Well, after a few wonderful interviews, this rookie reporter was set straight.

So, what’s the first step in creating sound effects? Well, it all starts with the scripts. People in the sound effects department read the script, where they are given certain scenes to work on. It is important that they read their scripts very carefully, so as to avoid mishaps such as using the sound effect for a woman’s high heels when a male character is walking.

Then, they go to websites such as Soundsnap or Freesound Project to search for the sounds they need. Sometimes finding just the right sound effect can take quite awhile. For example, finding the sound of twilight can take some time as it is hard to distinguish between night and evening from an audio standpoint.

Often creativity is needed in finding sound effects, as sometimes the desired sound can’t be found. Once the sound of a safe was needed and in this case, a clicking sound, the sound of a door opening, and some creaking was used. The editors then put these sounds together.
On occasion sound effects don’t take long to find at all, even if they are unusual. Once, an episode of Buffy Between The Lines needed eerie flute music and even though the person searching for it thought it would take forever, It only took ten minutes.

Sometimes sound effects can be found somewhere totally unexpected, such as an alligator sound found at the website for the U.S. Wildlife and Fish Fund.

Finding all the sounds needed usually takes one or two hours, or a little longer if you’re just starting out. As you gain more experience, you learn how to phrase your searches and build up a library of clips for reuse. After all the sounds are found you also need to create a file detailing the creator of the sound effects, where it was found, the original filename, and the new filename [if it needed to be changed.] After doing all this, the sound clips still have to be uploaded to the FTP site. With two or three scenes an episode to provide sound effects for, this whole process can take up to approximately six hours.

Besides finding sound effects, some members of the sound effects crew are also responsible for making their own sound effects. This is called foley. Foley is often done with a lot of improvisation, such as dragging a folder along your desk to make the sound of a clipboard hitting a counter.

I hope this article has given you a better understanding and appreciation of what the amazing sound effects crew does to bring you the sounds that add so much to your favorite podcasts. I know this reporter will never listen to a podcast the same way again!

The cemetery (which started off as Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery) had a rough history. By the end of the 20tth century, the owners had run into financial difficulties and the cemetery became run down. This caused California to stop new internments in the cemetery. In 1989, Tyler Cassity of Forever Enterprises brought the property, renamed it Hollywood Forever, and started restoration. The cemetery is in current use and offers a wide array of services, including a live webcast and LifeStory tributes.

You’ll see the graves of many famous folks at Hollywood Forever Cemetery including John Huston, Peter Lorre, Jayne Mansfield, Johnny Ramone, Cecil B. DeMille, and “Alfalfa” from the Little Rascals. There are also tombs, monuments, headstones and two large indoor mausoleums (one of which you might recognize from the TV show “Charmed”).
Some of the BtL crew got to visit Hollywood Forever recently, and see for ourselves where our episode takes place! Due to its history, Hollywood Forever Cemetery has many ghost stories attached to it, including the story of the Lady in Black, which we “borrowed” for Episode 3.

Heidi poses as the Lady in Black, her character for Episode 003 – The Truth is Out There

In 1926, film star Rudolph Valentino was at the height of his fame. On August 23, 1926 he died from a perforated ulcer (which caused blood poisoning). He was so popular that it’s estimated that a crowd of 100,000 people showed up for his funeral services in New York City. After the service his body was transported to Los Angeles by train and fans lined the tracks to get a glimpse of the train. Once in Los Angeles, some 80,000 people came to the cemetery as his casket was carried into the Cathedral Mausoleum on the grounds of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Valentino was supposed to get a more elaborate memorial, but complications arose and the Mausoleum became his final resting place.

Liane U. (Fred) poses as poor sick Fred!

The legend of the Lady in Black is said to have begun on the first anniversary of Valentino’s death when a mysterious woman, dressed all in black, visited Valentino’s crypt with red roses and left them there. All without saying a word. She apparently appears every year since then. Not long after the media got word of the story and began writing about “The Lady in Black”.

While the true Lady in Black may not have been ghostly, the legend has sparked many tales of a ghostly lady in black kneeling in front of Valentino’s tomb. Others have reported being alone in the mausoleum and finding roses that suddenly appeared in the previously empty vases that hang from Valentino’s crypt. Others have heard footsteps or feel like they’re being watched.

