What do you do?
I’ve had that question asked of me quite a bit lately when I talk about my latest project, the CJ Cherryh Movie In Audio.
Most of my associates know me as an audio drama writer. I work (part time) for Jim French Productions, Inc., the company that produces Imagination Theatre a weekly commercial audio drama show that plays across the nation on the radio and also on XM Sirius, plus the web, etc. I write for JRF and I am also in the office doing… whatever needs to be done. All of us jump in where we’re needed. I’ve been there quite a few years and have learned a lot. But there is still more to learn. Our signature characters are Harry Nile and we have a contract with the estate of Dame Jean Conan Doyle to produce new Sherlock Holmes audio drama (in case you didn’t know, Sherlock is NOT in public domain in the U.S.)
I also have my own little production company: Sebastian T Sweet Productions. My signature programs are: A Jewel of the God Adventure, and A Rebecca Bowen Mystery. And, hopefully, there are others coming up.
But, for the CJ Cherryh project, Sebastian T Sweet has teamed with Audio Cinema Entertainment and its CEO and head sound designer Tim Knofler to bring you the first trilogy of the Foreigner Universe.
But what are you doing for this? That’s what I keep getting asked. Okay, here ‘tis.
I’m a co-producer. The credits will have Audio Cinema Entertainment at the helm but Sebastian T Sweet will be there too. Like any producer that means I’m pretty much involved in everything and all decisions are made together with Tim Knofler.
Someone else asked: Does that mean you’re the boss? And my answer has to be… One of the bosses. Tim and I have an excellent working relationship and make our decisions together. Well, major decisions. There are things that are Tim’s responsibility and things that are mine.
Like:
I’m adapting the books so I guess you could say I’m the author… of the script. And that has to pass CJ’s approval. I’m also casting and directing the actors in the production. After that I’ll be working with a sound technician, Sebastian T Sweet’s own sound designer, Aesop, to clean and edit the tracks in preparation for final sound treatments. As I've read all the books in the series I'm also working with our Art Director Mekala McCaughy on a great variety of things, from story boards, to logos to maps of Shejidan and Malguri to... well, anything we happen to think of. And then there's the Kickstarter campaign... but that's another story.
So if you’re wondering what it is I actually do on this production, the answer is simply: A little bit of everything, and a lot of some other things.
Which, actually, is quite enough!
Most of my associates know me as an audio drama writer. I work (part time) for Jim French Productions, Inc., the company that produces Imagination Theatre a weekly commercial audio drama show that plays across the nation on the radio and also on XM Sirius, plus the web, etc. I write for JRF and I am also in the office doing… whatever needs to be done. All of us jump in where we’re needed. I’ve been there quite a few years and have learned a lot. But there is still more to learn. Our signature characters are Harry Nile and we have a contract with the estate of Dame Jean Conan Doyle to produce new Sherlock Holmes audio drama (in case you didn’t know, Sherlock is NOT in public domain in the U.S.)
I also have my own little production company: Sebastian T Sweet Productions. My signature programs are: A Jewel of the God Adventure, and A Rebecca Bowen Mystery. And, hopefully, there are others coming up.
But, for the CJ Cherryh project, Sebastian T Sweet has teamed with Audio Cinema Entertainment and its CEO and head sound designer Tim Knofler to bring you the first trilogy of the Foreigner Universe.
But what are you doing for this? That’s what I keep getting asked. Okay, here ‘tis.
I’m a co-producer. The credits will have Audio Cinema Entertainment at the helm but Sebastian T Sweet will be there too. Like any producer that means I’m pretty much involved in everything and all decisions are made together with Tim Knofler.
Someone else asked: Does that mean you’re the boss? And my answer has to be… One of the bosses. Tim and I have an excellent working relationship and make our decisions together. Well, major decisions. There are things that are Tim’s responsibility and things that are mine.
Like:
I’m adapting the books so I guess you could say I’m the author… of the script. And that has to pass CJ’s approval. I’m also casting and directing the actors in the production. After that I’ll be working with a sound technician, Sebastian T Sweet’s own sound designer, Aesop, to clean and edit the tracks in preparation for final sound treatments. As I've read all the books in the series I'm also working with our Art Director Mekala McCaughy on a great variety of things, from story boards, to logos to maps of Shejidan and Malguri to... well, anything we happen to think of. And then there's the Kickstarter campaign... but that's another story.
