5 questions with Oliver Morris
Let's catch up with the writer & director of Ms. Shipton before the holidays
Previously, on 5 questions... we heard from two crucial members of the Ms. Shipton's Travelling Tea Shop team: Jude Hodgson Hann, sound designer and human cat, and Greta Clarkson, Ms. Shipton herself. Today, we're finishing the triptych with Oliver Morris, writer, director, composer, and sound designer for Ms. Shipton's Travelling Tea Shop.
But first! There are a shocking few number of days before the holiday season completely overwhelms us, and your options for gifts that you can get ethically delivered and wrapped before Christmas are dwindling. So why not a digital gift? Why not the digital gift of Ms. Shipton's Travelling Tea Shop?
Head over to Bandcamp and you'll see the option to "Send as Gift" underneath the larger link to purchase. (You'll see the link to "Send as Gift" even if you've purchased Ms. Shipton!) If you loved Ms. Shipton and want to spread the love, consider sending it as a gift today. Need more gift inspiration? I just published a list of five other great pieces of audio fiction available on Bandcamp, which you can send as gifts as well.
Alright, enough of me trying to hard sell you Ms. Shipton. Let's move into the soft sell.
While you won't hear Oliver's voice much in Ms. Shipton, they are the heart and soul of the show. Writer! Director! Composer! Sound designer! They're a regular Tarantino, minus the weird hate for Paul Dano (as far as I know). If you loved Ms. Shipton, you have Oliver to thank. Please try to remember that when you read about the absolutely infuriating way they organize their files.
How would you describe yourself to a stranger at a party?
Hi! I’m Oli! I’m an audio drama podcast maker, and local madman. Excuse the hair, it gets everywhere.
How do you organize your files?
I’m a file anarchist, things get filed in files and then filed in the wrong files. More than once I have had to search through folders by date to see if I can find something labeled ‘gffggfgsfdsfd’ that turned out to be the crux of a piece I was making. I find the search function to be a loyal friend and ambassador to lost files.
Do you have an audio fiction hot take?
Everyone who first steps foot into making audio drama believes that there has to be a reason or rationale for recording something. So many audio dramas start with an explanation of how you’re hearing what you’re hearing. It’s unnecessary. We don't ask it of films, we don’t ask it of books. If we look at the work of Fincher, some of the places the camera goes are technically impossible. So why the same restriction with audio drama? My suspicion is it’s the popular audio fiction that gave rise to it. So much set in community radio stations or going through old archive material, or just recording themselves. Free the mic! Let it wander.
Is there an audiodrama resource you think everyone should read?
I once wrote a piece called ‘An Immersive Guide to Sound Design, AKA How to wear your brain as a hat.’ For two reasons: 1) I would like to get the clicks up, 2) It surmised my approach to sound design, so if you like or hate it, you can learn from that. I think it might be lost to history however.... I’ll see if I can dig it up for LFC.
LFC Contributors
What piece of art that’s NOT an audiodrama has most influenced your artistic practice?
Photography. I learnt a lot about photography and film when I was at university. Radio and podcast are essentially reverse principals. Also radio ballads, somewhere between a concept album and a documentary. Radio ballads were produced by Charles Parker with folk musicians Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger about people who weren’t usually put on the radio, like railway drivers and the lie, their words turned to poetry and lyricism.
Find all of Oliver's links right here, include all of their podcasts and music projects, or follow them on Instagram and Bluesky for the hottest hot takes.
And keep an eye out for the next production from Oliver and the gang at Skadi's Symphony, Tales of the Cog, coming to a podcatcher near you next month. Listen to the trailer and subscribe today to get the first episode delivered to you on 12 January.