Christopher Jarvis's Blog, page 3
October 26, 2015
Chaos Reborn Full-Cast Audio Kickstarter
We've gone live with our very first Kickstarter project to create Chaos Reborn - The Audio Adventures.
It's finally here! If you head over to Kickstarter you can back our first crowd-funded audio drama. The new series is a magic fantasy with creature battles, based on Chaos Reborn by Julian Gollop - the creator of XCom, Laser Squad, Rebelstar and Ghost Recon Shadow Wars.
It's been a long journey to this point, but we are really excited that you can be a part of making this series happen. We have a whole load of exciting updates and extras planned and right now you can get in on the whole funded series on a credit-card shaped USB stick, game licence and audio download bundles (with huge thanks to Julian Gollop!), limited signed script fronts and cast photos, high quality downloads, CDs and more.
Chaos Reborn is a world of fantasy where Wizard battles each other for control of the remnants of an Earth shattered into pieces by magic. In the game, you can summon creatures, wield magical weapons, change the landscape around you and ride Pegasi and Manticores to fly around the arena. Along the way you will meet mysterious characters, ruined towers and deadly games.
With Chaos Reborn - The Audio Adventures, we want to lift those stories off the PC and into full-cast audio stories. What happens when a Unicorn breeder is murdered on the day of a big race? Who is the skeletal lord living in a dungeon who wishes to hire you for revenge? How far will a Marauder go to track your steps and prevent you from reaching the Wizard King? How much will an apprentice have to sacrifice to meet their destiny and become a Wizard of Limbo?
Christopher Jarvis in the Radio Theatre Workshop studioThe Kickstarter will give a casting budget to get actors into the studio so we can get this series made and get it out to our lovely backers, before making it available through this website. We're really looking forward to hearing from you throughout this crowd-fund project and excited that you can be a part of it.
Please do head over to Kickstarter now to show your support, either by backing the project or spreading the word. Every Tweet, Comment, Like or Share helps us get a little bit closer to making this project a reality!
Thank you
Christopher Jarvis
It's finally here! If you head over to Kickstarter you can back our first crowd-funded audio drama. The new series is a magic fantasy with creature battles, based on Chaos Reborn by Julian Gollop - the creator of XCom, Laser Squad, Rebelstar and Ghost Recon Shadow Wars.
It's been a long journey to this point, but we are really excited that you can be a part of making this series happen. We have a whole load of exciting updates and extras planned and right now you can get in on the whole funded series on a credit-card shaped USB stick, game licence and audio download bundles (with huge thanks to Julian Gollop!), limited signed script fronts and cast photos, high quality downloads, CDs and more.
Chaos Reborn is a world of fantasy where Wizard battles each other for control of the remnants of an Earth shattered into pieces by magic. In the game, you can summon creatures, wield magical weapons, change the landscape around you and ride Pegasi and Manticores to fly around the arena. Along the way you will meet mysterious characters, ruined towers and deadly games.
With Chaos Reborn - The Audio Adventures, we want to lift those stories off the PC and into full-cast audio stories. What happens when a Unicorn breeder is murdered on the day of a big race? Who is the skeletal lord living in a dungeon who wishes to hire you for revenge? How far will a Marauder go to track your steps and prevent you from reaching the Wizard King? How much will an apprentice have to sacrifice to meet their destiny and become a Wizard of Limbo?
Christopher Jarvis in the Radio Theatre Workshop studioThe Kickstarter will give a casting budget to get actors into the studio so we can get this series made and get it out to our lovely backers, before making it available through this website. We're really looking forward to hearing from you throughout this crowd-fund project and excited that you can be a part of it.Please do head over to Kickstarter now to show your support, either by backing the project or spreading the word. Every Tweet, Comment, Like or Share helps us get a little bit closer to making this project a reality!
Thank you
Christopher Jarvis
September 8, 2015
New Audio Drama Series Announced for Chaos Reborn
We just wanted to let you all know about the exciting new magic, sword and sorcery audio drama series we're producing at the Radio Theatre Workshop. It's with great pleasure that we're able to announce that we are working in partnership with Snapshot Games to produce a new series based on Chaos Reborn.