So if you’re wondering what it is I actually do on this production, the answer is simply: A little bit of everything, and a lot of some other things.
Which, actually, is quite enough!
Wi'itkitiin's CryIn the past, when I read CJ Cherryh's Foreigner Universe books, I read them for pleasure. Immersing myself in the world of the atevi, seeing and hearing it in my mind, always I read them for pleasure.
Had I been told ten years ago, even three years ago, that I would be adapting the first trilogy for a full-cast audio production I wouldn't have believed it. But I am. And so, as I work on the adaptation I re-read the books, this time paying extra attention to the sounds that I hear in my mind and putting them down for the Sound Designer to hear also. Tonight I am attempting to write those instructions for the Sound Designer so he can capture the cries of the Wi'itkitiin. CJ described them so: "The dragonette dived down the face of the cliff, membranous wings spread against the sun, and swept upward again, with something in its claws." The character Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, describes them as bandits, vermin that she chooses to preserve. Her people, the atevi, value them for their stubbornness in insisting on flying. Once they fly down a cliff the only way they can get back up to their nest is by clawing their way back. As CJ puts it: "Predator on the wing and potential prey on the return." When I first read the books the cry of the Wi'itkitiin was probably the same type of cry you hear in a variety of fantasy-type movies. A bit of a cross between an eagle and a ... and something. In the book Ilisidi says they are called Wi'itkitin because that is the sound they make and nothing else on the atevi world makes that sound. But what is it, really? What do I put in the script to give the Sound Designer a better idea of what I'm hearing? Not only of what I'm hearing but what CJ's many fans hear when they read the books. This is something I will have to think on, for more than a few hours or even a few days. It's not a door shutting, or a boot stepping off gravel onto concrete or even the crash of thunder on an alien world. It is an alien creature, alive, real and valued by the people of the world they populate. Fortunately CJ has a staunch following with many fans of this series so I've put out a call to them. Tell me, what do you think the Wi'itkitiin sound like? Not only when they fly and dive and glide, but when they're at rest with their young, too. Do they chirrup? Do they give a bit of a purr? Do they click? The creature is both scaled and feathered. How do they make the "Wi'itkitiin" sound? In what cadence is it? In what pitch? What do you think? |
Wi'itkitiinDrawing by Mekala McCaughy
"They are bandits," Ilisidi said. "Irreplaceable," he said. "Vermin, I say, that I choose to preserve." From the novel "Foreigner" by CJ Cherryh. |
Adapting another writer's words
As I work on the adaptation script of CJ Cherryh's "Foreigner" I am forever mindful that I must be a mimic now. No matter what I write, I am now speaking in another person's voice.
For those of you who know the Foreigner Universe some of you might think, 'oh, easy, no contractions and people refer to themselves as "one", and their speech is rather formal.'
In part, you're right. But each character has a different way of speaking. Some differences in the characters are very subtle and are heightened by the author's description of both the characters' physicality and mannerisms.
Much like an actor putting on the skin of the character she is playing, the writer who is working in another writer's voice must also "put on the skins" of the characters she is writing.
What? Not put on the skin of the other writer? If this were a totally new work, or a completion of an unfinished work, then yes, step into the other writer's mindset to complete, to the best of your ability, her thoughts and thought processes.
But to work on an already established, and in this case, well established, series of characters who are active in a completed work, then I find myself "being" Bren or Jago or Ilisidi and yes, big and tough Banichi.
When I have to fill in dialog to cover inner thoughts or descriptions I often leave my desk and walk around, mutter (or speak out loud and scare the cats) the lines I feel would go well in this instance. And most importantly, the lines that will sound 1. As if CJ herself wrote them and 2. As if Jago, Ilisidi, Bren or Banichi is saying them.
Obviously I consume a fair amount of coffee and chocolate whilst doing this.
But there are two thoughts that keep me on my quest to be a super mimic.
1. To make sure that the work is up to CJ's standard. Always, first and foremost, it MUST be up to her standard of excellence.
