Audio podcast sound Asbjoern Andersen


What goes into creating a great audio drama podcast? Matthew McLean from The Podcast Host was kind enough to share his key insights on how to use nothing but sound to tell the story:


Written by Matthew McLean



 

If you’re looking to get in to the world of sound design for film or game, then you could do a lot worse than to start your own Audio Drama podcast. The art of creating Audio Drama is oven overlooked in favour of its visual counterparts, but there are huge benefits in doing so. Aside from honing your recording and production skills, you can start to build your own portfolio, reputation, and fanbase.

If making an Audio Drama series is something that appeals to you, then I’m here to offer you some pointers towards getting off on the right footing:

 

Good Sound Design Starts With the Writing

Audio Dramas are often a mixture of conversation and action scenes. Dialogue in your conversational scenes is how you’ll gradually feed the listener information about the characters and story. It’s easy to go down the route in the beginning of simply having two characters in a room talking. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, but over time, it’ll really limit your sound design.

It’s easy to go down the route in the beginning of simply having two characters in a room talking

Instead of constantly sitting two characters in a room, have them doing something instead. Can they be travelling somewhere? Or working on something? Or even playing some sort of game or sport?

This not only helps make your characters more human, it keeps your soundscapes fresh, lively, and interesting too.

 

Let Sound Fill in the Gaps

Expositional dialogue is bad in any medium, but in audio it stands out like a sore thumb. Just because there’s no visuals doesn’t mean characters should explain everything they see in great detail. That will sound wooden, and false.

Through clever use of your sound library, you can give your listener little clues about an environment, which act as a support to the characters’ dialogue. The sound of a few flies buzzing, some water dripping in the background, and a little reverb on a voice saying “it stinks down here” would immediately paint a full picture in your mind. And that’s me only using four words.

Through clever use of your sound library, you can give your listener little clues about an environment

This is the knack of finding a good balance between writing and sound design, and letting them work together effectively.

 

Setting a Scene

Letting sound effects and ambience fill the gaps doesn’t mean overwhelming the listener and drowning their ears however. Once you’ve used a few cleverly placed effects at the beginning of a scene, you’ve established a picture in the listener’s mind. You’ve set the scene.

It’s a common mistake when you’re just getting started to labour the point with these sounds. The buzzing flies I mentioned above, for example. They probably don’t need to stay with us throughout the scene once they’ve made themselves known. In The Radio Drama Handbook, author Richard Hand writes, “A cow mooing at the beginning of a farmyard scene is enough to indicate that location for the listener. We do not need to hear the cow continually mooing throughout.”

Use the opening to provide the listener with some location-determining prompts, then keep the rest of the soundscape free for adding more character-based effects – sounds emanating from what the characters themselves are doing. This could be anything from putting on a jacket, to firing a gun.

The point is that they’re not part of the background environment or location. They’re part of the characters physically interacting with the soundscape instead.


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Introducing MOTION GRAPHICS, a complete Motion Graphics sound effects library from SoundMorph!

    Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

    Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

    Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

    The library features:

    • 450 + designed sound effects
    • 190 + source audio files
    • Whooshes
    • Impacts
    • Risers
    • Stingers
    • Low end and Sub Bass
    • Impulse Responses
    • Passbys
    • Textures – noise, grit, glitch
    • Ambiences
    • Buttons and Clicks
    • Mechanical Elements
    • Granular effects
    91 %
    OFF
  • Modular UI is an advanced user interface library designed by world-renowned sound designer and musician Richard Devine.

    Designed and sourced entirely from Richard Devine’s personal and exclusive Eurorack modular synths and processors collection, the Modular UI soundpack combines the retro, clean sound of analog with the futuristic tech of the new wave of advanced analog and digital synthesis from modular synths, evoking flashbacks of iconic sound design heard in both classic and modern sci-fi films.

    The Modular UI soundpack gives you access to sounds created by one of the masters of modular synths and sound design, and is sourced from equipment that would take a lifetime to purchase and assemble, giving an incredible value to this soundpack both artistically and financially.

    Utilizing many Eurorack modules that have not yet been released to the public and containing samples equally suited to sound designers and electronic musicians alike, Modular UI is in a class by itself!

