Monday, October 11, 2010 Prepping The "Spirit Blade Productions Archive"

I FINALLY managed to corner Michael Tully (Raan Galvaanik) for our "Special Edition" interview and had a blast asking him your questions and goofing off in general.

The combined Special Edition interviews with Randy Hesson(Vincent Craft) and Michael Tully will be featured on the bonus "Archive" disc included with the "Collectors Set" of Spirit Blade and will also be available for purchase separately.

I've been having a lot of fun digging through my files to create what I hope will be the first of many "archive" discs. This disc will include hours of audio material and documents tracking the development of Spirit Blade, starting from just before the presentation of the live show and leading up to the Special Edition. It's been a long journey and much of it is chronicled in this archive.

More details on the specific contents of the archive disc will be available when "Spirit Blade: Special Edition" goes on sale. The CDs should be arriving any day now, so hopefully the big launch will happen sometime this week!

Stay tuned!

-Paeter Frandsen

Friday, October 8, 2010 Audiobook Progress and Special Edition Preview

While waiting for the CDs for the Spirit Blade: Special Edition to arrive, I'm keeping busy devloping promotional content and the long-promised audiobook of the Spirit Blade novel that the audio dramas are based on.

I recorded the entire book last year around this time but put production off to go straight into developing the Special Edition first. Although the final product will be several hours long (I'm estimating five or more) the production process is moving much more quickly because of the simpler nature of the project.

It's like mixing Spirit Blade at superspeed. Drop in my reading and edit where needed. Drop in ambient sound effects and finish with some music here and there and voila! In about 2-3 hours I've completed a 30 minute chapter!

I'm hoping to have the entire audiobook finished sometime in November, or earlier if at all possible.

Also, if you've been itching to hear some of the Special Edition of Spirit Blade, tonight is your chance! In place of a regular podcast episode, I will be airing the first 30 minutes of the Spirit Blade: Special Edition! The audio quality will be significantly lower than the actual product, but still plenty of fun! Don't miss out!

-Paeter Frandsen

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Promotional Content

The proofs have been approved and the CDs are due at my doorstep sometime next week! I've also delivered the digital files to my "web-tech guy" to get the downloads ready to go.

In the meantime, I'm cooking up some (what I hope will be) cool promotional content to give you guys significantly more bang for your buck.

I've pretty well locked in what the bonus content will be, though I'm not sure of the delivery method yet. It may be a mix of download links for digital purchases and CD-Rs for Disc purchases. I'm still working out the kinks and trying to find the best (and most economical) solution.

At the latest, you'll hear an announcement at the time of release, and maybe before if I can get my ducks in row fast enough.

-Paeter Frandsen

Friday, October 1, 2010 Trailers Are Up!

Two trailers have been posted for the Spirit Blade: Special Edition! You can download them at spiritblade.net/freestuff or listen to them in the media players on the right side of the page at spiritblade.net/blog !

Enjoy!

-Paeter Frandsen

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 The Package Is Away!

No, that's not code regarding my ingenious "bombing plot". The package really is away!

I just returned from delivering the Spirit Blade: Special Edition master CDs, artwork and payment to the post office, where it will start a three day journey to the manufacturers on the East Coast.

A VERY big load off of my shoulders, though the race isn't over yet. While the package is travelling, printing and travelling back, I have one or two trailers to put together and some prep work to do to have the website ready for launch. Not quite as time sensitive as sending off the project, but still stuff that has a clock ticking on it.

I'm already more than halfway finished with the main trailer, so stay tuned! I may have something for you to hear very soon!

-Paeter Frandsen

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Final Test Listening!

Last night I began what may be the final round of test listening for the Spirit Blade Special Edition. This basically involves me listening to a single mix of the entire project on 3 or 4 different audio sources. (And yeah, if you do the math, it takes awhile.)

At this point it's nearly ready to go out to the manufacturer. After this round of test listening I will make any final tweaks and create the final version. Then I'll give it one last listen and send it out the door!

Once it's out the door, I'll have a few other things to do while I wait for it to come back, such as working with the Tech Admin for the website to get the digital downoads ready to go. I'll also be making a couple of trailers.

This weekend I'll be going camping with my family, in keeping with my unintended tradition of going on vacation during my busiest periods of work. But I'm convinced I need it and my family needs it (and needs me to have it!).You can still plan on the podcast, though. I hope to post it this Thursday night.

My aim is to have the Special Edition available no later than October 15th, but James 4:13-15 cautions me by saying,

Come now, you who say "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

So with that in mind, we'll see what God wills! If he wants it, I'll keep pumping blood and have this in your ears very soon!

-Paeter Frandsen

Monday, September 20, 2010 Finishing Bloopers

In Search Of Truth is being bumped to later this week again, but I can still update you on the Special Edition.

