Poking Around For Assassins
Sometimes you need to be careful with what you learn while investigating...
There is a moment during most investigations when the fear sloshes into you. It fills up your legs like they are two plastic drums. It is usually just a phrase someone says that makes you question why you have put yourself in so much danger. And once you've started having those thoughts you don't care about the story or the podcast you're producing or anything other than imagining you are in a before time when none of this had happened.
So, picture me standing in the recording booth that we have in our office - a free-standing black box - interviewing a private investigator. We are about 40 minutes in to the discussion and he asks for me to turn off the recorder. I oblige, but fidget with the button. I'm anxious for him to give me the go ahead to turn it back on. He mumbles for a few sentences and then tells me that what I just learnt - during the 40 minutes of chat - got him shot at 14 times. He was in his car and now his car is full of holes.
Tip 1# - Even without publishing, be careful with what you learn while investigating
This was an interview I did for an assassination series and ultimately I didn't use any material from those 40 minutes. There was a version of the series which did contain snippets and I lost sleep every day they were in there.
In hindsight it was my arrogance that put this information in the series in the first place. I wanted a spectactular ending to the series, but ultimately it wasn't worth it. And we found an ending that was still dramatic and much better suited.
Tip 2# - This all starts with writing
The key to a good audio story is writing with extreme brevity, in a style that is appropriate for how you speak and with a structure that makes the narrator’s goals clear. I record several "dummy tracks" into my phone and edit them into Pro Tools, adjusting the script accordingly, because when I say something out loud the sentence changes into a version that's more natural. And I want to carry that fresh syntax and cadence into the final voice over.
What you need to do is try to capitalise on any scrap of purpose that your narrator may exhibit in order to build a sense of momentum. You need to give the narrator (and thus the listener) a good enough reason to come back for episode 2. You also need to offer up questions you believe the audience will be asking themselves and then tease them along for the answers. Without this back and forth, the most interesting series of events will fall flat.
All the best,
Paul