Cephalopod

CephaloNews

(May 06) I know you thought you'd never see this, but production has started on the final episode. Most of the voice tracks have been recorded and laid into the timeline. Most of the work lies in the sfx production.

This resurgance is largely due to the constant nagging of a good Sucker, Chris Palestrant. He's a professor of music and a composer, who has been nudging me to finish 10 so he can score it.

I finally asked him to come out for a week and help me get all the audio located, loaded on the drives, assembled, etc. He did!

In other news, Episode 9 has had some minor remixing to tone down the music in the final scene. Something that had been bothering me for some time and Palestrant finally convinced me to pull all the source material and remix that part. Worth it! As soon as I get the new MP3 up on the site, I'll post a note here and email the Suckers.
(Oct05) CephaloPodcasting up! In iTunes, click Advanced/subscribe to podcast. The link is http://www.cephalopod.com/cephalopodcasts/apo.xml
(May05) OK! 9 WILL BE POSTED TODAY 5/18/05.

Angelo Panetta (Panetta Studios) has graced us with some excellent music for the episode. This marks the first time in the history of the show that we've created custom music to score the scenes.

I sincerely hope and believe that you will all think 9 to be the slickest episode yet.
(Mar04) Free MP3s! The entire show is now available as high-res, stereo MP3s! I've also put the scripts up for your viewing pleasure. Of special note: Episode 9 is available.
I sincerely hope you enjoy.

Episode 9 creeps to perfection.

Episode 9 and 10 (if it ever is completed) will be free.

More later.

K
(Aug03) Dearest suckers,

I've made a couple decisions regarding the release of the next episodes. As I near completion on 9 (wait till you hear the music Angelo Panetta has done!), I've decided to go ahead and release it on a CD -- without 10 -- for those who just can't wait. I originally planned on releasing it with 10, but 10 will take me some months to complete, so I've opted to release 9 ahead of schedule.

It will be cheap (I'm not trying to gouge y'all!), and I promise you'll be amazed! It's the best episode yet!

I expect the episode to be complete within a few weeks. Angelo is on a trip and has one more scene to score before the music is finished. I still have a few SFX to bring together, but we're close... Very close!

Thanks goes out to Anne Troop and her gang of weirdoes for funding this project. I know they have since given up hope that their money went to any good cause, but it has! I promise!

K

Soon, I'll put a teaser on the Web site...
(Jun03) Progress continues to be made. I've been spending some free hours at night dumping raw audio (and there's a LOT) into my laptop for future editing. I'm taking a trip to California over the 4th of July, and I want to have plenty to keep me busy on the plane and in CA.

I sent a letter to Fred Willard, inviting him to play some cameo roles. Since I haven't heard back from him, I'm moving to my next possibility: Mark Hamill. I'll let you all know how it goes. It's not that Mark is in any way inferior to Willard... I just had to chose one to approach first! Since I am such a big fan of Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman, I thought I'd start there.

It's tough to beat "Star Wars," though.

With any luck, and a truck-load of effort, I should have episode ix finished in the next few weeks and ready to send to one of the 2 possible artists waiting to score it.

I'm toying with the idea of putting it up on the Web site in a Suckers-only location for download, but I didn't really get any response to putting the Apotheosis Forum online, so I'm guessing people don't mind waiting until it's available on CD with episode x.

I hope you're all well. Tell your friends about Apo! I'm pushing toward the goal-line!
(May03) After gentle prompting in email, I realized I haven't updated the news in a while. Things progress well, even if not as fast as any of us would like.

I'm a few sfx short of getting episode 9 put to bed. I now have 2 people interested in scoring the last 2 episodes, so I figure it's one each!

I've been working on episode 10, getting the audio loaded into my TiBook.

I created some fun stuff to put on t-shirts, mugs, etc. You can check it out on the bottom of the page

I will be putting a "trailer" together soon, with some finished excerpts from 9/10.

Look for it on the site. I'll also send an email to the Suckers List letting them know it's available.

(Send an email to with the subject "I want to suck like a pro" to join the Sucker's fan club).
(Jan03) Patience is a virtue... You know, if you count the writing, recording, editing, etc., I've estimated it takes about 40 hours for every finished minute y'all hear. So keep that in mind when you threaten all sorts of insanity in the emails you send.

An unfortunate set-back... David Ossman won't be recording as the role of Apollo. Some health concerns and general business prevented him from getting in the studio in a timely fashion. My best to him and his family, sorry it didn't work out this time.