2. To make sure that CJ's fans get exactly what they want out of this.
The two, CJ and her fans, are never far from my mind. Yes, I want to do the best that I can. I want to push away from the desk, sip my coffee and read what I've done and feel that this is good, this is right, I am satisfied. But being satisfied with my own work, especially on this project, is simply not enough. I have to be satisfied that once it passes CJ's stamp of approval it will be satisfactory to the people who are waiting to hear it.
And that would be you.
For those of you who know the Foreigner Universe some of you might think, 'oh, easy, no contractions and people refer to themselves as "one", and their speech is rather formal.'
In part, you're right. But each character has a different way of speaking. Some differences in the characters are very subtle and are heightened by the author's description of both the characters' physicality and mannerisms.
Much like an actor putting on the skin of the character she is playing, the writer who is working in another writer's voice must also "put on the skins" of the characters she is writing.
What? Not put on the skin of the other writer? If this were a totally new work, or a completion of an unfinished work, then yes, step into the other writer's mindset to complete, to the best of your ability, her thoughts and thought processes.
But to work on an already established, and in this case, well established, series of characters who are active in a completed work, then I find myself "being" Bren or Jago or Ilisidi and yes, big and tough Banichi.
When I have to fill in dialog to cover inner thoughts or descriptions I often leave my desk and walk around, mutter (or speak out loud and scare the cats) the lines I feel would go well in this instance. And most importantly, the lines that will sound 1. As if CJ herself wrote them and 2. As if Jago, Ilisidi, Bren or Banichi is saying them.
Obviously I consume a fair amount of coffee and chocolate whilst doing this.
But there are two thoughts that keep me on my quest to be a super mimic.
1. To make sure that the work is up to CJ's standard. Always, first and foremost, it MUST be up to her standard of excellence.
2. To make sure that CJ's fans get exactly what they want out of this.
The two, CJ and her fans, are never far from my mind. Yes, I want to do the best that I can. I want to push away from the desk, sip my coffee and read what I've done and feel that this is good, this is right, I am satisfied. But being satisfied with my own work, especially on this project, is simply not enough. I have to be satisfied that once it passes CJ's stamp of approval it will be satisfactory to the people who are waiting to hear it.
And that would be you.
Rain. Pelting against the window, driven by the wind, a single sound made up of many sounds.
When writing a scene like this into an audio script there are so many aspects the writer has to take into consideration. .
There are multiple rain scenes in "Foreigner." The story of Bren begins with thunder and lightning and the sound of a raging storm sweeping across the Bujavid
Writing the following does not give my sound designer enough information:
SFX: NIGHT. INTERIOR. RAIN PELTS AGAINST FRENCH DOORS. WIND HOWLS. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING IN THE BACKGROUND.
You would think that that actually would be enough but... Bren's apartment opens onto ground floor courtyard. So the rain falling outside has a different sound than if the apartment was five stories up with a balcony outside. Instead of adding "rain falls on stone courtyard" into the main sound design headings I now am writing more detailed instructions in separate paragraphs. This doesn't mean that I am placing any restrictions on the sound designer. No, if anything, I'm expanding what he can do, and eliminating anything that will waste time.
Tim Knofler, the sound designer on the "Foreigner" project and I call what we do: Pictures driven by sound.
In the picture above (taken during a recent deluge in Seattle) you might think, "Oh, rain on a window. Easy." Really? It could be, if you wanted to do something quick. But, take a good look at the rain on the window. Does that look like a double pane window to you? No, it's single, and a hundred years old. The difference between the rain on this window and the rain on a double pane modern window is vastly different. Some of the windows at the Bujavid, and later at the hunting lodge at Malguri, are thousands of years old. Not only are they that old, but they are made up of multiple small panes, (think stained glass windows). I've looked through the book trying to find out how thick the glass is.
Again, you may or may not think, what difference would it make, I'm listening to this, not reading it or seeing it?
It would make a subliminal difference. If every sound we work on relates to the age of the building we're in, we can create that Picture of ancient history for you. For instance, a story taking place in the 1890's more than likely will not have a spring loaded door knob. You may not notice the sound outright, but as it melds with the rest of the sounds in the story something just doesn't sit right in your mind.