I've finished making some minor adjustments to the overall dialogue EQ and am now going through the recording sessions done specifically for the special edition to see if there are any bloopers worth adding to the original blooper reel.

My graphic designer got in touch with me yesterday to confirm forward motion on the changes to the CD case.

Once I've finished polishing the mix, I'll put together two different trailers for the project. One regular trailer and one that showcases the updates a little bit.

Stay tuned!

-Paeter Frandsen

Friday, September 17, 2010 Randy Records For The Special Edition!

Just had Randy Hesson over last night to record the end credits, one line change and some promo stuff for the Special Edition. Still always fun to see "Vincent" wearing spectacles to read.

We had a good time catching up, too. I so wish you guys could see Randy onstage in his dramatic work so you could appreciate how honored I am that he continues to be willing to be in my strange little sci-fi stories.

In October, Randy and his wife will be celebrating 25 years of marriage. Congratulations, Hessons! A rare and beautiful accomplishment these days.

Well, the crunch in my timetable for this release is not letting up a bit, so I better get back to it!

Have a great weekend!

-Paeter Frandsen

Monday, September 13, 2010 Squeezing In Progress

After another surprise day of subbing I ran out of time for "In Search Of Truth". Currently, I'm trying to fit in finalizing the updated credits for the Special Edition to send over to my Graphic Designer for the new CD case.

I've also started listening to all the voice recording sessions for Spirit Blade to see if there are any "bloopers" I want to add to the reel this time.

Not much to update you on, so this is a short post. But it's just as well, 'cuz I'm short on time!

See ya!

-Paeter Frandsen

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 The "Hazards" Of Subbing

Well, my plan had been to put "In Search Of Truth" here this week, since I took Monday off. But last night I got a call to substitute teach Wednesday through Friday of this week.

One of the hazards of substitute teaching is that, even though it's a side gig, it forces me to instantly drop whatever else I have planned for at least a day and sometimes for up to a week.

All things considered, it's a great way to make a little money while running a small business. But it doesn't allow me to do much advance planning. So if you're waiting to hear from me about an e-mail or something like that, know that I haven't forgotten you (as far as I know) and add about three days to whenever you thought I might get back to you.

;-)

I'm pretty close to finishing "In Search Of Truth", so plan on seeing it here this Friday! Thanks for your patience!

-Paeter Frandsen

Friday, August 27, 2010 Online Radio and Completing The First Mix

You can now hear songs from both the Spirit Blade Special Edition and Spirit Blade: Dark Ritual at www.Christianindustrial.net and www.creukradio.org.

Be sure to request one of our songs if you stop by!

You can also hear the track "Soldiers" on the most recent Creukradio compilation! The compilation is available for free download at the Creukradio website. Click on the "Comps" page to download. The name of the compilation is "Remnant".

If the day goes well, I will finish the first complete mix of the Spirit Blade Special Edition. I will be gone all of next week and noticed that I seem to always be "forced" to take vacation time right when I'm about to finish a major goal I've set for myself. It would be VERY satisfying to be able to take the finished mix with me on my trip, but given my history I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Although I will be mostly off the grid next week (no blog posts, podcast or e-mailing), I may still pop into the forums once or twice next week. If you haven't stopped by yet, come and say hi! We continue to have some great conversations going on there and I'd love to connect with you!  www.spiritblade.net/forums

Have a great week!

-Paeter Frandsen

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Music Selection Finished, Final Mix Begins!

As of yesterday I am finished selecting music for the Spirit Blade: Special Edition!

Starting today, I will go through the entire project and insert the music I have selected, re-balancing the mix as appropriate. This process will probably take a couple of weeks. After that, I will have Randy Hesson(Vincent) come in to record the end credits and I will begin test listening while Ryan (my graphic designer) makes adjustments to the CD art and sleeves.

We're getting closer all the time!

Friday, August 20, 2010 New Video!

Last night I posted a new video on our youtube page which gives a behind the scenes look at how I created the dragon sound effects for "Pilgrim's Progress: Similitude Of A Dream". This installment is the first to feature video from one of my recording sessions. So if you think you'll get a kick out of watching  me make weird noises at my microphone, be sure to check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y__jicUfGlI

Enjoy!

-Paeter Frandsen

8-19-10 Finishing Up Music Selection

I've got a really good pace going and if it continues as it has been I should be finishing up the music selection process for the Special Edition of Spirit Blade before the weekend. Then it should take me about a week to mix them into the scenes properly and begin the test listening and polishing process.

I'm also working on another behind the scenes video for Pilgrim's Progress that I should be releasing today or tomorrow. Stay tuned!

-Paeter Frandsen

8-13-10 Music Selection

As of now I'm about halfway through the music selection process for the Special Edition of Spirit Blade. This is one of my favorite parts of the process, because the main mix is done so I'm mainly just adjusting levels, but when the right piece of music is dropped in, it completely transforms the nature of the scene.

