When a laboratory accident leads to electrocution and the accidental discovery of time travel, Doctor Petronella Sage, alongside her faithful friend and companion, Erasmus Savant, seizes the opportunity to make her mark in the annuls of history.
Every month I write a new sound track for the upcoming episode for The Tales of Sage and Savant. Sometimes I begin playing with themes and settings before the episode is recorded, but most of the time I don’t begin the music until the episode is finished, voice, sound effects and all. In some respects, this is like a film, the score comes after everything is is done.
Continue reading “More about the music behind the episodes”
We track how many downloads our episodes get, mostly because numbers fascinate me (Chip). It also gives our egos a nice boost when we see numbers going up.
The picture above is a look, season by season, of the average daily downloads the episodes received. It starts with 2017-18 (Season two) and tracks each month with the total downloads for all the episodes of the season and then divided by the number of days in the month and the number of episodes in the season. So, for example, October 2017, had 31 days, season one has 14 episodes, with an average of 6.12 downloads per episode per day. Season two averaged 9.65 in the same month, but they were only three episodes out and the latest episode always has more downloads than the rest.
Season Two has more downloads per episode than Season One through May 2018, as there was a new episode out each month. Then we get to June and July and the numbers flip (if only slightly). Season One has slightly more downloads per day per episode than Season Two. Why? Well, people start with episode one of Season one, but not everyone goes on to listen to the entire series. So, after the latest episode, episode one of Season One has the next highest number of downloads.
Thinking about that, we also monitor how the episodes do with regard to listener dropoff—those who don’t continue on to the next episode. We used to have about 75% of those who listened to episode one (in a given month) also listening to episode two. Then we remastered Season One for a better quality sound experience. Now we have roughly 87% listeners continuing on to episode two. We get nearly 95% listening to episode three and from there the numbers suggest listeners continue on through the podcast, at least through season one.
Again to the above chart, Season Two is getting slight less downloads per episode per day than Season One. Although you can’t see it in the chart here, Season Three has a significant drop off. The latest episode is still really strong, getting over a thousand downloads in the month, but the episodes from previous months are not getting as many downloads as Season Two. We’re watching this number to see if begins to increase as we get further into Season Three. Perhaps people want to binge episodes, and are waiting for us to get far enough into the season to make it a marathon this. It is also the holiday season. We saw a drop in downloads last November and December. So, there is definitely something seasonal in the decline.
Only time will tell.
The sound track from episode 210 is available for your listening pleasure–over 45 minutes of orchestral music as we venture into the unknown.
Music from episode 210: Joyeuse le départ – Provost Cunningham has been a thorn in Doctor Petronella Sage’s side ever since she came to King’s College and now she must confront him for once and for all. Will Cunningham succeed in ending the Doctor’s research, or will Sage find a way to convince the skeptical provost she must be allowed to continue her work? Music from this month’s special two-part episode: Joyeuse le départ.
Continue reading “The music from Joyeuse le départ”
It is no surprise that author Eddie Louise packs a lot of Historical information into the final episode of the year. As our characters travel back to the Renaissance, they do so at a very special time, the Joyous Entry of the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand into Antwerp 1635. But she doesn’t stop there. Episode 210 also includes details about the famous painter Peter Paul Rubens, mirrors (and their importance to painters, quarantine practices during the Renaissance era, the counter-reformation, Dutch Revolt and philosophical ramifications of time travel.
Continue reading “Joyous Entry, Antwerp and More in Episode 210”
The Rational Dress Movement was a late Victorian era proposal for reforming the dress standards for women. Numerous different reformers proposed changed, stressing the need for more practical and comfortable fashions than were available at the time. These reformers were typically middle-class women, involved in the first wave of feminism in the US and Britain. The movement emerged in the 1850’s along with calls for temperance, suffrage and women’s education. The dress reform requested liberation from the dictates of fashion. It was most successful in changing women’s undergarments but were also influential in simplified clothing for bicycling and swimming. While the moment was less concerned with men’s clothing, it did initiate a widespread adoption of knitted wool.
Continue reading “Background Information – Rational Dress Movement”
Listen to over 30 minutes of original jazz music used as the soundtrack for episode 209: Swinging Cats and Hep Girls. Composer Chip Michael extended the pieces used in the episode to create an album of eleven original songs.
Continue reading “Soundtrack to Swinging Cats and Hep Girls”
The music for Episode 208: A Most Shocking and Unnatural Event is available on our bandcamp page. Listen to the mixture of playful, patriotic, and foreboding music that comprised the themes from this episode.
Continue reading “Soundtrack from “A Most Shocking and Unnatural Event””
During a violent storm on Sunday 28 December 1879, the first Tay Railway Bridge collapse killing all on board. This is the setting Dr Sage and Professor Savant find themselves in this month’s episode, Of Trainwrecks and Heartbreaks.
The music for Episode 207: Of Trainwrecks and Heartaches is available on our bandcamp page. Listen to the sweeping romantic themes and playful interludes as our heroes race toward disaster.
Continue reading “Music from Of Trainwrecks and Heartaches”
This podcast is a labor of love in many aspects. For those of you who don’t know, the writer Eddie Louise and I (Chip Michael) are married and been together for a long time. We started Sage and Savant as a way to do something creatively together. Next month’s episode, Of Trainwrecks and Heartaches, is a nod to Valentine’s Day–a chance to explore romance. Again, for those who don’t know us, we are enthusiastically romantic. While we don’t need a specific day to show affection for each other, we aren’t going to pass up on a chance to be particularly mushy. Without giving away too much, the upcoming episode is a fine example of that.
Continue reading “Wrighting the Right Music”