A presentation to show how I ended up with "The Piper's Tale". Analysis, Planning, Production and Evaluation all in one!!

1. Audio
Joe Duffy

2. Story
The Piper’s Tale
Steve Roughley is a ex-serviceman who loves bag pipes. He found a
workingmen’s club to practise privately. However once he started, he felt a
presence like a shadow over him. When playing “Flower of Scotland”, there
was a mighty gust of wind. He was a certain another piper was playing close
by at that moment. An investigation found that Steve was touched by the
spirit of James Reid, a Scottish man enlisted in Lord Ogilvy’s 1st Battalion. He
had been captured and imprisoned in York for a year. Well educated, he
defended himself against 3 judges, claiming to be a piper, not a soldier. Judges
sneered and said pipes were weapons/music inspired men to war. Eloquence
regarded as insolence and put to death. Only man executed for playing music.
November 174, hung, drawn and quartered. Body butchered, dissected and
mutilated. Parts displayed on Walmgate Bar opposite where Steve practised
that night. Steve believes the humiliation treatment tormented his soul but
mutual love for music connected them. He tells the story so that James can
finally be at peace.
Phone for full description: “The Original Ghost Walk of York”

3. Existing Products Research
Doctor Who – “Afterlife”
The music used at the beginning of the clip give a sense of foreboding, letting us
know something serious is about to take place. This lets the listener know the tone
is very eerie. The performances are much louder, making sure the audience hears
their emotion clearly. I believe The Doctor is given the crispest voice, signifying his
importance to the story as well as, his literal and figurative closeness to the
listener. The throwing of what sounds to be a canister reverberates between both
ears to portray the motion of it travelling. The use of the gas from the canister
becomes the loudest noise, perhaps shocking the listener in the same way it
shocked the villain. The screams and laughs of the characters can still be heard,
even while the gas is released. The man’s voice begins to echo and eventually
warp, giving an uncomfortable, worried feeling to the listener. The audio also gives
me the impression that perhaps the man is being taken out of existence. When the
Doctor begins his terrifying speech, his voice booms over the previous loudest
noise, being the gas attack, telling the listener the next part is very serious. A new,
dramatic piece of music accompanies this, adding to the tense, scary scene. The
gas eventually stops, representing how unimportant it is now compared to what it
was. The villain’s voice also begins to echo, telling us that she is beginning to have
the same fate as the man previous. However, once the Doctor speaks of protecting
his friends, showing his true kindness, the music dies down, letting the listener
relax a little from the tension had beforehand.

4. Existing Products Research
LORE – “All Fall Down”
The opening to the show is a thank you to the many people who listen,
accompanied by a gentle piano backing track, allowing the listener to relax. The
voice itself is clear and loud so that the listener can understand it effectively. The
narrator continues, first describing certain locations in a positive way but changing
tone to tell the audience that natural disasters also plague the natural world. This
is also portrayed through the subtle music changing, with the more serious parts
adding violin to create a feeling of sadness. Throughout, the narrator leaves
pauses after descriptions so that the listener has a moment to process what has
been told, before moving on to the next segment. Moving away from personal
statements about the subject, they tell us of how people, even with modern
science struggle to cope with these disasters. This is followed by describing
historical background, with folklore being used to tell those of the past the
dangers of weather. This adds to the documentary as different points of view are
being portrayed to the listener. The point is further amplified when the narrator
provides two opposite opinions on the effect of weather on humanity. This would
allow the audience to ponder and come up with a personal conclusion to the
point brought up by the narrator. Therefore the listener feels truly involved in
what is being said, creating more appeal to listen further.

5. Existing Products Research
A Quiet Place – Alien Distressed
In this scene we find Regan wandering through the corn field, the loud noise of
crickets being our only sound. However the film contrasts this by showing us
Regan’s perspective, due to her deafness everything is absolute silence. This gives
the audience a sense of paranoia as we hear how loud the surroundings are,
therefore making us inherently more aware, while we fear for Regan’s safety
before there is even a threat due to her lack of awareness through hearing. While
our attention is focussed on Regan, with the silence she hears, an Alien walks out
of the crops hidden in the dark, unfocussed background. The lack of sound builds
the tension as we want tot ell her to run but she doesn’t understand her own
situation like we do. The cutback to the loud, familiar cricket chirps leads to
surprise for the audience as we are so accustomed to Regan’s perspective. The
added and unsettling noises of the Alien further exemplifies the threat of the
situation as we know Regan doesn’t have the ability to hear these creaking and
crackling sounds coming from a mugger more dangerous creature than the
crickets. When the Alien begins to listen into Regan’s hearing aid, the opposing
perspectives of the Alien’s loud surroundings, to Regan’s eerie silence become one
screeching sound, effecting both characters as well as the audience from the
piercing noise. This is cut short as the Alien’s advanced hearing makes the noise
hurt so yells in pain and run, leaving Regan to feel the noise all on her own, leaving
her isolated and confused. The scene is suspenseful and portrays the use of show
not tell effectively, mostly using sound to show what is happening.