We're massive fans of Julian Gollop's game and it creates such a huge untapped world for stories and adventure we jumped at the chance to contribute something ourselves. We're currently writing scripts and planning a crowd-sourcing project to give you all the chance for exclusives and pre-orders on CDs and downloads. This will provide us with a fund to hire actors and produce the best fantasy audio drama we can give you and we want to pack the project with fun stuff and beautiful exclusives as rewards.
Audio drama is my favourite medium, because you can enjoy it when you're out and about, or doing housework and with Chaos Reborn you can keep enjoying the game when you're away from the PC. It's amazing to work alongside the developers, because we get access to all the art and sound effects which enables us to create something really faithful to the game.
But it isn't just for the gamers. They'll enjoy hearing the game world expanded with great actors and exciting stories. But audio drama fans will get a wholly untapped fantasy setting to explore. It has everything: Giants, Unicorns, Magic Trees, Dragons, Goblins, Vampires and, of course, battling Wizards. Bringing that all together is an amazing challenge and a privilege.
Early access version of the Chaos Reborn gameThanks and we hope you'll enjoy coming on this adventure with us!
June 11, 2015
Interview with Steve Wilson - Audiobook Composer
With the impending release of our fourth Elite: Dangerous audiobook - available soon on CD and MP3 download at Fantastic Books Publishing - we thought we'd take a chance to chat with musician Steve Wilson. Composing on Soundcloud as Omniboy, Steve has provided the musical score for this upcoming release, a mix of space piracy, family honour and political intrigue. We sat him down for a few moments to hear his take on Elite: Dangerous, score composition and the romance of science fiction.
RTW: Welcome to the Elite: Dangerous audiobooks, Steve.
SW: Thank you.
RTW: You've got quite a variety of music styles on your Soundcloud page - Omniboy. Why were you inspired to write music about Elite: Dangerous?
SW: I've always loved film music and grew up listening to various composers such as John Williams, Hanz Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith and Vangelis. Elite: Dangerous was a great way to focus my attention on the type of music I like to compose and the themes I am most excited about, space and sci-fi. I do compose a number of other types of music but I find that electronic orchestral music is what I do best.
RTW: What's your history with the game series?
SW: A number of years ago - about thirty in total - I was playing Elite on my friend's BBC computer. I used to love that game and although I only played it now and again I loved the feeling of exploration and the vastness of the Elite universe. I try to reflect these emotions in my music.
RTW: We found you as a result of your involvement with the Elite Soundcloud group - how did you come across that and was it hard to get included? How might others get involved?
SW: It was actually very straightforward to become included. I visited the Elite forums where Elite fiction and community creations were discussed. There are a lot of very talented people creating some amazing Elite: Dangerous related works. I had listened to a number of Lave Radio broadcasts previously and when I saw the opportunity to get involved on one of the threads I decided to do just that. Allen Stroud gave me a link to join the Elite: Dangerous play-list and then shortly after I had my music as part of the Lave Radio live stream. There are a lot of different composers out there all doing great work!
RTW: A lot of composers in the Elite Soundcloud have very different styles and textures, all expressing and somehow perfectly fitting the Elite universe. Your music is very cinematic, broad and orchestral. What is it that defines that aspect of the game world for you?
SW: A well written orchestral track can be timeless. I guess I'm trying to touch on that timeless feel to an extent with a modern electronic style mixed in. I think the vast style differences in the music being created reflects just how different each person expresses themselves and how Elite: Dangerous, space and the universe makes them feel.