The Lady in Black captured Nashville songwriters Danny Dill and Marijohn Wikin and, in 1959, they wrote and produced a song called “The Long Black Veil”. First recorded by Lefty Frizzell the song has also been performed by Johnny Cash, The Band, The Dave Matthews band, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and others.

If you’re in Los Angeles, make sure you take the historic walking tour which is lead by historian Karie Bible, who has taken over the Lady in Black’s official duties of leaving a rose on Valentino’s crypt every year.

(photos by Tabz)

P.G. Holyfield is the author of one of our original Wolfram & Hart stories, “Exit Strategy”. He’s also the creator of the free serialized podcast novel, “Murder at Avedon Hill“, which is an epic high fantasy murder mystery. And I do mean epic, or as Evo Terra infamously dubbed it, “the podiobook that never ends.” On May 21, 2009 after 42 episodes, “Murder at Avedon Hill” did finally wrap production. Not only was this story epic in scope and scale, but the sheer number of over 45 talented voice actors from many podcasts also lends to this grand tale.

“Murder at Avedon Hill” began its life in 2003 when P.G. started working on a gaming module for BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights, which is a licensed D&D video game. When the module itself did not become a reality, P.G. took the story ideas and non-player characters and created an interactive story that he shared with the Neverwinter Vault fan website. He posted chapters on a bi-weekly basis, about 23 chapters at the time, and ended each chapter with either a question or cliffhanger. He made the story interactive by getting input from the readers, not with a standard polling booth feature, but with a betting system for readers to bet on what would happen next.

Eventually, P.G. took all of the source material and crafted a manuscript for a novel, which he did shop around to some publishers. The cross-genre nature of the work meant that no one was interested at the time. He discovered Lulu.com and used their print-on-demand services to self-publish “Murder at Avedon Hill” as a paperback novel. Then along came podcasting.

On June 13th, 2007, chapter one went live at MurderAtAvedonHill.com and introduced us all to the Land of Caern. “Murder at Avedon Hill” has been described as “Brotherhood of the Wolf” meets “The Name of the Rose” or as Agatha Christie meets J.R.R. Tolkien. In the story, we follow Arames Kragen, an Aarronic Advisor, and his student, Arrin Perti, as they make their way to Avedon Hill.

Arames is a retired monk of the Aarronic Order, a brotherhood that has served the Land of Caern for centuries. He once served as an Aarronic Advisor to the Prince of Yew, Renoir Perti. Now, as a favor for Arrin’s mother, Arames has taken Arrin on as a student. They are en route to a conference and need to use the Olviaran Pass which starts in Avedon Hill to shorten their trip to Northern Grozh.

However, upon arriving at Avedon Hill, they discover that Lord Avedon has closed off access to not only the Olviaran Pass but also the town of Avedon Hill itself. At the town’s gates, they meet Cletus, the gatekeeper, who explains that Lord Avedon has done this because the manor’s Housemistress, Gretta Platt, has been murdered. No one is allowed to enter Avedon Hill, not only for the sake of the ongoing investigation, but also while he is in mourning.

Undeterred, Arames offers to help with the investigation, hoping that by solving the mystery he can convince Lord Avedon to open the Olviaran Pass for them. However, once inside the gates, and the investigation begins, Arames and Arrin learn that there are many mysteries within Avedon Hill. Not the least of which is determining whether or not a vampire is responsible for killing Gretta Platt.

For in the Land of Caern, we do find vampires and their masters, moonbeasts and their ilk, and the Children of Az. Az is the father of the gods, and his Children are the deities who can enter the Land of Caern under certain Constraints and live out their own lives, and affect the world they live in.

It will take all of Arames’ knowledge of prophecy, myth and legend, and his skills as an advisor, as well as his abilities to work with the “river of magic” that flows all around the Land of Caern, to learn all of the secrets of Avedon Hill. At the same time, Arrin learns more about himself, his gifts passed down from his mother, and discovers what he’ll have to face as he and his mentor solve the mystery.

For the podcast production, P.G. himself gave the narration and also provided the voices of Arames, Arrin, Cletus, Cousin Red, and Ollus Wenk. The story has a very large Dramatis personae so P.G. enlisted the help of a fine cast of voice actors from around the world of podcasting. Moreover, you can find that P.G. has given voice to characters in other podcasts as well.

