Freelance Journey

How To Become a Freelancer – April Update

The Legend of Aramelle as it shows up on Spotify
Legend of Aramelle on Spotify

Intro:
Nearly, finally recovered from my burns – with only one factor still preventing me from a return to work.

The Legend of Aramelle is now live! And can be listened to here on WordPress, on Apple podcasts, Spotify or Pocketcasts.

The first episode has turned out well and new episodes will be available every other Saturday for the next few months.
However, I am hoping to re-record the credits as the levels went wrong and they’re barely audible for episode one! I should be able to do it no later than episode four, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

So on to the update!

Scripts Update:
Most of this past month has been focused on getting the first episode of The Legend of Aramelle ready. However, I am nearly ready to submit Troy into Oxford 42, and should be able to do that before the end of this week.

The time-travel script went into Scribe Lounge Elevate and I have made notes for a re-write on my script called Last Witch in Swanage; it’s about witches in Puritan England. Have been having trouble with this script for a while, knowing the story I want to tell, but it not coming out right when written down. Now, I have been inspired by Wednesday on Netflix, (being off work means I am finally making some headway on my watchlist) and have realised that I can tell the story better if I change the tone to a more contemporary one!

I will be making a short film – working title Grand Hotel – for the final term of my film course. I have the Easter break to organise actors, call sheets and production budgets etc. It’s a story inspired by the first line of a Regina Spektor songalso called Grand Hotel – with the first line being “Somewhere below the Grand hotel, there is a tunnel that leads straight to Hell.” There’s still some editing I want to do on the script, but it’s almost there.

Finally, I am trying to work out which of two short film scripts – the first being Billy Frankenstein, also originally written for the film course and the second being my second choice for this final-term film, entitled The Master’s Boots – to submit to the Large Format Films competition. The Master’s Boots was only voted down at the film course for production budget reasons, as it is set in the early 1900s, and needed Edwardian costumes, three locations, a certain number of extras and ideally a plane. However, the Large Format Films first prize is £5000 towards making your film, so I am heavily considering that one instead.

Plus, it has the added benefit of being inspired by something I learnt about my own family this week: That is, that my Great-Grandma had an argument with her mother about whether she was going to work as a servant in a big house nearby, or with her friends at a local factory.

Things Learnt:
Have been trying to get my head around the various different podcast services, so can advertise Legend of Aramelle as much as possible. Lots of the services do have lessons and articles in various topics, that I am slowly working my way through.

Have also learnt a bit more about which type of microphone I want to buy once my savings have recovered from my sick leave. Also, that the levels I might hear in a Mix-Pre3 Sound Mixer don’t necessarily translate easily to Garageband on my laptop!

The Legend of Aramelle

The Legend Of Aramelle – Episode One

Princess Aramelle escapes her father’s castle the day before she is due to be sacrificed…

In this episode:
George Coyne played Orson
Georgia Faye played Narrator/Persephone
Liam Harkins played Barry
Tayla Kenyon played Villager One
Mariana Sa Sousa played Aramelle
Am Stubberfield played Grim Reaper
Everyone played: Villagers chasing and Villagers Jeering.

Social Media:
Show email: thelegendofaramellecasting@gmail.com
Writer: Christy Sago: Bluesky: @christywrites.bsky.social
Producer: Kate Delong: Instagram: @kate.delong.creates
George Coyne: Instagram: @jorge_pereira8890
Tayla Kenyon: Twitter: @taylakenyon
Liam Harkins: Instagram: @liammharkins
Mariana Sa Sousa: Instagram: @marianasasousa123
Am Stubberfield: Instagram: @brumble_hag
Composer: Jean Loup-Pinson: Instagram: @jlpinsonmusic

Sound effects:
Jean Loup-Pinson composed the theme music, scene change music and Grim’s theme.
His website is: www.jeanlouppinson.com/
Sound effects for this episode are from BBC Sound Effects Library, Adobe Sound Effects, Freesound.org and the cast themselves.
Full credits for the sound effects as well as more information on the writing, recording and editing of this episode can be found here.

I cannot guarantee that holding onto the sides of a boat will help you survive falling down a waterfall – Please do not try it.

Thank you for listening!

Freelance Journey

How To Become a Freelancer – February Update

Intro:
Apologies for not releasing this until there’s only ten days left of the month! Turns out January and February were full on in more ways than one!

First, the good bits: recorded the episodes of The Legend of Aramelle and am currently editing them for release from 8th March. Am also keeping track of the budget for the show so I can see how much money I have to make back before I would be able to do a second series.

Also found two new writing competitions that Troy script would qualify for – Roadmap and Oxford 42 – and received new notes on the pilot from my writing course, that I hope to work through before submitting the script.

Finally, I have had to stay at my mum’s since the middle of January, as I badly burnt my legs – note to everyone, check your hot water bottles, please – and after initially thinking the burns were extensive, but not too deep and that I’d be back in work after a week, I actually ended up having a 5 day stay in hospital and am still having to walk with crutches after a skin graft operation!

Unable to get into work (warehouses aren’t built for crutches), it should be the perfect time for me to write. However, it turns out growing skin is hard work. Doctors regularly tell me to make sure I’ve upped my calorie intake (I’m bad at eating at the best of times) and I’m still having to have around three naps a day, but the healing is happening!

So on to the update!

Scripts Update:
The Legend of Aramelle podcast is recorded and apart from some sound effects that still need adding, the first episode is ready for release!

Troy script is being worked on ahead of two competition entries and time travel script will be one entered into Scribe Lounge Elevate this year.

Other scripts have fallen behind a little as I recover, but am not too worried as don’t have any set competitions to enter them in before at least July, so would rather focus on the ones that do have set competitions while my body heals!

Things Learnt:
Editing practice is going well, and am also learning to edit audio on Garageband for the podcast.
Have made a finance tracker for the podcast. Have found it very useful to track unexpected costs – such as having to get scripts printed for the cast on the day of recording and extra travel costs to reimburse after cancelled trains.


Have also recorded some – though not all – of the needed sound effects for the show and realising the best ways to record things like people falling over has been fun. The answer is, to avoid hurting your cast, to make them go near to the floor and bascially sit down hard on the floor, while saying “oof” or some such. Played back in context, it sounds pretty realistic!