Re the ask about a levels/studying
What grades did you get in maths and biology? Purely because I want to know if I beat you :)
When I took exams there was nothing higher than As. I got As.
Re the ask about a levels/studying
What grades did you get in maths and biology? Purely because I want to know if I beat you :)
When I took exams there was nothing higher than As. I got As.
Rusty quill presents a few podcasts in the Neon Inkwell, and lets say the quality of sounscapes and overall sound directing (?) for some of them is better than the others. Do different members of RQ team direct the scaping for these shorter series, or does a group of people just bring you their idea and recordings to consider and publish under Neon Inkwell? How does that process go?
Ok, subtlty aside - i specifically mean Inexplicables. All the drinking was painful to listen to, and it's not the normal level of RQ being considerate about the poor listener.
So Inexplicables was made years ago so different team in certain roles and I only assisted as Co writer and EP.
Neon I am very hands off mostly just working to make sure people have what they need.
The rest of Neon series varies because we are letting people grow their skills in new areas whilst also bringing in new talent. The unfortunate truth is it would be impossible to sustain Neon the way you do other shows, you would end up burning out the team VERY quickly.
Going back to the RQGaming days (only actual play podcast I've listened to all the way through, loved it), were you annoyed at all when the party skipped planned material like the Eiffel Tower?
Yes.
Favorite curse word?
Sorry for the ask spam I just want to Know
Cockwomble.
If Martin did have a middle name and if that middle name did start with a K, what would it be?
His middle name is Potassium. A fan suggested that and I think it’s the best joke ever so I am sticking with it.
As a theatre person I have to know what your favorite musical is
Or favorite play if you’re not a musicals guy
Anything by Martin Mcdonagh is absolutely fabulous.
I'm a teaching assistant for small children, who keeps feeling very useless at their job when none of the little monsters (affectionate-ish) will listen.
Do you have any good mantra-esque stuff to get me through the days until they leave me in July?
This too shall pass. But imagine how creepy it would be if it didn’t…
Also big props for working in education during such a rough time. I salute you.
Socks? Or no socks?
Socks.
Is this the real Alex cause after The Incident on here I’m skeptical
You are right to be skeptical. Go to my website and follow the links there and follow the links on my official twitter. If they are all the same link, odds are I am real.
What is your favourite cheese? Do you have a top ten?
Lots. My favourite cheese is lots.
What has been the most rewarding part of starting a company? Is there anything you wish you knew beforehand?
Watching April Sumner grow from nervous interviewee to production powerhouse.
Yes. So much. Too much to go into here.
Hello Alex! What’s your favorite type of tea, and how do you like it made? 👀 (Btw I love the work you’ve done on tma and tmagp! Thanks for giving me something to look forward to near the end of each week <3)
I really don’t like tea much but peppermint is okay. I like it made by billionaires after they have been brought down into the dirt with the rest of us but that doesn’t seem to be happening much at the moment.
which Magnus monster would you say you relate to most and why? And if you had to assign Jonny one, which one would that be?
Monster Pig.
Jonny has to be John. Though to be VERY clear they have wildly different personalities in reality.
i’m moving to yorkshire from the states in the fall, anything i absolutely should know prior to coming to the UK? any horrors to look out for? entities that tend to lurk around certain street corners? wax museums i should earnestly avoid?
It’s wetter and colder than you think. Also we have Roman Ghosts. You get used to it.
Do you have a favorite Martin line? Or just a favorite line in general from tma/what we have of tmagp?
“you might be able to get a machiatto or…”
hi! i hope you're doing well, hope figuring out tumblr isn't being too weird. i've been relistening to rqg again and i just wanted to say, i still respect your craft 👍🏽
i do also have a question: i am interesting in recording things such as music and maybe some voice acting, so as far as DAWs go, what programs have been the most effective for you in your experience?
Audacity. Though it is not what it once was.
mr knowall, i have got a question: in mag 11, dreamer, antonio blake is always standing on top of the canary wharf in his death prophecy dreams. is there a reason why specifically the canary wharf or does it have a significance?
That’s a Jonny question.
