The Austin Film Festival is one of the only festivals with a fiction podcast (audio drama) track. And it’s pretty amazing they’ve invested so much into this growing art form. But what’s it like and is it something you should check out? Yes, it is something you should check out. I’ll tell you that right now. But what’s it like? Well, let me tell you about my experience attending, winning, learning, and making wonderful friends.
2018 AFF winners!
2018 was my first year attending the Austin Film Festival. I was a finalist and that was thrilling and wonderful, but awards were not really the focus of the weekend. I didn’t meet a single producer, agent, or writer of audio dramas who was the least bit snobby about who placed where in the competition. Anyone who showed up to the audio drama events probably got exposure to 75% of what I got as a finalist. Everyone was there to hear each about each other’s shows and ideas for shows and offer whatever help they could. A community like that is rare and wonderful.
I think the only exclusive even besides meetings was the fiction podcast second rounder mixer on Friday. There were about 12 people and we went to a restaurant and had drinks and talked. It was a great moment to meet people. I felt like I'd been working in isolation for so long and then all of a sudden I'm in a room with a dozen other people who also all make audio drama! And then for the rest of the week, we all kept hanging out. And anyone could join us when we went to panels or got dinner or were just staying cool in the lobby. We'd close out bars talking about story ideas or goofing off.
It was a genuine atmosphere because it wasn't competitive. No one's success or interest was a threat. Everyone's success and interest was celebrated. I'll say it again, the audio drama people were so inviting to everyone and that is rare and wonderful. I'm guessing the reason we all hung out is because we're all so inviting and happy. Also, we were like this little group huddled together for protection against all the scary TV and film people.
So, Winning means?
But that being said, what did being a finalist mean? Mainly more scheduled one-on-one conversations with audio drama producers and creators. I was very nervous going into these meetings because I’ve never done anything like them before, but they are actually pretty chill. You get to drink and listen to an expert talk about their journey and what they do and then you get to talk about your story and what you’re passionate about. There’s no one way people get into or make an audio drama, and they are very personal to their creators, so it’s great to have time to go in-depth about the minutiae of your and the other person’s audio drama.
However, there is some generally applicable audio drama shop talk. First, your passion for your audio drama is paramount. Keep discovering your show’s voice, find what’s unique about what you’re doing and what really excited you. Jacquelyn Landgraf from It Makes a Sound called this your show’s thesis and Sarah Rhea Werner from Girl in Space called it your ideal audience, or very specifically, what kind of person is your show written for?
Second, there is a developing show model advertisers seem to like for audio dramas. Everyone kept calling audio dramas “the wild west” so there’s no artistic reason for this show model, but people from Authentic, Audible, Nightvale Presents, and Earwolf were all asking for similar things. They want an audio drama to be at least three seasons long, ten episodes a season, and 30 minutes an episode. Obviously this creates a problem for audio drama podcasts. Unlike a talk show podcast that can release a new episode every week, audio dramas can take much longer to produce a new episode. Or maybe you’re making a show like 36 Questions which is only 3 episodes long. I don’t think any of the producers want to limit anyone’s creativity, they’re just sharing a general model that seems to sell well.
Third was a very surprising and challenging question, “what is your ideal situation?” The answer seemed so obvious to me I almost wasn’t sure I was hearing it right. “I want… to make this show for a living?” I guess in the world of TV that makes sense; you create a show and big company produces it and you get to make that show for a living. I wish I could have thought about this question for about a week before coming to Austin. Sarah Rhea Werner said that you as the creator need to define what success means for you because success is relative. Think about questions like:
What kind of audience do you want?
Who do you want to work with?
How much time do you want to spend per episode?
How many years do you want to tell this story?
How much do you want to be paid for what you’re doing?
How much do you want to pay other people to work on it?
What sponsor is a good fit for your show?
These help you define what success means for yourself and your show. And it’s OK if they change over time or you set higher goals after achieving them.
That’s another example of how independent and creator focused audio dramas are. You, the creator of the show, get to define what the success of your show looks like. When you can explain that to a producer, then they can help you.
Roundtables
The Saturday roundtables were sort of like the entire weekend squeezed into one hour; lots of open conversations with helpful people and everyone is on the same level. I had won the fiction podcast trophy just a couple hours before the roundtables, and I was sitting at the table with another audio drama writer, an audio drama producer, a musician, and someone who was just getting into audio dramas. We were all treated as equals! There’s no barrier to entry for audio dramas. You don’t need to be someone or prove yourself to get involved in the community and ask people questions and get support. That is going to foster some unbelievable creativity.
Learning from Sarah Rhea Werner
The round tables had very specific questions, but here are a notable points:
Sarah Rhea Werner: Marketing has an evil side, but also a nice side. The nice side of marking is thinking about why your listener will enjoy your show. Find people who actually want and need it. Marketing is a relationship and you build that relationship through communication. So know the audience you are talking to. Find out where they spend time online and offline.
Tim Street, VP at Authentic: Find a niche audience you can super serve with weekly content. He’s always looking for a smart idea, a passionate creator, and an audience. Use Podtrac, a free service, to understand your audience numbers. Top publishers and ad agencies use Podtrac when negotiating ad deals.
Aaron Hilliard, Audible: Audible is a subscription service and their subscribers want looooooong content. 5-8 hours at least (this is an audience that is used to audiobooks). But there needs to be a clear arc leading to a strong payoff at the end. They don’t want to be in a Lost scenario where they start a cool idea but have no idea where it should end. Good news, submissions to Audible don’t have to come through an agent! A 1-2 paragraph pitch is how to start and if they move forward, a full pitch is 4-6 pages with character descriptions, description of the world of the show, and points about the full narrative arc of the show.
Conclusion
Winning was amazing, I don't want to downplay that. I wish everyone could feel a moment of such concentrated joy and affirmation at least once a year. But it didn't change much. It was more like I got to meet a bunch of people who said "we like what you did! What kind of help do you need next?" And you don't need to win or be a finalist to get that. Just come with the audio drama you're passionate about and network around and those same people will tell you "we like what you did! What kind of help do you need next?" My biggest takeaway was I want to keep working in audio drama because I like the kind of people I met at Austin who work in audio drama.
That’s about it. I hope that helps give you an inside look. Those one on one meetings were the bulk of the inside look. But the majority of AFF's podcast track isn't closed off to just finalists. Anyone can come to the panels and get dinner and I hope more people do next year. I hope to see you there!
(Oh, there was the secret midnight blood ritual, but I can’t really talk about that except with fellow members of the High Order of Osiris.)
A group of audio drama writers who are not in anyway secret members of the High Order of Osiris
If you are interested in audio dramas and creative audio entertainment, check out these guys!
Girl in Space - Scifi series by AFF panelist/roundtable Sarah Rhea Werner. Also check out her stuff on writing!
Big Money Movie Ideas - If you could drop a mic in a writers room as they brainstorm the next blockbuster, it’d be this. Created and hosted by AFF semi-finalists Kelsey Henry and Andrew Santoro
The Amelia Project - Comedy/Mystery series by AFF semi-finalist Philip Throne
Victrola - Hilarios audio sketch comedy from amazing Austin talent.