Contextual research (3)

1. Contextual and
Theory
BY THEA JENNINGS

2. Contextual

3. Research intentions
• Theories behind podcasts and their developments remain scarce because they
are freah and they haen'tMy main ideas of research in the contextual section are
the podcasters. Different podcasters have their own specific styles, this is what I
would like to explore. As well as this, the little areas that make specific podcasts
of theirs great. I hope to take away these areas and develop them into my own
ideas, eventually letting it all come together to create my own style, inspired by
them. I don't have a preference as to what areas I want to focus on, so it could be
something to do with the editing or maybe something else done in post
production. If I do find something, I will then be able to experiment with it and try it
out before I get to recording. I don't want to go into production have never ever
tried the techniques I want to use, so doing some experiments with them will be
useful

4. Aaron Mahnke
Aaron Mahnke's use of facts combined with fiction is an inspiration for
my podcast. Mahnke created the podcast Lore in 2015 as a marketing
experiment. At the time, his self-published Thrillers weren't flying off the
shelves so being an avid fan of audio content, and with a friend’s
encouragement, Mahnke decided to launch a podcast. He established a
makeshift studio in his home office and started recounting haunting
historical tales of the dead and the dying in 30-minute episodes. It was
a low-budget, spartan production and music beds were added to mask
the echo of his voice, but it became a massive hit overnight. It currently
has 5 million listeners a month. I want to convey the sense that the story
is being told around a campfire and to make my audience feel as if they
are being transported to another world. In order to achive this I aim to
make the voice over sound ethereal and magical with use of creative
sound effects.

5. Joseph Fink
• Joseph Fink's use of narrative combined with the supernatural is another
element that has motivated my podcast Fink established the podcast in 2016
and it is presented as a series of audio diaries by a truck driver in her search
across America for the wife she had assumed was dead (the titular Alice).
During her search, she encounters not quite human serial murderers, towns
literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond her missing wife.
Fink explained that the inspiration for the podcast came from his own
experiences traveling around in vans on long trips, especially in the U.S. All
30 episodes of the show were written by Fink and the main character and
narrator, whose name is only mentioned as being Keisha on the last episode
of the first season, is voiced by Jasika Nicole. I want to make my audience
feel as if they've been transported to another world and to make the music
feel like a charector itself, to do this, I will try and use music that pays
homage to classical Japanese music as well as using joe Hasashi who's
compesitions sound magical and otherworldly.

6. Jonathan Mitchell
• My main reason for using Jonathan Mitchell as an inspiration is his
work with short stories and improvisation in his podcast "The Truth." In
2009, Mitchell and his work partner Hillary Frank received funding
from American Public Media to produce pilot stories together. One of
those stories was "Moon Graffiti", and this later became the first
episode of The Truth. In December 2011, Mitchell hired a group of
improvisors to write stories together, with the goal of producing a story
in one month. The group continued working together and eventually
reached the podcast's current output of two stories a month. I want to
convey a sense that the story is being told around a campfire or to
make my audience feel as if they are in another world and to do this,
I will make voice sound ethereal or comforting using sound effects.

7. Lauren Shippen
• In addition to this, Lauran Shippen is another influence on my podcast because of the
Sci Fi genre incorporated within the story as well as it being grounded with the
episodes being disguised as therapy sessions with people who have superpowers as
well as it has a continuous story overall. The idea for The Bright Sessions was
somewhat inspired by Welcome to Night Vale and BBC's Cabin Pressure. Shippen
was listening to these shows while stuck in LA traffic and fell in love with the idea of
audio drama. While sitting in traffic, Shippen was talking out loud to herself (part of her
writing process) as the character of Sam when she realized that Sam needed
someone to talk to. The first thing that she thought of was a "therapist," and there the
idea of The Bright Sessions came to be. The pilot episode was written in one sitting in
June 2014 and shelved it for about a year. When she came back to it, Shippen had
become more familiar with the audio drama landscape as a whole. The Bright
Sessions was not particularly influenced by any one psychological theory. Shippen
had help from her sister, Elizabeth Laird—an actual psychologist—for how a therapist
would talk or what methods they might use and did online research when necessary. I
want to convey a sense that the stories and facts that I'm telling are being told in real
time by using real life sound effects.

8. Theory

9. Elements of audio theory
Amplitude
• The amplitude defines the strength or level of sound pressure.
• A large amplitude signifies high sound level's (noise) and a low amplitude implies low sound levels (quiet).
• The sound wavelength is not altered when changing the amplitude, it only increases or decreases the loudness of the sound.
Frequency
• The measurement unit of frequency is Hertz (Hz) and describes the number of cycles the period is repeated per second (1 Hz = 1 cycle
per second).
• In sound theory the most used frequencies are 20Hz to 20 000 Hz which is the range where the human ear can respond.
• The wavelength chracterises the distance it takes to repeat one cycle
• Typical low frequency sound has long wavelengths and contains high levels of energy, while high frequency sound has short
wavelengths and contain low levels of energy.
• Typical low frequency sound is representend by the bass levels and high frequency sound is usually high pitched.

