The 5 Minute Short

I am not formally schooled in script writing, sound design, composing, or any of the other parts of being a sole creator of an upcoming full horror / suspense / investigation audio drama.

I can’t claim to have any great credentials or achievements to my name. However, I have always been creative and had a passion for storytelling and ‘sound’.

Yes, I have been working with creating audio for over a quarter of a century. I trained as a classical musician before deciding that graphic design was my future and so it was for a couple of decades. I have always written and formed ideas and stories in my head – there are lots of unfinished projects that attest to this. There are other finished projects that have long since disappeared from public view and many others that even though complete will never enter public view. I have since the age of thirteen voraciously consumed books and audio drama and more recently books on creating audio drama. I am it must be said, quite opinionated about audio creation. I don’t actually care what anyone else thinks as to if I am right or wrong, and I mean that in the nicest way possible, but I don’t. And that isn’t to say that I don’t learn from others or value advice – I do. It’s just I make my own mind up and I like to experiment and to see where I can go and not where someone else has been or thinks I should go. I don’t look for ‘conventional’ wisdom and take it as gospel.

I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my own projects. I couldn’t imagine having anyone else with a metaphorical finger in the pie when it comes to my own projects. I do my thing and I do me.

I don’t care about conventions, what is expected, rules written or unwritten. The main thing to me is to just try. No, not try – to just create. I also like to create the entire thing. From story to sound design to final production because for me each element is as intrinsically important to the endeavour. I can hear the music and sounds before the script is completed. They go hand in hand – so how could anyone else provide any of those elements for me? They can’t.

Now I may not be formally trained but that is not to say that I haven’t attempted to learn the various ‘crafts. It isn’t to say that I haven’t put (and most certainly in the areas of sound design and production) thousands of hours into practicing them or creating, which is a learning process in and of itself.

So, you may ask – what is this outpouring of justification leading to…

Firstly, this behind the scenes is my place to spew forth my thoughts or at least when I feel the need to.

Secondly it leads into a new idea.

It wasn’t that long ago that I semi announced the current project which hasn’t yet seen the light of day in terms of being ‘out there’.  It is in the early stages of production with two episodes written and recorded and the third batch of scripts soon to go out. One of the downsides (maybe) of being a sole creator who also had a day job, is that it takes time. I am also really taking my time with the project as I want it to be the best that I can create, at least the best I can create for now with my current level of experience. I suppose I should mention the project! Paranormal Nation – a full audio drama series based around four YouTube paranormal investigators with somewhat of a Cthulhu twist.

However, ideas are always buzzing around in my head. Forming and solidifying. Knowing that Paranormal Nation was some way off release I started to think a little wider. I realised I wanted something a little quicker to create but that was also something that would link in and as it turns out support the main project. This wasn’t about creating some totally separate project, it was about something complementary to the main idea.

The idea that took shape was one of five-minute audio shorts. There had been a discussion somewhere about traditional programming lengths, the 15-minute serial, the 30-minute series, the 60-to-90-minute standalone. Those numbers are rounded as they vary a little in traditional broadcasting to allow for news, weather and adverts.

It would be a bit of a scripting challenge. I am new to full scripting having only scripted supporting segments before Paranormal Nation. The scripts for Paranormal Nation have been reasonably easy to write, and in one episode there are several scripts, so if one isn’t quite so great it’s not the only one heard and maybe the others will balance things out. That’s what I am hoping anyway, as I say this is new territory for me and let’s be honest my script writing isn’t going to be top notch from season1. However, I hope it will be a good story.

With the five-minute shorts I decided that each one would be an ‘interview’, a research visit by one member of the main cast to support the main production. They would individually and collectively foreshadow future events, provide background into the events of the main story and into the main characters. Once completed they would release possibly monthly before the main series releases, hopefully paving the way and gaining some interest for what is to come.

So far, I have written two of at least four standalones. These have gone out to the voice actors for recording, and I have already created the main theme music and the outro ‘music’ for the series and in the case of the outro’s - two, as each short has its own ‘feel’ and the outro is designed to fit.

This has been quite fun. The creation of two very different feeling outro music pieces has been interesting to play around with. It has also been rewarding to create two very different feeling scrips for a single series. Playing around with different styles has been quite refreshing in terms of both the writing and the music. I am starting on the third script as I type this, and I am not yet quite sure in what direction that will go. I tend to have an idea and start writing but the story goes where it goes as I write. It isn’t pre-defined. I will know, when I know.

There has been another side to scripting for these audio shorts and something that hadn’t really reared its head for the main series. Is the script strong enough.

For the first time writing these short stand-alone scripts I have had concerns about the strength of the scripts and their ability to stand alone without others to support them. The sound design is also minimal – a single setting. The five minute (or thereabouts) shorts must be strong enough to keep someone engaged and ideally wanting to come back and realistically I want the listener to be excited for the main series they precede.

Although I am in the process of writing the third script and the first and second have had revisions after re-reads and have now been released for recording, I am still not entirely sure. I am second guessing myself. I will know when I cut them together and listen for the first time to the completed audio. It maybe that I am just being oversensitive. I am sure that they aren’t outstanding pieces of writing, however I am almost certain that they aren’t bad. They possibly sit somewhere in the middle, and how am I going to write and produce something of a higher quality if I don’t start somewhere.

See, there is a purpose to this spewing forth of thoughts. They say write things down and they are right, whoever ‘they’ are, because that’s the answer –

- you must do something to get better at it.