He has portrayed “Auberon” for Chasing The Bard by Philippa Ballantine, “Franklin Rothchild” for Billibub Baddings and The Case Of The Singing Sword by Tee Morris, and “Kevin Darby” for Metamor City: Making The Cut by Chris Lester. He’s also had parts in Patrick McLean’s The Seanachai, Rick Stringer’s Variant Frequencies, Star Wars – Codename: Starkeeper by “Indiana Jim” Perry, and episodes of Buffy Between the Lines.

His current project is a short fiction anthology podcast set in the Land of Caern. This new anthology, “Tales of The Children”, began on 09/09/09, and features his stories as well as others from many of his fellow podcasters. Our own Tabitha Grace Smith is one of the authors in the anthology.

Due to the success of the podcast, “Murder at Avedon Hill” has been picked up to be published by Dragon Moon Press, and is expected to be released in late 2009, maybe early 2010. P.G. is hard at work on editing right now for this release.

This level of awesome has long been the focus of the bards of old, and as such, P.G. himself is the subject of another bard’s musical wit. Our own Kim “the Comic Book Goddess” Fortuner has a song all about the torment of his cliffhangers and waiting for each new episode entitled, “Damn You Holyfield”.

Finally, the podcast was nominated as a finalist for a 2009 Parsec Award for “Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form including Independents)”. It was also a finalist for the 2008 Podcast Peer Awards. P.G. is also one of the co-hosts of the Dead Robots’ Society writing podcast (which was also a 2009 Parsec Finalist for “Best Writing-related Podcast”).

I want to wish P.G. Holyfield all the best with his future projects, and I look forward to adding a print copy of “Murder at Avedon Hill” from Dragon Moon Press to my collection of books by authors I’ve discovered through podcasting.

Please Take a Moment to Vote for Buffy Between the Lines at the PodcastAwards!

No one was more surprised than me at becoming a voice actor — it’s not something I’d ever considered. What strange set of circumstances could lead a retired 64-year-old IT guy to try voice acting?

The tale begins with Buffy. My wife and I were introduced to Buffy the Vampire Slayer by some younger folk, and we became instant addicts. So much so we we bought the box set of Buffy, then Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible, and Dollhouse.

I also discovered Buffy Between the Lines. Like Spike at Halloween, all I could think was, “This is just … neat!” How on earth, I wondered, did these amazing young people do all this?

In a nutshell: creativity, energy, love of Joss’s work, love of story telling, talent, cooperation, drive, and very hard work. Remarkable people from all over the globe, using the Internet to freely donate their talents and time to create a fan-based audio drama of remarkable quality and freshness.

When I heard that Between the Lines Studios was holding auditions for the upcoming Angel Between the Lines, I thought heck, even auditioning would be fun, so I tried out for General Cast, never expecting to be considered. When an email arrived welcoming me to the cast, I had an Oz moment: “Huh!”

My first assignment was to shout “To Lorne!” as part of a group. Next I got a few lines as a dying demon. In another episode, I played a New York-born “gansta.” I also had the opportunity to narrate a couple of wonderful fanfic stories for one of Tabz’s other Joss-related podcasts, Strangely Literal.

My largest part has been the character of Johannes Cordner in P.G. Holyfield’s “Exit Strategy” (Tales from Wolfram & Hart). I studied the story to understand the nuances of Johannes’s state of mind as he speaks: confident, irritated, amused, impatient, whatever, so I could try to get the delivery right.

I practiced the lines several different ways before recording them. The drill is to record each line or set of lines three times, giving them a different inflection and emphasis each time so the producers can choose the delivery they think best fits the scene.

Every assignment has a tight schedule and recorded lines are delivered to the producers and sound specialists at a common upload site. There’s a strict naming convention, and the MP3 files must fit the specification listed in the guidelines made available to all cast members. Some lines are recorded solo while others are recorded in group mode, via Skype, with one of the experienced cast members or crew acting as director, helping with microphone placement, spotting fluffed lines, checking pacing, and offering tips on delivery.

