For this semester’s DA I will be creating a fictional podcast mini-series in conjunction with. It will be of the speculative fiction genre, focusing (broadly) on potential future apocalypses (grim, I know!).
The narrative of this podcast will focus on two hermits (or otherwise social recluses) who discover that they have missed the end of the world. One is from Australia (me) and the other is from South Africa (Allison), they begin to communicate via HAM radio, and as the series progresses they try to discover how the world ended and if there are any other people still alive.
Obviously, this concept is born, at least somewhat, out of the current coronavirus crisis. It spurred an interest in discovering possible ways that the world could end. While the series will focus on this idea, it’s equally going to be about human survival, there are AT LEAST two living humans after all.
Thus, the series is, broadly speaking, going to be an exploration of two duelling aspects of the future. The first, how humanity can, using current technologies and with current cultures, drive itself to a point of self-destructive extinction. The second, is how humanity can use those same technologies to survive, the protagonists use technology to communicate, to live.
While the podcast is in it’s preliminary stages (we have *checks notes* no script written so far!) we do have plot elements and various types of apocalypses we wish to explore. We also have a shortlist of titles, each of which reflect the podcasts theme in one way or another, and I would greatly appreciate if whomever is reading this would tell me their favourite:
- The Rising Wind
- Say Again Over
- Transmission to Follow
Much appreciated.
Also, I forgot to address this in my pitch video (whoops) so I’ll do it now. The social utility of this project is twofold. On the one hand, it is an exploration of how technologies CAN be misused and so therefore a caution against their misuse, by projecting these possibilities Allison and I hope to warn against their future employment. On the other hand, with the coronavirus outbreak showing no signs of going away just yet, it is clear that the role of the arts in society is more valuable than ever. Entertainment, fictional entertainment, is a necessity not a luxury– after all, are we all not staving off the savages of insanity with endless TV, film and books. We aim to create art to help in that endeavour of insanity averted, creating a DA that engages with darker elements of our current reality in a palatable, even enjoyable way.
Details-wise that’s all that we’ve managed to generate, so thank god for these next two weeks. Catch the pitch video below, see y’all in week 8.
Synthetic Boy 
Reblogged this on Future Cultures.
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Hey Josh, this a fantastic idea and you did a great job discussing it.
It’s great to see that you are using both of your degrees to create something that will be truly unique. Your DA is a fantastic idea, and it is clear you have a good ideas & concept of your DA, as a practical use for the DA. You have mentioned that you will use a range of mediums such as Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram to promote your podcast, although you must consider your target market and audience. It seems as though you will niche audience, those who enjoy listening to podcasts, post-apocalyptic stories and have an interest in future culture and dystopianism. Creating this target audience and refining your medium to suit these will allow you to find your audience faster and get more refined feedback from relevant users. I have left an article down the bottom that will elaborate on this.
I have also left some media discussing the best ways to record and edit podcasts. I have done some myself and i find them very tedious and boring, hope this helps.
P.S without knowing the narrative, I think that ‘Transmission to Follow’ is a great name for a podcast.
Link 1 (Importance of target marketing) – https://birthdaypakfranchise.com/2017/10/24/three-powerful-benefits-of-target-marketing-on-top-of-increased-sales/
Link 2 – (how to record and edit a podcast) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl-WDjWrTtk
Link 3 – (Best software to record and edit podcast) – https://www.podcastinsights.com/best-podcast-recording-software/
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Hey Josh,
Man oh man do I love this DA idea! This is a really creative approach to your Digital Artefact and its great that you are doing it with not only a classmate but a friend in Allison. This means that there are multiple ideas flying around and you can both come together to make one great podcast mini-series. The idea to use a podcast as a way to express your mini-series is an overall fantastic idea and is giving off great audiobook vibes and I love a good audiobook.
In my opinion, I think “Say Again Over” is a suitable title for your mini-series and it relates heavily to the story with the two characters using HAM radios as their main form of communication. I can tell you put a lot of time into coming up with these titles and honestly reckon that my choice is the most well-suited title. I also believe that the timing is perfect with the whole global COVID-19 pandemic being up in the air. It gives people something to listen to whilst in isolation as well as giving them a glimmer of hope of what the world can hopefully avoid.
A suggestion that I would make in order to help you with the process of doing your DA would be to watch some apocalyptic-esc films such as A Quiet Place or Bird Box which are both available on Netflix, which I am assuming you have a subscription for. I hope this helps you out and I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of your Digital Artefact!
Cheers!
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