Building a rain sound, like other sounds, can take hours. But what eats up even more hours is listening to file after file after sound file to come up with exactly what we need. For every one we pick ten are rejected.
Say a scene is five minutes long. You can't, if you have any care for your audience, do the same sound and just loop it. On the other hand, you don't have to find a new sound for every second of those five minutes. What you do is find as many sounds as possible -- that you want to use -- and then you build the track. It could be that you'll listen to rain falling in Singapore or even record rain falling against your own windshield. Then, slowly, like the notes in a symphony, you'll start laying those sounds down, one by one, layering them over multiple tracks, bringing the volume up on some and lowering it on others. This is just the sound of rain now. No lightning added nor thunder; those are on different tracks. You may find a file that has just four or five drops on it. They may hit with a certain high pitched sound. Just perfect for a large raindrop hitting a specific section of the window. You never want to use a sound like that just once. You have to use it at least two more times. Why? Because if you use it only once, it sounds like a mistake and it can destroy that picture we're driving you to.
Once you have all those sounds laid out on all the tracks (maybe up to 10-20 tracks or more) then you do a mix down and then apply the mix down to the sound session under the dialog. You're still not done, however, because now, with the other tracks: dialog, other sound effects, music etc. you'll have to adjust that track so that it takes its proper place in the sound scape.
The next time it rains, sit quietly and listen. See how many sounds you actually hear.
When writing a scene like this into an audio script there are so many aspects the writer has to take into consideration. .
There are multiple rain scenes in "Foreigner." The story of Bren begins with thunder and lightning and the sound of a raging storm sweeping across the Bujavid
Writing the following does not give my sound designer enough information:
SFX: NIGHT. INTERIOR. RAIN PELTS AGAINST FRENCH DOORS. WIND HOWLS. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING IN THE BACKGROUND.
You would think that that actually would be enough but... Bren's apartment opens onto ground floor courtyard. So the rain falling outside has a different sound than if the apartment was five stories up with a balcony outside. Instead of adding "rain falls on stone courtyard" into the main sound design headings I now am writing more detailed instructions in separate paragraphs. This doesn't mean that I am placing any restrictions on the sound designer. No, if anything, I'm expanding what he can do, and eliminating anything that will waste time.
Tim Knofler, the sound designer on the "Foreigner" project and I call what we do: Pictures driven by sound.
In the picture above (taken during a recent deluge in Seattle) you might think, "Oh, rain on a window. Easy." Really? It could be, if you wanted to do something quick. But, take a good look at the rain on the window. Does that look like a double pane window to you? No, it's single, and a hundred years old. The difference between the rain on this window and the rain on a double pane modern window is vastly different. Some of the windows at the Bujavid, and later at the hunting lodge at Malguri, are thousands of years old. Not only are they that old, but they are made up of multiple small panes, (think stained glass windows). I've looked through the book trying to find out how thick the glass is.
Again, you may or may not think, what difference would it make, I'm listening to this, not reading it or seeing it?
It would make a subliminal difference. If every sound we work on relates to the age of the building we're in, we can create that Picture of ancient history for you. For instance, a story taking place in the 1890's more than likely will not have a spring loaded door knob. You may not notice the sound outright, but as it melds with the rest of the sounds in the story something just doesn't sit right in your mind.
Building a rain sound, like other sounds, can take hours. But what eats up even more hours is listening to file after file after sound file to come up with exactly what we need. For every one we pick ten are rejected.
Say a scene is five minutes long. You can't, if you have any care for your audience, do the same sound and just loop it. On the other hand, you don't have to find a new sound for every second of those five minutes. What you do is find as many sounds as possible -- that you want to use -- and then you build the track. It could be that you'll listen to rain falling in Singapore or even record rain falling against your own windshield. Then, slowly, like the notes in a symphony, you'll start laying those sounds down, one by one, layering them over multiple tracks, bringing the volume up on some and lowering it on others. This is just the sound of rain now. No lightning added nor thunder; those are on different tracks. You may find a file that has just four or five drops on it. They may hit with a certain high pitched sound. Just perfect for a large raindrop hitting a specific section of the window. You never want to use a sound like that just once. You have to use it at least two more times. Why? Because if you use it only once, it sounds like a mistake and it can destroy that picture we're driving you to.
