We're Alive, A Story of Survival

We're Alive — A Story of Survival
Presentation
Starring Last Ensemble Cast
Language English
Updates 3 Times a Month
Length 20-30 minutes
Production
Production Kc Wayland
Grayson Stone
Audio format Stereophonic/MP3
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 143
Publication
Debut May 04, 2009
End date July 29, 2014
Website http://www.zombiepodcast.com

We're Alive — A Story of Survival is a story that follows a large group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse[1][2] in downtown Los Angeles, California.[3] The current version of the audio drama is produced by Wayland Productions, and is distributed through CD/Digital downloads by Blackstone Audio and also through the Nerdist Podcast Network.[4]

Podcast

We're Alive premiered May 4, 2009 on iTunes, and concluded its fourth and last season on July 29, 2014. When in production, the We're Alive series aired 3 episodes a month and 36 episodes a season.[5]

Background

We're Alive started early in 2009 when creator, Kc Wayland, originally outlined the story for a pitch for television. [6]At the time he saw there was a gap in programming that could be filled by a horror survival series. He designed a show that would take advantage of the repeated set, the tower, and then branch out from there as the show would get more popular. After the initial story and character outlines were created, he then proceeded to talk with other film producers seeing if there would be a way to get the show on broadcast television.

After not being able to successfully pitch the idea, Wayland then decided to produce the show as an audio drama.[6] The concept for self-production was a "if you build it, they will come"; in regards to both listeners and producers. In late April 2009, Wayland met with Shane Salk and pitched the idea, setting in motion the two producers who would then create the serialized audio format

Wayland and Salk went on to produce the first two seasons, and then Grayson Stone (an intern in season 1 and 2) and Wayland continued to produce the final two seasons.

In 2015, Wayland announced a followup podcast mini-series titled "We're Alive: Lockdown".[6] The project was crowdfunded through Kickstarter, raising $54,774 of its $50,000 goal.[7]

Format

There were several factors that led Wayland to the audio-only format. In limiting the visuals, the story would be able to explore limitless possibilities in settings and situations not fully explored by this genre. Being a "horror", the power of sound and "what you can't see" could be utilized in a powerful way. Using no visuals also limited the vastness of production. Actors could come in once every two months for a full day of recording that would cover six full episodes (2 chapters).[8] It was one of the only ways a story this long was able to be told.

Production process

A typical chapter is about sixty pages long, and is recorded by the actors in a recording stage in Orange County,[8] CA. A typical day runs about six to eight hours of raw recording. From there, a voice cutter then goes through the session and separates just the usable lines, and then passes it onto another editor who then lays in the initial sound effects and pacing. The last stage then goes back to Wayland, who acts as the supervising sound editor and covers the last stage of production, often doing a large amount of foley and music selections.

Release dates and episode length

In a typical month, We're Alive produced three episodes, or one chapter, taking one week off between chapters. Twelve chapters make up one season, and there are four seasons with a total of forty eight chapters. Each episode is approximately twenty minutes meaning each chapter is about an hour long.

Published version

Blackstone audio has published all three season currently available: Season 1,[9] Season 2,[10] Season 3.[11]

Awards

We're Alive was nominated in 2012 for the Best Audio Drama in the Audio Publishing Awards.[12] In the same year, it was named "Best of 2012" in the iTunes Arts category.[13] Other awards won by the series include:

