sound more natural. If you recorded lines over the web, Internet delay may also need to be mitigated.
Make sure to clean up the actors’ audio while in post-production. Just because it may have been recorded in a quiet room with no reverb (echo), there may be things you need to remove. Things like computer fan noise, extra breaths, and such will need to be removed. You also need to make sure to have the voices sound like they’re in the environment called out in the script. Things like EQ (equalization) and filters will help with this. If your characters are outside in a park, you don’t want to hear reverb that sounds like they’re in a living room. If they’re in a cave and you don’t hear any echo, you’re going to need to add that.
Next up is SFX (sound effects). Without SFX, your audio drama would not sound lively. Just think of the scene in Plan B, Part 2: Collision Course where Jack is in the back of the cab bouncing back and forth. The actor’s lines and vocal Foley (efforts) would sound pretty silly if you didn’t actually hear him hitting the door or moving around the seat.
Hopefully, your script already calls out the locations of scenes and actions happening in it. Now you just need to find sound effects to match. While there are huge libraries of SFX out there, if you don’t have a budget for your production or a small one, there are some resources that will help you out. Freesound is a great place to find over 600,000 SFX. Just be aware that your ability to use them will depend on the license attached to each sound. Some of them you’re required to give the creator of that sound credit, some you can’t use in a commercial project (make money off your audio drama) and some are public domain that you can do pretty much whatever you want with that sound. Another great website to find SFX is Pixabay. That website has more than just SFX but we’ll talk about this site again soon.
If you can’t find a SFX that fits your needs, you can record your own! AIO has done many behind the scenes videos where the sound designers show how they record Foley (footsteps, cloth movement, doors, etc.). You want your character’s movements to be heard as well as the lines.
Also, you may have to change the sound of your SFX. Not every SFX is going to sound like it happens in the environment of the story. You may need to do some cleanup or EQ on it to make it gel well with everything else. You may also need to use multiple SFX to make just one. Get creative and have fun with this! It’s the most fun part of the post-production in my opinion. Don’t forget to add ambiance. Birds singing, road traffic, central air, and other background sounds are essential to make your scenes sound real.
Usually, the last major phase in making an audio drama is music. You have two options: compose the music yourself (or have someone else compose it) or use stock music. If you or a friend has musical skills, go for it! It’s a great way to learn a different style of music.
For the best audio dramas, like Adventures in Odyssey, having original music tailored to the lines and actions is the best way to go. However, even Odyssey has used stock music for some episodes. It may surprise you but all the music (minus the AIO theme music) in The Day Independence Came came from a music library. Of course, that music is iconic now and works so well with the story and patriotic theme that you probably couldn’t tell.
That said, it is very hard to find the right music to fit your audio drama from a library. Not only do you have to find the right mood, genre, etc. but you also want all the music cues to sound like the same person composed them all. On top of that, you also have to edit the music cues to the length needed. You might have a 3 minute long music cue but only need 20 seconds. That’s going to take some effort to trim it down to what you need and make it sound natural with fades and such. It’s not impossible but it’s doable.
Again, there are a lot of different music libraries where you can find tracks to use in your project. Just take notice: licensing for music is even more tricky than for sound effects. Make sure to look through the terms and conditions and other related material of how and where you can use that music. Even if you aren’t going to be making money off your audio drama, using someone’s music without permission or incorrectly can land you in some hot water.
If you want to avoid the headaches of all this, here are a few places where you can get some music to use for free. Kevin MacLeod is media producers’ best friend. He composes music tracks for anyone to use. You can find them on his website called Incompetech. You can download and use his music in just about anything in just about any form if you give him attribution. If you want to get a file with higher quality as a WAV instead of an MP3, you can buy licenses for the tracks you use at a decent price. He’s also made a website called FreePD. It’s where he’s put a bunch of his music tracks that haven’t been used that much and put them into the public domain. In other words, you can use the music on that site commercially or personally with no attribution. It’s a really great resource for those with little to no money to spend on their project. Pixabay also has several music tracks you can use but with a little more restrictions than FreePD has.
