When I began to research podcasts, the podcast that always popped up first was ‘Welcome to Night Vale.’ WTNV is a podcast\/radio show created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is a fictional podcast that tells about stories in the fictional town of Night Vale. Each episode I have watched so far was clearly different from one another, and even within the episode many different events occurred. The voice of WTNV is Cecil Baldwin, and he tends to narrate all the characters in all the episodes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe Cecil’s enunciation is a key factor in making the town of Night Vale come alive. Each word adds to the ominous mood of the podcast. As someone who is not a regular listener of podcasts, I expected the voice actor to have a quiet and versatile voice to suit the grim mood. Cecil\u2019s voice is the complete opposite of what I expected. However, the spontaneous changes in the stories helped me realize that without his clear voice. The narration also is directed to the listener. Sentences usually begin with \u2018you are,\u2019 which makes the listener feel like a part of the story. In a fictional story, I feel like drawing the listener into the story is a very smart way to keep the listener from drifting off. For other podcasts I listened to, I found myself continuously drifting off and daydreaming due to the lack of images and video. WTNV was different in the sense that the listeners are involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another key factor in Welcome To Night Vale is that the color of the stories change often in one episode. To be completely honest, the first episode threw me off from the start. The pilot episode includes topics that don’t seem to get along at all, such as dog parks, how dogs should not be allowed in dog parks, and helicopter sightings. Joseph and Jeffrey also have an interesting use of music in WTNV. The background music usually starts off the same, a quiet but thrilling tune. However, each episode I have listened to has had a musical intermission about \u2154 of the way through the episode. The episodes I have listened to so far used an upbeat guitar tune that is almost obnoxious compared to the dark undertones of the stories. The contrast of the music does a good job waking the listeners up from the story, as if letting us know that Night Vale is a fiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am excited to dive further into the episodes because each one seems to be unpredictable. No two episodes have been the same (unless it was meant to be a sequel), and although I thought I would get sick of listening to the same voice every time, Cecil\u2019s voice is very inviting. If Cecil says \u2018you are walking along the streets of Night Vale,\u2019 I would believe him. Combined with the other factors such as the background music and the country style song intermissions, Welcome to Night Vale sets itself apart from the other podcasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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