Audiobooks
Doctor Who: The Vampire Plants and Other Stories
Sound Desginer
A quartet of fabulous stories based on vintage comic strips from the Doctor Who Annuals, featuring the Second, Third and Fourth Doctors.
For The Vampire Plants, I approached the sound design by creating a distinctive sonic world around the story’s retro science-fiction atmosphere. With the narrative rooted in the classic Doctor Who Annuals, I wanted the sound to capture that sense of adventure while still giving the story its own darker and more atmospheric identity.
I created and designed the music to work alongside the sound effects, using evolving textures, musical motifs and tension to help drive the story forward. The soundscape was carefully built to give the Vampire Plants a sense of presence and threat, using layers of organic and unnatural sounds to make them feel increasingly alive.
The aim was to create an immersive audio experience that complemented the performances and transported the listener into the world of the story, while bringing a contemporary sound design approach to its vintage Doctor Who origins.
Paul Magrs
Author
Doctor Who: Snakedance
Sound Designer
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Manussa, about to commemorate its ancient banishment of the evil entity known as the Mara. Unbeknownst to the Manussans, the Doctor's companion, Tegan, has become an unsuspecting medium for the Mara. Now she has helped it to return home. The Doctor realises that this could mark the spectacular revival of the Mara's reign of terror - but it seems that no-one will heed his warning.
For this audiobook, I approached the sound design with a strong focus on atmosphere, tension and the psychological terror surrounding the Mara. With the story unfolding entirely through audio, the soundscape became an important tool for creating the world of Manussa and giving the listener a sense of the threat closing in around the Doctor.
I used sound perspective, unsettling textures and carefully placed moments of silence to build a growing sense of dread, particularly as the Doctor begins to realise the true scale of the Mara’s return. The music was composed to reinforce this tension, developing darker and more ominous themes as the story progresses and the Doctor’s fear becomes increasingly apparent.
The aim was to create a sonic world that allowed the listener to experience not only the spectacle of the Mara’s return, but also the Doctor’s isolation and terror as he tries to convince others of the danger surrounding them.
Author
Terrance Dicks
Doctor Who: Space Babies
Sound Designer
In space, something can hear you scream. And that something is coming. On her first adventure in outer space, Ruby learns that the universe is bigger, more colourful, and crazier than she could ever have imagined. She also learns that even the Doctor can feel afraid – and that certain nightmares are all too real…Clare Corbett reads Alison Rumfitt's novelisation of Russell T Davies’ first space adventure for the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.
For this audiobook, I approached the sound design with a strong focus on scale, atmosphere and the feeling of the unknown. Ruby’s first journey into space offered an opportunity to create a sonic world that could move between the wonder and colour of the universe and the darker, more terrifying moments of the story.
The aim was to create an immersive experience that captures both the excitement of Ruby’s first adventure in space and the terrifying realisation that even the Doctor can be afraid.
Author
Alison Rumfitt