Cast

  • Jim Gleason as Michael
  • Shane Salk as Angel
  • Nate Geez as Saul
  • Elisa Eliot as Pegs
  • Claire Dodin as Riley
  • Scott Marvin as Burt
  • Tammy Klein as Kelly
  • Jay Olegario as Datu
  • Blaire Byhower as Lizzy
  • Kevin Flood as Kalani
  • Jenna McCombie as Scratch
  • Bob Bergen as Skittles
  • Ben Jurand as Durai
  • Mark Jeffrey Miller as Gatekeeper
  • Shirley Jordan as Tanya
  • Otto Sturcke as Victor
  • Greg Miller as Pete
  • Carl Schwaber as Bixby
  • Cooper Wise as Supervisor
  • Jim Kane as Marcus
  • Katie Keane as Amy
  • Erik Wargo as Steven
  • Glenn Hoeffner as Glenn
  • David Pevsner as Tardust
  • Stuart Kennon as Bricks
  • Manley Woods as Bill
  • Nico Marvin as Tommy
  • Rebekah Roberts as Samantha
  • Michael Ray Clarke as Latch
  • Omar Leyva as Fernando
  • Richard Tatum as Pippin
  • Brett Newton as Puck
  • Christian Vieira as Carl Thomas
  • Constance Parng as Chinwe
  • Julia Kelly as Hannah
  • Tony Rey as Robbins
  • Shaun Lewin as Muldoon
  • Graham Beightol as Max
  • James Stebick as Jay

[20]

Notable guest voices

In addition the regular cast — which includes Jim Gleason who currently is on the 2013-2014 season of American Horror Story[21] — there have been a number of notable guest voices on We're Alive. These names include Bob Bergen (current voice of Porky Pig), Seth Peterson from Burn Notice, and Greg Miller.

Episodes

Season 1

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Length Original air date
11"Chapter 1: It Begins - Part 1 of 3"00:19:11May 4, 2009 (2009-05-04)
22"Chapter 1: It Begins - Part 2 of 3"00:13:30May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11)
33"Chapter 1: It Begins - Part 3 of 3"00:17:41May 18, 2009 (2009-05-18)
44"Chapter 2: The Two Things - Part 1 of 3"00:19:01June 7, 2009 (2009-06-07)
55"Chapter 2: The Two Things - Part 2 of 3"00:16:49June 15, 2009 (2009-06-15)
66"Chapter 2: The Two Things - Part 3 of 3"00:24:16June 22, 2009 (2009-06-22)
77"Chapter 3: The New Arrivals - Part 1 of 3"00:21:10July 6, 2009 (2009-07-06)
88"Chapter 3: The New Arrivals - Part 2 of 3"00:15:12July 13, 2009 (2009-07-13)
99"Chapter 3: The New Arrivals - Part 3 of 3"00:16:46July 20, 2009 (2009-07-20)
1010"Chapter 4: Rules and Regulations - Part 1 of 3"00:21:52August 3, 2009 (2009-08-03)
1111"Chapter 4: Rules and Regulations - Part 2 of 3"00:16:01August 10, 2009 (2009-08-10)
1212"Chapter 4: Rules and Regulations - Part 2 of 3"00:21:19August 17, 2009 (2009-08-17)
