Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Sunday, July 01, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
True Hideaway Geeks podcast Episode 4
True Hideaway Geeks podcast Episode 4
True Hideaway Geeks podcast Episode 4
• June 14th, 2012This week Gil T. and Shawn discuss the latest comics, Stephen King's new Dark Tower book, Magic the Gathering Deck building, video games and most importantly how you can enter for a chance to win the complete set of the "Hater" Trilogy by David Moody, which includes the books; "Hater," "Dog Blood," and "Them or Us".
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
True Hideaway Geeks podcast Episode2
Our second podcast is up..this time MIB3, the Bionic Man, how not to get fooled when buying tech
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
More about building a studio.
This is going to be our work station area. We'll be using Adobe Audition and ProTools for the software for our multi-track production. The wall behind the computer monitor is the wall that separates the workstation from the studio proper. We will be cutting a hole in that wall and placing a window so we can see the musicians or voice performers.
Right now we are equipped with some awesome mics from Blu-mic We have a Yeti-Pro which will provide some awesome stereo recordings and a Snowball for when we don't need the actual studio and just run directly into the computer. Also we'll be using an Audio-Technica AT4040 for some use, a Shure 55SH (yep, the "Elvis Mic." and various others as needed.
We are using simple PAs as some of our input (Behringer EPA 150 & Yamaha StagePas300) since most of our tracking and mastering will be done using the software this cuts down on the space taken up by a mixing board. I have recorded a couple of local bands using this same equipment (which I would drag to their rehearsal space) and have come up with some really nice recordings.
Keep coming back we'll have more as it gets built and stocked.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
True Hideaway the Store and the Studio
These last two pics are of the service counter and up above you'll see some of my rare and high value comics. Some of the high value comics include: The "KISS, Marvel Super Specials" from the '70s. The first one has blood from each member of the band mixed with the red ink. These were my prize possessions but now I want to build the studio so they must go. I also have several signed issues of Spider-man, some limited prints and even some old issues of "Howard the Duck."
Monday, January 23, 2012
New direction for this blog
This blog will be dedicated to the Radio and Audio production aspects of my life and of course the world of the the True Hideaway Production Studio.
Stay tuned.
"We're Alive: A Story of Survival" (The First Season) Written by Kc Wayland
Written by Kc Wayland
Multi-cast audio drama
Produced by Modern Myth Productions, LLC
Published by Blackstone Audio, Inc (2011)
Approx. 10.5 hours
If you are a regular reader of my postings then you already know I'm a huge fan of all things zombie. What attracts me the most to any zombie story is not necessarily the gore and horror of the zombies but rather the stories of the post-apocalyptic survivors. I guess really you could say I'm a fan of post-apocalyptic tales, but throw in some zombies and the horror of a body rotting but still living and possibly wanting to eat your brain, and you've got some fun. I think that's what I liked most about this story is that it focuses mainly on the survival of a few people and what they do to survive. Sure the author adds his own twists to the flesh eating undead, but the main focus of this audio drama is the survival and relationships of people after the world is nearly wiped out.
This story was originally released as a podcast and when I found out (sometime last summer) they had already started podcasting the second season. I knew I wasn't going to start in the middle so I downloaded the entire season to my iPod. Well here's where my frustration came in. I don't know if it is something that is eluding me or what, but I cannot, for the life (or undead) of me get my iPod to play podcasts in order from start to finish, instead it wants to play the newest release first. So what ends up happening is something like chapter 8 first then chapter 7 and playing in reverse order. I could play each chapter one at a time but when listening I usually don't have my hands free to constantly click the iPod. So after listening to the first chapter of the Podcast, I was annoyed so much I deleted the entire 2 seasons from my iPod. I was mad about this because judging from the first chapter the series was going to be phenomenal. Then just around last Thanksgiving I found out that Blackstone audio was releasing this series in an audiobook format. I shouted for joy, and could finally listen to the rest of the story.
I wish I didn't have to wait, but I will say the wait was worth it, for several reasons. First off the production value of this audio drama is through the roof. While this story could be listened to through a car stereo, headphones, a small set of speakers connected to whatever device or even a full blown stereo every detail can be heard. I did listen through all of the mentioned devices not just to test this out but because I couldn't stop listening and no matter where I was if I could hook up my iPod I did. I'll start off with the music; the placement of the music between scenes and at the end of chapters is perfect. All of the music perfectly reflects the mood of the moment.
Now to talk about the sound effects. There are numerous effects needed for this audio drama, first of all you've got gunshots, and the folks behind the production didn't use simple gunshot sounds, rather they went all out. Each character that uses guns, use different guns, you've got Burt with his gun "Shirley" which the character Saul calls his hand cannon, and each time Burt fires that gun you know it's his gun. The army guys in the story use a variety of weapons from 9mm hand guns to m-16s and more and each shot sounds like the guns should sound, there are several other weapons used and even the shotgun sounds like a shotgun. I'm sure that Kc Wayland's military experience was what made this production use this attention to detail in the drama. Another aspect are the zombies, there seem to be different types of zombies (I'll talk more on this later in this review) and each one makes a specific sound and the production quality stays on that same attention to detail when discriminating between each type. Finally the vehicles used even have their realistic sounds. When they take a Prius for a drive, it sounds like a Prius. But I have to say the most fun was when I was listening in my car in the beginning of the story and the three army soldiers are driving a hummer to get to safety, the sound was awesome, I felt I was riding in a hummer with them, it was that realistic. Based on the sound effects alone this drama was a winner with me, but there's more, oh so much more.
