my audio drama is dead

[HELMER]

hello friends, i'm afraid i have some bad news.

many of you know that for the last couple years i had been working on a large scale audio drama adaptation of HP Lovecraft's The Hound. it was the most ambitious artistic project i'd ever taken on, and also the one to which i had committed more than anything before it. i just wanted to address this publicly because i know there are people here who were looking forward to its completion; but i'm sorry, that is not going to happen.

the process of adapting the script was hard work, but also entertaining, and i learned quite a lot from the notes, conversations, and feedback i received from my friends and colleagues kind enough to read and respond to what i had written. and after that was completed, this process also provided my first encounter with casting, and that too was an enjoyable and educational experience. i was very surprised by how wide and talented a field from which i had to choose was.

a close friend of mine, The Beard, an audio engineer, recorded and was signed on to produce the project. the recording sessions ranged from tremendously fun to tediously insufferable, but on every occasion i at least had the chance to begin learning how to direct actors, and i got better at it as the recording progressed.

The Beard and i eventually finished recording the actors, and were approximately half way through editing the monologues and dialogues before taking a break last spring. unfortunately, due to several mistakes entirely of my own making, this editing process was overwhelmingly arduous; and time and again we found ourselves taking one phrase from one take, one phrase from another, and then The Beard would perform his surgery and sew them together.

we never even got to what would likely have been the most exciting phase of the project, that being the larger sound design and effects; and that's to say nothing of the motion comics which were being prepared by another artist to provide a visual element to the project, and the amazing original score we had secured therefor.

it just got to the point that i had made so many mistakes, and their fixing would have required a significant amount of backtracking and reworking, that the plug had to be pulled. i have to say i'm plainly devastated. to invest so much time, emotional and creative energy into something like this, only to fail, has been pretty crushing. this was something i was so excited about, something i was proud to tell people about when they asked me what i had been up to, and now it won't amount to anything.

i'm happy for the experience with regard to adaptation, writing, and project development, and i'm happy to have learned so much about the casting and directing processes, but this is the worst end possible. when the project was still alive, there were times in which i became extremely frustrated, knowing things weren't perfect, and telling myself, i just want this to be GOOD, a learning experience isn't enough for this kind of effort, and now i'm not even getting an imperfect product, i'm not getting anything at all.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

I actually didn't know you were doing an audio drama at all.

Sorry to hear though, bud.

Everyone like Helmer's post, Mayberry.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

I'm a big Lovecraft fan, btw.

 

[HelloJapan]

I remember telling tron about this a while back, but I worked with a band years ago that is MAJORLY influenced by Lovercraft. This strikes a chord. So sorry Helmer!

Here's a couple of tunes from that group, you might hear/see the Lovercraft vibe. We got to open for Gwar on that tour.

 

[HelloJapan]

hello friends, i'm afraid i have some bad news.

many of you know that for the last couple years i had been working on a large scale audio drama adaptation of HP Lovecraft's The Hound. it was the most ambitious artistic project i'd ever taken on, and also the one to which i had committed more than anything coming before it. i just wanted to address this publicly because i know there are people here who were looking forward to its completion; but i'm sorry, that is not going to happen.

the process of adapting the script was hard work, but also entertaining, and i learned quite a lot from the notes, conversations, and feedback i received from my friends and colleagues kind enough to read and respond to what i had written. and after that was completed, this process also provided my first encounter with casting, and that too was an enjoyable and educational experience. i was very surprised by how wide and talented a field from which i had to choose.

a close friend of mine, The Beard, an audio engineer, recorded and was signed on to produce the project. the recording sessions ranged from tremendously fun to tediously insufferable, but on every occasion i at least had the chance to begin learning how to direct actors, and i got better at it as the recording progressed.

