Audio storytelling is quite unique. When you have no visual to look at you pay more attention to what the people are saying and how they speak as well. Whereas, when you have a visual, you have more to see, leaving you with more distractions. Audio storytelling also allows you to envision and create your own interpretation of the scene based off of the audio.
The Moon Graffiti audio started off with the most intense scene. Captivating us listeners into the story. The whole time I was listening to it, there was an eerie feeling because of the background music they had added. At 7:08, when Buzz said “Neil, you gotta see this”, the eerie music even intensified. There was even a slight pause after Buzz called Neil’s name, adding more drama to the story.
I could also envision myself in space from this audio. As if I was an astronaut speaking through a radio to a colleague. You could hear the emptiness of space, their muffled voices, and movements as if you were there.
In Moon Graffiti, written and produced by Jonathan Mitchell, is a fictional retelling of the moon landing where Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong crashed and became stranded. Matt Evans and Ed Herbstman played the two astronats. The story is inspired by the speech written for Nixon by William Saffire in the event that Aldrin and Armstrong didn’t survive the journey. After crashing on the moon, they realize they are stranded and spend their last two hours unable to do anything about their impending deaths. They try to place the flag, discuss the future of space travel, and kill time before their oxygen runs out.
Audio is used very well in this. From the cracking of their radio systems to scientific equipment beeping to sand flying through the air after a kick, every one of the many layers of audio creates a rich atmosphere. I tried to listen to the background as much as possible. They used long humming, static, and beeping at tense moments and kept the background clear during the calmer moments. The techniques were very simple, but effective. I started listening without looking at the description, so I had no clue what was about to happen. In the first ten seconds, I was able to understand that these men were in some sort of space-related emergency.
I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I havenât listened to many things like this, but found it very compelling. I had a clear image of everything going on without description. They did a great job on this and I may have to listen to more.
Below is a link to the story. Some sections I found particularly interesting are at 2:48, 8:08, and 11:35. These are places where I found the sound editing particularly impactful and detailed. Specifically the footsteps at 2:48, the flag sounds at 8:08, and the breathing and background noise at 11:35.
This short story was unexpectedly gripping for the entirety of the 10 minutes. The conversation between Armstrong and Aldrin signifies uncharted territory, as this was the first time man stepped foot on the moon. The entire story has an underlying mysterious backtrack, until the middle where sometimes just their voices and breathing fill the audio. Sound effects are also littered into the story, and even if these sounds aren’t accurate to what can be heard in space, it adds to the suspense and gravity of the situation.
I am personally very afraid of space, and anything of the unknown. It’s the feeling of knowing that there are things out there that are unknown to us, or potentially too advanced for the human mind to grasp. The “fear of missing out” or FOMO is also a reason why I fear the unknown, as eventually man may be able to conquer space and comprehend all of the mysteries in our galaxy, but I’ll never be around to witness this.
But the nature of the unknown and the fear that future civilizations will have to conquer gives me comfort at times. At least I won’t have to face these uncharted territories myself, all at the cost of my FOMO inside of my tombstone.
The first minute of “Moon Graffiti” was brilliant and made me think it was going to be a short sci-fi audio story. Once the context was provided for the basis of the story, I found this idea fascinating. Like the hosts pointed out, I never even considered the possibility of the moon landing not succeeding and the president having to give a speech afterwards.
It may seem odd, but I recently went to a concert where the theme was interdimensional space travel. The band would have audio clips between sets with very similar space noises to “Moon Graffiti”. I did not realize it then, but those soundbites really put everyone in the venue in a collective “dream state” that Jad Abumrad was discussing in the YouTube video.
Sound is critical to any story whether it’s a podcast, movie, or concert. Oftentimes, certain sounds are very recognizable, giving the listener a clear picture of the story’s setting. However, certain sounds also have the ability to bring people to places they’ve never been, like the moon. Most likely, anyone listening to the podcast has never been to the moon or to space, but the sounds are commonly used in movies taking place in space and sound like what we would expect this place we’ve never been to to sound like.
Not only are there beeps and boops that give the listener an idea of the setting, but also sounds meant to elicit specific emotions. The increasing volume of sounds used to build suspense comes to mind from the podcast. The eeriness of the scene is also emphasized by certain sounds frequently used in space-themed movies.
Moon Graffiti was absolutely insane to me. It was intense and it had me locked in listening the entire time. The reason for that: the sound production. Their ability to maneuver and transition the sound helped me feel like I was there because there are no images, whereas images presented with sound do the opposite, they trigger cues visually and we correspond them to what we know that image sounds like. Jad Abumrad had a cool way of explaining it how we are the ones holding the paintbrush not him. Its honestly beautiful to see. It’s the manipulation of perception at its finest and a good exemplar of sensual learning. It’s a recognition process of memory that happens when we hear certain sounds that creates empathy for the listener as it enables one to actually place themself in a similar experience.
The two videos both talked about audio storytelling in a way I had never imagined before. A co-authorship between the narrator and the listener formed the lack of visual media. As the narrator provides cues and details of the story the listener must paint their own picture in their mind of what is happening. The connection formed between the two leads to something that feels more personal and draws people in. Though this form of storytelling uses technology, it has been an art form for years where people would gather around to hear a story from its narrator.
While listening to the podcast I experienced this co-imagining as the narrator took me through the story. In the beginning, we are thrown immediately into the story and we donât know if this is real audio, where they are, or what they’re doing. We as the listener must fill in this information ourselves as the best we can. Then as the narrator slowly sets the scene we enter the âcollective dream stateâ that lets us experience the story that is being told.