1313"Chapter 5: Lady and the Tink - Part 1 of 3"00:18:30August 30, 2009 (2009-08-30)
1414"Chapter 5: Lady and the Tink - Part 2 of 3"00:18:45September 7, 2009 (2009-09-07)
1515"Chapter 5: Lady and the Tink - Part 3 of 3"00:12:29September 14, 2009 (2009-09-14)
1616"Chapter 6: The Remains of Eastern Bay - Part 1 of 3"00:16:27September 28, 2009 (2009-09-28)
1717"Chapter 6: The Remains of Eastern Bay - Part 2 of 3"00:23:57October 5, 2009 (2009-10-05)
1818"Chapter 6: The Remains of Eastern Bay - Part 3 of 3"00:23:55October 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)
1919"Chapter 7: Blood Sweat and Fears - Part 1 of 3"00:19:01October 26, 2009 (2009-10-26)
2020"Chapter 7: Blood Sweat and Fears - Part 2 of 3"00:16:20November 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)
2121"Chapter 7: Blood Sweat and Fears - Part 3 of 3"00:20:55November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
2222"Chapter 8: Where Do You Go When You Sleep? - Part 1 of 3"00:16:26November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23)
2323"Chapter 8: Where Do You Go When You Sleep? - Part 2 of 3"00:13:15December 7, 2009 (2009-12-07)
2424"Chapter 8: Where Do You Go When You Sleep? - Part 3 of 3"00:18:59December 14, 2009 (2009-12-14)
2525"Chapter 9: The Road to Living Death - Part 1 of 3"00:19:17December 28, 2009 (2009-12-28)
2626"Chapter 9: The Road to Living Death - Part 2 of 3"00:14:09January 11, 2010 (2010-01-11)
2727"Chapter 9: The Road to Living Death - Part 3 of 3"00:13:02January 18, 2010 (2010-01-18)
2828"Chapter 10: Purgatory - Part 1 of 3"00:25:14February 1, 2010 (2010-02-01)
2929"Chapter 10: Purgatory - Part 2 of 3"00:23:46February 8, 2010 (2010-02-08)
3030"Chapter 10: Purgatory - Part 3 of 3"00:19:35February 15, 2010 (2010-02-15)
3131"Chapter 11: R&R - Part 1 of 3"00:19:17March 1, 2010 (2010-03-01)
3232"Chapter 11: R&R - Part 2 of 3"00:19:18March 8, 2010 (2010-03-08)
3333"Chapter 11: R&R - Part 3 of 3"00:20:44March 15, 2010 (2010-03-15)
3434"Chapter 12: The War - Part 1 of 4"00:18:22March 29, 2010 (2010-03-29)
3535"Chapter 12: The War - Part 2 of 4"00:18:07April 5, 2010 (2010-04-05)
3636"Chapter 12: The War - Part 3 of 4"00:16:40April 12, 2010 (2010-04-12)
3737"Chapter 12: The War - Part 4 of 4"00:26:50April 19, 2010 (2010-04-19)
38TBA"Season 1 Recap - Part 1"00:17:13August 16, 2010 (2010-08-16)
39TBA"Season 1 Recap - Part 2"00:18:57August 16, 2010 (2010-08-16)

