Audio Storytelling
Our Partner
Radiotopia, from PRX, is a curated network of extraordinary, cutting-edge podcasts. Radiotopia empowers independent producers to do their best work, grow audience and increase revenue. Showcase is a podcast series from Radiotopia featuring original series of all stripes, from emerging and leading producers around the world.
The Project
The Polybius Conspiracy is a seven-part series on Showcase, which tells the complex story of two men united by a decades-old urban legend. Told as a hybrid documentary/fictional story, this project took shape over many iterations, and many years, evolving from a feature film to a documentary before finally becoming a podcast intended to be artful exploration into how we consume and perpetuate information in the internet age.
Research: Internet Research
I actually first discovered Polybius the same way as many — through the internet. Deemed one of the first Creepypastas of its kind, the legend told of a mysterious video game from the early ‘80s in Portland, OR, that used to inflict danger upon those who played it.
Interestingly enough, while there isn’t a foregone conclusion if it actually existed, the legend was no doubt perpetuated by internet nomads telling anecdotes, sharing stories while mis-remembering details, blurring fact and fiction, and contributing to the digital campfire.
Initially trying to make something for the screen, we compiled interviews into a video to raise funds on Kickstarter
Research: Interviews
Along with my creative partner Jon, I took several trips to Portland, Oregon, over many years, to record interviews (either via video or audio) from those who knew about the Polybius legend. This included conversations with tour guides, video arcade owners, local historians, gamers, and more.
“People make connections between what the government was doing, the legend, and how they overlap. Flashing lights, disorientation, audio, sensory confusion - I think somewhere in there is the kernel [Polybius] has sprouted from."
— Dylan Reiff, Gamer, Portland, OR
Research: Medium
Over the years, Jon and my interest in the Polybius legend morphed, as did the medium.
Originally, as filmmakers by trade, we wanted to make a feature-length film. But budgetary constraints proved hard, and the more research we did about the urban legend, the less interested we became in the machine and the more we were drawn to the ways in which stories like Polybius can take hold and spread.
So with that in mind, we looked into making a documentary that we would cross-cut with cinematic dramatizations, but our Kickstarter failed to raise the money we needed so our eyes wandered to different mediums.
With Serial and others having really turned the world onto story-driven podcasts, we considered that an audio series might bring forth the experience we desired — forcing the audience to meet us halfway with their imaginations.
We came close…but did not meet our goal
Art from Episode #1 - The Player, Jin Lim
Research: Concepting
Polybius is named after the Greek historian who was a strong believer in reporting stories honestly and accurately. This makes a video game cabinet named after him, fueled by speculation and hearsay, quite ironic indeed.
Jon and I wanted to play into this, hoping to create a series that - like the game it purports to research - full of moments that blur the line between fact and fiction. Using two main characters who themselves cannot parse their tragic realities from more fantastical thinking, we hoped to bring the audience into the conspiracy in much the same manner, presenting both the real and exaggerated stories about the legend, forcing listeners to ultimately rely on their own intuition and convictions as they draw their own conclusions.
While some cited the show taking its cue from War of The Worlds and The Blair Witch Project, there two other inspirations that we feel much more in line with our aspirations: another Welles’ project called F For Fake, and Banksy’s own Exit Through The Gift Shop where story and form are one and the same.
Research: Problem and Solution
After research and some debate, our problem and solution came together:
Art from Episode #3 - The Cassette, Jin Lim
Creative: Writing and Casting
Using existing audio, and the facts as we knew them to form our sandbox, Jon and I began to construct a narrative that took an audience through a seven-episode journey.
Some parts we ended up having to cast, and we realized in order to make something as natural as possible it was much easier to construct talking points for actors rather than having anyone memorize lines.
Creative: On-Location
We ran our audio sessions similar to film sets, where we took actors to locations and walked through the action.
Similar to improv, this type of style introduced new elements into the narrative, providing more editing options and creative opportunities.
A look at Episode 7’s timelime
Creative: Editing
After production, Jon and I took to editing where we were able to maximize the storytelling, and find a proper merging point between hours of real interviews and dramatized audio.
While Garage Band is often not be the top choice for audio editors, we actually found it worked quite well and was easiest to onboard to.
Production: Licensing
Podcasts, especially the ones driven by story and editing, don’t really work well without music.
We had a small budget to pay artists for some tracks, and we got lucky with what we were able to get for modest means, bringing in work from folks like One Am Radio, Restricted, and Chris Fitzpatrick, among others.
Some of the work we licensed from Restricted
The Polybius Conspiracy on Radiotopia Showcase, art by Kevin Blanchard
Production: Artwork
Artwork can also greatly elevate a podcast, so we worked with three different artists on banner art, episode art, and avatars for the Radiotopia homepage.
Feedback: Social Media
When The Polybius Conspiracy was first released, most seemed to enjoy it and talk favorably about it.
However, when some became aware there was an added level of fabrication, thoughts and feelings of some started to turn against the project.
While this probably should have been expected in hindsight, there was a fair amount of naivety on our ends with the assumption that should people become aware of our meta approach, they would appreciate and even be charmed by the experience.
But in an era of fake news, and political polarization, some felt we were much closer to Donald Trump than Werner Herzog.
Feedback: Press
Much like those on social media, various news outlets reviewed our work. While some really liked it, others had their trepidations.
Nevertheless, we took home several “Best of” awards in 2017, earning nods from the AV Club, The Stranger, The Hundreds, the CBC, and more.
We peaked at the 75th most popular show on iTunes during our 7-week run
Takeaways
Reflecting on The Polybius Conspiracy three years after its release, I have some takeaways…
I’m proud of the end product, but a lot of the polarization I found unexpected (and probably shouldn’t have). I think this was a good lesson for me when it came to consumer and user research, and really keeping honest to changing trends and perspectives (as a core UX tenet states, “You are not your user.”). Had this project come out in 2016, I think the response would have been different…but a year later, so many things in our world had changed but our passion for finishing this project did not. So - thinking more like a UX Designer than some independent artist - it’s always good to reevaluate the full scope of things and constantly check the outside temperature.
As always, good partners equal better results. I was really fortunate to have a talented partner in Jon, and our Executive Producer, Julie, was thoughtful, patient, and awesome.
And finally, for as much as I find value in things like Kayfabe, Welles, PT Barnum, and Banksy, I highly doubt I will ever try to make a product that blurs the line again. I think audiences tastes for this type of experience has changed, and the era of innocence with conspiracies have come and gone (to much scarier lengths since the series’ release). However, if Vince McMahon comes calling…