A PowerPoint Presentation observing the various aspects and qualities that went into the creation of my finished audiobook.

1. Evaluation
David Lee

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research
• Strengths
• Despite being forced to work from home throughout the duration of this project and
unable to use the usual college software I am accustomed to (such as Adobe Premier
Pro), this did not deter me from developing the product I wanted to make which, after
mooting the possibility of several other ideas (such as a short film or presentation based
on an artist I admire and respect), ultimately took the form of a written short story.
However, due to the complexities of this project, I realised that a just submitted piece
on its own would not be enough and so I resolved to develop an audiobook, using
audiobooks from the Amazon audible app, Homer’s The Odyssey narrated by Sir Ian
McKellen being a particular example as well as radio plays from BBC Sounds, such as the
Lenny Henry serial Day Release, as a source of inspiration, often listening to five or six-
minute snippets where required.
• As I began mapping out the potential story of my audiobook (which would later be
changed following results from a Q&A survey), I began listening to the narration from
the audiobooks I had chosen to research and, in so doing, I came to realise that no one
narrator’s approach to the story they were telling was ever the same. These individual
approaches proved to be particularly helpful during the research phase, as it allowed
me to listen intently to the delivery paces of each narrator which would, in turn, allow
me to develop a delivery of my own when it eventually came time to both write and
record my finished product.

4. Research (cont’d)
• Weaknesses
• Although I am particularly happy with the
audiobooks I chose to help guide my research
forward, I could have easily considered a few
other genres such as epic fantasy, which would
have taken form of researching either The Hobbit
or The Lord of the Rings or spy fiction, such as the
John le Carre classic Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, as a
means of giving the examples displayed in the
exisiting products slide of my research
presentation a slightly more varied range.

5. Planning
• Strengths
• While I had initially mapped out the idea of creating a short film prior to development
of this project, the COVID-19 lockdown in Britain and subsequent closure of the college
permanently put paid to those plans. Fortunately, as I began working from home, I
began to realise that I could still create the short story I had intended to guide my
finished project, albeit in a different capacity from what I had originally intended. To
this end, I began formulating potential ideas and incorporating these into a digital mind
map. As with previous projects, the first would explore some of the potential ideas I had
considered (some linked to my short story, others for a different project altogether).
While some of these undoubtedly showed potential, such as a presentation about Kate
Bush, Lou Reed or Nick Cave, this was ultimately rejected as the extensive amount of
research required about these people would have been time-consuming, but may
potentially prove useful in Level 2, depending on the types of products I will be asked to
create.
• As soon as I had decided on the type of short product I wanted to create, which would
turn out to be a short story in audio format, I immediately began searching for products
similar to the ones I wanted to create. While I was not able to incorporate the actual
audio products in to my PowerPoint, possibly due to download and copyright issues, I
was able to solve this problem almost immediately by searching for the podcast image
linked to the product I was researching and incorporating that into my presentation in
lieu of the aforementioned file.

6. Planning (cont’d)
• Weaknesses
• As a result of York College closing down due to the rapid
spread of coronavirus across the world, as mentioned in the
previous slide, my planning and access to resources for this
project was severely limited, forcing me to rely on sources
outside of college, such as a friend’s iPad, in order to ensure
the development and completion of what would become my
finished audiobook. If I had a Mac laptop instead of an Acer
with Adobe Premier Pro installed, I feel this could have easily
sped things along in terms of editing the finished product
together, thereby allowing me to go through the complex
process I am now used to of uploading my final edit onto
YouTube once more.