In one of the tma after season q&as I believe it was mentioned you had courses for how to do stuff online like use audacity. Are those still avaliable in some form or fashion? I'm starting from scratch in terms of online creation knowledge
No but I am hoping to update them and make something like that available at some indeterminate point in the future on my own site.
Still got Big Bertha hanging around?
She watches after me, always.
My sister and I have slowly been turning our little corner of Texas into a TMA/TMAGP obsessed hive- mind. Do you have anything you’d like us to tell them?
Dig.
Hello Mr Knowall, I hope you are well.
Without revealing too much regarding the plot of The Magnus Protocol, is there a character in the upcoming episodes you are particularily looking forward to see the fans react to?
Yes.
Hi Alex,
During a stream you did with Monte Cooke as well as during the pilot digital premiere, you referenced a fan that attempted to use a supercomputer to break the ARG.
So that was me.
And I just want to assure you that at no point did I have actual access to a supercomputer, and none of the people I know who work there would ever actually let me near the thing.
I apologize If I caused any actual concern.
I can’t believe you used a supercomputer and then lied to me about it.
(it’s all good)
The most vital Tumblr question to ask, if no one already has. Which do you like best, vampires or werewolves?
Vampires = weekdays
Werewolves = weekends
One takes themselves too seriously and the other tends to leave a mess.
It’s been established that Martin is a big retro/video game nerd. Any clues what one of his favourites might be?
I honestly don’t remember that being established so I am not going to suggest anything here in case I get it wrong.
in your name alexander j knowall, does the j stand for jenius
It does not.
So, I felt morally obligated to read through all of your responses since you took the time to answer them and you mentioned being an anime fan. Do you also read manga? If so, is there a manga you like better than its anime counterpart and vice versa?
Weirdly I never got into Manga. Not from a judgemental place just that growing up I could never get hold of it and now I find Anime more convenient so not a clue I’m afraid.
I am a pretty new fan and I was wondering if, before The Magnus Archives was on Spotify, the characters were still allowed to use cursewords?
So my actual question is: Are there secret edits of older episodes that contain them cursing? I wish Jon could say "Fuck".
So the reason there as less swearing is because American listeners were more likely to avoid anything marked explicit and the platforms reflected this in their algorithms. Interestingly this is still a thing although not so strong.
Do you have any recommendations for audiodramas/radio shows/whatever with great sound design?
I always devour the recommended ones in your Q&A specials
I would check out anything by Amber Devereaux who works on Tin Can Audio. They are very inventive and detail oriented.
Hi Mr Newall, I hope tumblr is treating you well and you aren't too overwhelmed by these questions. Do just stop responding for awhile if you are, we can be a lot.
As a self proclaimed workaholic, do you have any advice for finding a balance that's both healthy AND productive? Or more specifically how did you convince yourself that it was worth doing so? Sorry if that's too personal, no pressure to answer!
I have never struck this balance and honestly I don’t think my productivity is worth the personal costs. I strive to but thee things that make me work hard absolutely wreck my personal life if I let them. If you figure it out, let me know!
Hello, Alex
Now that there's been some time since then, do you feel any fondness for making an entire podcast pilot in 2 hours for the Kickstarter reward? Did you enjoy it, despite the stress of it all? (It was very enjoyable to watch, so I hope you at least had some fun making it)
I’m actually a bit frustrated and want to try again. I reckon I could do more in just one hour if I didn’t have to be entertaining at the same time.
If you had to pick one thing, what part of Erasing The Line would you say you're most proud of?
Finishing. Not joking, getting something of that scale to actually land is almost impossible. I know people have their issues and goodness knows there are other ways it could have gone but at least it Has an ending.
How do you motivate yourself to write when the brain worms aren’t taking over? (Currently struggling from the curse of Everything I Write Is Written Two Days Before The Deadline)
I don’t. I just have LOTS of fear, anxiety and compulsions that happen to result in work because if I miss a deadline hundreds of thousands of people get angry at me and then they get cruel. I’m just fleeing the monster.
So good to see you on here, finally!