RTW: The pieces themselves have a great thematic variety throughout - do you let the music itself develop, or do your have a narrative in your head to which the music provides a score?SW: For Encounter I had a very clear vision of how the music would evolve. It was a story of discovery, fear, threat, battle and finally victory in the face of death. I listen to so many film tracks to get an understanding of how to try and create an emotion. Which instruments to use, how to score each section. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but when it comes together it is exciting. The reflection, or "calm" section in To Come was one of these sections that worked really well. The simple use of cello over voices and strings gives a feeling of vastness and also a romantic connection with the universe. The music in Alien is fantastic, especially the intro theme. I remember watching the documentary about the music composition where someone mentioned the romantic feeling that space can present. For His Journey it really was an experiment of different emotions using basically the same chord structure and overall musical theme. I had been listening to a lot of Hanz Zimmer so this probably had something to do with the heavy drums in the third phrase.
RTW: And for the techies, what's your set-up? Do you use live instrument recordings or is your work entirely digital?
SW: I use Cubase 8 with a number of VST instruments: Vienna Symphonic, Omnisphere, u-he Zebra & Diva, plus plenty of Kontakt instruments. I recently transferred all my VST's onto an SSD which made a lot of difference to loading times. I would recommend it highly. Other than VST's, I sometimes use an electric guitar but only for very basic heavy chords or simple leads. Anything more complicated and I would more than likely hire a session player. If you are serious about producing high quality tracks and can afford it I would recommend using live performers. I can't state enough how you cannot beat the real thing no matter if that is piano, guitar, strings or vocals.
RTW: What would you love to be able to do next?
SW: I would love to compose for film if the opportunity ever presented itself and write for a real Orchestra. Although desktop sampling has come a long way, you just can't beat the real thing. Sci-fi and space musical composition really is the thing that excites me. I would love to do any composition for that type of thing again, whether it be film, TV or audiobook. It would be good to attempt to compose other types of electronic orchestral music as well. I'm up for trying anything. Dive in at the deep end and see how it pans out. The worse thing to happen is you fail.
Related links:Elite: DangerousLave Radio Live StreamSoundCloud - Omniboy (Steve Wilson)Fantastic Books Publishing
RTW: Welcome to the Elite: Dangerous audiobooks, Steve.SW: Thank you.
RTW: You've got quite a variety of music styles on your Soundcloud page - Omniboy. Why were you inspired to write music about Elite: Dangerous?
SW: I've always loved film music and grew up listening to various composers such as John Williams, Hanz Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith and Vangelis. Elite: Dangerous was a great way to focus my attention on the type of music I like to compose and the themes I am most excited about, space and sci-fi. I do compose a number of other types of music but I find that electronic orchestral music is what I do best.
RTW: What's your history with the game series?
SW: A number of years ago - about thirty in total - I was playing Elite on my friend's BBC computer. I used to love that game and although I only played it now and again I loved the feeling of exploration and the vastness of the Elite universe. I try to reflect these emotions in my music.
RTW: We found you as a result of your involvement with the Elite Soundcloud group - how did you come across that and was it hard to get included? How might others get involved?
SW: It was actually very straightforward to become included. I visited the Elite forums where Elite fiction and community creations were discussed. There are a lot of very talented people creating some amazing Elite: Dangerous related works. I had listened to a number of Lave Radio broadcasts previously and when I saw the opportunity to get involved on one of the threads I decided to do just that. Allen Stroud gave me a link to join the Elite: Dangerous play-list and then shortly after I had my music as part of the Lave Radio live stream. There are a lot of different composers out there all doing great work!
"I loved the feeling of exploration and the vastness of the Elite universe. I try to reflect these emotions in my music."
RTW: A lot of composers in the Elite Soundcloud have very different styles and textures, all expressing and somehow perfectly fitting the Elite universe. Your music is very cinematic, broad and orchestral. What is it that defines that aspect of the game world for you?SW: A well written orchestral track can be timeless. I guess I'm trying to touch on that timeless feel to an extent with a modern electronic style mixed in. I think the vast style differences in the music being created reflects just how different each person expresses themselves and how Elite: Dangerous, space and the universe makes them feel.
