The plan to move to two thirty minute episodes a month has been thrown out the window for the time being. My writer self, for Edict Zero, has become comfortable with 40-50 page scripts, which translates into about an hour.

One major difference moving ahead, however, is that the episodes have reached the point where they can almost stand-alone with their own arcs. I think this is going to be a very good thing for the show and it also means that if there ever is another pause (for me to breathe) during the rest of Season 2, the listener will be rewarded with a semblance of resolution and won’t be left hanging off a cliff. The episodes will be individually rewarding. We’re going to be moving in a much more episodic direction, rather than the segmented story structure. Season long and series long arcs still apply, of course.

I’m also looking forward to taking up something new with each episode and moving away from the “paradox artifacts” after the next few episodes. The artifacts are one mythology that received a lot of air-time in part, I think, because they’re just so much fun. Some resolution about those can be expected in the next few episodes too.

That’s all for now. Expect a preview for EP204 in a week or two.

It’s almost 4 in the morning after a solid day of production. I need unconsciousness now.

Cheers.

–Jack

I consider Edict Zero to be a success and well ahead of where I expected the level of exposure to be by now (as these things take time).  There was a time when I was going to use the download count at Edict Zero’s Internet Archive Page, as a barometer for interest, and said that if there weren’t at least 10,000 downloads, I wouldn’t go through with a second season.  I didn’t realize then how the download count at the Internet Archive worked and that it only provides a minimum-of-all-possible download count (multiple files by the same IP on the same day count as one, for example).  Between this, file-sharing, numerous sites which have mirrored the files, etc, there’s no way of knowing just how many downloads the show has actually received.  It’s a matter of speculation!  I’m quite all right with that.  Although I was pleased to see that the internet archive count did surpass the 10,000 mark recently. I would like to think that this is a small fraction of actual downloads it has received.

As for the rest of Season Two, I would have liked to make the next release in January, but I do not see that happening.  Production of EP204 has already begun.  However, the progress is slow, due to cutting back work hours (as I mentioned in a previous post).  There was also a life event this past month in December, which is no minor thing, and this had put me in a funk for some weeks, during which creative thought was strained.  Serious gravity involved here.  Reality and fantasy seem to have a mutually toxic relationship.  Anyway, this event is a gigantic thing that will affect the rest of my life.  My future will be very different from what I’ve known, for worse in some areas but for so much better in others, and the next year and a half or so will be a transitional phase.  I choose to adopt optimism and a sense of adventure about the matter.

Meanwhile, I’m certain that we’ll be looking at a February release of EP204 and I will do my best to maintain some kind of regularity thereafter until the end of the second season, which I expect to continue all the way to the end of 2012, providing that Murphy’s Law doesn’t come to bite me any more.  This next month I will be returning to full-time Edict Zero work and anticipate going into turbo mode, providing I can keep my head on straight in my present environment. I look forward to the new dynamic of the episodes, their new arcs, and even the chance to do some off-beat episodes in the future so as not to lock into any formula.  You can also expect the descent down the rabbit hole of Edict Zero to accelerate.  It’s a long, long way down to the bottom.

I hope to have fun getting there.

That’s all for now and that’s the end of 2011, but I will post again in January when I announce new release dates.

Wishing you all the best for 2012.  Cheers.

EP203 is the final episode for 2011 and end of the first wave of releases. I believe it’s the perfect episode to precede a break in releases in that it sets the stage for the remainder of the second season and also doesn’t leave the listeners hanging off a cliff. It’s a nice, clean spot to do it. I’m confident enough about the quality of show at this point to believe that those who have journeyed with the story thus far will return for more when it resumes. Should you stray, I wish you well, but I need some recharge.

