Individual Audio Project
I was automatically drawn to the idea of doing an audiobook for my final project, as I love reading and I believe that it is what I’m most likely to excel in. After listening to Simon Le Van’s individual audio project from the year before, I started to think about books that I have read which would be perfect to turn into a dramatized audiobook. My first idea was a book I read called “Faceless” by Alyssa, which is about a girl having to have a face transplant after an accident. I figured this would be a great book as I could use lots of hospital sounds etc and I could really bring it to life. However, I was aware that it may be quite difficult to reach and convince the publishers into getting a commission, so I started to brainstorm again. I kept in mind what Simon had said about trying to find people who you know who are easily accessible therefore making it easier to get a commission. Which brought me to ‘Saving Maya’.
The book which I believe would be the best fit for my project is a self published book called ‘Saving Maya’ by Janetta Harvey and illustrated by Annabel Wilson. It is a book for children 8 years+ and is about Puppy Farming. The reason why I was so drawn to this particular book is because I believe that I could do a lot with it, especially as the audio that I could use would be easily accessible. Furthermore, the book is illustrated by one of my Mum’s work colleagues which would make it that bit easier for me to get the idea commissioned as I can fully explain the concept to her.
In terms of research, I have been looking at/listening to dramatized audiobooks and noting down particular effects that they have used which I think would complement the story that I am telling. I have also made note of things that I don’t particularly think are good uses of audio. I have also been listening to BBC Radio 4’s Open Book programme, I particularly enjoyed listening to one where they discussed the pros & cons of an author reading their own story for an audiobook. I believe this was particularly enlightening and is something that I will need to discuss with the author. Furthermore, I have received a copy of the book and I have started to read and annotate it with audio ideas etc that I think would complement the reading. My main concern is finding someone to actually read the part of the book that I chose so I may need advice on how best to get around this (rather large) issue.
My current list of things that I plan to achieve and dates for them are:
- 16th October- Meeting with Aasiya (ask about self publishing, who would be best to read the book.
- 17th October- Send email.
- 18th-22nd– List sounds that I will need/plan out script
- 26th October- Record audio/ ambience (not story/script)
LINKS TO THINGS I’VE MENTIONED:
Saving Maya- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Maya-Janetta-Harvey/dp/1785893602
BBC Radio 4 ‘Open Book’- https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p06ll0yt