Sonic Talespinning in “Ears Hear Now”

The many storytelling shows currently in circulation center on narrated stories, supported and enhanced by music, with occasional ambiences for atmosphere and a few sound effects to illustrate particular points. Some other media, notably sound for film and video games, take a more intense and nuanced approach to storytelling with sound, in which music and sound design are often active storytelling partners.

AES SF Speaker Larry the O

Ears Hear Now is an audio-only storytelling show taking this idea a step further by making composition and production of the primary elements (dialogue, music, effects, or DME) a simultaneous and highly interactive process, and applying musical techniques across the elements, so that D, M, and E exist and flow in musical relationships with each other. The result is stories told with rich soundtracks that add layers of imagery and meaning to the tale, revealing ever more with repeated listening.

Larry the O, the creator of EHN, will look at the conception and production of “The Incident,” a fully scored, 33-minute story just completed as the second episode of Ears Hear Now, from several viewpoints. The O will discuss how the show was composed to achieve its emotional objectives, as well as look at the modified audio post systems he evolved to support the unusual and extremely fluid creation process from a practical production standpoint.