7. Time Management
• Strengths
• Despite being uncertain that I wouldn’t be able to complete my final major project from
home efficiently as I would at college, I felt that I was able to rise to the challenge that
stood before me and ensure it was completed on time. This was accomplished via a
tutorial of how to use GarageBand on my friend’s iPad which include important areas
such as recording the narration, creating music, editing and merging files into a singular,
complete, self-contained audiobook as well as uploading any completed write-ups on to
Blogger, which saved a considerable amount of time and put less pressure on me,
despite the fact that stress could easily have threatened to make me fall behind, during
development of the project.
• Weaknesses
• While I am happy with how the overall project turned out, I feel that if I had more time
to write and refine the script as I did with The Cult of Stonehenge during development
of my audio project, I could have developed a second and third act to make the story
feel more complete or, in laymen’s terms, a middle and an end. Once these aspects of
the story had been developed, I would have then proceeded to record the story and
determine which lines and scenes were superfluous to the story and disrupted its flow,
using the highlighter tool on Microsoft Word to mark these clearly. Following this, I
would cut out the scene or line where needed, allowing for a more thorough workload.

8. Technical Qualities
Similarities:
While both the Sherlock Holmes audiobook (left) and my own product
(right) use radically different resources to create their respective covers
(mine, for example, having been created using a pre-existing picture
from Google Images instead of an original image) they nonetheless share
a distinctive visual look in which stark, minimalist colours such as black,
grey and possibly blue (depends on the type of shade being used)
become the forefront of the image itself.
Both audiobooks utilise an original piece of music, appropriate to the
book’s story genre, as a means to introduce the audience to the story
that the narrator is about to unfold as well as to conclude the book after
the story is finished.
Differences:
Although the narrator of the first
audiobook can be clearly heard reading
out the credits for the book over the piece
of music that is playing, the intro and outro
of my book remains completely silent save
for the first part of the story and its title
being read out as the music begins to fade.

9. Aesthetic Qualities
Strengths:
Although my access to creative resources such as Photoshop were severely
limited throughout the duration of this project, which could easily have
threatened to derail the finished product during development, I was able to
utilise Microsoft Publisher as a means of giving my final book cover (pictured
above) the distinctive visual look I was looking for. This was achieved by
incorporating a pre-existing picture off the Internet (in this case, Weobley
Castle in the Gower Peninsula) and changing the picture from automatic (or
standard colour if one prefers) to black and white. I believe this change
works surprisingly well as it gives the impression that the castle was once a
majestic sight to behold but, as a result of its fall to decay, has since been
erased from history, effectively becoming little more than a forgotten
memory
Weaknesses:
Although I am particularly proud with how the look of
the cover has turned out as well as the font used to
create the title itself (which I am unable to identify due
to having not taken notes during development), I am
somewhat concerned about the orange standing out
against the black and white, as some viewers could see
it as being lurid and/or intrusive against what is
otherwise a flawless image. Although this is only a small
issue, I feel it could be improved by finding a paler
colour that almost fades into the background but
simultaneously stands out well against it (a task which
may prove difficult in of itself).

10. Audience Appeal
Having developed my final major project to the best of my ability by utilising resources as extensively as I possibly could
from home, I feel that I have successfully appealed to my primary audience of adults from 25-44 years of age, along with the
additional audiences of young adults, teenagers and, to an extent, children, by creating a fantasy story (or part of one
thereof) that deeply entices them into listening that it leaves them expecting more once it has ended. While I had initially
intended to create a whodunit prior to the genre being changed at the request of the audience majority, a murder mystery
story often demands the complete and full attention of the listener with a beginning, middle and end mapped out in full
with the ending in particular being kept secret so the audience does not know what to expect when the culprit is eventually
revealed. In scrapping my original plan, I feel I have successfully fulfilled the request the majority of the audience have put
before as, while it would have been fun, writing only part of a murder mystery would have left them feeling cheated not
knowing what the lead character’s ultimate fate is. However, as fantasy adventures can often span a different number of
entries in order to tell a full story, the cliffhanger ending could ultimately be used to its advantage, thereby allowing them to
gather their anticipation for a potential second part.

