As we have been waiting to hear back from NPR about the results of the podcast competition, I have spent time considering the BallyCast submission and the quality of it compared to other podcasts.
You can listen to ‘The Hauntings of Breckie’ at this link – https://soundcloud.com/thedeltaschool/the-hauntings-of-breckie.
These are some past winners and honorable mentions:
- ‘Murderous Mary and the Rise of Erwin’ – https://soundcloud.com/user-352618310/murderous-mary-the-rise-of
- ‘Why Instagram is Like a Cocaine-Laced Brownie’ – https://soundcloud.com/alex-morgan-658034862/why-instagram-is-like-a-cocaine-laced-brownie
- ‘America Isn’t All Song and Dance’ – https://soundcloud.com/thadendmc/america-isnt-all-song-and-dance
One of the key differences between BallyCast’s submission is our use of music and sound effects. Neither ‘Murderous Mary and the Rise of Erwin’ or ‘America Isn’t All Song and Dance’ use any kind of background sound. ‘Why Instagram is Like a Cocaine-Laced Brownie’ uses a background sort of video game sound for music and the occasional sound effect, but still not as much as we did.
When it comes to audio quality, ours is clearer than ‘Murderous Mary and the Rise of Erwin.’ However, both ‘America Isn’t All Song and Dance’ and ‘Why Instagram is Like a Cocaine-Laced Brownie’ have very clear audio. There were a few points in the latter were there was a clear shift in quality due to a different setting and perhaps different equipment. This did not draw away from the content though. Ultimately, I think BallyCast’s audio is on the same level as these three podcasts.
The above three also talked about real, factual things while BallyCast’s submission has to do with the unsure and supernatural. ‘Murderous Mary and the Rise of Erwin’ talks about the town Erwin that hung a circus elephant. ‘Why Instagram is Like a Cocaine-Laced Brownie’ is about social media and phone usage, specifically during the beginning of COVID-19 induced quarantine. ‘America Isn’t All Song and Dance’ is about the journey of a European teenage girl who comes to live in Bentonville, AR.
In the long run, I do think that BallyCast has a genuine chance at winning this competition. Our story stands out. Our audio stands out thanks to our dramatic music and sound effects. Our audio quality is neither worse nor better despite there being a few places where we were clearer. Hopefully we’ll get the results we want come May 3rd!
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