Once you get your music in, it’s a good idea to go back and make sure all your volume levels for voices, SFX, and music are all good. This is known as mixing. This may be the hardest thing about making your audio drama. You don’t want something to sound too quiet or too loud. A good way to test it is to play your production on a variety of devices. As many people listen with headphones or earbuds, you want to make sure that sounds the best it can be in that way. However, it’s good to test the audio and see how it sounds on other setups like your phone speaker or your car stereo. Make sure nothing sounds muddy or too bright in those listening setups. Another suggestion is to get someone who has not heard your production yet and, preferably, not involved in the project to listen to it and give feedback. Another set of ears will help you get a better picture if what you’ve created sonically translates well to other people.
The Art’s the Thing
Okay, so the audio is all done. But now it’s time to think visually. You need a good cover art for your production. People will judge a book by its cover despite people telling them not to. Good artwork and design will catch someone’s eye and then hopefully their ears afterwards. It may even be recognized for some awards. AIO won for Best Cover Art for Album 67 and Album 69 in the 2019 and 2020 ATC Seneca Awards respectively.
You can have someone else create an artwork for you, but it’s gotten a lot easier for people that don’t know much about graphic design to create great work. Some free online tools like Canva and Adobe Express make it super simple to create compelling graphics to accompany your audio drama.
Distribution
You’ve produced your audio drama. You have some good artwork. Now it’s ready to be heard. But how will people hear it? If you were in the 1980s, you’d have to contact radio stations or get your production put on cassette tapes. If you wanted more than just your immediate family and friends to hear your work, you would have had a tough road to get it out there. Thankfully, you’re living in the 2020s.
It’s super easy to get your audio drama out there. One of the easiest ways is to make a podcast. This will help you get onto major music and podcast platforms. The best free podcast hosting site is Spotify for Podcasters (formerly known as Anchor.fm). Don’t worry about the name. This service will get your podcast on not just Spotify but also Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories. There are some more robust and advanced tools you can get on paid podcast hosting sites. However, if you’re just starting out or don’t have the money to do so right now, this is a good way to go. You can always migrate your podcast to another host later.
Dramafy is another great option for your audio drama. It’s a streaming platform for audio dramas, kind of like the AIO Club but with more than one show available to hear. You can submit your audio drama to be hosted there with other audio dramas. As long as it meets their standards of family-friendliness, it will likely be accepted. The nice thing about this option is that people will more likely see your show here than in a podcast directory with millions of other podcasts. Plus, you can get paid for the streams your production gets. There’s a free (with ads) and premium tier subscription for listeners to Dramafy so there’s no barrier for people to listen to your audio drama if they’re not sure about dropping some money to hear your first production.
Audio.com and SoundCloud are some good options for content distribution. Both of these sites are kind of like the YouTube of audio. You can upload your production for free on those sites and get comments and reviews on your production.
If you want to sell your audio drama, you can get it on digital stores like Amazon MP3 and Apple Music with distribution platforms like DistroKid or CD Baby. The latter option will also give you the ability to make a physical version of your production (CD, vinyl, or USB drive). Some other options are Gumroad and Bandcamp. Bandcamp makes it easier for you to get paid quicker than going through a middleman company to get you paid from Amazon or Apple. Bandcamp has its own store for listeners to buy music there. It’s not just music sold there. Will Ryan and Katie Leigh’s audiobook for Adventures in Oddity is on Bandcamp, too! Gumroad lets you have your own storefront that gives you a more independent setup so your product doesn’t get lost in a sea of other productions. You can see some examples of some audio drama stores on Gumroad from Eternal Future Productions and The Church at Trestle Falls.
Now, just because you put your audio drama to any of these places doesn’t mean you should just sit back and wait for the downloads or purchases to just roll in. You need to market it. Text the links to your work with your friends and family (make sure not to spam them). Post it on your social media. Contact other audio drama producers and ask them to give you feedback. Make sure to let Audio Theatre Central know about it through their news submission form. (Politely) ask your actors and other people involved with the project to share it with their circle of friends.
The Next Thing after the Last Thing
What happens after that? Take a step back from your work. After hearing it over and over (and over) again, it’s good to give yourself some distance from it. Read the feedback you get. Honestly consider all positive and negative criticisms. Listen to The Way of the Comic Book if you need some great advice about that.
I’m sure after you post your audio drama, there are things that you’ll realize you should have done differently. That’s to be expected. Take those ideas and the feedback you’ve received, along with the experience you’ve acquired during this process, and make your second audio drama!