Just wondering if your advice on making an audio drama is solid, I may have started writing one off the back of it.
I stand by all my advice unless I was being obviously sarcastic. I hope to one day give some more formal advice but my workload is vicious at the moment.
How many pelicans you'd have to suddenly find in your house before you'd start suspecting that someone is putting them there on purpose
0.1 Pelicans. Less than that I would just blame Casper the cat.
Hey Alex, how are you doing today? What did you have for breakfast?
I am very tired from a work crunch. Also I don’t eat breakfast or lunch anymore really so… Nothing?
give us some audio editing tips
Not without a please.
hey king hows yr day going
Boring and full of chores. Hope yours is fun though!
Hello boss man,
I was just listening to The Bifrost Incident by The Mechanisms and I thought I heard a familiar voice; by any chance did you have any lines in the song 'Terminus'?
I did.
do you think if i asked him nicely enough mr bonzo would do my top surgery
Not in a way that would be helpful.
Have you ever microwaved something that definitely shouldn’t be microwaved?
A metal bottle brush. Microwave was fine but the brush melted itself through a bunch of plastic before I realised what I had done.
I must know… is Celia’s last name after your Dog Ripley? Or that a happy accident?
It’s just that I think that Ripley from Aliens is just the frigging best so I nod to her more than I probably should.
hi Mr. Newall! I was just wondering if there’s any things-that-you-wish-you-knew/lessons from say s5 of The Magnus Archives that you’re taking into account for The Magnus Protocol? whether that’s writing tips, editing, the planning and plotting etc. I’m interested in the whole ordeal.
have a good day!
Some people don’t like change and some people don’t like repetition. Just tell the story you want.
WHO'S YOUR FAVOURITE DOCTOR WHO COMPANION, CHARACTER,AND VERSION OF THE DOCTOR?
Fave Doctor: Tenant
Companion: The Master (admit it the master is totally a companion)
I'm interested in playing some tabletop role playing games but the fear of the unknown and embarrassing myself around strangers is holding me back. You mentioned in a Q&A that RQG is not an accurate representation of playing pathfinder, and someone said you would come across badly if you tried to emulate the way you play in the podcast. In what way is it different? So I can prevent doing whatever that embarrassing thing is.
Much love from the community for joining tumblr but final little note to only keep responding to asks if YOU want to.
So Pathfinder is pretty “crunchy”, i.e. Full of rules and I, as a player, am a bit of of min-max munchkin, I.e. I can’t help but make the strongest character possible every time. The reason the episodes would come me across badly if they were unedited is merely because I was looking stuff up constantly, everyone was forgetting basic rules and we were generally a bit all over the place when it came to mechanics. This is boring to listen to, trust me.
TLDR don’t worry about it, you aren’t gaming for an audience so you’ll be fine.
Hello Alex, I've always wanted to know what a lethal dose of Marmite would be?
Given it has iron added there must be one. If possible please answer for the Australian/NZ Marmite as the rest are abominations.
So I am guessing that at about 2-2.5kg of marmite, the sodium would get you but good luck with keeping it down.
Hello Mr. Newall!
I was recently re-listening to the TMA S4 Q&A where you said you've bought three Mechanisms albums. Could I ask which three they were and which, out of all the Mechs albums, is your favourite?
Have a nice day :)
The only one I didn’t buy was The Bifrost Incident (ironic I know). My Favourite was probably Ulysses Dies at Dawn with High Noon over Camelot a close second but that’s probably because it was the order I first saw/ listened to them.
Could the bone turner technically give someone gender reassignment surgery and if you asked him nicely would he? Personally I doubt it he’s a school yard bully
I doubt he could but I’m sure he’d be willing to give it a horrific go.
can we have one (1) word from any unreleased protocol episode
The.
Hello Alex, what is your favourite song? if you don't mind me asking. :)
Have a nice day and be careful!
(PS I still find you super cool.)
I am a bit weird when it comes to music, that said it’s a toss up between Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root and Now We Are Free (that gladiator song everyone loves.)
Are you happy?
I am improving day-by-day and ultimately I think that’s the best that any of us can hope for.