Once you have all those sounds laid out on all the tracks (maybe up to 10-20 tracks or more) then you do a mix down and then apply the mix down to the sound session under the dialog. You're still not done, however, because now, with the other tracks: dialog, other sound effects, music etc. you'll have to adjust that track so that it takes its proper place in the sound scape.
The next time it rains, sit quietly and listen. See how many sounds you actually hear.
|
Baji-Naji SymbolEven though my job with this production is predominantly writing the adaptation and then directing the recording, I have had a hand in a great many other aspects of it. Of course, that's more because of necessity because at first there were only two people working on it, myself and Tim Knofler, Sound Designer and head man at Audio Cinema Entertainment. Make that three people, his associate, Walden Hughes, is the financial mastermind.
One of my duties during all the planning stages has been to interact with our artist Mekala McGaughy. At first we were "just trying her out" but she's been such a joy to work with, and so incredibly patient with me, that I just can't imagine working with anyone else. To the left are three symbols that were done to illustrate "baji-naji" a symbol used by the atevi people to denote Chance and Fortune. No matter what association you have on the atevi world, this symbol is prevalent Unfortunately, it is not (that I'm aware of) described in any of the Foreigner Universe books. Not once, in all 13. But, we needed to know what it looked like if we were going to use it, so queries to CJ came up with the following description: A bit of a yin yang symbol with a wavy line. After a few attempts and a lot of dead erasers we finally came up with the symbol at the top of the page. Believe me, Mekala and I were sending enough emails back and forth I'm sure we blew someone's circuits. We both liked this one so I sent it on to CJ who liked it enough to say: It's pretty, but... Unfortunately it wasn't what she had in mind. I asked her if there was any way she could maybe map out something. And she did, using the mouse on the computer to try and put together something. It was, as CJ put it, pretty shaky. But! It was enough for Mekala. She came up with the middle drawing and the bottom drawing and sent them to me. I immediately shipped them on to CJ. Her response was quick and sure... the bottom one. That one she liked. And, to tell you truthfully, it was my favorite, too. And so now, the third symbol on your left will be the offical baji-naji symbol for the CJ Cherryh Foreigner Movie in Audio production! Of course Mekala will be going in and refining it, but we've been sharing the rough draft on the blog and facebook and twitter and I wanted to make sure to put it up here, too. We're pretty happy with it. I expect to see a few tattoos? . |
On Choosing Voice Actors
Gin Hammond, the voice of Jago
In addition to adapting the book to a radio script I'm also directing the production once we're in recording. Which means, as the director, I get to choose the actors.
Because we created a demo to play for CJ so she could hear what we were capable of, we cast it thinking ahead to the final production. CJ, of course, has final say on the voices and three of the demo actors got a nod from her. The fourth one, although she liked his acting very much, did not have the type of voice she imagined for the character of Banichi. He does though, for other roles so there will be plenty of work for him.
When I first started thinking about who to use for Jago I immediately thought of Gin Hammond. She has a mellow tone, quiet and something you would expect a female Assassin's Guild member to have. It can be gentle and soft and in a nanosecond change to hard and commanding. A small lilt and the humor in the character is easily evident. We have many fine voice actors in Seattle, and for parts like this you do need an actor, you cannot use someone with just "a good voice" or "a great announcer's voice," you need an Actor. As I said, we have many fine voice actors in Seattle (where we'll be recording) but the character of Jago... ah, choosing a Jago was more than finding a good actor.
To be fair to the many voice actresses that I know, I did, indeed consider them, and listen to different recordings of them. I read the scenes we'd be recording for the demo and then I reread parts of the books. And then I jumped ahead to other books in the series and read more of Jago so I could get a real feel for her. The more I read the more I thought of Gin and how she would be able to get into the skin of Jago and wear the part.