11. Peer
Feedback

12. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– What comes across most strikingly is the clarity of your voice. Your voice seems well suited to this media,
with the words clearly enunciated and a pleasant accent to listen to. The pacing of the reading is well
judged, neither too slow nor too fast. It is a fluent and confident performance. There is an expressive
variety to your intonation, and you make good use of dramatic pauses. I could happily have listened to
much more of this.
– In a short space of time, you manage to conjure up the character of Jo in my mind – I liked how she’s
content being an outsider. You pique my interest using succinct storytelling, emotive phrases (e.g. “dark
underbelly”), and strong visual imagery (e.g. the lantern casting silhouetted shadows on the window; the
laying out of the papers and drawings on the table). The whole thing has a feeling of intrigue and
expectancy about it.
• This is a high-quality recording. It sounds very crisp and professional.
• I liked the music at the beginning and end, which was pleasant, well timed, and unobtrusive.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
• I think you refer to The Ruby of Gower Castle at the beginning, and The Ruby of Gower
Peninsula at the end.
• There were a couple of minor glitches in the recording at 4’39” and 4’42”.
• Another time you could try creating more variety in the characters’ voices – acting into them
a bit more. This would make it easier for a listener to immediately distinguish the characters
of Jo and Laurie during dialogue. It’s also an opportunity to give them distinctive
personalities using things like accent and cadence.

13. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
• The naration of your talking book is very eloquently
done and people of all ages will understand you.
• I like the way you introduce the characters.
• The naration paints a good picture of the characters so
you can let your own imagination paint a picture of the
surroundings.
• What improvements could have been made to the
product?
– It finished to early that was the only disappintment as I am
curious to know how the adventure contines as you leave
us wanting more.

14. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I thought this was brilliant. Interesting and well
narrated story, I was gripped!
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– Despite wracking her brains to determine what
could be improved, the listener (whose identity is
to remain anonymous) felt there was nothing in
the story that needed to be improved.

15. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
– Based on the feedback that my peers have provided, I am genuinely pleased with how
the overall quality of the recording has turned out with at least two of the reviewers
describing my narration (although modesty forbids me to agree on this particular part)
as sounding “crisp and professional” and “eloquently done.” They have also stated that
the way the story is narrated and the characters are described allows them to paint a
picture of the characters in their minds as well as their surroundings.
– While I had not noticed it during production, owing to the time-sensitive schedule I was
working towards, one of the reviewers was very quick to point out a glaring continuity
error when the title of the artefact the two lead characters are searching for is
mentioned. Initially, it is called “The Ruby of Castle Gower” as the prologue is narrated
but, by the time the story’s first half reaches the end it is known as “The Ruby of Gower
Peninsula.” Although I am unable to fix this obvious continuity error now, due to the
recording having been fully edited and converted, I would readily rewrite the script to
acknowledge “The Ruby of Castle Gower” is indeed the artefact’s true name.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
– Although I agree that the story ends too early and could easily have carried on directly
from it left off, I do not think there would have been enough time during this module to
carry out this task. However, if I were to start this project from scratch, I would fully map
out a beginning, middle and an end told over four or five different parts, each covering a
different section of the adventure.

16. Peer Feedback Summary
Based on the feedback provided by my peers, I would readily make the following changes to my
finished product:
Recording – Although all three of the reviewers describe my recording as being almost flawless,
a few small errors and glitches still remain, the former primarily pertaining in terms of
continuity. As I was editing the finished product on an iPad with an anonymous friend, I had
failed to noticed that an audio glitch had occurred in the space of three seconds, despite
listening to the final recording thoroughly. It is possible that this may have come about as the
result of both the music and audio files being merged together following a painstaking editing
process. If I were to recreate this project right from the very start, I would save up for a Mac
laptop with Adobe Premier Pro installed (or save up for it, if it is not already installed) so I would
then be able to properly determine where to cut the recording in order to remove the glitches.
Script – While I was only able to write the first half of the story due to time constraints, this
ultimately fulfilled the purposes of the story genre I was writing for, as most (but not all) fantasy
adventure stories will often end on a cliffhanger to draw the audience in and leave them
scratching their heads as to what may happen to the characters. However, in order to make the
script more complete, I would not hesitate to write a middle or end for the script, with at least
four or three parts taking up the remaining two acts of the story, while Part 2 serves as the
transition from the beginning to the middle of the story, where the bulk of the action often
takes place.