Shimojima in the audio jungle part 1

Hey guys,

If you're getting this newsletter for the first time -- it's where I list some things I come across or am reflecting on. If you don't want it, you can unsubscribe whenever with the link at the very bottom.

Finally sending another edition. A year since the last. Too much going on. This happened. And this happened. And I made a decision on one of my long-form projects, which then ate up so much time outside of contract work. I'll be releasing it soon...

... and here's some BTS insight:

1. GENERAL MUSINGS.
   
   For all the talk of "diverse" cultural, racial, and other identity group stories in mainstream entertainment and media, there's increasingly a lack of diverse themes and thinking. Actually, something that might've been acceptable a decade ago may very likely be controversial by today's standards.
   
   If you wanna be provocative -- and why not? -- then now could be a good time.
   

2. Making something has never been easier. Definitely use those efficiencies.... Just keep standards high.
   

3. MARCH - MAY 2023
   
   A year ago, a producing partner and I were trying to attach high-profile talent to this Project through his agent and manager connects. Some didn't respond. Some were too busy. One said it wasn't his cup of tea. One was reachable for a moment, then his managers parted from him.
   
   Top performers have always had limited avails. That's probably more the case now with so many content options. And companies, agents, etc etc., have increasingly burrowed into their own things. On top of that, this Project is likely more suited to non-establishment sensibilities, and that cuts our options.
   
   I also spoke with a few casting directors, and the general message was, you can't rely on name talent to attract financing anymore -- the presales market is uncertain. What happens if you attach a name that sales reps say can get you financed, and that turns out not to be the case?  You're stuck.  If you want to make sure you get a film made, especially without a name director or producer, that financing needs to be accessible to you first.
   
   This specific Project doesn't have that.
   And it wants to be told now.
   And it needs significant money to do it right.  Right?  If it's a film, yes... but...

4. ENTER THE PODCAST -- AND THE AUDIO DRAMA
   
   A bunch are narrated in a straightforward way.
   
   Some are ongoing series.
   
   Some are pretty cinematic, even being called podcast movies... but the movies they're modeled on are kinda straightforward in genre and structure.
   
   There's an opening in this medium for more stories made like auteur cinema, but also uniquely audio.
   

5. MAY - JUNE 2023: SCRIPT
   
   Taking the screenplay and translating it into an audio drama was a 2-3 week process. I felt it would need a narrator to some extent, and it was best to build that into the story world.
   
   There isn't an established script format for this kind of material, so I made my own.
   This. Into this.
   
   So a ~2hr movie became a ~3.5hr audio drama in 11 episodes. The added time mostly comes from narration, context, and recap segments.
   
   No second season -- some stories call for a condensed story arc. I've always preferred this duration range, as it forces you to hone in on the specific beats that can be digested in one sitting, while also giving room to play.
   

6. JUNE 2023: AI VOICES
   
   There are tons of character voices in this, so to keep it manageable, I was planning to record all parts myself and use speech-to-speech AI to get different voices.
   
   The quality's not great yet.  This one's a bit better, but has less selection. Overall, there's not enough variety in accents, ages, and vocal range. I would've had to train my own voice models off of real people, which defeats the purpose, and even then, they're all going to end up with your speech cadence, because they're morphed out of your performance.
   
   That said, these sites would prove useful for smaller things, like media snippets and background voices.
   

7. JUNE - JULY 2023: SAG
   
   At the same time, I was signing a fairly new type of podcast agreement to work with SAG talent, and SAG was very wary about all this AI stuff.  The strike had just started, and while it didn't involve these types of audio productions, AI was a general issue.  They heard my case -- that I wouldn't be able to make my project unless I used some publicly available AI voices -- and luckily they approved.
   

8. This became a SAG IndiePod. When I saw the qualifications for MicroPod, I thought that might be the way to go.  It would exempt me from the extra contribution fee (20% on top of total talent payments, to go to the SAG health plan -- something I had never had to do... and which is an overkill of paperwork for DIY projects where talent fees are so low.)
   
   On the other hand, SAG IndiePod would be necessary if I got a big name involved...
   

9. JUNE 2023: STARS
   
   I felt confident I could get funding for 1 high-profile talent -- probably no more than 1 full day. Having that name would surely attract the investors and production teams.
   
   I got more agent replies for this than I did for the film, but I quickly found that the large fee I proposed was actually very low-end. I had no clue what this kind of voice work costs. It's insane.
   
   One agent gave me a list of talent that would be more in range. Some recognizable people, but no one that would truly raise the publicity of the project. Not worth it.
   
   Agents did try the bigger talent for me anyways... Cate Blanchett and Ethan Hawke said thank you but were busy. Tilda Swinton got my offer letter and passed -- not big enough a project, or the material wasn't for her (though I've liked her candor, even if it was late to the game)... Chris Pine and others couldn't be reached.
   