    91 %
    OFF
  • ⏰ For a very limited time:
    Add this library to the cart and enter ah4launch in the cart coupon field – to sprinkle an extra launch discount, on top of the current discount!

    Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV is a sound library containing animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 294 files. The sounds were recorded in zoos, and wildlife centers.

    The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

    The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

    15 %
    OFF
  • Strident and Demonic

    Expand the timbre of your horror violins and cellos with CIRCUS, a sinister sample pack featuring 180 WAV sounds of screeching or high-pitched string noises, perfect for horror music and dark sound design.

    Creative Tension

    This collection offers a curated selection of screeches, high-tension tremolo, heavy jeté strokes, dark demonic textures, finger patterns, chaotic string elements, clock loops and bow accents.

    Haunting and Experimental

    Create haunting atmospheres, perfect for horror, thriller or experimental soundtracks. Every element has been designed to unsettle and disturb, blurring the line between music and noise.

    80 %
    OFF
    Ends 1761951599

Latest releases:

  • Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
    In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
    Kawaii UI + Kawaii UI 2

    These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with the Kawaii UI Bundle.

    It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    Kawaii UI Trailer
    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer

    The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs.  Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    13 %
    OFF
  • Vegetation Footsteps is a detailed collection of footwear and movement variations recorded on dry leaves and forest floor textures. Featuring walk, run, sprint, scuff, pivot, and single step actions, this library captures the nuanced crunch and rustle of layered vegetation underfoot. With performances in sport shoes, sandals, leather shoes, high heels, and barefoot, each sound is designed for realistic character movement across natural environments. Ideal for games, film, and animation, Vegetation Footsteps offers clean, focused assets for building immersive terrain interaction.

  • A collection of 135 potion sound effects.

  • A collection of 140 individual power up ability sound effects.

  • A collection of 103 bowling sound effects.

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


Listen, Don’t Look

One of the first things we learn when studying film sound, is that we’ve been lied to our entire life. Nothing actually sounds like we expect it to in the real world. Think of a sword being drawn, or someone being punched in the face. Both sound totally underwhelming when compared to the way they’re purveyed in films and videogames.

We need to be especially mindful of this when working purely in audio. You might go and record the exact sound of the prop or device you have in a certain scene, only for it to actually sound nothing at all like you’d expect it to.

Without those visual cues, more emphasis than ever is placed on how things sound, rather than how they look

It’s important that you never confuse your listener, so if something doesn’t sound like it should, take it out. Instead, use other recordings and effects in your library to build the sound of something so that it’s immediately recognisable.

Without those visual cues, more emphasis than ever is placed on how things sound, rather than how they look.

 

Action Scenes

An action scene can be a difficult thing to pull off in audio – but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done well. In a sense though, you’ll need to unlearn everything that works in TV and film when you’re writing and production audio action. A full three minutes of nothing but gunfire and shouting, or the sound of car racing through city streets just isn’t going to work in audio. Not on its own, anyway.

Firstly, don’t try to work around this by propping action scenes up with over-expositional dialogue. Characters offering wooden and comedic-sounding commentary will ruin your story, unless it is actually meant to be funny. With any action scene, determine its purpose, and what you want to get out of it. What parts of this action are absolutely key? What essentials here are vital to serving your story? And how will you convey them?

What parts of this action are absolutely key? What essentials here are vital to serving your story? And how will you convey them?

The last part is the tricky bit, but it can be done – and done well. Perhaps the sounds of a battle will be sprinkled with little chunks of retrospective narration by an eyewitness. Perhaps your car chase will be layered with radio chatter from a police car or helicopter in pursuit?

Every scene is unique, and there’s no real formula to this. It’s just about staying creative and mindful towards the aim of your story. In my opinion, some of the best action scenes in the audio medium can be found in the zombie apocalypse series We’re Alive. I’d thoroughly recommend checking it out for some inspiration!

 

Making a Fiction Podcast – Going Forward

I’ve only just scratched the surface here, but it can take years to figure this stuff out for yourself through trial and error. Here at ThePodcastHost.com we have a full series on How to Make a Fiction Podcast, as well as all the resources and info you’ll ever need to start your own show. We also run the Audio Drama Production Podcast, which has well over 100 episodes focusing on every aspect of creating in this medium.