6. Bibliography
1. Big Finish. (2018). The Seventh Doctor is Scary.
Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA50biqUB-8.
Last accessed 6th Nov 2018.
2. The Best History Podcast - LORE. (2017). LORE -
Episode 74: All Fall Down. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3RGz7Q_qlI.
Last accessed 6th Nov 2018.
3. John Krasinski. (2018). A Quiet Place | Alien Gets
Distressed . Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbHOn1YLTkA.
Last accessed 6th Nov 2018.

7. Planning
B
o
o
p

8. Idea Generation/Initial Reaction
Use York as a primary location so listener can visual easier. Relates to
area they know could increase the scariness that something creepy
happened in a place they’ve been. Creating contrasts in sound design,
leads to a stronger feeling of suspense as you really try to hear
anything after a louder noise has been subdued. Music must fit the
tone of the scene and be subtle to allow other noises to create the
atmosphere more so, especially spooky themes. Use documentary
style audio story to properly describe the story’s events as using other
styles would be difficult to portray time zones. Easier to script for. Use
background effects to add atmosphere to the setting.

9. Proposal
Working Title:
The Piper’s Tale
Audience:
I believe this story is suitable for anyone who is 14 and over and while it may contain some descriptions that
seem graphic, I believe it is still enjoyable as long as you have a strong stomach. The younger listeners will
enjoy it’s scariness and perhaps gruesome parts. Adults will enjoy the spookiness and mystery within the story.
The Elderly will also enjoy the creepiness. I don’t believe certain genders, races or classes will find it more
entertaining than others, perhaps young boys may enjoy the gore more than girls of the same age.
Project Concept
The concept of my project is a spooky Ghost Story based off a true story based in my home city York, making
listeners more creeped out if they live here as it’s closer to home. To research for this project, I used Google to
find websites that listed ghost stories that have happened in York. The story I selected was chosen because it
had a lot of description that could be used well in a radio show, linking events from the past to modern
paranormal events that are sure to get a shudder from the audience. The research also helps me by providing
the names of people, places and dates, so making a script shouldn’t need any hassle. I will narrate it, to make
sure the story is portrayed as clearly as possible, as with acting or just pure sounds effects I believe it would be
difficult to suggest the different time zones being used. I will use sound effects during my narration to
encapsulate the feeling being described, immersing the audience into the story.

10. Script
Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to hear a story of spooks and scares, to frighten and intrigue you as you listen in
close. Settle in, relax, and enjoy… The Piper’s Tale.
This tale begins with a man named Steve Roughly, a former soldier in the Scottish Army devoted to his fondest instrument, his
bagpipes.
He roamed the city of York, looking frantically for a place to practise and hone his musical skill. At last!! A little Workingmen’s Club
opposite a large graveyard trapping the church of St. Lawrence. He had hit the jackpot… or so he thought.
On his very first night there, all alone, with the glowing, flickering bulbs being his only source of light he felt something. Something
was watching, close by. A presence like a dark sweeping shadow hung over him, watching him play his pipes.
Steve continued to play his instrument, cautiously aware that he wasn’t the only one in the room. However once he began to play his
National Anthem, he was stopped abruptly by a sudden blast of freezing, icy wind broke into the room, sending shivers crawling up
Roughly’s skin. The rafters in the chilled room began to shake uncontrollably, dust floating down, while the light bulbs smashed, the
glass crashing onto the floor. He was left in the silent darkness, shaking and very, very scared.
In the moment of pure horror, Steve hadn’t even realised he had dropped his bagpipes amongst the shards of glass. But then how,
close to his frozen body, could he hear pipes being played? He grabbed his instrument and ran into the night, terrified of what he had
witnessed on that paranormal night.
Determined to find an answer to these miraculous events, Steve Roughly explored the history of this spooked area, realising he had
been contacted by a spirit from over 200 years ago. This ghost’s name was James Reid, a member of the Scottish Army himself in the
1700’s, fighting against the English, who had been caught and forced into the worst parts of York, imprisoned for an entire year
without any help, without anyone. Finally, after so long, the fatigued man was sent to court. Having had a good education, the
Scotsman defended his actions against three judges but it was absolutely no good. They told him “his music inspires men to WAR!!”
This unfair trial led James to a terrible fate as he was condemned to a long and very gruesome death, the only man to die because of
passion to play music.
In November of 1746, Reid was hanged in front of an applauding crowd, enjoying the torturous death he was forced to endure. His
body was drawn, quartered, butchered, dissected and mutilated, leaving nothing that could be described as human. The spiteful
spirit of this long forgotten man roamed the city of York for centuries, following unsuspecting people walking down roads at night,
only wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged.
Only once he heard the new Piper play his National Anthem, did Reid remember how it felt to live, playing his fondest instrument, his
bagpipes. He glided hastily in to the room, sending a bitter wind with him. He began to play his missing instrument all the night long,
even after Roughly has dashed out of the haunted place, reminiscing of a time long gone.
Steve believes the spirit’s humiliating death and degrading treatment, left his soul tormented but their musical love connected them.
He told us this story so that we understand James suffering and can bring peace upon the undying spirit of James Reid.
Thank you for listening, I hope you found this story of a ghoul lost in time spooky and enlightening and maybe, just maybe James
Reid is listening to this story right next to you. Goodbye.