The usage of sound effects and ambient background noise is what makes this modern form of storytelling come together. The cues these sounds contain let the listener paint the picture with a little more help. The haunting music varies in intensity to match the moment, grainy voices as they speak through the comm system, the sounds of their ship flying by, the flag being planted in the ground, and the camera flashing. All of these combine to pull the listener into their world.
The podcast format of the story feels to me like it is better in some ways than a video. A part of my confusion from the start of the episode was how much of what weâre hearing is real. While this particular episode was all voiced by their team, it very well could have been a mix of real audio used with additional dialogue done by them to fill in the gaps and the listener wouldnât be able to tell the difference. It leaves the narrator in complete control of how to create their storiesâ reality in a way so that at least for the duration of the episode, the listener can believe that this is all real audio from the two astronauts’ final moments.
The use of audio in this storytelling experience was captivating and immersive. Starting with the audio allowed for immediate engagement with the story, and the introduction of a narrator after the crash added depth. The background sounds, like the beeping of the spaceship and the buzzing noise of space, enhanced the sense of being in the moment. The meticulous attention to these audio elements highlighted the thoughtfulness behind the storytelling process. Even without prior knowledge of the technical details, the audio effectively conveyed the narrative. This experience underscores the potential of audio storytelling to engage listeners, even those who typically rely on visuals. It prompts consideration for incorporating similar techniques in audio books to enhance their appeal and appreciation. This, also, enhances the feeling of immersion. A major example of this in a modern setting is podcasting. More people are becoming intrigued by storytelling without visuals.
I found these videos to be very interesting in the sense of the way he is describing audio as a way of storytelling. I feel that he was very well-spoken about the topics and a really fascinating guy to listen to! I also went in and asked Dr. Oblivion about what he thought about radio and his thoughts on what Abumrad means about making meaning and connection, and as a modern incarnation of an ancient art. He actually was the most helpful tool with learning more about radio and having a sense of connection! Here is what he had to say about the topic as well. I thought about how some sound can have a potential to give form to life there are many type of sound that are also forming by the help of echolocation and vibration. Sound can be like light speed sound, bubble sound, sound of being punch, smashing ,heat, air, etc.
It was hard to capture useful information in two minutes because I was really interested until it cut off and I wanted to ask Dr. Oblivion for more!
Today, I listened to “Moon Graffiti” to understand how the story is told through audio, without any visuals.
I like how they started this with the audio, with the story, to understand and put ourselves into the story already. They introduced a narrator after the first audio, the sound of the crash, and the narrator gave a brief introdocution. I also liked the sounds in the background of the narrator.
While they were in the spaceship, I really liked the sound that stayed present in the back, almost like waves, or like the distant, white noise of the ship. I think it was really immersive. You could tell when it changed, when they landed on the moon and were walking on it. The sound was gone, but there was still white noise, something wind-like in the background. You could also hear the footsteps and the sound of them placing the flag.
What really added to the storytelling was filtering their voices through intercom. You could really understand they were in space, they could not speak outside of their suits. You could hear the crinkle of the mics, the slight muffling of their voice. It really helped you visualize it. Sometimes, I’d close my eyes and just imagine it in my head, allow my brain to paint the picture through the audio.
When Buzz was getting stuck in his head around 11:50, as Neil was talking, you could slowly hear the white noise intensifying, getting louder. I think I also heard a clock in the back, ticking, maybe to signify that Buzz knew he was running out of time. For a moment, instead of being an observer, the listener was in Buzz’s head, hearing him freaking out and losing it. You start to feel it, too.
A lot of thought went into this storytelling, and you could tell. I just think it’s really interesting to see how all these little things made the big story! It reminded me of when we listened to an hour of Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? for ds106radio. Here is my post about it.
Overall, I really like how you were able to feel and hear their frustration without seeing it, both through their intense voices, the sounds of the intercom, the white noise of the moon or ship, heavy breathing, buttons being pushed. You could feel their anxiety of the moon, of the crash.
Also, reading the comments on the story, I saw someone mention using a different sound that was distinct and really what the astronauts used, so it made me think, would it be any different with the sound? To a listener who doesn’t know the details of the sounds or the tools in the ship or the buttons or the applications of the ship and intercoms, I don’t think it would’ve changed anything for me. Maybe, to someone who is well-informed on this stuff would listen and feel disappointed for inaccuracies, because they know about it, but I don’t. I don’t know about these details, and I was still able to envision it regardless, but I think that’s really interesting!
To conclude, I just think audio stories are really cool, and this is coming from someone who needs a visual desperately. I think audio books have got to start being read like this, because it would definitely get me more interested in audio books (right now they bore me out and become monotone). I definitely can appreciate the work that gets put into audio storytelling more after actually listening to some, and watching Abumradâs videos about the creation of it.
As I am listening to Moon Graffiti, I am paying close attention to the various types of sounds. Sound drives stories by setting the atmosphere, show emotions, develop characters, structure narratives, foreshadow events, engage the audience, and influence the pace. Sound also impacts the mood and creates an atmosphere by using elements such as music, noises, and sound effects to create specific emotions and set the tone of a scene. The intro, almost immediate you get a sense of something gone wrong. The loud beeping noises, the increase in volume of the voices, and the crashing sounds all hint towards a sign of something gone wrong. The switch from a clear audio to a more static audio gives the impression that now Armstrong and Aldrin are talking to us through their helmets. Little details like this can make any audio recording go from boring to interesting. It also can give the effect that you’re experiencing whatever is going on in the recording in real life.
Going back to Abumrad’s video he claims “…the human voice has so much information the vibrations of the voice the way the voices rise and falls…” We can see some of these traits in Armstrong and Aldrin’s conversation thought the recording. You can tell when they’re calm, excited, or concerned. The human voice is a key piece to any form of audio. It can give a whole new perspective without you even realizing.