Production moves along at a snail's pace. I intend to put a good 8 hours in on episode 9 by the weekend. I'm well into the battle between Arihman and Bill. There's a good deal of fun to be had! Once I'm through with that scene, a couple more sfx and off goes the completed episode 9 to my friend, Angelo Panetta, who will score the soundtrack.

Then it's on to 10...
(Nov02) We'll be in the studio this weekend (11/9 11/10), grabbing the last few characters needed for episodes 9/10. Jason will be up from TexAss to record the role of WWII. Anne and Phill (our favorite Suckers) will be attending the session as well. Yes, they will end up in the show—there's no way for them to get out of it now! There's been significant progress on 9 and 10. Many scenes nearing completion. The intros and outros for both episodes are complete. Stay tuned!
(Aug02) Progress! Phil Proctor (of the Firesign Theatre) has sent his audio in for the role of Murphy. David Ossman (also of Firesign fame) has agreed to play Apollo in episode 10. I'm working with John to get all the sfx for 9/10 together. We should be in the stuido to wrap up a bunch of the smaller roles pretty soon.
(Jun02) Added online ordering to the site. Working again with the fabulous John Weber, who helped engineer episodes 7/8. He has called in some favors and got us some time in a recording studio (The Lodge). We're meeting and putting a production schedule together. Auditioning some parts and getting ready to roll!
(May02) Scripts are finished for both episodes 9 and 10. Sorry for the delay, but the Cephalopod crew has been reduced to a force of one. I'm doing my best to keep a steady (if slow) march on the project. I'm auditioning voices and getting ready to record for the final hour.

I can't predict a completion date, but I hope it is ready before the end of the year. I got married, bought a house, and all other sorts of merryment that has slowed progress.

I believe you will be pleased with the end of the show...

Feel free to email me with questions:
(Sep01) Due to some generous donations from 3 Fabulous Fans, it looks like the show will actually get finished. Luca is back on the script for 9. It will be finished Labor-day weekend. Much of episode 9 is already recorded.

Episode 10 is the toughie. Luca will be scripting furiously so we can get in the studio for the final session.

Kevin is now editing on a Titanium Powerbook with the help of a MOTU firewire interface (donated by the Fabulous Fans).
(Jan00) Back in production on 9/10! Luca and Chuck are hammering on the script as Jason and Kevin break out and dust off the audio that was recorded back in May of 97 to dump into the new Apple G4. New digital camera has been purchased so expect to see production pictures soon!

Possible plans to release entire show on a single DVD or on multiple CDs - stay tuned.

We're working on getting a Listener Forum set up in here for you folks to talk about the show if you like... Ask us questions, etc.
(July98) Shifting to QuickTime format for the streaming.
(July98) New design for the Apotheosis web area. Part 9 in production.
(May98) Production on 9/10 was disrupted when a harddrive failure erased several nights work. Then Jason spent some time on the west coast, delaying the "restart" of episode 9. He's back now. We're ready to get at it!
(Jan98) Episode 9 is in production. Titled "Porno from Another Planet", it mostly contains a fight scene between Arihman and Bill.
(Jan98) Shockwave versions of episodes 7&8 are now available.
(Jan98) Episodes 7&8 are available now. We'll be submitting it to several award contests this year.
(Nov97) It looks like we'll have Part Eight done before November's close. Then, barring blunders at the factory, we'll have 7/8 manufactured before Christmas. Big, happy grin.
(Oct97) In what hindsight calls a tactical scheduling blunder, we farmed out three roles to three Firesigners in three different places on already time-crunched Part Eight. But if you had the chance, you'd do the same.
(Sep97) Part Seven, "Divisions," is done. Done, do you hear me? Only one round of changes, post-completion. Best work we've done yet.
(Aug97) We love Deck II by Macromedia.
(May97) Our shoot from April 30 to May 4 went beautifully. Plenty of recording yet to go, but Thor, Loki, Kali, Katya, Eureka, Odin, Stone Monkey and Coyote are all in the can.
(Mar97) The Apotheosis Saga Episodes 5&6 won the Mark Time Award for best Science Fiction Audio of 1996. (We tried to tell them that it wasn't SF...)
(Feb97) David Ossman, of the Firesign Theatre, has agreed to play Nyarlathotep (who becomes a major player) for episodes 7-10.
(Feb97) Phil Austin, also of the Firesign Theatre, will be playing a role in episode 8.

