Darkfield Radio

If you’ve ever wondering what to do with audio in a video-driven world, well, Darkfield Radio knows exactly what to do with it. Darkfield is a two-player pay-for storytelling experience that delivers unique audio that will make you rethink how you listen to the radio. Built for a mobile delivery system that requires a headset (and no lights in the room), Darkfield does all it can with audio to deliver a unique storytelling scenario.

Last night, my wife and I got to experience Darkfield Radio for the first time thanks to a few industry reps. What we got out of it was that audio technology can really be used in a sophisticated way to bring you into an audible experience, while at the same time delivering creepy vibes through decent storytelling. The latter of the bunch certainly could be improved, which will pave the way to a better former. It’s a fine balance between storytelling and tech.

The program we were presented with was called The Visitors, which you can already tell was creepy shit wrapped up in a two-word title. Anytime you see ‘visitors’ in a story title, especially around Halloween time, you know you’re in for a chill, and we certainly got it.

The entire experience began with instructions to sit at least three meters apart from each other, which thanks to my wife, I completely understood. Once we were distanced, the instructions asked us to turn off all the lights, close our eyes, and then enjoy the experience. Again, THE VISITORS.

Once everything was ready, eyes were closed, the program started and both my wife and I were treated to a ghostly delight, as two young voices crept into our ears and around us to tell their story. The sound quality and positioning was absolutely amazing, as they certainly brought a realistic creepy vibe to our home. Kelly (my wife) heard one of the ghosts speak to her, as the other talked with me, both of us hearing each other’s entities from our respective distances. When there wasn’t dialogue, there were jarring sounds of breaking plates and eery happenings going on that were so real I had to take off my headset to make sure one of my kids hadn’t accidentally broken something. It was very good in terms of technology and sound. In addition to the audio tech, the instructions were well placed, as it had you going in and out of the room at times, and even going into a room, closing the door, and listening to sounds based on your positioning. I was very impressed with this aspect of the experience.

The shortfall of the event was the storytelling. While the story only lasted around 15-20 minutes, it was mostly wasted dialogue (though technically cool in its positioning and movement) leading up to what should have been a jump scare but turned out to be an ending that just fluttered away. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but the overall gist was that two entities were trying to reclaim their earthly forms. That would have been great had there been a puppet master pulling their strings. A third entity would have made it unbearably scary with the chance of introducing them while the participant was behind a door (think about leaning against a door and hearing large bump, Bump, BUMP sounds up and down a hallway as you entity was speaking to you closely in your ear – that would have been scary shit). The neat thing about improving a story is that you could improve the audio tech for that story. The bigger and more intense the story, the more intense the audio and audio technique. As it stood, The Visitors was just creepy enough to get the idea where Darkfield Radio could be taken in the future.

The Darkfield Radio experience was neat overall and proved that audio, in a video world, still has a firm place for storytelling. Audio is and always will be 90% of any production, so it’s nice to see someone use it in a creative way in modern times to redefine its purpose. As Darkfield Radio gets better with its storytelling, it’s going to be a must-hear experience for everyone.

I look forward to seeing what Darkfield Radio does in the future.