I also, while thinking of Gin, was thinking of Wednesday Wolf, the young actor who would play Bren and who was the voice of Davis Hunter in my "The Enchantress" audio drama. I started comparing the two voices. Their own ages meshed well with the ages of the characters. Their ability to understand their characters and most of all, their abilities to work off another actor factored in. Certain aspects of their own lives actually worked to help convey the relationship between the two fictional characters. First I'd play some of Wednesday's work. Then I'd play some of Gin's. I didn't do that long. It became clear that Gin was the right choice.
Gin had worked for me in the past, recording my "A Rebecca Bowen Mystery: An Elemental Horror" audio drama. Plus she has done a great deal of work for Jim French Productions, Inc. Imagination Theater (where I work). She's also a dialect coach and voice teacher.
As to what CJ thought of Gin? She felt that Gin brought just the right amount of command, and subtle nuance to the role and yes, she liked her very much.
In addition to adapting the book to a radio script I'm also directing the production once we're in recording. Which means, as the director, I get to choose the actors.
Because we created a demo to play for CJ so she could hear what we were capable of, we cast it thinking ahead to the final production. CJ, of course, has final say on the voices and three of the demo actors got a nod from her. The fourth one, although she liked his acting very much, did not have the type of voice she imagined for the character of Banichi. He does though, for other roles so there will be plenty of work for him.
When I first started thinking about who to use for Jago I immediately thought of Gin Hammond. She has a mellow tone, quiet and something you would expect a female Assassin's Guild member to have. It can be gentle and soft and in a nanosecond change to hard and commanding. A small lilt and the humor in the character is easily evident. We have many fine voice actors in Seattle, and for parts like this you do need an actor, you cannot use someone with just "a good voice" or "a great announcer's voice," you need an Actor. As I said, we have many fine voice actors in Seattle (where we'll be recording) but the character of Jago... ah, choosing a Jago was more than finding a good actor.
To be fair to the many voice actresses that I know, I did, indeed consider them, and listen to different recordings of them. I read the scenes we'd be recording for the demo and then I reread parts of the books. And then I jumped ahead to other books in the series and read more of Jago so I could get a real feel for her. The more I read the more I thought of Gin and how she would be able to get into the skin of Jago and wear the part.
I also, while thinking of Gin, was thinking of Wednesday Wolf, the young actor who would play Bren and who was the voice of Davis Hunter in my "The Enchantress" audio drama. I started comparing the two voices. Their own ages meshed well with the ages of the characters. Their ability to understand their characters and most of all, their abilities to work off another actor factored in. Certain aspects of their own lives actually worked to help convey the relationship between the two fictional characters. First I'd play some of Wednesday's work. Then I'd play some of Gin's. I didn't do that long. It became clear that Gin was the right choice.
Gin had worked for me in the past, recording my "A Rebecca Bowen Mystery: An Elemental Horror" audio drama. Plus she has done a great deal of work for Jim French Productions, Inc. Imagination Theater (where I work). She's also a dialect coach and voice teacher.
As to what CJ thought of Gin? She felt that Gin brought just the right amount of command, and subtle nuance to the role and yes, she liked her very much.
September 28, 2012I've had quite a few questions about how I adapted CJ's book to an audio script.
The first thing I did was buy a burner copy of "Foreigner" and a few packages of highlighters. Then, with the highlighters next to me I started reading the book again, only this time every bit of dialog was highlighted in pink, information that needed to be conveyed was another color, the same for Bren's thoughts and feelings, and again sounds and then scenes that would have to be turned into dialog were highlighted with another color. By the time I reached the end of the book it looked like it had been attacked by a box of paint. Then I started typing. Audio Cinema Entertainment asked me to use film format and not audio drama format; no problem, been there, done that. Mostly I retyped all of CJ's dialog first, adding notes (for the sound people, places for new dialog etc) and corresponding page numbers. Once finished I went back in expanding the notes to more dialog and sound instructions (and, because it's a production script and I'm the director, director's and actor's notes). Like layering paint on a portrait I would read again, go in and make changes, read more, make changes, add dialog and read some more. Even now, with the rough draft safely in CJ's hands I'm still going into the script and making changes in the computer and, yes, highlighting them. That's the mechanics of it all. The hard part, the pressure part was creating dialog that flows as seamlessly as possible into CJ's dialog so that a listener will have difficultly telling which pieces of dialog are CJ's and which are mine. I can only hope to do her justice. But, the best part is, CJ has final approval on the script and once it gets that approval I'll know I did a good job. |
Rough Draft
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An absolute dream come true!