10. Elements of audio theory
The Human Ear
• The human ear can respond to frequencies from 20Hz to 20,000 Hz but has a peak of sensitivity around 3-4000Hz.
• This is due to the resonance of the ear cavity that amplifies certain frequencies.
• The human ear can hear from 0dB to 120dB, the last being the verge of pain.
• Because of the ear's response to different frequencies several "sound filters" have been introduced in the field
of acoustics.
• The most common one is the A-wighted filter, which is directly based upon the loudness percived by the human
year.
• This means that the sound is filtered by damping the low frequency sound because the ear is less sensitive at low
audio frequencies.
• Additionally, there are B-, C-, D- and Z- weighted filter as well.
• The ones whitch are mostly used is C- weighted and Z-weighted filters.
• C-weighting includes more of the low frequency sound than A-weighting while Z-wighting is a liner flat filter.

11. Elements of audio theory
Noise
• The definition of noise is highly personal, due to people reacting diffrently to
what noise is.
• A person may characterize noise from being casually disturbing to health
damaging.
• Being exposed to high noise levels daily can reduce your hearing if you don't
take any precautions.
• If the ear has been critically damaged, there is little chance it will heal to
its orgional state.
• Even though the definition of noise is individual, acoustic engineers have a
more objective way of characterizing it by using sound level meters.

12. Elements of audio theory
Wavelength
• The equation for the wavelength is defined as: λ = c/f
• Where c is the phase speed (dependent on temperature and medium) and f is
frequency
Decibel
• Converting between sound pressure level and sound intensity levels is easy, given
this equation:
• Where SPL is the sound pressure level in dB and SIL is the sound intensity level,
the reference values are Pref = 20μ Pa and Iref = 10-12 W/m2.

13. Types of Audio
Podcasts
• A podcast is an edited piece of content which can be a complete radio programme, an edited extract or highlights from
a programme, or completely unique content with a particular theme made to be subscribed and listened to as a series.
Audiobooks
• Audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book that you listen to rather than read. Audiobooks can be exact word
for word versions of books or abridged versions. You can listen to audiobooks on any smartphone, tablet, computer,
home speaker system or in car entertainment system. Audiobooks are usually purchased and downloaded in the same
way as digital music and video. They can also be purchased from online bookstores or downloaded free from public
domain sites. Most public library systems offer audiobook downloads online all you need is a library card. Even Spotify
has an audiobook section.

14. Types of Audio
Streaming
• Streaming audio content delivers real-time audio through a network over the internet. This data transmission provides the
consumer with on-demand audio and digital audio advertising in targeted to that consumer.
Digital Radio
• Digital radio is audio broadcasting in which analog audio is converted into a digital signal (as a sting of digital data) and
transmitted on an assigned channel in the AM/FM frequency range.

15. Bibliography
• C.B. (2017). The rise of the podcast adaptation. Available: https://www.economist.com/prospero/2017/10/12/the-rise-of-
the-podcast-adaptation. Last accessed 7th Jan 2021.
• Melissa Locker. (2015). Aaron Mahnke's Lore: 'history podcast' uncovers the dark side of human nature. Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/nov/01/aaron-mahnke-lore-history-podcast. Last accessed 7th Jan 2021.
• Jillian Capewell. (2016). Your New Podcast Addiction Is A Fictional Thriller Starring A Truck Driver. Available:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/alice-isnt-dead-fictional-podcast_n_56df9873e4b0860f99d7285e?ri18n=true. Last
accessed 11th Jan 2021.
• Jesse Schedeen. (15 Apr 2020). Binge It! Alice Isn't Dead Is the Ultimate Mental Road Trip. Available:
https://www.ign.com/articles/alice-isnt-dead-podcast-mental-road-trip-binge-it. Last accessed 11th Jan 2021.
• Anon. (May 2019). The Truth (podcast). Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_(podcast). Last accessed 11th
Jan 2021.
• Anon. (2014). Sound Theory. Available: https://acoustics.no/sound-measurement/sound-theory. Last accessed 8th Jan
2021.
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16. Contextual Statement
My influences are heavily based on writers/ producers of fictional podcasts I believe these examples are masters in auditory entertainment. I
specifically enjoy fictional podcasts such as Joseph Finks "Welcome To Nightvale" and Jason Hills "Horror Hill". Their work strongly draws
on visualizing fantastical ideas and producing corresponding scripts, music and sound effects. These elements allow an audience to create their own
images of the actual story which in turn can be highly individualized and successful.
I looked at websites and webpage articles to inform and gain an in depth understanding of who the writers are and why they created their body of
work. This enabled me to see where the inspiration came from and what influences these artists draw on.
I have Japanaphilia! Having a love for Japanese art, anime and culture since my early teens and since living in Asia. In addition I love storytelling and
enjoy the feedback received from audiances. My objective is to entertain and educate people equally. I feel I can combine an informative script that
stays within the genre of fiction with interesting music and sound effects to create a grounded and entertaining piece of work.
Covid 19 will affect my work as continuatiy and flow of work may be halted. There is a good chance that I won't be able to use specific equiptment
based in college facilliaties. Examples of this are the IMac desktop computers whereby the use of efficiant programs such as Audition will be
prevented. I may therefore have to use more primative programes such as Audacitiy and Imovie which could impact my final work. Should I choose to
expand my work by adding a merchindise element, supply chains for materials could be affected where I may not be able to purchase specific items.
Finally, should any of my actors become sick with Covid I may have to resort to using alternatives who weren't my first choice.