Season 2

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Length Original air date
401"Chapter 13: Separate Dying Embers - Part 1 of 3"00:18:26August 23, 2010 (2010-08-23)
412"Chapter 13: Separate Dying Embers - Part 2 of 3"00:19:42August 30, 2010 (2010-08-30)
423"Chapter 13: Separate Dying Embers - Part 3 of 3"00:14:21September 6, 2010 (2010-09-06)
434"Chapter 14: Out of the Ashes - Part 1 of 3"00:17:55September 20, 2010 (2010-09-20)
445"Chapter 14: Out of the Ashes - Part 2 of 3"00:22:24September 27, 2010 (2010-09-27)
456"Chapter 14: Out of the Ashes - Part 3 of 3"00:15:03October 4, 2010 (2010-10-04)
467"Chapter 15: Desperate Times - Part 1 of 3"00:23:19October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18)
478"Chapter 15: Desperate Times - Part 2 of 3"00:19:37October 25, 2010 (2010-10-25)
489"Chapter 15: Desperate Times - Part 3 of 3"00:15:35November 1, 2010 (2010-11-01)
4910"Chapter 16: Over the Air-Waves - Part 1 of 3"00:17:25November 15, 2010 (2010-11-15)
5011"Chapter 16: Over the Air-Waves - Part 2 of 3"00:16:38November 22, 2010 (2010-11-22)
5112"Chapter 16: Over the Air-Waves - Part 3 of 3"00:18:03December 6, 2010 (2010-12-06)
5213"Chapter 17: There Might Be Others - Part 1 of 3"00:20:57December 20, 2010 (2010-12-20)
5314"Chapter 17: There Might Be Others - Part 2 of 3"00:20:57January 3, 2011 (2011-01-03)
5415"Chapter 17: There Might Be Others - Part 3 of 3"00:20:35January 10, 2011 (2011-01-10)
5516"Chapter 18: No Place Like Home - Part 1 of 3"00:21:55January 24, 2011 (2011-01-24)
5617"Chapter 18: No Place Like Home - Part 2 of 3"00:18:36January 31, 2011 (2011-01-31)
5718"Chapter 18: No Place Like Home - Part 3 of 3"00:17:20February 7, 2011 (2011-02-07)
5819"Chapter 19: The Catalyst - Part 1 of 3"00:24:09February 21, 2011 (2011-02-21)
5920"Chapter 19: The Catalyst - Part 2 of 3"00:24:42February 28, 2011 (2011-02-28)
6021"Chapter 19: The Catalyst - Part 3 of 3"00:26:32March 7, 2011 (2011-03-07)
6122"Chapter 20: About Last Night - Part 1 of 3"00:16:56March 21, 2011 (2011-03-21)
6223"Chapter 20: About Last Night - Part 2 of 3"00:18:10March 28, 2011 (2011-03-28)
6324"Chapter 20: About Last Night - Part 3 of 3"00:22:00April 4, 2011 (2011-04-04)
6425"Chapter 21: Mark of the Beast - Part 1 of 3"00:21:56April 25, 2011 (2011-04-25)
6526"Chapter 21: Mark of the Beast - Part 2 of 3"00:20:51May 2, 2011 (2011-05-02)
6627"Chapter 21: Mark of the Beast - Part 3 of 3"00:16:33May 9, 2011 (2011-05-09)
6728"Chapter 22: Our Doubts are Traitors - Part 1 of 3"00:18:04May 23, 2011 (2011-05-23)
6829"Chapter 22: Our Doubts are Traitors - Part 2 of 3"00:21:19May 30, 2011 (2011-05-30)
6930"Chapter 22: Our Doubts are Traitors - Part 3 of 3"00:17:01June 6, 2011 (2011-06-06)
7031"Chapter 23: The Devil's Workshop - Part 1 of 3"00:22:29June 20, 2011 (2011-06-20)
7132"Chapter 23: The Devil's Workshop - Part 2 of 3"00:17:30June 27, 2011 (2011-06-27)
7233"Chapter 23: The Devil's Workshop - Part 3 of 3"00:20:00July 11, 2011 (2011-07-11)
7334"Chapter 24: The Harder they Fall"00:52:31July 30, 2011 (2011-07-30)
74TBA"Season 2 Recap"03:38:28July 31, 2011 (2011-07-31)

