To recap, “Serial Killers” is a podcast in which the hosts, Greg Polcyn and Vanessa Richardson, take a deep look into the minds and stories of the most prolific serial killers. They go through extensive research to better understand the killers’ psychological profile.
As I continue to listen to the podcast, I noticed that the formatting stays pretty consistent. Polcyn provides more of the story, and Richardson helps in storytelling and comments on the killers’ psyche. There are also moments when the podcast cuts to voice actors to portray key figures in the story. To me, the podcast has a strong structure, like you know what to expect in each episode. They typically take two episodes to cover one serial killer. The first part dives into the background of the killer – their life before killing. The second part is mostly a discussion on the killers’ most infamous crimes and an overall analysis of them. I think that it’s smart to keep the format consistent throughout the series because the listeners will always know what to expect from the podcast. Especially for the types of stories, they’re telling, it makes sense to discuss things chronologically, it makes sense to have a set formula for their podcast. If they’re able to put out two episodes a week almost every week for three years in this way, it must be working for them- though, I haven’t listened to all of the episodes, so I can’t be positive there aren’t deviations in their methods.
The conversation between the two hosts sounds very scripted to me, so I’m assuming that it is. When telling the story, Polcyn may tell a few sentences of it, then Richardson would pick up where he left off telling a few sentences about it, then it would repeat. Having a scripted podcast like this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, I do prefer listening to more natural conversations. Natural conversations allow the listener to become more engaged with the podcast and grow a connection with the hosts. So far, I haven’t really gotten a sense of the hosts’ personalities as they speak in a professional manner, which is hard to judge a person’s character from. However, because the subject at hand is so dark, I would expect this manner of speaking because it would seem inappropriate otherwise. They tell the stories in a straightforward manner, not really adding any of their own input or commentary, apart from their psychological commentary. Perhaps, it might have distracted from the main point of the podcast – to tell a story – but for me, personally, I enjoy listening to people’s thoughts and reactions to these kinds of outrageous crimes.
Like I mentioned in my previous blog post about this podcast, I really enjoyed listening to the voice actors portray the key people in the story. It adds an element of interest, that wouldn’t have been there if the hosts read the quotes themselves. The actors engage and immerse the listener into the story. It made me feel as if I were actually talking to them or if the crime was current and I was listening to their interview on tv. Though I think it would be fun to utilize voice acting in my own Sherlock Holmes podcast when we’re reading quotes from the stories, it probably wouldn’t have the same effect as it did in this podcast, since neither I nor my partners are professional voice actors. It would probably distract our listeners from our main points and could come off as offensive if we tried to do British accents.
I think the features that made this podcast really compelling were the background sounds and music. If the hosts are talking about the killer getting away quickly in a car, they would play tires screeching at a slightly lower volume than the hosts’ voices. Or if they were describing a fistfight that ended with a gun going off, they would play the sound of two people fighting and then two gunshots. The music they play in the background also really sets the tone for the story. When the hosts describe the backgrounds of the killers, music may play in the background to indicate time period or location, to make you really immersed in the story. When they’re talking about the crimes committed, some low, dark, and suspenseful music plays, keeps me at the edge of my seat. For my future Sherlock Holmes podcasts, I would want to utilize music and sound effects more to make it more compelling and interesting to listen to. We have used some background music to set the mood of our podcast, but it would be interesting to explore having different songs to emphasize different points we’re trying to make or different emotions we’re trying to evoke. Or music could be used to differentiate between the main sections of our podcast. Listening to professional podcasts has made me realize that there is a lot to consider when putting together a podcast that not only has compelling analysis but is also audibly compelling.
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Reading this blog entry was fascinating because I learned a lot about the various styles of podcasting. The podcast of “Serial Killers” seems to have a very organized and professional structure that makes it almost feel like a documentary from what I am getting from Zoe’s entry. The fact that each serial killer is given two episodes for their story to be told seems like a great organizational strategy especially because Zoe mentions how the first episode mainly covers the background of the serial killer and the second episode covers the heinous crimes. Although the podcast is more informational, I appreciate how it incorporates story-telling elements with background music and voice actors who play out the roles of the people involved in the serial killer’s story. This most definitely creates the “immersive” feeling that Zoe mentions which I have experienced first-hand from my own podcast, “Alice Isn’t Dead.” The way that my narrator is passionately and superbly voiced by the actress makes the story very easy to engage in and exciting to listen to. One main difference between “Alice Isn’t Dead” and “Serial Killers” is that one is pure fiction and the other is nonfiction, therefore, “Alice Isn’t Dead” does not have any of the critical analysis features that “Serial Killers” has when the narrators have commentary on the killer’s psyche. Going back to the voice acting, I wonder if I could incorporate that element of podcasting into my own podcasts for my next assignments. Also, using multiple songs in the background depending on the tone of the narrative definitely seems like an effective method in enhancing the experience of any podcast. This blog entry showed me how this podcast has a very interesting structure and appealing features so I am looking forward to giving it a listen and learning about the twisted psychology of serial killers. Word Count: 307