Part of that "so much more" is the writing. Kc Wayland knows how to not only tell a story but to tell a story with real people. Every piece of dialogue or narration is completely realistic. The characters are consistent. One thing I've often complained about when watching any zombie movie or even sometimes in a zombie book, is that all of a sudden everyone becomes the expert marksman and is able to make the headshot or that all of a sudden everyone knows what created the zombies and knows how to combat the virus, curse or whatever. This just makes the movie or book less interesting because it is less believable. I know, I know, you're saying, but how can zombies really be believable? Well maybe they can't but when a writer, like Wayland, can make the people and the situations believable, that whole zombie thing seems like it is a real occurrence. That's exactly what goes on here, everyone is fighting for survival, there are a very few that are expert marksmen, and even though the ones that are experts train the normal civilians, they don't all become experts. Not only that aspect but no one in this story (at least not in season one) have any idea of what happened other than dead are rising up and chomping down on the living, and they don't waste their time with trying to figure out how, they are trying to live and keep living.
As for the gist of the story, one morning while Army Reserve soldier Michael Cross is getting ready to take a test in his everyday normalcy of college life, an explosion is felt in the distance, Michael leaves class, under threat that test retakes will not be offered, and finds that mobs are rioting and attacking. Michael's reserve unit is immediately called in to the base and he heads to the base to find out what is going on. Upon arrival he meets up with Saul a former Mountaineering Division soldier and Angel a newbie Officer, they get into the armory to prepare for what looks like mere rioting and when the armory alarm goes off the mass of zombies which include their commanding officer attacks. The escape in a humvee from the motorpool and decide to go to Angel's girlfriend's apartment building, first to check on her and second because the place would make a good securable base.
On the way they find a couple of survivors and then upon arrival the building's maintenance man is on scene and trying to get the power back on in the building while fighting off a few zombies. After clearing out each floor of the 15 floor apartment building they arrive at the top floor to find the building's owner, Bill, barricaded in and shooting at anything that moves, after not able to reason with him they leave him be. One of the rescued survivors makes a sign that reads "We're Alive," and soon more survivors arrive.
After setting up a small community they decide to send a party out for supplies, what they discover in the world outside is not too friendly. Zombies storing the living for food and worse yet a group of survivors from a prison holed up in a mall ready to fight for turf.
The survival story continues with day to day living and excursions out to try and find out what can be done about the zombies. They soon find that the undead may not be the worst of their problems, when the "mallers" decide to invade the apartment building.
This story is phenomenal and every aspect is done right, from the production to the writing, especially when some chapters are told from different survivors' perspectives. Get this audio drama now and get hooked. I'm ready to start Season two now.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
"The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
by Theodore Taylor
Read by Michael Boatman
Published by Listening Library (2006)
2 hours and 58 minutes
How many of you out there have read a Young Adult book? Hopefully many, but for those of you who haven't, I hope I can get you started in a new direction. Young Adult literature are books that are aimed at the ages of 12-18. These books run the gamut of genres and can be some very interesting reading. Sure they are written for "the kids" but we adults can thoroughly enjoy them as well. Take for example the "Eragon" series or the Harry Potter series, many adults found hours of enjoyment in those books, and there are lots more where those came from.
A couple of summers ago I was introduced via an online community the group Audiobook Sync. Each summer they have pair up YA (Young Adult) audiobooks with a similar theme, so each week in the summer kids & adults can download 2 audiobooks for free. Last summer I downloaded every week's pairing and even though it has taken me until now to get to some, I love these books. This book, "The Cay" was teamed up with "Storm Runners." I haven't listened to "Storm Runners," yet but if this book is any sign, it should be fun.
"The Cay" takes place during World War II but is not a war story, rather this is one of survival and friendship. When WWII breaks out Phillip Enright and his family are living on the island of Curacao. Phillip's father was brought in from the states to help build oil refineries for the Island. The Germans send submarines to the island to prevent the refining process so the non-axis countries cannot have the fuel. When the island becomes unsafe Phillip and his mother board a boat, the S.S. Hato, to Virginia. The ship is torpedoed and Philip is separated from his mother. He finds himself on a raft with an old West Indian man, Timothy, from the boat and a cat named Stew. Phillip has been warned by his mother about black people, "They are different, and they live differently," and is wary of Timothy. Timothy rescues Phillip but during the boat attack Phillip was hit in the head and after a couple of days becomes blind.
Phillip becomes extra dependent on Timothy because of the blindness. Soon the odd trio arrive at a cay, a small island with no fresh water, and begin setting up camp for survival. The two characters learn to overcome their disdain for one another, and develop strong bonds of friendship by the end of the novel. The two characters learn to overcome their disdain for one another, and develop strong bonds of friendship. Timothy teaches Phillip how to do many survival skills, such as weaving sleeping mats, building ways to catch fresh water and ways to fish, all while overcoming Phillip's blindness. The trio overcomes many obstacles until a hurricane blows in and they must rush to tie everything down, including themselves. During the storm they lose their shelter, also sometime during the storm Timothy, who is somewhere near 80 years old, dies, leaving Phillip to fend for himself, Phillip soon learns why Timothy did the things he did, he was preparing Phillip to survive alone.
This story was one of those filled with every emotion from anger, anxiety to love and friendship and will keep you listening until the very end. Michael Boatman does a superb job of voicing this book, and captures the accents and emotions of both of the characters perfectly.
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