Season 3

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Length Original air date
751"Chapter 25: Inadequate Strength - Part 1 of 3"00:17:33January 2, 2012 (2012-01-02)
762"Chapter 25: Inadequate Strength - Part 2 of 3"00:24:17January 9, 2012 (2012-01-09)
773"Chapter 25: Inadequate Strength - Part 3 of 3"00:16:01January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15)
784"Chapter 26: Who Overcomes... - Part 1 of 3"00:21:49January 30, 2012 (2012-01-30)
795"Chapter 26: Who Overcomes... - Part 2 of 3"00:19:29February 6, 2012 (2012-02-06)
806"Chapter 26: Who Overcomes... - Part 3 of 3"00:21:16February 13, 2012 (2012-02-13)
817"Chapter 27: The Thirty-First - Part 1 of 3"00:23:41March 5, 2012 (2012-03-05)
828"Chapter 27: The Thirty-First - Part 2 of 3"00:24:44March 12, 2012 (2012-03-12)
839"Chapter 27: The Thirty-First - Part 3 of 3"00:17:38March 19, 2012 (2012-03-19)
8410"Chapter 28: Last Dying Breath - Part 1 of 3"00:30:07April 2, 2012 (2012-04-02)
8511"Chapter 28: Last Dying Breath - Part 2 of 3"00:20:52April 9, 2012 (2012-04-09)
8612"Chapter 28: Last Dying Breath - Part 2 of 3"00:24:05April 16, 2012 (2012-04-16)
8713"Chapter 29: Beyond Our Walls - Part 1 of 3"00:19:03April 30, 2012 (2012-04-30)
8814"Chapter 29: Beyond Our Walls - Part 2 of 3"00:20:01May 7, 2012 (2012-05-07)
8915"Chapter 29: Beyond Our Walls - Part 3 of 3"00:21:45May 14, 2012 (2012-05-14)
9016"Chapter 30: Short Term Memory - Part 1 of 3"00:21:13May 28, 2012 (2012-05-28)
9117"Chapter 30: Short Term Memory - Part 2 of 3"00:21:01June 11, 2012 (2012-06-11)
9218"Chapter 30: Short Term Memory - Part 3 of 3"00:20:05June 18, 2012 (2012-06-18)
9319"Chapter 31: Family Ties - Part 1 of 3"00:25:21July 2, 2012 (2012-07-02)
9420"Chapter 31: Family Ties - Part 2 of 3"00:20:04July 9, 2012 (2012-07-09)
9521"Chapter 31: Family Ties - Part 3 of 3"00:18:22July 16, 2012 (2012-07-16)
9622"Chapter 32: Captive Hearts - Part 1 of 3"00:27:26August 6, 2012 (2012-08-06)
9723"Chapter 32: Captive Hearts - Part 2 of 3"00:23:35August 13, 2012 (2012-08-13)
9824"Chapter 32: Captive Hearts - Part 3 of 3"00:18:43August 20, 2012 (2012-08-20)
9925"Chapter 33: Red Winter - Part 1 of 3"00:26:15September 3, 2012 (2012-09-03)
10026"Chapter 33: Red Winter - Part 2 of 3"00:19:14September 10, 2012 (2012-09-10)
10127"Chapter 33: Red Winter - Part 3 of 3"00:23:15September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)
10228"Chapter 34: It Only Takes One - Part 1 of 3"00:20:27October 1, 2012 (2012-10-01)
10329"Chapter 34: It Only Takes One - Part 2 of 3"00:23:41October 8, 2012 (2012-10-08)
10430"Chapter 34: It Only Takes One - Part 3 of 3"00:19:16October 15, 2012 (2012-10-15)
10531"Chapter 35: The End is Near - Part 1 of 3"00:19:59October 29, 2012 (2012-10-29)
10632"Chapter 35: The End is Near - Part 2 of 3"00:31:44November 5, 2012 (2012-11-05)
10733"Chapter 35: The End is Near - Part 3 of 3"00:22:36November 12, 2012 (2012-11-12)
10834"Chapter 36: Scorched Earth"00:54:03December 5, 2012 (2012-12-05)
109TBA"Season 3 Recap"01:52:01August 12, 2013 (2013-08-12)

