Chasing Shadows

 

Sometimes stories don’t turn out at all like you expect.

The above promo video for my latest audio documentary “Chasing Shadows” claims to tell the backstory, but it only tells part of the backstory. About a year ago I got an idea to do a piece on the New York Shadowchasers, a group of paranormal investigators. I thought it would make a good Halloween-themed story this year. So in the late summer I went on a couple of Shadowchasers investigations, but experienced nothing to truly convince me that ghosts actually exist. I have no reason to doubt the Shadowchasers’ research. In fact, I tend to believe that there is truth to the idea of paranormal occurrences and I have some faith in the Shadowchasers’ logic and methodology. There were even strange incidents on the nights when I accompanied them as an observer. But I didn’t actually see or record anything myself. On those occasions, it seemed that the most compelling ghostly evidence manifested itself when I wasn’t present. For example, one night a phantom cat appeared on the attic stairs while I was in a first floor parlor.

I was disappointed. I wanted to believe. I wanted to experience something that I could call definitive. Worse, with Halloween quickly approaching, I had hours of material but no story.  Then I decided to do one more Shadowchasers investigation and to have a friend tag along. Ryan Miller is one of my partners on a local storytelling project called Utica Firefly, and a guy who, by his own admission, is “terrified” of the paranormal. And there was my story. Miller confronts his fear and tries to answer the question I’d been exploring all along: do ghosts exist?

Sometimes you have to know when to call it and move on. Then again, sometimes an idea will suddenly strike, you’ll see an angle you hadn’t before, and you’re able to salvage hours of work you were about to scrap. I’m glad it turned out that way this time. We decided to make “Chasing Shadows” the first documentary-style Firefly offering. I think the story works. At least I hope it does.

Listen for yourself and learn more about the Utica Firefly project (and hear a bunch of other entertaining, moving stories, too).

Making Great Radio

Most of my recent posts have been about the production and promotion of “We Were All Incarcerated.” While I was involved in creating the documentary, I was often asked: “Why audio? Why not film? Do you really think you can hold an audience with just sound?”  Well, I’ve spent my entire adult life working in radio. I love the medium; I love sound. I like telling stories in sound. When radio storytelling is done properly, sound has the capacity to mentally and emotionally engage an audience in a way that no other medium can. The absence of visuals forces the listener to use his or her imagination, and hopefully, to become absorbed in the piece, to become almost an active participant. Thanks again to those of you who supported the project, have taken the time to listen to “We Were All Incarcerated,” and have since contacted me to tell me how much the piece moved you.

But for the record, I was not sure I could hold the audience with just sound. Though I’ve produced radio for many years, I don’t have a lot of experience producing long-form documentaries like “We Were All Incarcerated.” I’m much more accustomed to seducing an audience in short 60 or 30 second bursts. But I knew that longer pieces can be magical—and I wanted to try to conjure that magic myself—because I’ve been influenced by some true audio virtuosos. There’s a lot of great radio being made every day by producers who understand the powers and possibilities of sound, and who have mastered the art of audio storytelling. 

I love the historical documentaries produced by John Biewen, Stephen Smith, and Kate Ellis of American Radio Works. The Kitchen Sisters are brilliant. David Isay has done amazing work with Sound Portraits and his oral history initiative StoryCorps. Oral history is also the focus of Radio Diaries. At Atlantic Public Media, Jay Allison produces Lost and Found Sound and the absorbing storytelling showcase The Moth Radio Hour. Soundprint does great stuff, as does the innovative Radiolab. Ira Glass’s This American Life is legendary.

Click any of those links to be transported into alternate universes of sonic creativity. To get an idea of just how much material is out there, check out PRX, Transom, or the Third Coast International Audio Festival’s site. Hit itunes and subscribe to Saltcast, the podcast of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, on which you’ll hear from the field’s young up-and-comers.

A word of caution: you may easily be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of inventive, affecting stories you’ll find. But don’t be intimidated. Just sit back, close your eyes, and listen.

The Q&A is Complete

I just posted the last three segments of the “We Were All Incarcerated” premiere Q&A with Steve Barnes and Sylvia Bouchard. Watch part six here, and see it all at http://www.wewereallincarcerated.com. And thanks so much for your support!

Question & Answer, Part Three

In Part three of the “We Were All Incarcerated” premiere Q&A with Steve Barnes and Sylvia Bouchard, Steve discusses his first interrogation by police. See more and listen to the full documentary at http://www.wewereallincarcerated.com.

Question & Answer, Part Two

More from the “We Were All Incarcerated” premier Q&A:

Question & Answer, Part One

I’ve finally posted a bit of video from the question and answer session with Steve Barnes and Sylvia Bouchard at the “We Were All Incarcerated” premiere held at Utica College on January 26, 2011. There’s more to come soon. Learn more about the project and listen to the full documentary at www.wewereallincarcerated.com.

Thanks

 

Thanks to everybody who attended last night’s premiere of “We Were All Incarcerated.” I appreciate your support. This issue really means a lot to me. You can listen to the documentary and check out bonus materials at wewereallincarcerated.com. I’ll have some video of last night’s program, including the Q & A with Steve Barnes and Sylvia Bouchard, posted soon. Learn more about wrongful conviction and the Innocence Project, and find out how you can help at innocenceproject.org.

Two More Days

Two days and counting until the premiere of “We Were All Incarcerated” at Utica College.

The Process

The free public premiere of “We Were All Incarcerated” is less than a week away: 7pm Wednesday the 26^th in the Utica College Economic Crime and Justice Building Auditorium. It’s been a long time coming. Miller shot this video of me talking about the process of creating the documentary. Listen to some related interview and archival audio excerpts below.

Steve’s friend Ed Lewandrowski talks about Steve’s alibi:

Click here to listen to Lewandrowski-On Steves Alibi.mp3

Steve’s mother Sylvia discusses hiring Steve’s defense attorney, Salvador Capecelatro:

Click here to listen to Sylvia Bouchard-On Hiring Capecelatro.mp3

Capecelatro on his belief in Steve’s innocence:

Click here to listen to Capecelatro-After Sentencing.mp3

Progress

In March 2010, America’s Most Wanted aired a segment on the Simon case. Since that time, investigators have received new leads and made positive progress toward identifying the perpetrator. Erin Covey filmed me talking about recent developments in the case. Below, you can listen to segments of an interview with Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara in which he discusses the state of the investigation.

 

Scott McNamara on the recent DNA breakthrough:
Click here to listen to SCOTT MCNAMARA-CURRENT INVESTIGATION-01.mp3

Investigators could use some more help. Here’s McNamara again:
Click here to listen to SCOTT MCNAMARA-CURRENT INVESTIGATION-02.mp3