FinalRune Academy

Learn Audio Fiction with Fred

  • My Stories
  • Learn Audio Fiction
  • Behind the Scenes
    • Behind the Scene: Of Fae & Fiends
    • Behind the Scenes: Recording Locke & Key
    • Behind the Scenes: The Troll of Stony Brook
  • Gear
    • Podtales 2019 Microphone Workshop Redux
    • Field Recording Adventures in Belize, OR Adventure Leisure with young children
    • Our South African Love: The Sony PCM-M10
  • Business of Podcasting
    • Fiction podcasters finally have their own category in Apple Podcasts
    • An SEO’s Perspective on Google Rankings for Podcasts
    • Audio Drama Needs a 21st Century Business Model
  • Resources
    • Sample Scripts
    • eBook Teaches Filmmaking without the Camera
  • Newsletter Signup
  • About Fred
  • Contact Fred
  • In Memoriam

Learn the art of audio fiction and level up your craft with these free resources from creator Fred Greenhalgh!

Sample Scripts

Here are a sampling scripts from Fred’s early works that are available for use to record, produce, and release on the internet for educational and non-commercial use. The only requirement is that any productions you release publicly have a reference to my name (Fred Greenhalgh) and reference back to this website (www.finalrune.com).

My twitter handle is @finalrune and you can find me on other social media sites with the same handle. I would love to hear what you use and remix!

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The War on Poverty

In a back back back door meeting in the White House, the President and his most trusted advisors discuss a new conflict which is unavoidable, absolutely essential to America (at least insofar as justifying the ballooning Department of Defense budget).

This new conflict, nay, War, will be a War fought against one of the most pervasive ills that has cursed civilization since the beginning. A War on… Poverty.

Created for the UMA Audio 319 class for the spring of 2010. Project page: The War on Poverty.

Download script “The War on Poverty” (PDF)

the war on poverty

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The Bloody Mess

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “The Bloody Mess” (PDF)

Bloody Mess - FINAL-2020-4-28

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A Drink Before the Dark

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “A Drink Before the Dark”

Drink_Before_The_Dark

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Santa, Inc.

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “Santa, Inc.”

Santa_Inc

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Leonard

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “Leonard”

Leonard_For_production

 

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Big Chief’s Stimulus

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “Big Chief’s Stimulus”

The_Stimulus

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Jimmy Heart and the Story Girl

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “Jimmy Heart and the Story Girl”

Mystery-TheStoryGirl

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The Well

Part of the “You Have Five Minutes” Collection

Download script, “The Well”

Horror-TheWell

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Losing You is Hell

halloween horror radio dramaA dark retelling of the myth of Orpheus inspired by the classic jazz tune “St James Infirmary.” A man in New Orleans is doomed to keep falling in love with the same woman and seducing her to her death.

Part of the 2009 Live Halloween Radio Drama with WMPG.

Download script, “Losing You is Hell” (PDF)

Leaving_you_is_hell_FORPROD

 

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Dark Passenger

dark passenger horror radio playTwo teenage friends start scaring each other on the drive to a dismal “haunted” house on the coast of Maine. But when their innocent fun starts to become all too real, they soon realize what true terror is. A nod to Stephen King in a tale inspired by a true story too haunting to forget.

Project page: Dark Passenger

Download script, “Dark Passenger” (PDF)

Dark Passenger

 

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Fall of the Hero

fall of the heroSir Grace was the most valiant of all knights, decked in glorious armor that glowed in the sun and a record of dragon-slaying and maiden saving on par with none. But a battle with a renowned wizard with ambiguous ambitions forces Sir Grace to consider things he never imagined, and face his greatest enemy yet: himself.

Project page: Fall of the Hero

Download script, “Fall of the Hero” (PDF)

Fall of the Hero

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Tales from Williamsville

tales from williamsville radio dramaWelcome to Williamsville, where tradition and routine dictate the ebb and flow of life. Yet, Williamsville is not without its stories… How do one repressed arsonist, a sexually-charged geriatric, a slimy drug dealer and a soccer mom on steroids combine in the most exciting thing to happen in Williamsville since 1936? Starring a cast of talented and twisted University of Southern Maine students.

Project page: Tales from Williamsville

Download script, “Tales from Williamsville” (PDF)

Tales from Williamsville

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Drizzle

drizzle radio dramaThe unconventional Christmas story of a business man whose life is changed by a random encounter with a stranger. Narrated by the ineffable John Coons.

Project page: Drizzle

Download script, “Drizzle” (PDF)

Drizzle

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Blind Man’s Confession

blind man's confession - radio dramaA chilling audio horror story: A young man’s joyride one October night turns into a hell he could never imagine. Originally published in Blue Murder Magazine.