11. Sound Effects
Sound Effect Needed How I Will Create the Sound
Bagpipes Playing Gonna HAVE to use the Internet
Ghoulish Voices Record my own!
Slicing Up (Gory) Cutting meat or something like that
Muttering (Working Men’s Club/Court
House)
Record my own
Wind Effects Me blowing
Rattling Wood/Exploding Glass Shaking wood? Rub metal with glass,
might have to use the internet
Rustling Paper Flick through my own book

12. Resource List
Resource Owned/Cost What sound effect will it be
used for?
Internet Got Bagpipes
Meat maybe Not Much? Drawn and Quartered
Bottle/Metal Cheapish Glass Smashing
Knife Got Cut Body Up
Recorder Be Given All Voice Work
Book Got Research Past
Block of Wood Get Rattling Rafters

13. Music
Track Name Link
Seem like all spooky music
music is VERY good here.
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?genre=horror
Any sound effects unable to be
done by moi is here
https://freesound.org

14. Production

15. Daily Reflection Day 1
On this day, I spent my time creating the vocal
aspect of my story, finding a quiet area in the
college to avoid disruption during my
recordings. I succeeded in creating all of my own
parts on this day, but I found some parts had to
be done via the internet. The recorder I used
also decided to delete certain parts, so I had to
re-trace my steps several times.

16. Daily Reflection Day 2
Today, I set all my vocals into the programme,
Adobe Audition, so that I could modify how the
story sounded. I also added sound effects to
create a stronger structure, giving more
personality. However I wish I could have done
this faster, but had to restart three times due to
the programme being difficult to work with to
begin with.

17. Daily Reflection Day 3
On Thursday, I added all of my backing music, filling
any empty space with eerie music, adding to the
atmosphere. This was fairly simple to do as the
website I used to find these spooky tunes was very
useful, having many different arrangements to suit
certain scenes, easily downloadable as well. With
this, I had all my audio needed and just had to
tweak the loudness of each part to make each part
clear when overlapping each other. I finished my
audio and uploaded it onto my Blogger and began
to finish my PowerPoint.

18. Sound Effects
Sound Effect Needed Link
Glass Shattering https://freesound.org/search/?q=Shattering+Glass
Bagpipes https://freesound.org/search/?q=Bagpipes&page=1#sound
Background Spook Music https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/?genre=horror

19. Evaluation

20. Research
To research my project, I first had to think about how I wanted to tell the story. This would
allow me to think about the structure of the story, and how best to convey it. After deciding
on this, I had to think about what kind of audience I would like to listen. I decided, after
much deliberation, that I would try to find a story that would be heard by a wide range of
people, meaning it had to be creepy to keep an older audience, while being fairly simple to
understand for a younger audience. Once I had come up with the basic idea as to the
structure I would take my Ghost Story, I decided I would preferably have it set in my home
city, York. I wanted this because it would literally and metaphorically be closer to home,
perhaps adding a sense of eeriness. Once I had the ideas, I had to do actual research so I
looked up multiple York based Ghost Stories. Once I had found a selection of stories, I had
to find one that fit my criteria previously. I finally decided on one that worked and set out
to work on it. Maybe to improve my research I could have examined stories set outside of
York to widen my scope however I believe, while this would allow for more expansive
researching, I would have found it more difficult to choose a story amongst them all.
*Forgot to mention my examination of other audio dramas, as well as films that focus on
sound, allowing me to understand the utility of certain parts of how audio can create an
image in the listener’s head.