I am so thrilled to announce that I will be working with Science Fiction writer CJ Cherryh to bring the first trilogy of her Foreigner Universe series of books to the ear.
A quick rundown on how this all came about.
Don't let anyone tell you Facebook is a waste of time! I, as so many other people, last year "liked" CJ Cherryh's Facebook page, after all, she's one of my favorite authors. Last summer, in August, she posted that a large-print edition of a book was being offered. As those of you who follow my webpage know, I do audio drama. Because of that I answered her post with "Have you ever thought of dramatizing the Foreigner books as audio dramas." Her reply was that no one had ever asked her to.
I immediately messaged her to let her know that this is what I did. I gave her my credentials and told her I had just the company who could help with this. Then I got hold of my friends at Audio Cinema Entertainment, Inc. and talked with the President and CEO, Tim Knofler -- who just happens to be one heck of a terrific, and experienced, sound designer.
I told him of the email/Facebook conversation with CJ and the possible project, and, of course the books and he was interested immediately. I contacted CJ again and we made arrangements to talk with her agent. At the end of the conversation between Tim, myself, CJ and her agent we had permission to create a demo to show them what we could do.
I conferred with CJ as to what scenes she'd like to see included in the demo, and even created a couple new ones to show what we could do with sound effects, and to show my dialog skills. I created the demo script, she approved it, and then we pulled together a cast and recorded it. Then, of course, the heavy duty works began, adding sounds, music, creating atmosphere, etc.
Of course, by this time we were full into the holiday season so things slowed down a bit. Shortly after the holidays I fell ill so the project stalled a little more. Fortunately CJ and her agent were wonderfully patient and in late spring we sent them the completed demo.
Tim and I spent many late nights on Skype listening to sounds, discussing how to create dialog scenes from description and characters inner thoughts etc. It was our plan from the beginning to do the books without ANY narration at all. We didn't want them to sound anything like a "book on tape." Not that there is anything wrong with books on tape, I love them. Plus, we wanted to present something more than a regular audio drama that so many people are used to. What we wanted to do, in short, was create a Movie in Audio. We wanted people to listen to this and feel like they were walking the halls of the fortress of Malguri with the main characters.
When we finished the demo and sent it to CJ and her agent we waited for word to see what they thought. I have no idea how many times Tim checked his email for an answer to the email that the demo went with, but I know that I was checking it every chance I got, from my home computer to my work computer to my smartphone. If I could have had an implant I would have done it.
Eventually (actually quite shortly thereafter) we got the word. They loved the demo and they loved the actors. Although they wanted a slightly lighter voice on the lead character of Bren and a much deeper voice on another character. No problem. I pulled back in the original actor for Bren, horror artist Wednesday Wolf (who is Davis Hunter in my "The Enchantress" and Sebastian Nardine in the yet-to-released "The Bloody Rosary") and asked him to lighten his voice slightly and asked another friend of mine, with a deeper voice (but not deep enough) to read opposite him and the two of them created a very rough take for CJ to listen to. It didn't take long to get an email back from her saying "We've found our Bren."
Next up, of course, was the contract negotiations. And that was, quite frankly, a joy. I've never worked through a contract so easily. In the meantime, of course, I had actually worked on the full script for the whole first book, believing that all would be good. And it was.
The full script is now in CJ's hands. All of her dialog from the book is there. The story is in tact, from start to finish. There is additional dialog to convey the main character's inner thoughts and there is dialog to help people know where they are and what's going on.
Of course, the question is, how are we going to pay for this? After all, we've come up with one healthy budget; over $250,000. We are going to go to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter for this. We feel confident that CJ's many fans around the world will help us get this going. And, frankly, from the response our announcement about the project has gotten from her fans... we feel even more confident.
So, this page is going to be about the project, where we are in it, what we're doing, who we've cast (besides Wednesday) and other things, like the fact that I'm also going to be directing.
