the isolation-solitude-confinement-happiness-freedom domain

May 07, 2015

After discovering that our feature episodes don’t need to be anywhere near as long as I thought (I was thinking like ~1hour…turns out they only need to be ~10mins) I thought I should do some research into shorter-form radio.

I looked up this episode of Paper Radio specifically because of its length. I wanted to listen to a few more podcasts around the 10 minute mark to see how much content would be required, and also to get a handle on whether we’d actually be able to fit the three interviews we plan to conduct into the timeframe.

The episode opens with an intro from one of the Paper Radio producers, Jessie, and it’s quite direct and personal. She explains that she’s sick, introducing the episode ‘from quarantine’ and referencing her co-producer John, implying that her listeners are familiar with them.

The episode is a great sample of Paper Radio’s style – one person telling a story, with sound art overlaid. There is a lot of detailed description, and the sound responds to the story and draws you into the space. Something I particularly enjoyed about this episode is how tangible the sense of place is – I was sitting on a tram in the CBD, yet I was also somehow present in a dark, wet room with a sensory deprivation tank.

Notes:
– the sound story is constant, and the vocal and audio inform and respond to each other
– vocal effects give a really strong sense of space
– not only hearing about the weirdness, the existential crisis but also the minor cosmetic details
– humour is used to shirk some of the discomfort and grossness, allowing them to tell all (e.g. Narrator ‘I have to tell you I’m naked right now’)

Listen to the isolation-solitude-confinement-happiness-freedom domain here.