Podcasting Workshop

Creating a dystopian audio production

Last week, a group of Year 8 students participated in a whole-day podcasting workshop as part of the Victorian High Ability Program (VHAP). They developed their concepts, scripted, produced and then edited a fictional thriller/dystopian audio production all in one day. Stories included a mock conspiracy theorist podcast, a leaked audio tape thriller and a plane hijacking. Well done to all for enthusiastically making and playing with such a fun series of stories! 

Dean Ashton  

The VHAP masterclass was a super fun day where we played around with sound and editing programs to create short dystopian-inspired podcasts. There were nine Year 8s in the class, and we formed into to three groups to make these skits. One was focused on two pilots who are told there are suspicious persons on their plane, only for the audience to discover that the pilots are the suspicious persons. Another was in the form of a real-life podcast about conspiracy theories, this episode specifically about mole people and lizards, in which the host turns on his wife as a lizard person herself. My group made a news report on a phone call between a girl who had been murdered and her best friend, in which it is revealed that the best friend is in fact the murderer. The day was very enjoyable and we all wanted to do it again by the end.  

Lola Shelly (8F) 

In VHAP we wrote dystopian stories and in the master class we expanded on this by designing 'dystopian' podcasts or stories. It was very enjoyable and quite a different experience from the everyday schoolwork. I had doubts about the group at the start, but we came together and proved to work together well.  

Heidi Anson (8F) 

The VHAP masterclass was such a fun, educational experience! We got to plan out some exciting, dystopian stories and then recorded ourselves as the characters in the story. We got to play with the mics and I learnt an abundance of editing tips. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Kashika Shri Sivakumar (8G)