Investing in a few good sound libraries is something I highly recommend too. The time you save on making your own means you’ve more time to spend on your story. On top of that, having professionally produced sounds gives your show a layer of polish that can make it stand out ahead of the others.

Most importantly of all though, have fun. If you’re not enjoying what you make, then it’s almost certain nobody is going to enjoy listening to it!

Good luck.

 

A big thanks to Matthew McLean for these insightful tips about producing Audio Dramas! Be sure to visit ThePodcastHost.com to learn more about creating and sharing your own audio adventures.

 

Please share this:


 



 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Introducing MOTION GRAPHICS, a complete Motion Graphics sound effects library from SoundMorph!

    Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

    Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

    Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

    The library features:

    • 450 + designed sound effects
    • 190 + source audio files
    • Whooshes
    • Impacts
    • Risers
    • Stingers
    • Low end and Sub Bass
    • Impulse Responses
    • Passbys
    • Textures – noise, grit, glitch
    • Ambiences
    • Buttons and Clicks
    • Mechanical Elements
    • Granular effects
    91 %
    OFF
  • Modular UI is an advanced user interface library designed by world-renowned sound designer and musician Richard Devine.

    Designed and sourced entirely from Richard Devine’s personal and exclusive Eurorack modular synths and processors collection, the Modular UI soundpack combines the retro, clean sound of analog with the futuristic tech of the new wave of advanced analog and digital synthesis from modular synths, evoking flashbacks of iconic sound design heard in both classic and modern sci-fi films.

    The Modular UI soundpack gives you access to sounds created by one of the masters of modular synths and sound design, and is sourced from equipment that would take a lifetime to purchase and assemble, giving an incredible value to this soundpack both artistically and financially.

    Utilizing many Eurorack modules that have not yet been released to the public and containing samples equally suited to sound designers and electronic musicians alike, Modular UI is in a class by itself!

    91 %
    OFF
  • ⏰ For a very limited time:
    Add this library to the cart and enter ah4launch in the cart coupon field – to sprinkle an extra launch discount, on top of the current discount!

    Animal Hyperrealism Vol IV is a sound library containing animal vocalisations, from real to designed creatures totaling more than 2000 individual sounds in 294 files. The sounds were recorded in zoos, and wildlife centers.

    The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

    The resulting ultrasonic spectrum is rich and allows for truly extreme manipulation of the content.

    15 %
    OFF
Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Kawaii UI Bundle is the ultimate bundle for cute user interface sounds.
    In this Bundle you get both volumes of our Kawaii UI libraries.
    Kawaii UI + Kawaii UI 2

    These libraries provide an adorable blend of cute, satisfying interface sounds, crafted to enhance user experience and feedback.
    Bring your games and apps to life with the Kawaii UI Bundle.

    It’s ideal for creating joyful menus, delightful HUDs, playful navigation and notifications, engaging pop-ups, and expressive text.

    Kawaii UI Trailer
    Kawaii UI 2 Trailer

    The source recordings inside are a treasure trove of physical button presses, clicks, pops, taps, mouth sounds, toks, shakers, general synthesised UI sounds, FM bells and telemetry style sounds.. Kawaii UI Bundle provides you with the essential building blocks to craft your own distinctive designs.  Combining these elements gives sound designers a robust sonic palette to create new UI sounds.

    13 %
    OFF
  • Vegetation Footsteps is a detailed collection of footwear and movement variations recorded on dry leaves and forest floor textures. Featuring walk, run, sprint, scuff, pivot, and single step actions, this library captures the nuanced crunch and rustle of layered vegetation underfoot. With performances in sport shoes, sandals, leather shoes, high heels, and barefoot, each sound is designed for realistic character movement across natural environments. Ideal for games, film, and animation, Vegetation Footsteps offers clean, focused assets for building immersive terrain interaction.

  • A collection of 135 potion sound effects.

  • A collection of 140 individual power up ability sound effects.

  • A collection of 103 bowling sound effects.


   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

HTML tags are not allowed.