I've been chronicling the progress and development process of The Angry House, a horror audio drama produced by Alternative Stories. I've already talked the OG awards, and a long behind-the-scenes where I detail the cast and recording progress as a log. Now, the climax.
The next major stage of things was selecting which of the many takes would (provisionally at least) form part of the final cut. I was more than prepared for some heated debate over which take was better or worse, and listened to each and made notes on advice from Chris Gregory. I had to bear in mind that these were the raw audio from Studio Orpheus, without sound re-balancing or positional changes or effects or anything. I had to pick from a number of bits and pieces, and sometimes there were sections of a take that didn't quite fit with the rest, so (as previously outlined) there were some bits of takes that sounded better overall and could be spliced into the whole.
When it came time for us to actually decide, I had listened through the lot and I was prepared for some measure of combat. As it turned out, only one of the takes had any kind of contention around its suitability, but Chris decided to go with my option as a working basis and see how it meshed with the rest of things as a whole. His choice...seemed off to me, which was the best metric I could give for many things. That it was 'right' or was 'off' when it came to both the emotional resonance and the flow from one scene to the next. As to the other takes, we were in united agreement over which whole takes to use, and which bits to splice in where needed.
I also learned something interesting about my writing while talking with Chris. If you read the dialogue just bald, without actors or characterisation or atmosphere, it can seem quite shallow. But because of the scenarios I've created, because of who the characters are in the context of the story, they're actually quite deep and challenging. One bit in particular, where the actor for lead character Harry Wells, Charlie Richards, had a long sentence that needed to be said quickly and with emotion after flipping immediately from a barely-controlled calm. We needed SIX TAKES to get anywhere near right. That kind of thing, a scene turning on a dime more than once, or character interactions that make things so powerful, are the place where my lines were challenging for the actors. And engaging, I hope and believe. They certainly seemed to be having a great time.
The next stage was listening to the final assembly to make sure the takes that we agreed upon were. And when you're listening back with cleaned-up audio and some added directionality, it really adds something. It wasn't the final product, but it was quite a thing. Helped by the fact that part of why I was listening through was not only to judge the takes, but to find any issues. And...there were a couple. But I'm not calling out anyone, these will happen to the most highfalutin production houses and Chris Gregory is a very busy man. It's just...don't go in expecting perfect and then getting mad about it. It doesn't help anyone and only causes problems further down the line.
To quote Chris Gregory following my initial feedback: "Well this went well!" Agreed, and relatable.
But when the final edit came in...oh boy. I think it's enough of a compliment to say that after the initial check of the redone end-to-end reel, I listen again and...just forget I was listening to an in-progress thing. The scenes flowed together well, and it just sounded like a radio play you'd hear on BBC Radio 4 or 4Extra.
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The Angry House is set for release during December 2025 on these podcast platforms; Spec Fic Radio Theatre, Alternative Stories and Fake Realities, and Pen to Print Write On! Audio.
Enjoy a Christmas time spook fest. Are you prepared to join our characters in entering 'The Angry House'?"
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