2. Initial Responses and Idea Generation
Log your initial thoughts regarding the set brief in this document
What stories could you use? How do you feel about the different potential
formats? What are the positives about this project? What could be some difficult
aspects? Etc
Use the format on this document to guide this response – some are set as a
question on one slide, but you should look to add further slides as necessary
3. Which stories have you researched and looked
as potential starting points?
• Edge of the River Ouse
Legend has it that a person drops five white pebbles into the river when the Minster clock chimes
one in the morning during the first of May, they see their past, present and future. Other spirits
seen on the river are that of a phantom rowing boat, and the shade of a drowned person who drifts
the river banks.
I could write a story from this
from the p.o.v of someone who
has dropped five white pebbles
into the river and is telling the
story of when they saw their past,
present and future and the spirits
on the phantom rowing boat.
A story being narrated in past tense
but with other people talking as
characters for speech
I liked this story because I feel like there’s a lot that can be
written from it, for example what the character will see
when they see their past, present and future.
4. Which research into existing products has been the
most useful? Includes examples and explanations
• I found the audio dramas to be the most useful to research. This is because it’s most
similar to what I am wanting to do and has given my ideas of how I could put them
together and put in things like music and sound effects in a way that would help and
add to the narration by adding tension, emotion or drama. The Batman audio I
looked at was useful because I liked how there were different actors speaking when
Batman would be quoting someone else, and I plan to use this idea in my project.
From the Once He Sees You He Never Stops Chasing You audio drama I really liked
the consistent music throughout and found that it gave the story more of a creepy
and ominous feel to it that wouldn’t have been as strong if it wasn’t there, so I also
plan to take inspiration from this for my project too.
5. Which production format [drama, narration,
etc] do you feel fits your idea best and why?
• For my idea I think that an audio drama would be best as it would be the
main character talking from their point of view in past and present tense,
with other people potentially speaking alongside the main character to
give speech.
• I want to use music and sound effects to help build an atmosphere and
tension throughout the story.
• I also use sound effects to represent the location at the time of the
narration and can do this with sounds of things like wind, rain and water to
represent the river.
6. Which story have you settled on and why?
• I am doing the Edge Of The River Ouse story. I have settled on this because
I think the overall ghost story has a lot of room to interpret my own story
linking with the original idea. I’ve had an idea for the main character to see
their past and present when they see the pebble but no future, then soon
after the boat of spirits comes from a distance in their direction where the
listener puts together that it’s because the main character has died. Then
for it to be obvious the narrator is actually the ghost of the story and it
ends along the lines of them directly talking to the listener rather than
telling a story by saying they have to go get on the boat to collect another
spirit.
7. If you had to sell your story quickly, what is the
title and the logline?
• After hearing the legend of the Edge Of The River Ouse, ****** goes to try
it for themselves after being sceptical but only sees their past and present,
no future.
8. What ideas have you had for sound effects,
narration and storytelling?
• For narration, I want to get other voice actors to voice characters for
certain lines that would be quoted by the main character when someone
else is speaking.
• For sound effects I want to add sounds that would be realistically in the
background of the location such as wind or rain that wouldn’t necessarily
be essential for the storyline but make a big difference to the atmosphere
and helps emphasise the location to the listener.
• I also want to add creepy sound effects throughout that aren’t as realistic
as the background sounds to add the dramatic elements to the haunted
story.
9. Initial feelings…how do you feel about the
project currently?
• Currently I feel quite happy about the project and feel like I have some
good initial ideas that I could use in link to the ghost story that I’ve found.
I’m excited to do more planning on this and give it more context and make
it more creepy. I’m also excited for when it comes to actually make it and
edit it to see how it comes to life and play around with different sound
effects.
• At the moment the only worry is not knowing a lot about audio production
but I will research more into it and how I can use it well to make the
project.
10. What other research do you think you need to
do?
• I will definitely need to do more research into audio production as a whole
and will play around with the software. I’ll need to start looking into getting
cast members and a narrator. I’ll also do more research into the Edge Of
River Ouse story and try find more stories that I could maybe take
inspiration from.
Editor's Notes
Think about creative and technical elements, it could be you like the idea of evoking a sense of place or you have the perfect person in mind as a narrator? Or are you keen to start writing a story and take it from there? Ideas and development are personal, try and get across where your idea is and what has got you to that point.
Add as many slides as needed from the work you did on Urban Legends, York Ghost stories and other inspirations you have considered. Which story have you gravitated toward and why?
Think about why this idea rather than any other…is it because it has the best scope for sfx, narration, etc. Reasons can be personal, but you need explain them.
A logline is a one sentence description or summary of the audio story. Loglines distill the important elements of your script/story—main character, setup, central conflict, antagonist—into a clear, concise teaser. The goal is to write a logline so enticing that it hooks the listener into your idea
Think about creative and technical elements here, it could be you like the idea of evoking a sense of place or you have the perfect person in mind as a narrator? Or are you keen to start writing a story and take it from there? Ideas and development are personal, try and get across where your idea is and what has got you to that point.
Consider pros and cons here, what are you excited about, what is a worry…
This could be audio recording, post-production, getting cast/narrator, etc…it might be just organising your idea into a workable project…