Cephalopod

Cephalopod was formed in 1994 by Jason Cole and Kevin Swan as the producing entitiy of the radio play, The Apotheosis Saga. In early 1995.

Since 2000, The massive crew of two has been cut in half as Jason moved on to other interests. Kevin Swan is working to produce the final hour of The Apotheosis Saga on his own.

Send an email to with the subject "I want to suck like a pro" to join the Sucker's fan club. You'll be notified of any development in the show via email.

Cephalopraise

Winner of the 1996 Gold Mark Time Award for best Science Fiction Audio. (The Apotheosis Saga, Episodes 5/6)
Winner of the 1997 Silver Mark Time Award for Original Work. (The Apotheosis Saga, Episodes 7/8)
(The Apotheosis Saga is) An ambitious synthesis of The Golden Bough, Hitchiker's Guide, Nick Danger, and The Tibetan Book of the Wierd, ..recommended for everyone on the road to god-head. Warning: Not for the mythologically impaired!
David Ossman
The Firesign Theatre
Wonderful...
AudioFile Magazine
July, 1996
(The Apotheosis Saga is)...the funniest, cleverest and most original audial comedy I've heard since I heard me.
Phil Proctor
Firesign Theatre
It (The Apotheosis Saga) really blew me away. I wasn't expecting it to be so good.
Tom Lopez
ZBS Foundation
Creator of "Ruby"

(I recommend) The Apotheosis Saga series from Kevin Swan. Very imaginative and well produced. ...it's a very fascinating story. Swan writes heroic stories about ancient gods that are plaguing the modern world. He manages to create some rather startling effects of huge events happening. You know, monsters attacking cities and things like that. Plus it is very witty and has interesting writing. And it's provocative, a little bit like Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's a series and I think he's on his seventh right now. I participated in some of these, so it's been a lot of fun.
Phil Proctor
The Firesign Theatre
From his 01/03 interview with Crazydog Audio Theatre (link)
Thank you very much for The Apotheosis Saga. It's wonderful (if unfinished). I keep getting funny looks from people when I say "Thor uses logic" or "I'm going to weigh my funiture! I'm going to shave my lawn!". I've listened to the tapes as they came out and revisited them over time. I recently bought the CDs for a friend who has listened to them a dozen times or so and needs to know who wins. (being an H.P. Lovecraft fan he's kind of rooting for Nyarlathotep.)

Many thanks for the wonderful characters and the small things that you don't catch until you've heard it for the n'th time. (like when the crew of the German U-boat say "farfegnugen", or trying to follow all the twists in Benny running the conversation backwards...)
Anne Troop
Via email
I and my friends have loved the Apotheosis Saga so far. You blow away Firesign, ZBS and Ziplow and I consider them good. We think it is the best audiofiction on the web.
Michael Michalchik
Via email

What is an Apotheosis?

The Apotheosis Saga is an audio drama. Unlike a radio play, it was designed for cassette or cd, to be listened to several times over. It's a movie for the mind. It is written with layers and speed that require attention and thought (we hope).

If you enjoy chess, language, writing, Firesign Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, puns, Steely Dan, Big Trouble in Little China, Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, and other such folks-n-things - The Apotheosis Saga is likely your style of fun.

If you like Mortal Kombat, Bon Jovi, WWF, tractor pulls, soap operas, People Magazine, Anne Rice, Who's the Boss, and Bop Magazine, it is highly likely that The Apotheosis Saga will inflict pain.

A saga is actually a literary form defined in almost as much detail as a sonnet. I don't want to bore you with the list, when the real question is how to fulfill the rules when you're working in a purely sonic medium.

A straight verbal recitation of a typical saga would be long, boring and confusing. Storytelling in the classic manner included a present audience and the body of the raconteur, which changed a simple narration into an adaptive work of theater. These advantages we don't have.

A societal change since the glory days of sagas is a general lack of interest in geneaology. Making these interrelations a living and compelling part of the Apotheosis Saga is a severe challenge. Other of the requirements pose similar difficulties. The approach we developed is, we believe, valid for today's cultural set and clean in its implementation: Ignore all that junk, but call it a saga anyhow. We owe a debt to H. Dumpty (via L. Carrol, not M. Goose) and J. Steinbeck for the seeds of this method, and acknowledge their help gratefullly.

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