To be honest, your first audio drama (or any other first-time making of anything) will likely be the worst you’ll ever make. Mine was too. Don’t think of that as a bad thing. It just means your best work is ahead of you. You’ll know what not to do next time and more of what you should do. Just keep creating! The more you work on your craft, the better you’ll become and the better audio dramas you’ll make. As a wise old man is fondly remembered for saying, “The best is yet to come.”
Now, to the options of how to direct.
If you’ve seen any behind-the-scenes pictures or videos of an Odyssey recording session, you’ll see they usually record family-style. This is where you have all or the main actors in a scene in the same room (or adjoining rooms) to record. This gives the opportunity to interact with each other while saying their lines. A big part of acting is reacting to the other person’s lines, making it easier to match volume and energy. Although this is certainly the most fun and most engaging way to record, that may not be a viable option. If you have all the actors in your hometown, then it’s fairly easy (barring people’s scheduling conflicts). If you have actors outside your town, state, province or country, it’s not going to be feasible to get all your actors in the same room (unless you are able to pay for the actor’s travel and lodging).
Thankfully, this kind of recording can be done in a very similar fashion with the technology of the day. You can still have all the actors hear and see each other while they record by setting up a video call. Discord, Zoom, and other services are easy to use to gather multiple people to record. Again, you’ll have to set up everyone’s schedules but it’s easier than trying to have everyone meet at one physical location when they can easily record in their house.
If you can’t get everyone to record all at once, you can just direct one actor at a time, either in person or online. This will make it easier to get more recordings done faster without having to synchronize more than two people’s time zones and schedules. You can also read for the other characters in the scene that the directed actor is not playing. This will allow them to get a chance to do some of that reacting I talked about earlier.
Another option is to have the actors record solo. In this situation, the actor records the lines without you directing them live. This can be a viable option and work well if you do two things 1. Make sure your script is as clear as possible as to what a character does and how they say something. 2. Give some other notes beforehand that may not be something that you wrote originally in the script but, after casting the actor, you think there’s something more to be addressed. Once the actor gives you their recording, you can give feedback on any retakes needed.
Here’s probably the biggest mistake that some people may run into when directing for the first time: micromanaging. If you’re directing them in real time, you don’t need to say every line and have the actors repeat it back the same way every time. Give the background on the scene and let the actors roll with it. Once you hear the actors' first take, you can hear what needs to be changed in the delivery. Let the actors have enough leeway to try out the first take of a scene without much involvement from you. If the actor is recording alone, let them do a few takes how you want and then give them an opportunity to ad lib or try the line differently. Some of the best takes are ones the director didn’t even think about before hearing them.
An important thing to keep in mind when recording is to make sure the audio files are named clearly. It makes it easier if you have an actor’s file named something like CHARACTERNAME_TITLEOFPRODUCTION. This will make it easy to see at a glance which file is which.
Adding More Sounds
Okay, so you have all your lines recorded. Now comes the editing or post-production stage. For this you need a DAW (digital audio workstation). This is where you will need to put all the files with the actors’ lines in and start trimming them down to the takes you want. There are many DAWs out there, most of them ones you need to pay for. However, the best free one to download is Audacity. It’s open source and has a lot of features that you’d find in a paid software. I use Adobe Audition for multitrack editing and Audacity for recording. If you already have Adobe Creative Cloud, Audition is included in that subscription.
While compiling the actors’ lines, it’s a good idea to have your script open as well to make sure that you don’t miss any lines or directions. Be aware when placing the lines together that you want to be sure that timing or the space in between them is appropriate. For a comedy, you may have lines closer together to make the humor more punchy. For a drama, some dramatic pauses and hesitations can help bring out the emotions. Of course, the actors should have already followed the script direction, but if they recorded their lines without anyone else, then you may have to put their lines closer together with others’ lines to make it sound more natural. If you recorded lines over the web, Internet delay may also need to be mitigated.
Make sure to clean up the actors’ audio while in post-production. Just because it may have been recorded in a quiet room with no reverb (echo), there may be things you need to remove. Things like computer fan noise, extra breaths, and such will need to be removed. You also need to make sure to have the voices sound like they’re in the environment called out in the script. Things like EQ (equalization) and filters will help with this. If your characters are outside in a park, you don’t want to hear reverb that sounds like they’re in a living room. If they’re in a cave and you don’t hear any echo, you’re going to need to add that.