10. So the MicroPod agreeement was seeming possible... except that once you start casting under one contract, it's complicated to switch to another, yadayadayada, okay, so whatever, IndiePod it was meant to be...  IndiePod would open up more casting submissions.  It would allow monetization if I wanted. It would make everything easier, except the ending paperwork. And for any non-union talent hired, it counts toward the requirements to help them join SAG.
    
    (Also FYI, though the MicroPod contract is available to anyone, apparently it's meant for SAG members wanting to get their feet wet on non-professional podcasts.)
    

11. JUNE - JULY 2023: GEAR
    
    I don't do audio work professionally.  I had to do a lot of research.
    
    I got a recording booth that I could set up in a corner of my place, long-term, and not have to break down and set back up each time. It's not soundproof, but it limits room reflection so the sound is better to work with. My place is quiet except for occasional distant planes/choppers, and software can clean that up. AI can do a good job, but right now is more suited for things that don't require much performance range.  Izotope RX is still better. You could likely work with the Elements package.  The Standard package had a free trial period, but I don't see it there currently.
    
    You could also do a very simple setup. Or build your own booth.
    
    I got a good shotgun mic, typically used for shoots, as I wanted my dialogue to feel closer to on-location recordings.  You don't exactly need the industry standard MKH 416 -- this one's a better value.
    
    I got a condenser mic that has a similar sound to the gold standard, and I used it for a few scenes where the character speaks into a stage mic.   Then I returned it. Not enough other uses for it.
    
    I already had a good enough recorder from my feature film Alberto.
    
    I got cheap closed-back headphones just to monitor the record.
    
    For working on the audio, I got semi-open headphones -- which have a more natural, balanced sound. This one has good expert reviews, but the ear pads can hurt after an hour, so I changed those out.
    
    And I got a near-silent fan, because the booth traps heat. Recording shirtless became standard for me.
    
    Don't forget a simple stand. And shock mount. And pop filter.
    

12. JULY 2023 - WINTER: CASTING AND RECORDING
    
    I'm always willing to put up casting calls.  Things are easier in your own hands. Gubi Chiriboga helped this time. In the past I was hesitant
    to put my name on these posts -- you can get unwanted
    direct emails -- but I realized, if your name's on there,
    your IMDb starmeter will be boosted due to the upsurge in searches.
    
    We posted for the major roles, as well as the side roles I wouldn't be able to do with AI. Rather than cast the entire series at once, we did 2-3 episodes at a time, allowing me to work on the edits in between and troubleshoot.  It also meant starmeter got a boost each time.
    

13. The audio format opens you to talent across the country. You can easily record remotely.
    
    While at my place in NY, I recorded some big roles fully remotely: 2 great performers in LA, 1 in New Orleans, 1 in NY.
    
    Several performers came to my recording booth.  I unplugged my fridge -- which is next to the booth -- so the noise wouldn't suddenly kick in.
    
    Other performers recorded themselves in various home setups. Keep in mind, this will give you variations in quality. Mics will sometimes be too low-fi.  Some controls may be lacking, resulting in recordings over-modulating. All to be expected.
    
    What I didn't expect was for the studios I booked to have issues. This one in LA is clearly more accustomed to musicians putting down vocals. I was communicating with the actor through FaceTime, and at one point I heard a band rehearsing in an adjacent booth. That meant it was definitely messing up our recording, yet the engineer didn't address it until I called it out.
    
    The recording also had electromagnetic interference -- beeping, digital static -- likely due to the proximity of the phone/FaceTime. Luckily, Izotope RX can clean this up too.
    
    The New Orleans studio had an open layout rather than a vocal booth, and a fan system that was running the entire time, which I only learned about when the engineer mentioned it halfway through the session.  Again, thankfully fixable, but this all takes time, especially when you're not a pro.
    
    Research the right recording space.  These ones recommended to me specialize in music, and while there's overlap, it's clearly not the same!  Get the ones that do film and dubbing work daily, like this other one I used. Slightly more expensive, but they gave a me a great deal on their downtime hours.
    

14. I would've loved to get scene partners in the same room, acting together and moving more freely with headset mics, as was done on Homecoming.  But it would've severely complicated the schedule and budget. You learn from experience what's too much to handle. So instead I trusted I'd be able to fake it in the edit.  As a video editor that frequently edits audio (just typically lined to video), and as the writer who knew how these lines would bounce off each other, I felt I could direct the talent knowing enough of the context.  All of the cast members were recorded separately.
    
    On talent's script copies, I added bits in the margins for us to record -- responses, sounds, suggestions, etc -- to fill space under narration, and to glue the back-and-forth interactions more naturally.  You can't include all of that in the script body without bogging it down. Or without losing some of the life, making something concrete that isn't, ruining the quantum nature of it... Sometimes I find myself veering too far toward that. It's good to hold back, saving it for production and post-production.

In Part 2, I'll continue with that assembly process...

Chris