Season 4

No. in
series
No. in
season
Title Length Original air date
1101"Chapter 37: Balance of Power - Part 1 of 3"00:21:33August 26, 2013 (2013-08-26)
1112"Chapter 37: Balance of Power - Part 2 of 3"00:20:32September 2, 2013 (2013-09-02)
1123"Chapter 37: Balance of Power - Part 3 of 3"00:29:21September 9, 2013 (2013-09-09)
1134"Chapter 38: Unity Makes Strength - Part 1 of 3"00:22:34September 23, 2013 (2013-09-23)
1145"Chapter 38: Unity Makes Strength - Part 2 of 3"00:23:03September 30, 2013 (2013-09-30)
1156"Chapter 38: Unity Makes Strength - Part 3 of 3"00:26:20October 7, 2013 (2013-10-07)
1167"Chapter 39: Chemical Reactions - Part 1 of 3"00:24:11October 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
1178"Chapter 38: Chemical Reactions - Part 2 of 3"00:29:40October 28, 2013 (2013-10-28)
1189"Chapter 39: Chemical Reactions - Part 3 of 3"00:23:57November 4, 2013 (2013-11-04)
11910"Chapter 40: Monsters - Part 1 of 3"00:24:40November 18, 2013 (2013-11-18)
12011"Chapter 40: Monsters - Part 2 of 3"00:24:55November 25, 2013 (2013-11-25)
12112"Chapter 40: Monsters - Part 3 of 3"00:19:27December 2, 2013 (2013-12-02)
12213"Chapter 41: Eye of the Storm - Part 1 of 3"00:28:26December 16, 2013 (2013-12-16)
12314"Chapter 41: Eye of the Storm - Part 2 of 3"00:24:50December 30, 2013 (2013-12-30)
12415"Chapter 41: Eye of the Storm - Part 3 of 3"00:25:57January 6, 2014 (2014-01-06)
12516"Chapter 42: Chasing Ghosts - Part 1 of 3"00:23:23January 20, 2014 (2014-01-20)
12617"Chapter 42: Chasing Ghosts - Part 2 of 3"00:18:22January 27, 2014 (2014-01-27)
12718"Chapter 42: Chasing Ghosts - Part 3 of 3"00:28:34February 3, 2014 (2014-02-03)
12819"Chapter 43: The Darkness Ahead - Part 1 of 3"00:30:35February 24, 2014 (2014-02-24)
12920"Chapter 43: The Darkness Ahead - Part 2 of 3"00:24:11March 3, 2014 (2014-03-03)
13021"Chapter 43: The Darkness Ahead - Part 3 of 3"00:25:25March 10, 2014 (2014-03-10)
13122"Chapter 44: Life and Death - Part 1 of 3"00:18:02March 24, 2014 (2014-03-24)
13223"Chapter 44: Life and Death - Part 2 of 3"00:21:52March 31, 2014 (2014-03-31)
13324"Chapter 44: Life and Death - Part 3 of 3"00:25:10April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07)
13425"Chapter 45: Distorted Truths - Part 1 of 3"00:23:14April 21, 2014 (2014-04-21)
13526"Chapter 45: Distorted Truths - Part 2 of 3"00:31:23April 28, 2014 (2014-04-28)
13627"Chapter 45: Distorted Truths - Part 3 of 3"00:22:06May 5, 2014 (2014-05-05)
13728"Chapter 46: Under the Pressure - Part 1 of 3"00:25:44May 19, 2014 (2014-05-19)
13829"Chapter 46: Under the Pressure - Part 2 of 3"00:26:03May 26, 2014 (2014-05-26)
13930"Chapter 46: Under the Pressure - Part 3 of 3"00:22:41June 2, 2014 (2014-06-02)
14031"Chapter 47: The Lion's Den - Part 1 of 3"00:24:04June 16, 2014 (2014-06-16)
14132"Chapter 47: The Lion's Den - Part 2 of 3"00:26:03June 23, 2014 (2014-06-23)
14233"Chapter 47: The Lion's Den - Part 3 of 3"00:24:03June 30, 2014 (2014-06-30)
14334"Chapter 48: The Ink Runs Dry"01:11:05July 29, 2014 (2014-07-29)

References

  1. Purcell, Julius (March 27, 2015). "The resurgence of audio drama".
  2. "Audio Drama Day, October 30th, Continues Historic Legacy of Halloween Horror, Imaginative Storytelling". October 8, 2015.
  3. Kumagai, Jillian (November 26, 2014). "12 podcasts that will tell you a fantastic story". Mashable.
  4. nerdist.com. "Nerdist Podcast Network List". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  5. Williams, Mike. "Your Next Zombie Obsession: We're Alive". Time. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Lilley, Kevin (June 20, 2015). "Veteran behind popular zombie podcast is back for spinoff".
  7. "We're Alive: Lockdown Kickstarter".
  8. 1 2 MICKADEIT, FRANK. "Zombie radio, dead and raised in O.C.". Orange County Register. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  9. Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 1". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  10. Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 2". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  11. Blackstone Audio. "Blackstone Audio We're Alive Season 3". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  12. Audiofile Magazine. "Audiofile Audies Nominations 2012". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  13. We're Alive. "iTunes best of 2012, Arts". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. Mail Order Zombie. "4th Annual Dead Letter Awards". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  15. 1 2 Jerry Stearns. "Mark Time Award Winners". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  16. Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2010". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  17. Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2011". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  18. Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2012". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  19. Parsec Awards Steering Committee. "Parsec Awards Winners Finalists 2013". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  20. "We're Alive Cast and Crew".
  21. "IMDB_Gleason". Retrieved 16 January 2014.
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