While there’s a lot of preparation and work involved in recording even a minor character for an episode, the excitement and satisfaction you feel on hearing a completed podcast is fantastic. You think to yourself, “I was part of that,” working with all those shiny people. Yes, Spike, this is just … neat!

[Gene Wilburn is a writer and photographer living near Toronto. His website is located at genewilburn.com]

The writers have taken some characters that received very little screen time in the original “Angel” series and have given them a story of their own, fleshing out the character that the fans never really got to know.  “My character is in one memorable scene in the first season of Angel a very funny scene, which we have to reenact. But it’s so interesting that the writers took that character and developed him fully. Hawkins was just a sleazy Wolfram and Hart lawyer and now he has a back story and you find out what he had been through since that moment,” said Robin Burdge.

Peter, a writer for ABTL, said “I really like secondary characters (specifically recurring ones) as they really flesh out a whole universe and make the story feel like it takes place in a universe unto itself and we’re only really seeing one story from that universe. After seeing them pop out of the crowd again and again, it’s always a treat to take a peak into their personal lives, hence the episode I wrote.  I do, however, think that if a secondary character gets overexposed it does lose a lot of its mystique. This usually happens right after a breakout episode like the one that I wrote, so I hope that these particular characters do kind of fade back into the background slowly.”

Along with some original characters, ABTL is also including some characters that were only seen a few times in supporting roles and giving them stories of their own.  There are a lot of characters the ABTL cast and crew hope to see return, David Nabbit seems to be a clear favorite.   “As far as a secondary character I’d love to see once again, if only for a short while, is David Nabbit from “Angel.”  Where the hell did that guy go?” said Peter.  Lucky for them, David Nabbit has been confirmed for ABTL, as well as Gwen Raiden.

Mark Smith will be voicing David Nabbit and he is extremely excited about the opportunity.  He was also the voice of Mr. Chase in Buffy Between the Lines (BBTL) Season 2, but he admits that he did not feel as comfortable with the role as he does with David Nabbit.  Mark Smith went on to say, “I am David Nabbit, except for, you know, the billions of dollars and the demon fetish.  But I’m a nerd, I play D&D bi-weekly, I have programmed computers since about 1978 (age three) when my sister saved her baby-sitting money and bought a TRS-80 Model 1.”

For the actors specifically, one has to wonder if it is harder to play a character you only get to see once or twice as opposed to a main character that appears in every episode.  “I suppose we have more latitude in how to play them because they aren’t quite as well defined.” Mark said, “but the thing about Whedon is that even characters we don’t see much of are still vivid. Even though Gwen (Raiden) only appeared in three episodes, we still got to learn a lot about her through flashbacks.”

It is hard to argue that without secondary characters, the Whedonverse would be lacking greatly.  They have enriched our television screens, comic books, and now our podcasts.  Who knows what character the writers at Between the Lines Productions will resurrect next?

Kevin got his start writing humor as a stringer for The Davis County Clipper in the early nineties when he wrote an allegedly-funny weekly column.  When a new editor took the paper in a new direction, the column was axed.  In June of 2006 he resurrected the column as a podcast and has grown an audience of devoted fans.

In the Fall of 2009 he released a book-length collection of essays entitled Happily Domesticated.  In addition to material from the podcast, the book features a dozen essays from his days with the newspaper.  Information about the book and podcast can be found at Kevin’s newly redesigned web-site at http://www.HappilyDomesticated.com

His other forays into new media and blogging include working as an actor and director for the Between the Lines Studios and as a game review for TechTalkforFamilies. He particularly enjoyed writing Duluth as part of the Angel Between the Lines project.

The reason I have to introduce myself is become I’m brand new around these parts. Yep, Angel Between the Lines is my first step into the Between the Lines network, and more than that, my first foray into podcasting! That’s right, this will be the first time my voice enters the podcasting universe (although Steve Eley did read one of my comments aloud on an episode of Escape Pod which made me way too giddy for my own good), and I couldn’t be happier about it.

