Friday, July 25, 2008

MADers on the move: yay!

Brace yourselves, listeners: you are about to be smacked in the proverbial face with a truck-load of awesome.

Today we recorded!

The plan, of course, was to record both the Prince Caspian episode and our special extended-edition Twilight episode, and then spend the rest of the week editing them so we could get both out before August 2nd. Unfortunately, we were faced with literally every possible technical difficulty on the planet, and - needless to say - that didn't happen.

However, we successfully recorded ALL of the audio for our premiere, Prince Caspian episode. As I write this my audio is being sent to our fabulous podcaster and super awesome editor, Sarita. Deborah's has already been sent, and, against all odds, things are getting done!

We recorded for about seven and a half hours today just to get the hour and a half of Prince Caspian audio, so we're all kind of drained. We also managed to record a 20 minute rant fest about our technical difficulties, which you can look for in an upcoming mini-episode. Since our priority is to get Caspian and Twilight out, the minisode won't come out until afterward, but it's pretty funny. Keep in mind that we were VERY frustrated.

More good news: recording for the extended, special edition Twilight episode is scheduled for 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, so we should be able to have that episode out before Breaking Dawn is released. Hooray!

Ack, my throat is really sore from seven hours of recording.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hurrah, movement!

You will be happy to hear that, finally, things are getting done!

Sarita and Sarah are both back from vacation, which means that recording is made possible. Last minute planning is underway, and literally minutes ago Deborah and I were constructing an outline for our first main discussion.

Marshall needs to get her mic fixed and Deborah and Sarita are going to watch "Prince Caspian" again as a refresher, but recording is scheduled for Friday. We're going to do a recording marathon and record the first two episodes.

We have officially made a decision concerning how we will be discussing the "Twilight" series. As August 2nd is just around the corner, we are going to release a Special Edition, super-long episode discussing "Twilight", "New Moon" and "Eclipse", with speculation for the upcoming "Breaking Dawn". With any luck, we will be able to edit and release this episode around the same time as our premiere "Prince Caspian" episode is released.

This, obviously, causes significant changes to the previously released recording schedule. We are still unsure what the next couple of episodes will discuss; however, "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay is still on our list of discussion topics, as well as "The Curious Incident..."

Once a more definitive recording schedule is created I will be sure to post it here.

Thanks again for your cooperation!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Opinion Poll added

As you can see, a poll has been added to the sidebar on the blog.

Hopefully this will be a more efficient way of getting listener feedback about some general questions the MADers have than asking everyone to email in. Currently we are debating how we should discuss the Twilight series on the show - whether as three individual episodes one after another or a single marathon-length episode discussing all three. We're also interested in whether listeners want a show with speculation on the upcoming novel "Breaking Dawn".

Please vote!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The (tentative) plan

Although I currently don't have any more news about release dates for any of the first episodes, I do have a bit of news.

The following is a (subject to change) list of the first few episodes and what media they will discuss:

1 - Film - "The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian"
2 - Book - "Twilight" (Stephenie Meyer)
3 - Book - "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" (Mark Haddon)
4 - Book - "New Moon" (Stephenie Meyer)
5 - Music (album) - "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay)
6 - Book - "Eclipse" (Stephenie Meyer)

This list is so tentative I loathe even releasing it. However, excluding the album from Coldplay (which is only on there because we realized we had four books in a row and wanted to mix it up a bit), I can pretty much assure you that all of the things on the list WILL be discussed in the first few episodes of the MAD Podcast, so it's advisable that you watch/read/listen to those now.

Concerning the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: normally we would try to space these books out more, but we would like to be able to release episodes on all three of the books before "Breaking Dawn" comes out in August. However, that hardly seems likely considering the time crunch. The MADers are considering alternative options, and you will be notified on both the show and the blog when we decide how we intend to discuss the series.

We ask you to bear with us as we work out our recording schedule. The second a release date becomes available I will notify you on the blog.

Sluggish

The MADers have been experiencing severe problems in recording.

Essentially, Sarita is on holiday in Conneticut and can't record. Sarah's entire summer is spent either visiting family in Michigan and heaven-only-knows-where-else, or at band camp. My uncle is visiting from Scotland and he's taken my room, which means I'm locked out of my recording studio.

The idea of the MAD Podcast has been up in the air for a very long time now. Planning started months ago, and we've recorded what is technically our first episode, discussing the movie "Across the Universe". But we recorded before we were really ready, and we experienced so many problems editing and transfering audio files that before we could really finish the episode, the school year was ending and Exams were upon us.

In the panicked haze of studying and the joyous celebrations that followed thereafter, the podcast was put on the back burner. We simply could not handle the MAD Podcast, not when we were so busy. So we laughed and shrugged it off and told ourselves that once summer came, we would have all the time in the world.

We'd forgotten about vacations.

Sarah, for one, is probably busier in the summer than in the school year - she's running all over the country visiting family and going to band camp. Sarita also goes on vacation, and I just got back from St Augustine, Florida. We thought that homework was bad for keeping us away from the podcast - but at least during the school year we're all in one place.

The work being done on the podcast currently is sparse. I've got the blog up and running, though the website is still under construction. We've decided not to release the "Across the Universe" episode, and we'll be saving it as a bonus feature for later. A lot of planning has been done about segments and how the discussion will be set up, and we've all gone out and watched "Prince Caspian", which will be the subject of our first episode, together. We've all read the first four books that the show will discuss. Nonetheless, no recording has been done.

The problem is that, since it's the first episode, we really need everyone to be on the show. After that, it won't matter if a few of us can't always make it to record, but it's important that we're all there in the beginning, to introduce ourselves. And because of this, we're having trouble.

So, to summarize the mood in the MAD Podcast Recording Studio: SLUGGISH.

Welcome to the MAD Podcast blog

My name is Staci, and I, along with my friends Sarita, Sarah, Marshall and Deborah, am a host of the soon-to-premiere literary podcast, the MAD Podcast.

The MAD (or Media Analysis and Discussion) Podcast is an audio show that focuses on analyzation, critique, and general discussion of all forms of media. The MADers will be discussing books, movies, plays, music, articles, other podcasts, blogs, websites, youtube videos and more. Each week we select a specific piece of media to analyze. Listeners are encouraged to read, watch, or listen to the media we will discuss, and a list of future discussion topics will be made available on both the blog and the website.

The MAD Podcast is recorded in several segments, including:
-intro
-news (with Deborah)
-ask the MADers
-spoiler warning
-plot synopsis (with Staci)
-main discussion
-first impressions
-plot/characters/setting/etc.
-final impressions & ratings
-character spotlight
-trivia
-outro

The MADers also encourage listeners to send in questions, suggestions, and rebuttals to the MAD Podcast e-mail at themadpodcast@gmail.com. Listeners can point out errors in past shows, voice their opinions on previous discussions, and make suggestions for segments or ways to improve the show. Listeners may also suggest books, movies, or other forms of media for the MADers to discuss.

Welcome to the MAD Podcast blog, where I will post news and status updates about the show, as well as recording anecdotes. You can also check the MAD Podcast website for more information.

Although the MAD Podcast website is not currently up and running, listeners will be notified on both the show and the blog the moment it is up.

Thank you for visiting the MAD Podcast blog!

-Staci