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A short history of doing it anyway

7/2/2020

Last year I applied for a podcast producer job. I didn't get it, probably because I'd never done it before (which is fine). I could have let the door close on that idea but instead it made me determined to do it anyway.

After pitching Making A Soundtrack to fellow composer (and now firm pal) Dan Watts, we started to plan the first series. At this point neither of us had much of an idea of what we were doing, but the kernel of the idea propelled us forwards.

Fast forward 19 episodes and we have just closed series 1. We've had amazing guests from the TV drama industry, and - more importantly - learned how to produce a podcast BY DOING IT. We are now in a position where we're planning series 2 knowing what works and what doesn't.

By the way, I've learned such a lot from series 1: how to plan a podcast, book guests, interview people; how to avoid speaking over each other, how to edit dialogue, how to collaborate well; and - I suppose - how to be brave in a new environment.

If there is any advice here, it's that if you have a creative idea and think you can do it, then do it. Don't wait for others to give their permission; settle on an idea, plan well and get it done. In my humble opinion it's the best way to get better at any creative craft.

That's all, I just wanted to share my small milestone of producing my first podcast series. If you've heard it and enjoyed it I'm glad. If you haven't and want to check it out go to www.makingasoundtrack.com and have a look around, or just look it up on your podcast app.

Happy Friday

Gareth

#SoundCelebration Day 24: #Hashtag Poems

24/12/2019

One of my absolute favourite moments from this year. Hashtag Poems reaffirmed to me that as creatives we can do anything if we just get on with it. I won't type out all the details of what happened again, you can read all about that here... needless to say that I'm so grateful to the poets who took part.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, screenless is an evolving audio brand, and this year has really been about seeing where it could go. Thing is, it could go anywhere, and I'm actually really pleased that I've reached that conclusion. It's a conduit for original audio content and any other wild ideas I might have.

I'm open to talking to anyone about producing high quality original content, so feel free to get in touch. In the meantime, here's Ian McMillan reciting one of his 'Early Strolls' with music and sound design by me. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year everyone, and here's to a happy and productive 2020.

#SoundCelebration Day 23: Making A Soundtrack Podcast

23/12/2019

Take me to the podcast page

This is a screenless production that has taken me and co-producer Dan Watts the last six months to make. I knew if I was going to reach into the world of TV drama I would need to collaborate and get out of my comfort zone, and approaching Dan was just the best decision. We went about creating something out of nothing, a TV drama soundtrack album without a TV drama. The TV production professionals we approached to have on the podcast as guests all gave their time and advice gladly, and we're so grateful to them.

We're coming to the end of the album, which means the first series will also end, but there are already plans afoot for series 2. You can listen to the whole series for free via your podcast app, and you can see all the links here.

#SoundCelebration Day 22: Have You Ever Seen

22/12/2019

This is the first time that I have two screenless projects in production at the same time. The first series of the Making A Soundtrack podcast is nearly at an end, but I have been writing and recording for this little gem along side. The brain child of fellow Scream Streeter Richard Smith and his daughter Lily, Have You Ever Seen is a series of silly rhymes putting animals in ridiculous situations. We came up with the titles, I wrote, Rich illustrated, and I have been recording the kids and setting them to music. We're hoping that this series will also branch out into books and maybe other media. It's still early days, but we're really happy with what we've done so far. You can learn more here.

#SoundCelebration Day 21. Spent Force by screenless Comedy

21/12/2019

In early 2019 I offered to make a voice reel for my friend Lindsay. Somehow, during a walk in the park afterwards, we found ourselves planning to make a really rather silly recording of one of Lindsay's characters, Inspector Reg. If you'd like to check out the rest, the first three chapters are on the screenless Comedy podcast channel, but you can hear the first chapter below.

#SoundCelebration Day 18. The Little Bit Lost Ladybird by screenless Kids (Garden Tales)

18/12/2019

'Garden Tales' was the second release by screenless, story poems about the adventures of minibeasts.

The Little Bit Lost Ladybird was the final track of the series, and I approached it as if I were scoring an animation.

'Garden Tales' is available here and on all good streaming / download sites.

#SoundCelebration Day 16: Bellycopter by screenless Kids (Wibbly Rhymes)

16/12/2019

I started screenless to provide original content as an alternative to the goggle box. So many podcasts for kids (and adults) are extensions of TV brands, so I wanted screenless to be an audio-first brand.

The first series I wrote for this brand was 'Wibbly Rhymes', a collection of rather silly poems that I wrote in the first half of 2018.

screenless is going from strength to strength. As well as two kids' series (and another on the way), I've worked with poets, made a very silly comedy series, and am currently making a podcast (more on those in another post). I feel like it's evolving and growing organically, which was totally the intention. Here's the very first screenless release, 'Bellycopter'.

#SoundCelebration Day 1: Types Of Plane (Or Is It Santa's Sleigh?) (screenless Kids)

1/12/2019

Types Of Plane (Or Is It Santa's Sleigh?) (screenless Kids)

After Wibbly Rhymes was released in November 2018, I thought it would be fun to do a Christmas version of this track.

Some friends and family provided the vocals, so no session singers were harmed in the making of this track.

Find out more about the Wibbly Rhymes series from screenless Kids.

#HASHTAGPOEMS: celebrating National Poetry Day 2019

3/10/2019

Hi everyone, Gareth here.

My recent strategy has been to have adventures in sound. I've written albums; written and recorded poems for kids; I'm co-producing and co-hosting a podcast with Dan Watts; I'm developing a pre-school+ property with Richard Smith.

Today I'd like to tell you about my wonderful experience with poetry in 2019. In January Moose Allain responded to a claim that there's no poetry on Twitter. What if I could find poets on social media who would be willing to have their poems set to music and sound design?

I replied to the tweet and contacted Moose to figure out what to do. Moose was, as you can imagine, very supportive. Pretty much all of the poets I contacted said yes straight away.

By the way, I have discovered that the poetry community - very much alive and well on social media by the way - is open and warm and love their craft as much as I love mine. I am so grateful to them for their permission and participation.

The poets on this little sound adventure were Ian McMillan, Timi Amusan, Brian Bilston, Mukahang Limbu and Marie-Louise Eyres. I was humbled to have a chance to take their precious work and make it into recorded sound. I would also like to thank Kate Clanchy for encouraging her amazing students Timi and Mukahang to take part. You are all wonderful people.

What followed was the series #HashtagPoems, an audio series of five poems previously published on social media, and recorded for the same platform. You can listen to them here. I hope you enjoy them, and that it perhaps encourages you to explore these poets more. And as always: if you like them, share them.

If I can be so bold as to offer a truth: you don't need permission to be creative. Creativity is about finding your own voice, not waiting for the validation of others. So create with abandon, whether it is commissioned or just for you. Have a wonderful day, and enjoy all the amazing poetry you see popping up in your social media feeds today.

New from screenless Comedy: Spent Force

2/4/2019

If you saw and heard yesterday's Spent Force trailer👮🏼, you'll know that the first episode will appear this coming Friday 5th April via your podcast app. Spent Force has it's own web page at www.thesoundboutique.com/spentforce so if you'd like to find out more about the series it's all there.

In addition, Spent Force had a budget of £0 and you can hear it for free. In order to make more we are relying on listener donations, so if you would like to hear more about Inspector Reg's adventures, there are details on how to donate via the page.

Many thanks, and we hope you enjoy series 1!

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