RTW: The pieces themselves have a great thematic variety throughout - do you let the music itself develop, or do your have a narrative in your head to which the music provides a score?SW: For Encounter I had a very clear vision of how the music would evolve. It was a story of discovery, fear, threat, battle and finally victory in the face of death. I listen to so many film tracks to get an understanding of how to try and create an emotion. Which instruments to use, how to score each section. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but when it comes together it is exciting. The reflection, or "calm" section in To Come was one of these sections that worked really well. The simple use of cello over voices and strings gives a feeling of vastness and also a romantic connection with the universe. The music in Alien is fantastic, especially the intro theme. I remember watching the documentary about the music composition where someone mentioned the romantic feeling that space can present. For His Journey it really was an experiment of different emotions using basically the same chord structure and overall musical theme. I had been listening to a lot of Hanz Zimmer so this probably had something to do with the heavy drums in the third phrase.
"There are a lot of very talented people creating some amazing
Elite: Dangerous related works"
RTW: And for the techies, what's your set-up? Do you use live instrument recordings or is your work entirely digital?SW: I use Cubase 8 with a number of VST instruments: Vienna Symphonic, Omnisphere, u-he Zebra & Diva, plus plenty of Kontakt instruments. I recently transferred all my VST's onto an SSD which made a lot of difference to loading times. I would recommend it highly. Other than VST's, I sometimes use an electric guitar but only for very basic heavy chords or simple leads. Anything more complicated and I would more than likely hire a session player. If you are serious about producing high quality tracks and can afford it I would recommend using live performers. I can't state enough how you cannot beat the real thing no matter if that is piano, guitar, strings or vocals.
RTW: What would you love to be able to do next?
SW: I would love to compose for film if the opportunity ever presented itself and write for a real Orchestra. Although desktop sampling has come a long way, you just can't beat the real thing. Sci-fi and space musical composition really is the thing that excites me. I would love to do any composition for that type of thing again, whether it be film, TV or audiobook. It would be good to attempt to compose other types of electronic orchestral music as well. I'm up for trying anything. Dive in at the deep end and see how it pans out. The worse thing to happen is you fail.
Related links:Elite: DangerousLave Radio Live StreamSoundCloud - Omniboy (Steve Wilson)Fantastic Books Publishing
January 31, 2015
New audiobook out today! Elite: Reclamation
Released today, Elite: Reclamation is the latest official Elite: Dangerous audiobook made by us for Fantastic Books Publishing. Read by Toby Longworth - an actor able to produce an entire cast of characters by himself - and with a full sound effects treatment and an original musical score by Allen Stroud, Elite: Reclamation is an incredible space opera and a fantastic gateway into the world of the new video game.Already available in this series are Elite: Tales from the Frontier - an anthology of short stories exploring the huge variety of life in Elite - and Elite: Mostly Harmless - the lighthearted comedy of errors written by BBC Click presenter Kate Russell. All of these are produced with a full soundscape and original music.
Elite: Reclamation is available today from the store at Fantastic Books Publishing, as an MP3 download or special edition USB stick. CD versions coming soon.
December 7, 2014
New Audiobook - "Elite: Mostly Harmless" Released.
Hot on the trail of Elite: Tales from the Frontier, our second official Elite audiobook has now hit the stores for download and limited-edition USB stick over at Fantastic Books Publishing.
Elite: Mostly Harmless is a sci-fi novel from the BBC's Kate Russell, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. Independent trader Angel Rose is down on her luck - over and over again. Before she knows it, she's taking on a trade run she doesn't want in the company of a mouthy robot she can't stand. Will the universe provide better fortune? The audiobook is performed by the author, Kate Russell and features a cameo by David Braben, creator of the original Elite and the new game Elite: Dangerous as well as a full sound effects treatment by Christopher Jarvis and an original score by Allen Stroud.
The audiobook is available to buy now at Fantastic Books Publishing
Elite: Mostly Harmless is a sci-fi novel from the BBC's Kate Russell, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. Independent trader Angel Rose is down on her luck - over and over again. Before she knows it, she's taking on a trade run she doesn't want in the company of a mouthy robot she can't stand. Will the universe provide better fortune? The audiobook is performed by the author, Kate Russell and features a cameo by David Braben, creator of the original Elite and the new game Elite: Dangerous as well as a full sound effects treatment by Christopher Jarvis and an original score by Allen Stroud.
