C O N T E X T O F P R A C T I C E : OUAN601 - Audio Phone Call Segment, Finding Voice Actors & Communication

When I decided I wanted to make a small scale transmedia franchise to illustrate the notion of immersion it dawned on me that perhaps one of the best ways to do this was to provide not just a range of media but a diverse type, and one that encourages all of the audiences senses to be used. This allows for an impression on the audience from multiple senses and could in turn relate to their perceived authenticity of a world. I had several ideas for audio segments from recorded messages to radio broadcasts which could still be done if the project was expanded in the future. I chose to create three scripts for three separate phone call conversations that diverge to the same point where communication is lost within the story world on the night of 'the event'. The idea was to have some explanation of why electronic devices aren't working and provide some more context for the ensuing chaos after the event takes place.

At first I was unsure how to get the scripts recorded so in the meantime I spent a few days writing the scripts themselves with the consideration that they have to be roughly the same length and for the purpose of interest, diverse in their nature and participants. I created a total of three scripts one with two friends, one with a girl and a boy character and a conversation between a mother, father and son. My goal was to create three distinct conversations that when overlaid would mix into the audio but when listened to carefully could be distinguished. This is interesting because it is almost as if the audience has to decipher the audio for any clues to the nature of the event for example, which isn't mentioned anywhere in the earlier stages of the project. There are some lines of dialogue within the mixed conversations that allude to what they can see and hear, darkness outside the window, no power, and a blue flash to name a few.

I spent some time listening to voice actors online through their sound clouds that were found using different forums and voice acting websites before I came across someone called 'Carson Beck'. After listening to some of the work in his portfolio I got into contact with him and explain what I was hoping to have recorded before we came to an agreement on a suitable payment. From here I sent him a revised script that included a lot of different notes about intonation and the way certain lines in particular should be read. I tried to provide as many details as possible about the story world too so that the voice actors weren't working without a context :

'Allow me to provide some context for the scripts. For this particular project [which the scripts were written for] I am creating a transmedia narrative in which there is an 'event' that changes the world. I'm trying to be ambiguous about the nature of the event in the material I'm creating so that the different narratives can be expanded on where necessary without any technical loopholes etc. The scripts I sent to you are three separate phone calls, all of which take place at the time of the 'event' hence the abrupt ending to each one. Once the scripts are recorded they will act as some context for the audience and act as one 'entry point' into the story world that I am attempting to create. Hopefully that makes sense, if you have any questions about the scripts themselves let me know.'

After this he started recording different segments and sent them to me regularly so that I could give them the okay or decide if anything needed revising further based on what I had envisioned for the dialogue. Within a few days the three scripts had been recorded using a total of three voice actors and actresses for the different roles within the scripts. Finally, one thing I have learnt from attempting to utilise the transmedia method is that everything is the potential for a story, and this is no different. From a simple audio clip, 7 new characters were introduced and an unlimited number of questions raised about them.