* Snip - Snip * What will be the new sound of my upcoming nightwares? * Snip - Snip * John Tampa, FL

Here it is almost 4pm... the first chapter doesn't come out until midnight! I don't know about the stupid sounds! This missive brought to you by SynapticJam - hhhmmm... tastes like chicken

It's not a sound this time, it's a smell. The smell of moldy blankets ...

Partial sound effects are pretty good as long as they're used sparingly. This first episode of Nocturnal isn't really over-using it, so it's fine. Only when it gets too hard to hear the actual words are effects a real problem. Escape Pod has managed to do pretty well with effects in the past, but what I would say is don't commit to it if it's pretty hard to do. The sound effects are nice, but it's the story that matters.

The sound effects were great. I know for me they help me visualize the story better.

I'm just starting to listen to the episode, 15 min into it. Sounds fine. Tera incognito Seems to over do it. Hmmm Variant Frequencies Jail house rock had a background sound in their first episode that looped forever, and I stopped listening to it. It's the looping Gunshots / helicopter noises etc that get annoying real quick. And.... I got sent up next to Adrian, MI again. ARGH! Just so long as I don't have to go up there this winter... ..... Lion's Tigers and Bears! Oh my.... RPG's, Shotguns, and Nukes..... oh yea...

Made me wince as Rex got his arm broken. The gunshots were OK I liked the music of the little tinkling bells of death; it reminded me of Liszt's tinkling piano echoing Paganini's la campanella. So, well done and not gratuitous. Don't let the sound effects overshadow your voice talent, which has always impressed me ever since Earthcore, and reached new heights with The Rookie (yeah I know you use effects on your voice, that's sick, YSF). You should probably gradually increase the effects until we start to complain, then back off a little (that is, if you WANT to please us :). Morse "Not moving, not breathing, not understanding the cause of the sudden fear, he listened." 1267

Looping is specifically why I'm avoiding traffic noises and city ambiance. Unless I can find 5-10 minute recordings of those things, I have to loop at 2-3 minutes in, and your ear picks that up right away. It takes you out of the story, so I avoid that.

I'm a Goldilocks junkie... the effects were just right. Keep that up. And don't forget to kill me.

Jsut right .... Short Bob .... and the shears... form a novel .. he heard... DAmn that was funny....

Sigleriffic! Fav charactor is Pookie - love that New York thing. Brian is believable. I'm a serial killer crime solving junkie too. Focusing in on the smell is great. Every city dweller knows gourmet oh my God urine! Thanks for all the work sweat and tears. Thank your wife too. I imagine you are interesting to live with at times as you adjust to this new CROWNed level :). s13cybergal, an OJ with a walker. You can't forget that Scott!

The thing I love about your podcast novels is you character voices, I thought you didn't over do the sound effects they enhanced the story telling. As I am here - love the Google Map idea, and I winced at the arm breaking too

I love nocturnal. don't change the sounds. Wheelchair = Better than a real chair.

Sound effects are just right, I think. It's great to have finally heard the first installment of Nocturnal, by the way. Awesome! Little Bob and the chicken scissors... Brilliant!

The sound effects are goldilocks perfect, Scott. Doesn't go overboard but hits all the right spots. Keep that up :) I have to say though, your timing with cuts between audio clips has slipped a bit. The more obvious points were:

• the first cell phone call when he unmutes to go back to the conversation with his supplier (21:35 on my iPod)
• in the car near the end when it cuts from their conversation back to the narration (44:10 on my iPod)

Not too bad, but just enough to shake me out of the story for a few seconds. The cuts are too quick and makes it far too obvious that you're not recording the entire story sequence in one take. Logically I know you never do, but most of the time your podcasts flow nicely and you can hardly tell :) my blog

I agree, well done with the sound effects. I was listening while doing a bit of work and I have surround speakers. During the fight in the Five Rooms the door being bust open actually startled me, being that it was coming from behind! Excellent Work, can't wait for the next episode a week and a half from now!

Don't forget the smell of rotting garbage. hhhmmm... Question, what do they taste like? This missive brought to you by SynapticJam - hhhmmm... tastes like chicken

I caught "Da Bears" in there too. Excellent use of the accent you magnificent bastard! This missive brought to you by SynapticJam - hhhmmm... tastes like chicken

Overall you did very well with the sound effects you chose to include. I'm on board with pertty much everyone here that they're best used sparingly. Given that this is a podcast of a written novel, it does introduce some interesting constraints. As a Podcast: Given the length of the story, I think you should use the sound effects as a delimeter noting when you're entereing a certain type of sequence (action, horror, gore, etc). Avoid using them during normal plot development as they may be distracting from the story a bit too much. So far, they seem to be used just about the right amount. I think the only sound during Rex's unfortunate accident (accidents happen all the time, ya know) you used was the breaking of the bones... If you start using sounds in a sequence, maybe a few additional ones to really aurally set the scene for the listener. That brings us to Nocturnal as a written Novel. As a written novel: This muddies the waters somewhat as it's more difficult to really relate the sounds in the written word. I realize that the novel will have descriptions of the sounds that you used, but some sounds work better than others. This is where the junkies might come in real handy. If you poll the junkies about which sounds really worked for them, you could possibly use that information to really flesh out the aural descriptions you are using in the written novel. Really set the scene for both sight and sound. Just an idea. Take it or leave it as you will, you "ARE" the master after all. Let me know what you think of my take on it all. Oh, and by the way, KILL ME ALREADY! This missive brought to you by SynapticJam - hhhmmm... tastes like chicken

I'm going to echo the Goldilocks sentiments. It was just right. Now hurry up and kill me.

I agree with everything that has already been said here already. The effects are fine as is, as long as they don't cover up the narration and if you don't have to loop short noises over and over.... I loved the effects in the short stories, and I feel like they bring a little extra to the words. What are you waiting for? We're all just DYING to hear more....

I love the misc sound effects, like shots fired, roars, walking. These really enhance the story. But the sound effects on character voices, are distracting.

That's so funny, that's what the NOCTURNALS told me people taste like ...

After the months of waiting - the wait was well worth it. I can't download large files from home so I had to wait until I got into work to download the first episode and listen it to it. The sound effects are great and help with feel of the story and the mood of the scene that you are trying to set. Keep up the great work. Can't wait until the second episode comes -- Don't keep us waiting

I really like the voice effects you use. You don't use them often, and only to denote a real difference in the voice - otherworldly and all that crap... It's cool with me... This missive brought to you by SynapticJam - hhhmmm... tastes like chicken