Next up is SFX (sound effects). Without SFX, your audio drama would not sound lively. Just think of the scene in Plan B, Part 2: Collision Course where Jack is in the back of the cab bouncing back and forth. The actor’s lines and vocal Foley (efforts) would sound pretty silly if you didn’t actually hear him hitting the door or moving around the seat.
Hopefully, your script already calls out the locations of scenes and actions happening in it. Now you just need to find sound effects to match. While there are huge libraries of SFX out there, if you don’t have a budget for your production or a small one, there are some resources that will help you out. Freesound is a great place to find over 600,000 SFX. Just be aware that your ability to use them will depend on the license attached to each sound. Some of them you’re required to give the creator of that sound credit, some you can’t use in a commercial project (make money off your audio drama) and some are public domain that you can do pretty much whatever you want with that sound. Another great website to find SFX is Pixabay. That website has more than just SFX but we’ll talk about this site again soon.
If you can’t find a SFX that fits your needs, you can record your own! AIO has done many behind the scenes videos where the sound designers show how they record Foley (footsteps, cloth movement, doors, etc.). You want your character’s movements to be heard as well as the lines.
Also, you may have to change the sound of your SFX. Not every SFX is going to sound like it happens in the environment of the story. You may need to do some cleanup or EQ on it to make it gel well with everything else. You may also need to use multiple SFX to make just one. Get creative and have fun with this! It’s the most fun part of the post-production in my opinion. Don’t forget to add ambiance. Birds singing, road traffic, central air, and other background sounds are essential to make your scenes sound real.
Usually, the last major phase in making an audio drama is music. You have two options: compose the music yourself (or have someone else compose it) or use stock music. If you or a friend has musical skills, go for it! It’s a great way to learn a different style of music.
For the best audio dramas, like Adventures in Odyssey, having original music tailored to the lines and actions is the best way to go. However, even Odyssey has used stock music for some episodes. It may surprise you but all the music (minus the AIO theme music) in The Day Independence Came came from a music library. Of course, that music is iconic now and works so well with the story and patriotic theme that you probably couldn’t tell.
That said, it is very hard to find the right music to fit your audio drama from a library. Not only do you have to find the right mood, genre, etc. but you also want all the music cues to sound like the same person composed them all. On top of that, you also have to edit the music cues to the length needed. You might have a 3 minute long music cue but only need 20 seconds. That’s going to take some effort to trim it down to what you need and make it sound natural with fades and such. It’s not impossible but it’s doable.
Again, there are a lot of different music libraries where you can find tracks to use in your project. Just take notice: licensing for music is even more tricky than for sound effects. Make sure to look through the terms and conditions and other related material of how and where you can use that music. Even if you aren’t going to be making money off your audio drama, using someone’s music without permission or incorrectly can land you in some hot water.
If you want to avoid the headaches of all this, here are a few places where you can get some music to use for free. Kevin MacLeod is media producers’ best friend. He composes music tracks for anyone to use. You can find them on his website called Incompetech. You can download and use his music in just about anything in just about any form if you give him attribution. If you want to get a file with higher quality as a WAV instead of an MP3, you can buy licenses for the tracks you use at a decent price. He’s also made a website called FreePD. It’s where he’s put a bunch of his music tracks that haven’t been used that much and put them into the public domain. In other words, you can use the music on that site commercially or personally with no attribution. It’s a really great resource for those with little to no money to spend on their project. Pixabay also has several music tracks you can use but with a little more restrictions than FreePD has.
Once you get your music in, it’s a good idea to go back and make sure all your volume levels for voices, SFX, and music are all good. This is known as mixing. This may be the hardest thing about making your audio drama. You don’t want something to sound too quiet or too loud. A good way to test it is to play your production on a variety of devices. As many people listen with headphones or earbuds, you want to make sure that sounds the best it can be in that way. However, it’s good to test the audio and see how it sounds on other setups like your phone speaker or your car stereo. Make sure nothing sounds muddy or too bright in those listening setups. Another suggestion is to get someone who has not heard your production yet and, preferably, not involved in the project to listen to it and give feedback. Another set of ears will help you get a better picture if what you’ve created sonically translates well to other people.
The Art’s the Thing
Okay, so the audio is all done. But now it’s time to think visually. You need a good cover art for your production. People will judge a book by its cover despite people telling them not to. Good artwork and design will catch someone’s eye and then hopefully their ears afterwards. It may even be recognized for some awards. AIO won for Best Cover Art for Album 67 and Album 69 in the 2019 and 2020 ATC Seneca Awards respectively.