The Beard and i eventually finished recording the actors, and were approximately half way through editing the monologues and dialogues before taking a break last spring. unfortunately, due to several mistakes entirely of my own making, this editing process was overwhelmingly arduous; and time and again we found ourselves taking one phrase from one take, one phrase from another, and then The Beard would perform his surgery and sew them together.

we never even got to what may have been the most entertaining phase of the project, that being the larger sound design and effects; and that's to say nothing of the motion comics which were being prepared by another artist to provide a visual element to the project, and the amazing original score we had secured therefor.

it just got to the point that i had made so many mistakes, and their fixing would have required a significant amount of backtracking and reworking, that the plug had to be pulled. i have to say i'm plainly devastated. to invest so much time, emotional and creative energy into something like this, only to fail, has been pretty crushing. this was something i was so excited about, something i was proud to tell people about when they asked me what i had been up to, and now it won't amount to anything.

i'm happy for the experience with regard to adaptation, writing, and project development, and i'm happy to have learned so much about the casting and directing processes, but this is the worst end possible. when the project was still alive, there were times in which i became extremely frustrated, knowing things weren't perfect, and telling myself, i just want this to be GOOD, a learning experience isn't enough for this kind of effort, and now i'm not even getting an imperfect product, i'm not getting anything at all.

Don't quit! Maybe you can express this vision in a different medium? One not involving so much tedious work. I know engineer guys that do crazy editing work, that shit gets...ARGH!

 

[Irenaeus]

I hadn't picked up on this, but that sucks to hear none the less. I hope you're able to benefit somehow from this none the less. That you can use some of it, or at least that it can be a good learning experience.

Huge Lovecraft fan, btw. Cool project.

 

[Kick Strickland]

Sorry Helmer

 

[Loiosh]

Helmer,

I have never attempted anything of this magnitude so I cannot even begin to understand how you're feeling, but you have my sympathies.

I appreciate that right now you must be pretty devastated, but somewhere down the road you'll be able to pull something positive from this experience. They say the best learned lessons come when we do not achieve our goals, and I believe this is true. I do not know what this cost you in terms of resources and energy, but it is my earnest wish that you find it in yourself to try again and use this experience to create something that far surpasses what you had imagined the first time around.

Keep your chin up, most people never even try.

 

[Medical Marijuana Man]

Helmer is still #1 to me. Keep your head up buddy.

 

[GhostZ06]

Elite dangerous has audio dramas, Warhammer has audio drama, and i think battletech does as well? i could be wrong

 

[SpaceCommissar]

I wish had something better to say, but no. Sorry to hear this, Helmer.

 

[HELMER]

I actually didn't know you were doing an audio drama at all.

Sorry to hear though, bud.

Everyone like Helmer's post, Mayberry.

thanks Bobby

i really appreciate it

I remember telling tron about this a while back, but I worked with a band years ago that is MAJORLY influenced by Lovercraft. This strikes a chord. So sorry Helmer!

Here's a couple of tunes from that group, you might hear/see the Lovercraft vibe. We got to open for Gwar on that tour.

interesting, i'll have to check out those songs

and thank you for your kind words

Don't quit! Maybe you can express this vision in a different medium? One not involving so much tedious work. I know engineer guys that do crazy editing work, that shit gets...ARGH!

your encouragement means so much to me, HelloJapan, thank you

your idea is a good one, and one i've spent some time on, but at this point i think my efforts would be better spent on something else

probably something with less moving parts and participants, as in the end i was unable to manage on this scale

I hadn't picked up on this, but that sucks to hear none the less. I hope you're able to benefit somehow from this none the less. That you can use some of it, or at least that it can be a good learning experience.

Huge Lovecraft fan, btw. Cool project.

thanks, yeah, i was really excited for this, and the vision was pretty grand

if i'd had been able to make this happen i'd have been more proud of it than anything i'd ever done

i'm better prepared for whatever i attempt next, there's no doubt there, but losing this one hurts

Sorry Helmer

thanks Kick

thank you for coming in and talking with me

Helmer,

I have never attempted anything of this magnitude so I cannot even begin to understand how you're feeling, but you have my sympathies.

I appreciate that right now you must be pretty devastated, but somewhere down the road you'll be able to pull something positive from this experience. They say the best learned lessons come when we do not achieve our goals, and I believe this is true. I do not know what this cost you in terms of resources and energy, but it is my earnest wish that you find it in yourself to try again and use this experience to create something that far surpasses what you had imagined the first time around.

Keep your chin up, most people never even try.