The second season will resume in late January or in February, I expect. Yes, I know. I’m contradicting earlier statements. I have a bad habit of making premature declarations. Predicting myself is a bit like predicting the weather; it’s a fuzzy science. Rather than set any dates, I’ll commit to announcing a new game plan on New Year’s Day. I won’t be breaking from production, except for a handful of days, but I will be cutting back my production work hours during December for the holiday season. Up to now, it’s been constant since September. There are matters of family and chopping wood I’d like to tend to (although the gibgoblin count is fairly low these days). There’s lots of stuff I’ve been putting off that I need to get to. There are also many other E-Z related things I want to work on, such as sorting out script stuff, the glossary (about which I receive patient and polite emails) and the characters page. I have also been itching to work on more remixes and original music (with much heightened technical capability than before). I need to get to a lot of things. I don’t have a budget or staff, so I appreciate the patience. I’m just one person. Physically anyway.

This show remains my number one creative priority. I find the work on it fulfilling and though it’s an incredible amount of work, to the point of treading that burn-out line a lot, it really is worth it. You, kind listeners, make it worth it. This is the best relationship that you and I can have with each other. It’s good from my end and I sincerely hope that it works for you too, because that’s all we’ve got.

I will try to post again later in December.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the show!

And the ride down the Edict Zero rabbit hole.

There are no spheres.

Cheers to all.

You can jump to the entry by clicking here.

The cast did a fantastic job, and the time I spent producing it … well, it’s almost unfathomable, particularly under the strain that health issues imposed on me. It was a grueling environment I pushed through. It was a new chamber of hell to claw my way out of, as if I hadn’t seen enough of them already. Thankfully, the health issues are mostly gone, but boy did it put me behind my desired schedule. Also, the episodes are taking that much more to produce now that I’m rising on the upward curve, compelled to challenge myself.

As much as I don’t like to admit to hitting limits, I am extremely overextended right now, and this is a big reason why I decided not to continue my personal twitter account or my personal blog. There was no associated melt-down. It was nuts to put more on my plate when it was already overloaded. I apologize to anyone who may have begun reading my now nuked blog, but, as I said, I’m overextended as it is. To have it makes me feel obligated to feed it. One more thing on my to-do list? Not if I can help it. My time is better spent with stuff for the show and, oh, maybe that personal life thing. I’m not sure it’s still there. I may have to hire a search party.

I have set a date for the release of Episode 3, “The Road Not Taken”, for December 15th. That’s a whole month from now, and if the wait is at all upsetting, I apologize. If before that date, I finish the production of the episode to my satisfaction and find the time to run a build, do post-production stuff, etcetera, I will release it early. I won’t sit on it, so cross your fingers. There won’t be a preview to EP203 tacked onto the end of EP202. I expect I will release one separately after the Thanksgiving holidays.

EP203 will be a very cool episode and worth waiting for. Promise.

To address a few common questions/concerns…

Why don’t I split up the hour-long episodes into 30 minute segments to spread them out? Well, it’s an artistic thing. The easiest way I can think to put it is : each episode to me is like a sentence, and the scenes words of that sentence. It feels absurd to me to release half of a sentence, wait fifteen days, and release the second half of that sentence. That may not make sense to you, but, to bottom-line it, it just feels weird and wrong for me to do so. It would make me crazy. Okay, okay. It would make me crazier.

Next question: Why don’t I produce an entire season and then machine-gun episodes out? For starters, I need a little gratification after about two decades of, ermmm, next to none. It’s surely not easy gratification and I don’t think it qualifies as the instant variety either, not with the insane workload that comes with it and the weeks that feel like months. But it’s something. Whatever it is, I like it and it keeps my machine well-oiled. Furthermore, I would be ultimately less productive if I sat on episodes for periods of time, because I would be compelled to meddle with them, trying to achieve some level of perfection that doesn’t even exist. My producer self is already obsessed with making each episode a masterpiece, so let’s not exacerbate the problem.