You can have someone else create an artwork for you, but it’s gotten a lot easier for people that don’t know much about graphic design to create great work. Some free online tools like Canva and Adobe Express make it super simple to create compelling graphics to accompany your audio drama.
Distribution
You’ve produced your audio drama. You have some good artwork. Now it’s ready to be heard. But how will people hear it? If you were in the 1980s, you’d have to contact radio stations or get your production put on cassette tapes. If you wanted more than just your immediate family and friends to hear your work, you would have had a tough road to get it out there. Thankfully, you’re living in the 2020s.
It’s super easy to get your audio drama out there. One of the easiest ways is to make a podcast. This will help you get onto major music and podcast platforms. The best free podcast hosting site is Spotify for Podcasters (formerly known as Anchor.fm). Don’t worry about the name. This service will get your podcast on not just Spotify but also Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories. There are some more robust and advanced tools you can get on paid podcast hosting sites. However, if you’re just starting out or don’t have the money to do so right now, this is a good way to go. You can always migrate your podcast to another host later.
Dramafy is another great option for your audio drama. It’s a streaming platform for audio dramas, kind of like the AIO Club but with more than one show available to hear. You can submit your audio drama to be hosted there with other audio dramas. As long as it meets their standards of family-friendliness, it will likely be accepted. The nice thing about this option is that people will more likely see your show here than in a podcast directory with millions of other podcasts. Plus, you can get paid for the streams your production gets. There’s a free (with ads) and premium tier subscription for listeners to Dramafy so there’s no barrier for people to listen to your audio drama if they’re not sure about dropping some money to hear your first production.
Audio.com and SoundCloud are some good options for content distribution. Both of these sites are kind of like the YouTube of audio. You can upload your production for free on those sites and get comments and reviews on your production.
If you want to sell your audio drama, you can get it on digital stores like Amazon MP3 and Apple Music with distribution platforms like DistroKid or CD Baby. The latter option will also give you the ability to make a physical version of your production (CD, vinyl, or USB drive). Some other options are Gumroad and Bandcamp. Bandcamp makes it easier for you to get paid quicker than going through a middleman company to get you paid from Amazon or Apple. Bandcamp has its own store for listeners to buy music there. It’s not just music sold there. Will Ryan and Katie Leigh’s audiobook for Adventures in Oddity is on Bandcamp, too! Gumroad lets you have your own storefront that gives you a more independent setup so your product doesn’t get lost in a sea of other productions. You can see some examples of some audio drama stores on Gumroad from Eternal Future Productions and The Church at Trestle Falls.
Now, just because you put your audio drama to any of these places doesn’t mean you should just sit back and wait for the downloads or purchases to just roll in. You need to market it. Text the links to your work with your friends and family (make sure not to spam them). Post it on your social media. Contact other audio drama producers and ask them to give you feedback. Make sure to let Audio Theatre Central know about it through their news submission form. (Politely) ask your actors and other people involved with the project to share it with their circle of friends.
The Next Thing after the Last Thing
What happens after that? Take a step back from your work. After hearing it over and over (and over) again, it’s good to give yourself some distance from it. Read the feedback you get. Honestly consider all positive and negative criticisms. Listen to The Way of the Comic Book if you need some great advice about that.
I’m sure after you post your audio drama, there are things that you’ll realize you should have done differently. That’s to be expected. Take those ideas and the feedback you’ve received, along with the experience you’ve acquired during this process, and make your second audio drama!
To be honest, your first audio drama (or any other first-time making of anything) will likely be the worst you’ll ever make. Mine was too. Don’t think of that as a bad thing. It just means your best work is ahead of you. You’ll know what not to do next time and more of what you should do. Just keep creating! The more you work on your craft, the better you’ll become and the better audio dramas you’ll make. As a wise old man is fondly remembered for saying, “The best is yet to come.”
Austin Peachey has been a life-long listener to all kinds of audio drama. Adventures in Odyssey being one of them. He hosts Odyssey Geek, a fan podcast where he and other fans review AIO episodes and discuss the show in detail. Austin is a frequent contributor to Audio Theatre Central, writing blog posts and guest hosting the podcast. He also runs a kids audio drama series of his own called FaithFilled Stories. Austin is currently the Audio Content Producer at HeartMatters where he oversees the production of audio dramas for the ministry.
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