I think the music I was able to find for "Dark Ritual" played a major role in making that project what it was. The same is certainly true for "Similitude Of A Dream". I've been excited for a long time to give the same treatment to Spirit Blade.

However, Spirit Blade will have a fairly different musical style than Dark Ritual. Where Dark Ritual used epic orchestra and choir in its score, Spirit Blade will have a more modern/electronic feel to it, in keeping with the high technology setting of the story.

I'm hoping to have all music selected by the end of next week, and for test listening to begin soon after!

Have a great weekend!

-Paeter Frandsen

8-11-10 Playing More Catch up

As always happens whenever I take time off, I returned to a mountain of things to do before I could get back to mixing. (Barely got "In Search Of Truth" done in time!) Finally picked up mixing again yesterday and I'm currently on scene 37 of 39! So close!

I'm singing at a memorial service today, which will take me away from my desk for a couple of hours, but I'm still hoping to be done with the core mix and working on editing the score before the weekend.

I can only guess, but I'm hoping the score editing will take a week or less and test listening can begin one or two weeks from now.

But if that's gonna happen, I gotta get back to it!

See ya!

-Paeter Frandsen

8-4-10 The Mystery Quest For a Web Presence

Developing and connecting with an online audience continues to be a huge and constantly changing challenge. Where to spend my time and energy? Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, our website, the forums, the podcast or some other new gimmicky thing on the web?

Naturally, the answer is "all of the above", but there is still the constant question of "how much is enough" for each of those. We're a production company, after all, and I have to leave time for producing things other then web posts and free content if I hope to see this thing grow in both quantity, quality and effectiveness.

So I do what I can and try to impose boundaries on myself so I can still actually work on audio drama, and every once in awhile I'm rewarded with some forward motion that may be small, but is still encouraging.

This morning after reading an article about developing a web presence for yourself I tried searching for "spirit blade" in both google and yahoo. Our site still comes up as number one in both places, but now our company name finally comes up in the "suggestion" drop down box in yahoo.

Even more encouraging, a search for "christian sci-fi" puts us at number six on google (up from 10 or 11, found on the second page) and number two on yahoo! And many of our other web locations pop up not far below our main site in search results. 

So my big thanks to all of you for reading the blog and tracking with me on facebook and elsewhere!

Keep tracking with us and before long we may even hit number one for "christian sci-fi" searches!

Woohoo!

-Paeter Frandsen

7-30-10 10 Out Of 39 Scenes Left!

Progress has been going great on the Special Edition of Spirit Blade! I only have 10 scenes left to mix before I go back and add the new scoring to each scene.

Yesterday I found myself with an unusually large amount of time for mixing and completed 3 or 4 scenes in one day! (It felt really good.)

Given what happens to Raan at the end of Act 2, he suddenly takes a lot more work to mix into scenes in act 3. The original mix already had some cybernetic sound effects, but in order to match what we hear in Dark Ritual, I'm adding a few more layers and completely replacing his footsteps as well.

I have this crazy fantasy of getting the core mix done before I go on my out of town trip next weekend, but I kinda doubt that will happen.

The podcast may be late this weekend, posting Saturday night instead of tonight. My sister is watching our son while my wife and I enjoy a "24-hour date".

Have a great weekend!

-Paeter Frandsen

7-28-10 23 of 39!

The remix continues to go well. I'm currently mixing the Atlantis attack on Ebony's apartment. One thing I notice as I remix is that I didn't have a good sense of how to "block" scenes in Spirit Blade. Too often, I would try to keep an entire scene locked into one frame of reference, giving a different percentage of panning to each character to represent where they were in the room. But when you have 4 or 5 people in a room and want to have them all in definitively different places, you wind up with some people panned 80% to the left or right, resulting in a very uneven overall sound.

I've been taking the opportunity to "re-block" some scenes and "re-pace" some others. In this scene it's a bit of both.

The extra action and sound cues have slowed down the process a bit for scene 23, but I'm very happy with how it's turning out and I'm also pretty happy with the time I'm keeping on this project.

Speaking of which, better get back to it!

-Paeter Frandsen

7-23-10 Officially Halfway!

Thanks in part to the new audio leveling software I'm using, I am officially halfway finished with the core mix of the Spirit Blade Special Edition!

When the "core mix" is finished, I will go through and decide what music to use or buy for each scene (buying all at the same time saves me money). Once I've done that, I'll mix the music into every scene, making adjustments to dialogue and effects along the way. This process should only take a couple of weeks. Then factor in another week or two of test listening and about two or three more for CD printing.

As I like to try and say, "it will be done when it's done", but you're welcome to take all of that information and speculate!

As a reminder, the podcast is coming later this week because of ComiCon. I plan to release it sometime between Sunday and Wednesday.

Have a great weekend!