See, I got started late on this whole scene in general, so when I got my Zune 80 for my birthday in February of ’08 and decided to see what the hubbub was about, I went berserk. I have far too many podcast subscriptions than I have time to listen to, leading to epic internal battles over which shows to get hopelessly addicted to this week and then, after catching up, which other show to obsess over while the other ones start filling right back up again. It’s an endless, thankless, stressful task with no pay or health benefits to speak of. But I don’t care, because I’m loving it. It’s opened me up to great viewpoints from fascinating people, and wonderful sources of fiction from all sorts of incredibly talented authors. And getting to listen to the same voices every week really makes you feel like you know these people personally. So this community is one I’ve embraced on a pretty personal level and have really wanted to become a part of. Who doesn’t like a little bit of internet immortality, right?

In the case of Angel Between the Lines, I saw a Tweet for an open casting call in March and figured, “what the heck?” I have a decent microphone, I’ve got Audacity, it’s not like I’m a stranger to voice recording (but more on that later), and it just sounds like fun. So off I went, lines recorded and submitted, and next thing I know I’m cast in the role of Groo! Now how cool is that? [very, in case you’re a little slow]

So far it’s kind of a kick. I had only just begun to listen to Buffy Between the Lines when this all started, so I’m just getting into how this all works, but in the meantime I’m loving the behind-the-scenes. I’ll be getting to flex a few creative muscles I didn’t know I had (actually, my fingers are crossed that they’re even there), and working with a really amazing team of people who seem to be having a blast putting this all together. What more could I ask for? Okay, that’s a stupid question, because right now you’re probably imagining all sorts of drastically more lucrative and awe-inspiring desires that I could have requested, but I’m just not that greedy, okay? I asked for this, I got it, and I’m happy with that. …also, the Oompa Loompas never made it through immigration, and the millions of dollars in unexpected inheritance hasn’t arrived yet from Nigeria.

Now for a little background on me: One of the reasons I was drawn to this at all is because I’m not exactly inexperienced when it comes to performing. In fact, I was a professional actor for the vast majority of my life! And I’m uniquely and doubly qualified for my involvement here. As a kid, I did endless work in voiceover, playing roles in many cartoons (some of which people have actually heard of!), radio commercials, dubbing over the lines of kids who mumbled too much in major motion pictures, etc., so I know all of the ropes. But I also have a more direct connection, as I both read for an episode of Angel, and was cast shortly thereafter in an episode of Buffy, where I was interrogated and intimidated by the Slayer, herself! Having been a fan of the show (and Joss in general), it was an exciting moment to say the least. So that feeling of personal connection to the Buffyverse ensured that I had to get involved here when the opportunity arose. One taste of being a part of this legacy just isn’t enough. Plus it gave me a totally unnecessary excuse to re-watch Angel.

So that’s my mildly-entertaining introduction. Should the Senior Partners see fit, you’ll hopefully be hearing more from me as the production progresses. If not, just look around in all the typical hangouts, and odds are you’ll see TurboFool lurking somewhere in the shadows, writing overly-wordy rants nobody reads.

After two seasons of success with Buffy Between the Lines, why shift towards the fine (and in some cases, not so fine) folk of Los Angeles? It all returns to Between the Lines Studios’ central purpose – to answer the unanswered questions of the Whedonverse. BBtL covered lots of these plot points, from the large to the small. Each season of BBtL covered an especially important question: the first season answered how the Scoobies dealt with Buffy’s death at the end of the series’ fifth season and what led them to the decision to resurrect her at the beginning of the sixth. The second season also dealt with Buffy’s absence, this time her time “on the lam” between the series’ seasons two and three – both for Buffy in Los Angeles and the Scoobies back in Sunnydale. With the official “season eight” comics, the major plot holes seemed to be settled for Buffy and the Scoobies – but what of our friends at Angel Investigations (and of our antagonists at Wolfram & Hart)?

Season three of Angel ends with a shocking series of cliffhangers – including betrayals and the (unrelated) disappearances of both Angel and Cordelia. While a significant plot of Angel’s fourth season is the search for Cordy, strangely almost no screen time is dedicated to the search for the titular hero of the series. Season three ends with Angel missing, seemingly without trace. Season four opens with an exiled Wesley holding the key to Angel’s rescue. But how did our favorite rogue demon hunter come to find that key? How did the other characters deal with Angel and Cordy’s absence? Now, those are plot holes that needs to be answered – and that’s where Tabz, Kim and the rest of the ABtL crew come in.