Project page: Blind Man’s Confession

Download script, “Blind Man’s Confession” (PDF)

Blind Man's Confession

eBook Teaches Filmmaking without the Camera

FinalRune eBook Field Recording for FilmmakersCall it the ‘unwritten chapter’ to most texts in Film Sound. This eBook provides simple, actionable tips and techniques for filmmakers who want to learn how to apply their craft to make movies without the camera. A survey of the challenges and opportunities in location audio drama production and a few tools (shot sheets and script formats) to help you start your own.

By Fred Greenhalgh, producer of FinalRune Productions, an award-winning, internationally recognized leader in the revival of audio drama. Free for whoever wants it, we hope you make some good stuff!

Download: “Field Recording for Audio Drama: A Filmmaker’s Guide” (PDF)

FinalRune-eBook-Field-Recording

Experiential Learning Using On-Location Audio Drama

Vampire in the Vernal Pool radio drama

On location recording the silly spooky story, “Vampire in the Vernal Pool”

Another fun project from the archives… In 2015 I was approached by Melissa Field, a board member of the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement to develop a pilot project combining augmented reality and on-location radio drama recording techniques to encourage young people to experience the outdoors.

“Our goal is to encourage people to go outside, use technology, and learn more about their surroundings,” said Field, “These on-demand tours enhance the experience of enjoying cultural and ecological gems in Saco Bay, because we combine nature with history and the arts.”

Our pilot audio drama project centered on the Eastern Trail behind the hospital in Biddeford, offering listeners with an… ah… entertaining way to experience the Trail’s ecology: via a goofy horror story, entitled, “Vampire at the Vernal Pool.”

finalrune · Vampire in the Vernal Pool

Audio storyteller Fred (that’s me) wrote, directed, and produced the show. Students from both the high school and middle school in Biddeford performed the drama, which was recorded on-location on the Trail.

“This project created a real-world production experience for the students; and for the listener, an augmented reality experience of being in the middle of a vampire story. I dare hikers and cyclists to listen to this thing on the trail at night!” said Greenhalgh.

Project leader Melissa Field secured the use of the base map developed for the Eastern Trail Alliance. The base map was created by Black Fly Interactive of Rollinsford, New Hampshire.

The map is located on a server accessed by going to www.sacobaymaps.org. Jeff Palleiko, a partner at Black Fly Interactive, installed a device snifter on the site to identify mobile devices and take users directly to the map, avoiding the homepage entirely.

“Mobile users can go to one of the three locations and access an audio tour in three simple steps. Jeff really made the process easy for the smartphone user,” said Field.

Leading the augmented reality space, currently, are two high tech start-up companies, each offering on-demand tours. One company, Detour, is located in San Francisco and another, Voice Map, is based out of South Africa.

“What sets our project apart is that we use resident voices rather than professional narrators and actors. We shine a light on our local teachers, students, historians and naturalists and let them tell the home town stories,” said Field.

For the demo project, Field enlisted the participation of Katy Nicketakis, the French teacher at Thornton Academy, Eva Tomecka, the Spanish teacher at Old Orchard Beach High School, and Carolyn Gosselin, an English teacher at Biddeford High School.

Justin Chenette, the founder of the Saco Bay Center for Civic Engagement, says this project is just the beginning.

“The next step is fundraising to develop an app and present workshops to help more teachers learn how to create content that we can upload to the map,” said Chenette.

The “You Have Five Minutes” Live Radio Drama Experience

CONvergence 2013 Mark Time Broadcast Center

Recording in the ‘Mark Time 5 Minutes of Fame’ room at CONvergence Con 2013

Hey! For the purposes of posterity we’re including some details behind a workshop/live event/party room experience we developed with some audio drama friends originally for CONvergence in Minneapolis, MN (the home of Mark Time Radio Awards for many years).

Pioneered in 2013, the concept was to introduce the larger CON to the mini audio drama track taking place in their midst. Back in those days, CONvergence would host audio drama artists from around the world thanks to the Mark Time Radio Awards. Highlights included years where we met up with Aural Stage Studios, Icebox Radio, Jonathan Mitchell (The Truth), Dieter Zimmerman of South Africa’s Protophonic, the team of Our Fair City, Jack Bowman and Robert Valentine of The Wireless Theatre Company, Domien and Eline of Audio Epics, and many more.

The concept, thus: you randomly walk into our hotel party room, pick up a script, grab a friend (or join with a bunch of strangers) and start acting.  We provide all the sound effects and equipment, you lend your voice and get to experience radio drama first hand.

