Unsolved:We're Alive, A Story of Survival
We're Alive — A Story of Survival is an audio drama, originally released in podcast form. Its story follows a large group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse[1][2] in downtown Los Angeles .[3]
We're Alive premiered May 4, 2009 on iTunes, and concluded its fourth and last season on July 29, 2014. When in production, the We're Alive series released 3 first-run episodes a month, totalling 36 episodes a season.[4] The compiled-season version of the show is produced by Wayland Productions, and is distributed through CD/Digital downloads by Blackstone Audio and also through the Nerdist Podcast Network.[5]
Background
We're Alive started early in 2009 when creator, Kc Wayland, originally outlined the story for a pitch for television.[6] At the time he saw there was a gap in programming that could be filled by a horror survival series. He designed a show that would take advantage of the repeated set, the tower, and then branch out from there as the show would get more popular. After the initial story and character outlines were created, he then proceeded to talk with other film producers seeing if there would be a way to get the show on broadcast television.
After not being able to successfully pitch the idea, Wayland then decided to produce the show as an audio drama.[6] The concept for self-production was a "if you build it, they will come"; in regards to both listeners and producers. In late April 2009, Wayland met with Shane Salk and pitched the idea. Together they settled on the serialized audio format. Wayland and Salk went on to produce the first two seasons, and then Grayson Stone (an intern in season 1 and 2) and Wayland continued to produce the final two seasons.
In 2015, Wayland announced a follow-up podcast mini-series titled "We're Alive: Lockdown".[6] The project was crowdfunded through Kickstarter, raising $54,774 of its $50,000 goal.[7]
Format
There were several factors that led Wayland to the audio-only format. In limiting the visuals, the story would be able to explore limitless possibilities in settings and situations not fully explored by this genre. Being a "horror", the power of sound and "what you can't see" could be utilized in a powerful way. Using no visuals also limited the vastness of production. Actors could come in once every two months for a full day of recording that would cover six full episodes (2 chapters).[8]
Production process
A typical chapter is about sixty pages long, and is recorded by the actors in a recording stage in Orange County,[8] California . A typical day runs about six to eight hours of raw recording. From there, a voice cutter then goes through the session and separates just the usable lines, and then passes it onto another editor who then lays in the initial sound effects and pacing. The last stage then goes back to Wayland, who acts as the supervising sound editor and covers the last stage of production, often doing a large amount of foley and music selections.
Release dates and episode length
In a typical month, We're Alive produced three episodes comprising one chapter, taking one week off between chapters. Twelve chapters make up one season, and there are four seasons with a total of forty eight chapters. Each episode is approximately twenty minutes, making each chapter about an hour long.
Published version
Blackstone Audio has published all three seasons currently available: Season 1,[9] Season 2,[10] Season 3.[11]
Awards
We're Alive was nominated in 2012 for the Best Audio Drama in the Audio Publishing Awards.[12] In the same year, it was named "Best of 2012" in the iTunes Arts category.[13] Other awards won by the series include:
- 4th Annual Dead Letter Award[14]
- 2009 Gold Ogle Award[15]
- 2010 Silver Ogle Award[15]
- Parsec Award Finalist Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama Long Form 2010[16] 2011,[17] 2012,[18] and 2013 [19]
Cast
- Jim Gleason as Michael
- Shane Salk as Angel
- Nate Geez as Saul
- Elisa Eliot as Pegs
- Claire Dodin as Riley
- Scott Marvin as Burt
- Tammy Klein as Kelly
- Jay Olegario as Datu
- Blaire Byhower as Lizzy
- Kevin Flood as Kalani
- Jenna McCombie as Scratch
- Bob Bergen as Skittles
- Ben Jurand as Durai
- Mark Jeffrey Miller as Gatekeeper
- Shirley Jordan as Tanya
- Otto Sturcke as Victor
- Greg Miller as Pete
- Carl Schwaber as Bixby
- Cooper Wise as Supervisor
- Jim Kane as Marcus
- Katie Keane as Amy
- Erik Wargo as Steven
- Glenn Hoeffner as Glenn
- David Pevsner as Tardust
- Stuart Kennon as Bricks
- Manley Woods as Bill
- Nico Marvin as Tommy
- Rebekah Roberts as Samantha
- Michael Ray Clarke as Latch
- Omar Leyva as Fernando
- Richard Tatum as Pippin
- Brett Newton as Puck
- Christian Vieira as Carl Thomas
- Constance Parng as Chinwe
- Julia Kelly as Hannah
- Tony Rey as Robbins
- Shaun Lewin as Muldoon
- Graham Beightol as Max
- James Stebick as Jay
Notable guest voices
In addition the regular cast — which includes Jim Gleason who starred on the 2013-2014 season of American Horror Story[21] — there have been a number of notable guest voices on We're Alive. These names include Bob Bergen (current voice of Porky Pig), Seth Peterson from Burn Notice, and Greg Miller.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
References
- ↑ Purcell, Julius (March 27, 2015). "The resurgence of audio drama". http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/audio-drama-day-october-30th-continues-historic-legacy-of-halloween-horror-imaginative-storytelling-300156405.html.
- ↑ "Audio Drama Day, October 30th, Continues Historic Legacy of Halloween Horror, Imaginative Storytelling". October 8, 2015. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/audio-drama-day-october-30th-continues-historic-legacy-of-halloween-horror-imaginative-storytelling-300156405.html.
- ↑ Kumagai, Jillian (November 26, 2014). "12 podcasts that will tell you a fantastic story". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2014/11/26/storytelling-podcasts/#6U_fe21pouqK.
- ↑ Williams, Mike. "Your Next Zombie Obsession: We’re Alive". Time. http://techland.time.com/2010/10/29/your-next-zombie-obsession-were-alive/. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ nerdist.com. "Nerdist Podcast Network List". http://www.nerdist.com/podcasts/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lilley, Kevin (June 20, 2015). "Veteran behind popular zombie podcast is back for spinoff". http://www.armytimes.com/story/entertainment/2015/06/20/kc-wayland-nerdist-were-alive-zombies-kickstarter/28745347/.
- ↑ "We're Alive: Lockdown Kickstarter". https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/werealivelockdown/were-alive-lockdown/description.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 MICKADEIT, FRANK. "Zombie radio, dead and raised in O.C.". Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/salk-301258-one-radio.html. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 1". http://www.blackstoneaudio.com/audiobook.cfm?id=6486. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 2". http://www.blackstoneaudio.com/audiobook.cfm?id=6521. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 3". http://www.blackstoneaudio.com/audiobook.cfm?id=7632. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Audiofile Magazine. "Audiofile Audies Nominations 2012". http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/2012_audies.html/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ We're Alive. "iTunes best of 2012, Arts". http://www.zombiepodcast.com/news/were-alive-named-best-of-2012/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Mail Order Zombie. "4th Annual Dead Letter Awards". http://mailorderzombie.libsyn.com/webpage/2012/03/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Jerry Stearns. "Mark Time Award Winners". http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/MarkTime/MarkTime-winners.html/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2010". http://www.parsecawards.com/past-awards/2010-parsec-awards-winners-finalists/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2011". http://www.parsecawards.com/past-awards/2011-parsec-awards-winners-finalists/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2012". http://www.parsecawards.com/past-awards/2012-parsec-awards-winners-finalists/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2013". http://www.parsecawards.com/2013-parsec-awards/2013-parsec-awards-finalists/. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ "We're Alive Cast and Crew". http://www.werealive.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Cast+and+Crew.
- ↑ "IMDB_Gleason". https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322282/. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
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