Loiosh,

thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful post

i'd always regretted being someone who'd never done something like this, and i was so greatly anticipating becoming someone who had

hopefully there's still a chance somewhere down the line

Helmer is still #1 to me. Keep your head up buddy.

thanks man!

i'll try!

Elite dangerous has audio dramas, Warhammer has audio drama, and i think battletech does as well? i could be wrong

interesting

i think the audio drama is such great format

i wish we saw more of it these days

I wish had something better to say, but no. Sorry to hear this, Helmer.

tbh just hearing some supportive voices goes a long way

i'm so grateful for all of the friendly responses

 

[Loiosh]

Loiosh,

thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful post

i'd always regretted being someone who'd never done something like this, and i was so greatly anticipating becoming someone who had

hopefully there's still a chance somewhere down the line

You ARE someone who has done this, even if you didn't make it to the finish line.

If you ever try again, will you be the same person trying? No, you will be someone with a mountain of relevant experience.

Think about everything you learned on this journey and what you would do differently next time.

The biggest successes in history were built on all the attempts that didn't get there.

 

[Simian Raticus]

What a cool project to undertake.

I hope you try again. Sounds like you'll have a lot of experiential knowledge to work with now.

 

[M3t4tr0n]

Sorry to hear bro. Don't give up tho. Also please continue to feed us likes.

 

[EARLOBE]

Unfortunate that you didn't get to complete it, but at least now you have that experience under your belt if you wish to try something like this in the future.

I did not know anything about this until now, but would love to have heard it.

 

[DevilsLettuce]

 

[DeepCover]

Sorry to hear that man. Do you think, years from now, you'll regret not seeing it through to completion?

 

[saugeye killah]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is wrong with the audio? Maybe I can help? I have some experience with this stuff. I know what it's like to have a failed/abandoned project and I know what it's like to finish something too.

Sounds like a great project. Maybe after taking a breather and a step back, you can jump back in and finish it after all.

 

[HELMER]

Unfortunate that you didn't get to complete it, but at least now you have that experience under your belt if you wish to try something like this in the future.

I did not know anything about this until now, but would love to have heard it.

thanks man

i wish you could have heard it too

Sorry to hear that man. Do you think, years from now, you'll regret not seeing it through to completion?

interesting thought, i'd say it depends on whether or not i write something else

i'd like to hope that i can bring myself to do it again, but i'm not very good at long term projects, and there's a reason this was the first i brought as far as i did

so, "no" if i use the energy it would have taken to finish this on something else, and "yes" if i never manage to do that

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is wrong with the audio? Maybe I can help? I have some experience with this stuff. I know what it's like to have a failed/abandoned project and I know what it's like to finish something too.

Sounds like a great project. Maybe after taking a breather and a step back, you can jump back in and finish it after all.

thank you, that's very gracious of you to offer your help

with regard tot he audio, remaining faithful to the source material, there were very many passages in the piece that would have been challenging for even polished, established actors, and were certainly overwhelming for the talent available to us for this budgetarily modest endeavor

that being the case, a significant amount of the editing required copying and pasting different sections from different takes, to point of using multiple components for a single sentence, in order to achieve the desired effect

i've since realized what could have been done differently on the recording side to ameliorate that issue, but it's far too late for that now

What a cool project to undertake.

I hope you try again. Sounds like you'll have a lot of experiential knowledge to work with now.

i'll tell ya, it was supposed to be special, the first serious writing i was hoping to put my name on, and not being able to has felt pretty awful; but like you and others have said, at least i'll be better equipped in the future

You ARE someone who has done this, even if you didn't make it to the finish line.

If you ever try again, will you be the same person trying? No, you will be someone with a mountain of relevant experience.

Think about everything you learned on this journey and what you would do differently next time.

The biggest successes in history were built on all the attempts that didn't get there.

that's true

i think i will do a better job if i give it another shot

i wish i had something to show for this one, but at least i won't repeat my mistakes moving forward

thanks again for the encouragement!

hahaha!

that's great!

Sorry to hear bro. Don't give up tho. Also please continue to feed us likes.

oh you KNOW it!