We had an enthusiastic and engaged response – ranging from people who had never acted in anything before in their lives, to seasoned radio pros who were excited to push themselves a bit and try something new.   Over the course of the weekend, at least a hundred people streamed in and out and learned a little bit about the joy us audio people share.  We even had a podfic group join us to record some of their own material!

Fred has gone on to introduce this concept in classrooms from 8th grade to college-level, as well as art walks, Cons, and other public events in Maine. Usually he does a little presentation about the power of audio storytelling, and then invites the people in attendance to actually be part of something! It’s a fun workshop that gives people a taste of voice acting even if they have not previously self-identified as an actor.

CONvergence audio recording 2013

Podfic Group at CONvergence

Miraculously, some of this work is still live on the internet… Check out: https://soundcloud.com/marktimebroadcast

Fred’s scripts from the “You Have Five Minutes” series are available for FREE for non-commercial production:

Sample Scripts

FinalRune Visits Audio Legend Tom Lopez

FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY

Fred Greenhalgh and Tom Lopez, audio dramatists

On Easter weekend 2012, Fred headed out across two-lane roads of NH, VT and NY to visit Tom Lopez at the ZBS Foundation‘s headquarters, an 1800s farmhouse in Fort Edward, NY.

A lot of radio history was made at this unassuming location sitting on 33 acres in the heart of New York’s dairy country. By the early 70s, Lopez had DJ’ed in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Montreal, but he, along with some radio co-conspirators, were looking for a place to set down roots. That very nearly became New Orleans, but providence brought them to upstate New York instead.

In the early days, the commune hosted as many as 18 people, who lived, played, and made art on the farm. The freeform audio artistry merry mayhem resulted in the 1972 Fourth Tower of Inverness, the wildly original tale of a funky mansion that mixed up 50s radio motifs, mysticism, and gonzo gurus with enigmatic characters such as Jack Flanders, Little Frieda, Lady Jowls, and Chief Wampum.

Later, as Tom traveled the world collecting sounds all across the world, from Morocco to the Amazon, this was where the actors would get together to record the stories Lopez set in the exotic locales. Today, Lopez continues to create, having transitioned most of his recordings across the digital divide and experimenting with formats and distribution on the internet. As Fred arrived, Tom was in the midst of organizing the recording for Ruby 9, what will be the penultimate and final Ruby.

It was joy to soak up the radio waves (as well as to enjoy delicious victuals prepared by Tom’s wife, Marika). Among the interesting tidbits: ZBS was really podcasting before podcasting existed. Their shows, particularly Ruby, were released in short, serialized segments offered free to radio stations. Listeners would catch little nuggets of the story, and be given a phone number to call up ZBS to get a full catalog (these were in the days pre-internet). This method of giving the content for ‘free,’ while attracting something valuable – subscribing listeners – has helped keep ZBS going through the collapse of public radio funding and into today.

There’s no producer in the world quite like Tom. Not only has he released over a hundred hours of boldly original drama that pushes the boundaries of audio, he has done it without institutional support, giving him a creative freedom enjoyed by few artists on the globe. While trekking reel-to-reel and Sony Beta recorders into the Amazon might have been conceived by Hollywood sound designers, no one before Tom ever thought to go to such trouble for an audio production.

In the midst of the visit, Tom and Fred sat down for a long chat about life, the universe, and everything… All least, insofar as it relates to radio drama.

Take a listen here:

finalrune · 2012 – 05 – 18 – -tom – Lopez – Interview

See some photos from Fred’s trip:

FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
A yurt! Fred knew that he and Tom were kindred spirits.
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Fred visits audio legend Tom Lopez as his 1800s farmhouse in upstate NY where decades of audio drama legend have been created.
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
A hammock completes every recording studio.
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Tom Lopez with "Fritz" - a binaural recording head. A heavy head, at that.
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Old school Nagra recorder
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
A photo of Tom's journeys in the Amazon - logging tracks from the Nagra recorder
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Sound effects!
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Fred visits audio legend Tom Lopez as his 1800s farmhouse in upstate NY where decades of audio drama legend have been created.
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Sunset from Tom's front yard
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Nice old radio!
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
A vintage photo of Tom from the 4th Tower of Inverness days
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Fred Greenhalgh and Tom Lopez, audio dramatists
FinalRune Visits Tom Lopez of ZBS in Fort Edward, NY
Another photo of Fred Greenhalgh and Tom Lopez AKA Meatball Fulton

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Fred’s Production Company

Dagaz Media High End Audio Drama

Looking to hire Fred for an audio drama project? See the website for his award-winning production company, Dagaz Media, co-founded with audio drama legend William Dufris.