The audiobook is available to buy now at Fantastic Books Publishing
November 24, 2014
RTW at the Elite: Dangerous launch event
Saturday night saw the Elite: Dangerous launch event, hosted by Frontier Developments at the Duxford Imperial War Museum and attended by staff, fans, Kickstarter backers and book authors.
Christopher Jarvis was there, talking all things Lave Radio and also signing copies of Elite: Tales from the Frontier. You can catch an interview with him, talking about the newly available Tales audiobook on this video, the official Twitch.tv live stream of the event. (Just forward to 49:25 to hear the authors, including music composer Allen Stroud discuss the books!)
The Tales audiobook is available now from Fantastic Books Publishing.
Watch live video from EliteDangerous on Twitch
Christopher Jarvis was there, talking all things Lave Radio and also signing copies of Elite: Tales from the Frontier. You can catch an interview with him, talking about the newly available Tales audiobook on this video, the official Twitch.tv live stream of the event. (Just forward to 49:25 to hear the authors, including music composer Allen Stroud discuss the books!)
The Tales audiobook is available now from Fantastic Books Publishing.
Watch live video from EliteDangerous on Twitch
November 6, 2014
Elite Audiobook release dates: Sooner than you think!
We have some exciting news today regarding our new audiobooks of the officially licensed Elite: Dangerous novels! We are pleased to announce that Elite: Tales from the Frontier will be available from the 15th November 2014 and Elite: Mostly Harmless will be available from the 30th November 2014 for downloadable DRM-free MP3.
Available 15th November 2014 - £17.99 MP3 DownloadElite: Tales from the Frontier is an anthology of short stories, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. 15 adventures, written by authors from across the globe. Travel to worlds on the edge of known space: trade, fight, search, love and run. This is an incredible audio journey with a variety of perspectives and styles, from action-packed space thrillers to contemplative trips into the unknown. The audiobook is performed by Toby Longworth and Penelope McDonald and with full sound effects backing and an original score by Allen Stroud.
Available 30th November 2014 - £14.99 MP3 DownloadElite: Mostly Harmless is a sci-fi novel from the BBC's Kate Russell, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. Independent trader Angel Rose is down on her luck - over and over again. Before she knows it, she's taking on a trade run she doesn't want in the company of a mouthy robot she can't stand. Will the universe provide better fortune? The audiobook is performed by the author, Kate Russell and features a cameo by David Braben, creator of the original Elite and the new game Elite: Dangerous as well as a full sound effects treatment and an original score by Allen Stroud.
Both audiobooks can be pre-ordered from Fantastic Books Publishing and will also be available from the Radio Theatre Workshop store from the day of release.
Available 15th November 2014 - £17.99 MP3 DownloadElite: Tales from the Frontier is an anthology of short stories, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. 15 adventures, written by authors from across the globe. Travel to worlds on the edge of known space: trade, fight, search, love and run. This is an incredible audio journey with a variety of perspectives and styles, from action-packed space thrillers to contemplative trips into the unknown. The audiobook is performed by Toby Longworth and Penelope McDonald and with full sound effects backing and an original score by Allen Stroud.
Available 30th November 2014 - £14.99 MP3 DownloadElite: Mostly Harmless is a sci-fi novel from the BBC's Kate Russell, set in the universe of Elite: Dangerous. Independent trader Angel Rose is down on her luck - over and over again. Before she knows it, she's taking on a trade run she doesn't want in the company of a mouthy robot she can't stand. Will the universe provide better fortune? The audiobook is performed by the author, Kate Russell and features a cameo by David Braben, creator of the original Elite and the new game Elite: Dangerous as well as a full sound effects treatment and an original score by Allen Stroud.Both audiobooks can be pre-ordered from Fantastic Books Publishing and will also be available from the Radio Theatre Workshop store from the day of release.
November 4, 2014
Escape Velocity - Voting Open for Audio Verse Awards
Voting is now open for the AVA's. Head over to the Audio Verse Awards website to vote!
