Voltage
As you may remember from an ancient post, the company I’d been working for over the past few years got shut down in June of this year, and everyone got laid off. Including, obviously, me.
Fast forward a month or two, and witness the birth of Voltage, an independent audio production company comprised of much the same team of people who had been working together quite happily and productively at the now-defunct Chinese-owned company called Himalaya.
If you or someone you know is looking for production support for any kind of non-music audio content (podcasts, audiobooks, etc), let me know! We’re open for business, and casting a wide net.
Proof of Talent
After a long, enthusiastic meeting, during which we discussed the hopeful future of our newborn company, we decided that we had our pick of projects to work on, our dream would be to focus on audio dramas.
Here’s what we know about scripted, fictional dramas:
They are the most expensive kind of audio content
They are fiendishly difficult to do well enough to satisfy an audience
It’s harder to turn a profit with them than with almost any other kind of content, period.
Given all that, focusing on audio drama production as our business model seems like a pragmatic decision.
Jokes aside, why bother starting a company to do something other than what you actually want to do?
Also, we’re really good at this stuff. But we realize that people will want proof. So we decided to independently produce a sample that meets the following specifications:
Short — less than 7 minutes total
A complete narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end
No more than two featured voice actors
World-building sci-fi to showcase a diverse array of sound design
Exceptional production value by every metric: writing, acting, recording quality, sound design and mixing, music, etc
To kick things off, I wrote a script.
Bait & Switch
INT. TWO-PERSON SPACECRAFT - SPACE Some shifting around in a seat. JOHN OK... PRIYA (V.O.) It was supposed to be a routine transfer. One protected system to the next. Some tapping on a screen. The song “Why Not?” by LOONA fades up. PRIYA Really? JOHN You said I could pick. PRIYA (VO) Neither of us had seen any action. Neither of us was combat certified. PRIYA I did say that. I did. JOHN I think I timed it right -- Here it comes.... Song progresses to the first beat drop as...accelerated beeping signals an approach. PRIYA You know that zero-point portals are the main thing that has facilitated not one, but TWO galactic civilizations that almost no one on Earth is even aware of. JOHN (duh...) Uh, yeah? PRIYA So, as we confront this incredible technological marvel, this breathtaking wonder of intelligent design... You picked K-pop. JOHN Don’t ruin this for me. Beeping accelerates until... the BEAT DROPS right as we hear a molar-vibrating SOUND EFFECT of the portal. PRIYA Wait-- JOHN What is-- Alarm bells BLARE along with the ROAR OF ATMOSPHERE outside. PRIYA Shit. Shit. Shit. JOHN Where are we?! PRIYA (V.O.) We were on the dark side of an unfamiliar planet. PRIYA I don’t know! But we’re WAY too close. A hand SLAMS into something, shutting off the music. The ROAR intensifies. JOHN The ripple drive is fully engaged, but it’s not-- PRIYA (eerily calm) We’re too close. BLAM. Big crash sound effects. Broken flashes of trauma. Fragments of a SHOUT. A scream. Silence. Fade the sound of the cabin back in. Slow, steady beeping, like a pulse. PRIYA Hey. You OK? JOHN Yeah...I’m not sure how. Gentle INTERFACE SOUNDS. PRIYA Looks like we punctured a thin spot in the crust, then smashed into the bottom of this cave. JOHN But the drive is fried. What are you doing? Priya works her way INTO A SUIT. PRIYA We’ve got to get to the surface. Figure out where we are. EXT. A BARREN AND HOSTILE WORLD PRIYA (V.O.) A couple of whisper-wires help us get to the fissure a few hundred feet above us. GRUNTS and SCRAPES as Priya and John climb out onto the surface. JOHN (panting) This is...not a good place. PRIYA (V.O.) Day had broken as we climbed, the low sky washed and angry with the color of blood. In the distance, Confederate automatons -- like daddy longlegs the size of skyscrapers, made of metal and death. Alien-sounding titans, WALKING SLOWLY, and FAR AWAY. PRIYA We need to cloak. Cloaking devices ACTIVATE. JOHN Dear god... PRIYA (V.O.) We watched as a massive starship plunged through the atmo and into the stony surface of this pockmarked hellscape. We can hear the howling, haunting SCREAM of the ship’s ENGINES in the distance before the bone-shivering bass BOOM of its collision with the ground. PRIYA Look. PRIYA (V.O.) I pointed at the much closer crash site of a much smaller ship. JOHN Is that one of ours? PRIYA I think they all are. PRIYA (V.O.) We made our way, careful not to create any movements that might draw hostile attention. EXT. DOWNED SHIP They approach the crash site. Scraping sounds as they scoot down the side of a charred crater. PRIYA Watch out for loose rocks. The sound of a gloved hand SWEEPING a metal surface. JOHN Definitely one of ours. PRIYA If the drive is intact, we take it straight back to our ship and make a run for it. People have to know the Confederacy has sabotaged our portal network. JOHN You don’t think they know by now? TWO MORE BOOMS in the distance -- two more crashed ships. JOHN I guess they don’t know. PRIYA Hurry. Panels are ACCESSED, OPENED. More mechanical sounds. Finally, a CLICK, a HISS. JOHN (excited) Look! (The sound of him sliding something out) I think it’s good-- PRIYA Wait--! PRIYA (V.O.) But it was too late. A ZIPPING sound following by a THAP of something smacking into the ground. Followed by a DOZEN more. PRIYA GET DOWN! CRACKLING EXPLOSIONS. As the dust SETTLES, we can still hear periodic BOOMS in the distance, and the SCREECHING BELLOW of the titans. Our heroes scramble to their feet. JOHN Priya-- PRIYA Run! PRIYA (V.O.) Our suits had kept us alive, but we weren’t cloaked anymore. They PANT as they run... PRIYA When we get to the fissure, you drop into it. If we’re lucky, they’ll keep tracking me and not you. JOHN What?! No-- PRIYA It’s the only way. One of us has to get the word out. JOHN I’m not leaving without you. PRIYA (V.O.) But he knew I was right. I could hear it in his voice. Periodic ZIP-THWACK-BANGS. Another, closer BOOM. It’s a war zone. EXT. THE FISSURE PRIYA (V.O.) As we got close to the fissure our ship had torn through the ground, it looked like John was going to jump. Sounds of a struggle, grunting-- PRIYA Hey, no--! PRIYA (V.O.) Instead, he pushed me. A GASP. PRIYA (V.O.) And kept running... JOHN (growing fainter) Come get me you sons of bitches! The sounds of the war zone fade. PRIYA (V.O.) While I fell... PRIYA (into the echoing cavern) John! PRIYA (V.O.) And lived.
Thoughts? Speak now or forever hold your peace. We’re moving into pre-production as soon as possible.
1. Can’t wait to be able to hire Voltage someday! Sounds like you have a cool crew doing cool things
2. Very fun audio drama short! Reminds me of stuff I hear from Dramafy.com. I can almost picture myself as John (my father's name, plus rhymes with mine)