21. Planning
After I decided my Ghost Story, I had to write out a script to accompany my preferred style
of story-telling in narration. I used the source material, but made sure to create a more
suspenseful version, while still retaining the key information to keep a good continuity
without sacrificing tension. I had to think about the sound effects, which ones that could be
made by me, and which required the internet. This allowed for faster decision making in the
future as I already understood what I needed to do. After I decided the ones that needed
internet support, I researched sound effects as well as finding background music to create a
feel of ambience. I saved the most useful and functional sounds and continued on to record
my own vocals. I used a recorder, borrowed from the college, and located an area of the
building that wouldn’t be disturbed. Except the random deleting of parts of audio, this was
successful, and then went on to place these in my documents as well. In my planning, I
should have thought about the script and sound effects at the the same time instead of one
after the other. This would have helped me in the future as I wouldn’t have had to decide
the location of sounds amongst the story beats during production, making the process a bit
faster.

22. Time Management
I believe I managed my time fairly successfully as I researched Ghost Stories the weekend
before we began the actual project, giving me extra time to begin having ideas about the
script and overall structure I would go for during production. The source I used to base my
audio-play on was very easy to read, making the script writing very fast as I didn’t need to
waste time making the story itself make sense in a narration form. It took a little while
finding a site that had correct sound effects, eventually leading to using effects that were
not completely what I had in mind but they sufficed in the finished product. On the other
hand, the ambient background was thankfully very easy to find, as a website I found early
on in research had a wide range of horror themed music, that was easily downloadable as
well. The vocal part was fairly efficient except the re-recordings that were needed due to
deleting of files. I found an area quiet enough to record pretty quickly so that was nice and
quick. Creating the audio-play itself got off to a rocky start, as the programme itself would
either not save my work or even, on one occasion, crashed. However, after a few miss-
takes, I did manage to create the entire production, actually faster than I expected, leaving
a fair amount of time to post in onto Blogger and leave me time to finish writing this Post-
Production Analysis/Evaluation. If I had a little more time overall, I may have tried to make
sound effects go from one ear to another. However in my little attempt to do so during
production, it seemed that all sound effects on one layer would follow the same side, which
would have hindered the experience in my opinion. There have been a way to do it the way
I wanted but I didn’t want to disrupt my work accidently.

23. Technical Qualities
I feel my work follows a bit of an audio play I heard in a “Big Finish” Doctor Who story. The
similarities are in the use of sound effects to create a more vivid image of the happening in
the story and certain backing tracks conveying a certain mood for the audience to feel. The
differences come in how the stories are conveyed vocally. Mine is done through the use of
narration while the Doctor Who audio play is played out by actors in the moment instead of
being relayed information from a past event.
I used four layers in my story, with one for narration, two for sound effects, and the final
one for background music. This allowed for more engaging story-telling as it wasn’t only
voice telling the story, allowing the imagination to think abut what the other sounds were
representing. I would have liked to create more atmosphere, especially in the more ghostly
scenes, by modifying the loudness of parts in each ear but I couldn’t find a way to do so for
separate parts so I had to drop the idea. However I was able to modify the loudness of the
sound effects on a more basic level but it still allowed for more dynamic parts of the story.
This modifying was done in production, using Adobe Audition. I used certain parts on the
internet that I knew I couldn’t do myself, the bagpipes for example. For the vocals and
sound effects I could do myself, I borrowed a recorder from the College and found a quiet
place in the building to not disturb the recording. I used the Foley method when creating
wind sound effects by blowing into the recorder which worked very effectively.

24. Aural Qualities
I believe my project sounds good as I spent time to modify the loudness of each part
throughout the story to make sure the parts that needed to be heard were clearer that
the parts accompanying them. For example, I made sure the narration was at the
forefront, but to be a little more creative with the backing music and sound effects, they
only grow as loud as the narration for more dramatic effect or as a polar opposite, have
the narration be the only sound to create a feeling of suspense. If I could improve
anything as I have reiterated on previous slides, it would be use of surround sound with
each side of the sound having more loudness than the other to create a further sense of
immersion. However I couldn’t find a way to do so without disrupting the rest of my
work. I believe overall, my sound was good by having decent clarity and using the
loudness of parts add to the atmosphere of the story instead of just being obligatory.

25. Audience Appeal
This story is intended to hit a large demographic of people as the
scariest or perhaps the more interesting tales come from being tense
for all ages, not leaving any one person not feeling a little tense during
one part or another. I tried to achieve this by finding a mid-point
between really creepy for older audiences and pure intrigue amongst
the spookiness for slightly younger audiences, although I wouldn’t
advise anyone under the age of 12 to listen unless they really, really
want to. Of course its hard to please everyone, so I am sure by sharing
the audience there will people who don’t feel their intended form of
intensity like they want, but I hope I managed to retain my original idea
for the most part.