Escape Velocity has nominations in five categories:
Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Drama of the YearBest Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Production of the YearBest Actress in an Original Leading Role (Amy Timms as May Havelock)Best New Original Composition in a Production ("Evasion 2.0" by Allen Stroud / "Pursuit" by Allen Stroud)Best Original Composition in a Production ("Evasion 2.0" by Allen Stroud / "Pursuit" by Allen Stroud / "Fuel Scoop into Danger" by Allen Stroud)The voting is a little bit complicated and you'll need to offer an opinion on every category, but it's a good chance to discover some new audio drama between now and when voting closes on the 17th November. We do hope you'll support Escape Velocity in this exciting showcase!
Escape Velocity has nominations in five categories:
Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Drama of the YearBest Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Production of the YearBest Actress in an Original Leading Role (Amy Timms as May Havelock)Best New Original Composition in a Production ("Evasion 2.0" by Allen Stroud / "Pursuit" by Allen Stroud)Best Original Composition in a Production ("Evasion 2.0" by Allen Stroud / "Pursuit" by Allen Stroud / "Fuel Scoop into Danger" by Allen Stroud)The voting is a little bit complicated and you'll need to offer an opinion on every category, but it's a good chance to discover some new audio drama between now and when voting closes on the 17th November. We do hope you'll support Escape Velocity in this exciting showcase!
October 30, 2014
Halloween Sale and Escape Velocity Award Nomination
Welcome back folks - it's continuing to be a busy year at the Radio Theatre Workshop!
Forced Entry only 99p until Sunday 2nd Nov
Firstly, Halloween is upon us... everyone loves a creepy ghost story while huddled in the dark wearing headphones, so we're offering our audio drama adaptation of Michael Brookes' Forced Entry for just 99p until the end of Sunday 2nd November. This is a chance to pick up a great audio drama short for the cost of pocket fluff!
Escape Velocity nominated for AVAAlso, we're pleased to say that Escape Velocity, our free full-cast sci-fi audio drama has been nominated for an Audio Verse Award in the category of "Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Drama of the Year" and "Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Production of the Year". It's up against some Doctor Who, Star Trek and Hunger Games projects, so we're really pleased to be included. It was hard to imagine when we started this project just how much of you would come onboard with our strange sci-fi show and follow it for so long. Thanks everybody!
Forced Entry only 99p until Sunday 2nd NovFirstly, Halloween is upon us... everyone loves a creepy ghost story while huddled in the dark wearing headphones, so we're offering our audio drama adaptation of Michael Brookes' Forced Entry for just 99p until the end of Sunday 2nd November. This is a chance to pick up a great audio drama short for the cost of pocket fluff!
Escape Velocity nominated for AVAAlso, we're pleased to say that Escape Velocity, our free full-cast sci-fi audio drama has been nominated for an Audio Verse Award in the category of "Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Drama of the Year" and "Best Ongoing Fan/Adaptation Production of the Year". It's up against some Doctor Who, Star Trek and Hunger Games projects, so we're really pleased to be included. It was hard to imagine when we started this project just how much of you would come onboard with our strange sci-fi show and follow it for so long. Thanks everybody!September 7, 2014
Behind the scenes on Escape Velocity: Part Two
As part of our ongoing extras, following the conclusion of series two of Escape Velocity, here is part two of the show we recorded for the Nine Worlds Podcast track. Once again, composer Allen Stroud interview series producer Christopher Jarvis. We talk about the all manner of post-production tips, recording styles and the lessons we have learned over this incredible journey.
You can download part one of the podcast here (right-click to Save As):
http://traffic.libsyn.com/nineworlds/9W_PODCAST__3_Lave_Radio_Part_2.mp3
Also available through the free Escape Velocity RSS Subscription.
You can download part one of the podcast here (right-click to Save As):
http://traffic.libsyn.com/nineworlds/9W_PODCAST__3_Lave_Radio_Part_2.mp3
Also available through the free Escape Velocity RSS Subscription.