Next question: Will I be going after (insert award name here) with the Edict Zero show? Short answer: No. I will be abstaining from applying to any for 2011-2012, and perhaps beyond. This has nothing to do with distancing myself from other audio dramatists or anything like that. I have my personal reasons, which include but are not limited to: all the validation I need is derived from audience. I trust the audience. I cannot afford the emotional investment to extend that trust elsewhere. Not any more. It’s not healthy for me.

Next question: Will you listen to my show/podcast/whatever? You are more than welcome to draw my attention to it, but, honestly, after all the hours I put in with Edict Zero and other sound work, can you guess the absolute last thing I want to be doing during my recreation time?

Anything that involves headphones.

I hope you understand and don’t think badly of me for not hopping right to it if you ask.

Anyway … I think that’s enough for this entry!

Cheers to all visitors.

Hope you enjoy the show.

–Jack Kincaid

I’m Jack Kincaid. I am the creator, producer, and, well, I’m a lot of things. I have to be a lot of things, which isn’t always easy. Producing a show of Edict Zero’s quality is never easy. Make no mistake. It takes a lot. However, I feel it is worth it and, as I’ve stated before, quality is my first concern. High frequency of episode releases would be nice, yes, but if you create something of tremendous quality, it will carry through time. It need not be current to be relevant. That’s one of the philosophies by which I operate (and on an almost zero budget, should I add?)

This is a volunteer venture, and as such it is susceptible to intrusions of life’s events and other things which impact free time. I’m not only referring to my own free time. I am also referring to other voice actors involved. Life happens. Things come up, for me, for them, for everyone. It’s dealt with as it occurs.

FYI: None of the characters of Edict Zero are ever going to be recast. I’ve received occasional emails and DMs with concerns about this. People are comfortable with the voices that they’ve become accustomed to for the characters. So am I. I’m not going to change that, so that’s a factor, too. Much like television, if an actor must go (temporarily or permanently for whatever the reason), so too must the character. However, unlike television, I’m not really bound by a schedule, unless I impose it on myself. I answer to yours truly. Sometimes, things might take a little extra time to make sure it’s done right. I apologize, but on the other hand, I totally don’t apologize, if you know what I mean.

You’re probably expecting bad news now. There isn’t any! Yay!

Well, not about that anyway.

I’m sure those who enjoyed Season 1 will be happy to know that everyone has come back for Season 2, so rejoice. It’s a small but awesome group of people. I’m glad to have them. They make this show what it is as much as I do, and there will even be additions this season–which may run straight into fall of 2012 or later. We’ll see.

The bad news, depending on how you look at it, is I’m not sure how my plans to go to a twice-a-month are going to work out in the long run. I pushed through an awful lot of personal crap to make this happen. There’s also the matter of the scripts which I’m having disagreements with myself about. I’m not saying how it’s going to go one way or the other, be it smoothly or roughly, through 2012, only that it’s going to go. Edict Zero is my top priority project. Let’s just see what happens.

Now, the good news about what’s left of 2011!

The next episode, EP202 – Everything Changes (II), will be released on November 15th! I could have spaced the first group of episodes out more, but I think to have to wait a month between these episodes would be … well, cruel.

If you listen, you’ll understand why.

I won’t make you wait a month for EP202. I won’t do that to you. There are limits to my evil.

The third episode, EP203 – The Road Not Taken, will be released in December. I’d like to do it on the first. I do not know whether this will happen (main reason: holidays), but it will be released at some point during the first half of December. It will be released when it’s done. I’m not going to rush it or cut corners to meet some arbitrary deadline.

After that, the fourth episode, presently titled “Red Lines”, will have a preview released on New Year’s day, 2012, and then be released at some point in January. It’s too early to know exactly when. The good news about this episode and those that follow is they will have their own prominent self-contained arcs (within all the other arcs, of course). Thus : if waiting time does end up becoming an issue, because of that ghastly reality thing, it may be a little easier on the listener.

Right now, I have to get back to producing EP203.

Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoy the show.

Cheers.

–Jack Kincaid