From Our Soundbooth | July 18, 2018

This week, we’re delighted to be able to feature the audio project that was selected as our 2018 Miller Audio Prize winner in the Humor category: “Book Club” by Adam Frick-Verdine. The project, according to Frick-Verdine, came together as a result of collaboration of various sources of humor, from script to sound to well-done audio performance:

“Book Club” originally appeared on Welcome Thru Effingham, a sketch comedy podcast co-produced with Jason Flamm and STL Vernacular. Welcome Thru Effingham aimed to give life to a wide range of imaginary characters in the very real town of Effingham IL. The entire series was an ongoing collaboration between writers, actors, editors, and sound designers, with ideas developing throughout the process. This sketch was co-written with Shea Ballentine and Jason Flamm, and features Shea Ballentine, Erica Lee, Angela Smith, and Brian Dooley. It’s a particularly effective example of the collaborative process in which the hilarious concept and basic script were improved by the performances and the audio environment created to support them.

Judge Avery Trufelman had this to say about “Book Club”:
“This is deceptively simple and outright hilarious. It could actually be a sketch on Saturday Night Live, and it would be a good one. It’s incredible how well it works audio-only, with excellent use of sounds and voice actors. What a clever idea.”

Adam Frick-Verdine is a sound designer and audio artist. He has worked as a sound designer for every imaginable visual medium, from children’s videos to independent feature film to mobile apps. He is the founder of Hugmonster Sound and STL Vernacular, and is currently developing interactive audio maps and original children’s audio programming with Sonic Stories. He lives and works in St Louis, Missouri with his wife and four daughters.

Listen to “Book Club,” by Adam Frick-Verdine, below: