Welcome back Wolf 359 friends and fans to another installment of Wolf 359 Daily! Today is November 5, and it’s Mission Day 530. Time to talk about Episode 9: “The Empty Man Cometh.”
Ah, the Empty Man. What an absolutely wild time. If we didn’t already know that Goddard Futuristics were kind of dicks with the whole not giving them nearly enough toothpaste, and having Dr. Hilbert inflict “routine physicals” on the crew, boy did this episode seal the deal. The whole ordeal takes place over a couple of hours as the Hephaestus crew prepares to encounter an ion wind cluster. At the same time, the crew begins receiving mysterious messages via their pulse beacon relay, giving cryptic warnings about “the Empty Man.”
This episode reminds me a lot of “Super Energy Saver Mode” in the way that audio can be so great for horror elements. Like “Super Energy Saver Mode,” we’re put into a situation where every noise, even those we regularly hear, becomes ominous. This time, however, instead of mysterious whispers that only Eiffel heard, the crew has been given something specific and seemingly threatening to focus on. Having the entire crew involved and feeding on each other’s anxiety heightens the tension for this episode even beyond “Energy Saver Mode.” Now every creak and knock isn’t just creepy, it’s menacing. I love the moment just before the end when the power fails and there’s one knock on the hull, which makes everyone lose it. It’s interesting to see how each of the crew responds to the imminent threat of the Empty Man upon them. I also need to direct our listeners to wolf359.fm/extras if you haven’t checked it out yet, where you can find a full recording of Eiffel’s Lord’s Prayer. He certainly tried.
Even though there was no actual Empty Man, I think I’ve always imagined the Empty Man like the shadow-filled space suit from Doctor Who’s “Silence in the Library.” There’s also something about the Empty Man that just makes me think of indie survival horror games, like Slender or something. Just the name “Empty Man” has a bit of a creepypasta vibe. Y’know, folks talk about wanting Wolf 359 adapted into film, but with things like the Empty Man and the things Eris does in “Change of Mind,” I think we need video game adaptations of Goddard Futuristics psychological experiments.
I also want to take a quick moment to geek out about audio design. I love the printer sound in this episode, and that they used something that sounds more like an old dot matrix printer rather than a more modern one. I think Gabriel Urbina has talked about this in the past, but there’s something that very viscerally says “printer” about that noise in the way that more modern inkjet or laser printer noises don’t quite seem to capture as quickly. Along with Eiffel’s comments about Goddard “sparing every expense,” the sound also just gave an air of being a less-than-state-of-the-art piece of equipment, for all that it was part of a highly advanced faster-than-light communications device. I’m also reminded of a panel I saw with Mischa Stanton, I think it must have been at the Austin Film Festival years back, when they talked about their work in sound design. At one point they mentioned needing the sound of a laser, when in real life the sound of a laser generator is just kind of a generic hum and the laser beam itself doesn’t actually make a noise. So, what kind of sound do you actually need to get the audience to visualize a laser? What feels like the sound a laser should make? It’s kinda like how the sound people associate with bald eagles is usually a red-tailed hawk, because someone decided that the actual noise bald eagles make wasn’t majestic enough so they dubbed in a completely different bird.
Sound design is just such a great part of not just audio fiction, but games and movies as well, and I have a real appreciation for the art. I’m going to throw in a quick link to one of my favorite videos of sound design work on the game The Last of Us Part II, showing some of the original sound capture next to the final mixed effects from the game. I’d have never thought to fill a hand bellows with porridge to make monster sounds, but man, it’s effective.
Before we wrap up, I also want to take a quick moment to further shout out Mischa Stanton. They are a true wizard of audio, and have worked on a lot of my favorite shows. Off the top of my head, there’s ars PARADOXICA, The Bright Sessions, The Far Meridian, and Brimstone Valley Mall, which has recently launched season 2, so it’s a great time to jump in!
That’ll do us for this installment. We’ll see you again for “Extreme Danger Bug,” which regrettably is another episode without a confirmed mission day in the script. However, we’ve got another Mission Mishaps coming on November 28 with “Cold Turkey,” so we may double up our installment that day.
Today’s rejected Pryce & Carter tip:
To err is human. To flare is stellar. To scare is part of your routine crew-readiness assessment.
Wolf 359 Daily is written and recorded by Rina Cerame.
Wolf 359 is a product of Kinda Evil Genius Productions. More information on the show can be found on their website at wolf359.fm
We hope to see you again on November 28 for “Extreme Danger Bug” and “Cold Turkey.” Thanks for listening!
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