But that's information for another night. I'm sleepy, it's late and I'm still riding high on the responses we've gotten over the week since the announcement. Wow, me... li'l ol me, working with one of my favorite authors. Oh, did I mention so far she likes the script? Wow.
A quick rundown on how this all came about.
Don't let anyone tell you Facebook is a waste of time! I, as so many other people, last year "liked" CJ Cherryh's Facebook page, after all, she's one of my favorite authors. Last summer, in August, she posted that a large-print edition of a book was being offered. As those of you who follow my webpage know, I do audio drama. Because of that I answered her post with "Have you ever thought of dramatizing the Foreigner books as audio dramas." Her reply was that no one had ever asked her to.
I immediately messaged her to let her know that this is what I did. I gave her my credentials and told her I had just the company who could help with this. Then I got hold of my friends at Audio Cinema Entertainment, Inc. and talked with the President and CEO, Tim Knofler -- who just happens to be one heck of a terrific, and experienced, sound designer.
I told him of the email/Facebook conversation with CJ and the possible project, and, of course the books and he was interested immediately. I contacted CJ again and we made arrangements to talk with her agent. At the end of the conversation between Tim, myself, CJ and her agent we had permission to create a demo to show them what we could do.
I conferred with CJ as to what scenes she'd like to see included in the demo, and even created a couple new ones to show what we could do with sound effects, and to show my dialog skills. I created the demo script, she approved it, and then we pulled together a cast and recorded it. Then, of course, the heavy duty works began, adding sounds, music, creating atmosphere, etc.
Of course, by this time we were full into the holiday season so things slowed down a bit. Shortly after the holidays I fell ill so the project stalled a little more. Fortunately CJ and her agent were wonderfully patient and in late spring we sent them the completed demo.
Tim and I spent many late nights on Skype listening to sounds, discussing how to create dialog scenes from description and characters inner thoughts etc. It was our plan from the beginning to do the books without ANY narration at all. We didn't want them to sound anything like a "book on tape." Not that there is anything wrong with books on tape, I love them. Plus, we wanted to present something more than a regular audio drama that so many people are used to. What we wanted to do, in short, was create a Movie in Audio. We wanted people to listen to this and feel like they were walking the halls of the fortress of Malguri with the main characters.
When we finished the demo and sent it to CJ and her agent we waited for word to see what they thought. I have no idea how many times Tim checked his email for an answer to the email that the demo went with, but I know that I was checking it every chance I got, from my home computer to my work computer to my smartphone. If I could have had an implant I would have done it.
Eventually (actually quite shortly thereafter) we got the word. They loved the demo and they loved the actors. Although they wanted a slightly lighter voice on the lead character of Bren and a much deeper voice on another character. No problem. I pulled back in the original actor for Bren, horror artist Wednesday Wolf (who is Davis Hunter in my "The Enchantress" and Sebastian Nardine in the yet-to-released "The Bloody Rosary") and asked him to lighten his voice slightly and asked another friend of mine, with a deeper voice (but not deep enough) to read opposite him and the two of them created a very rough take for CJ to listen to. It didn't take long to get an email back from her saying "We've found our Bren."
Next up, of course, was the contract negotiations. And that was, quite frankly, a joy. I've never worked through a contract so easily. In the meantime, of course, I had actually worked on the full script for the whole first book, believing that all would be good. And it was.
The full script is now in CJ's hands. All of her dialog from the book is there. The story is in tact, from start to finish. There is additional dialog to convey the main character's inner thoughts and there is dialog to help people know where they are and what's going on.
Of course, the question is, how are we going to pay for this? After all, we've come up with one healthy budget; over $250,000. We are going to go to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter for this. We feel confident that CJ's many fans around the world will help us get this going. And, frankly, from the response our announcement about the project has gotten from her fans... we feel even more confident.
So, this page is going to be about the project, where we are in it, what we're doing, who we've cast (besides Wednesday) and other things, like the fact that I'm also going to be directing.
But that's information for another night. I'm sleepy, it's late and I'm still riding high on the responses we've gotten over the week since the announcement. Wow, me... li'l ol me, working with one of my favorite authors. Oh, did I mention so far she likes the script? Wow.