wrs@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Walter Smith) (12/14/84)
The ZBS Foundation has been around for at least seven years, since I have
one of their radio series ("Stars and Stuff") on cassette copyrighted 1977.
They do REALLY good stories for radio (not just for NPR, but NPR gets a lot
of them) and release them on cassette. Until recently, they did good analog
stereo recordings, mostly of science-fiction/fantasy, but they have
introduced a new series of Kunstkopf binaural digital productions (recorded
in Sony PCM and duplicated in real time onto chrome cassettes, no less!) of
short stories. The first production in this series was Stephen King's THE
MIST. It's very good. The Kunstkopf process really does work.
In their brochure, they say they are a "very small company, only about two
feet high." This seems to be the case, since when I called to ask about an
order, the person who answered the phone was easily recognizable from his
appearance in "Stars and Stuff." Nevertheless, their productions are very
well written and engineered, and well worth buying.
For more information, and a catalog from the "Science Fantasy Cassette Club"
(a name that no longer really applies), you can write to them at
ZBS Foundation
RR#1 Box 1201
Fort Edward, NY 12828
They have a sampler cassette, which is actually a Halloween Special done for
NPR that contains excerpts from a lot of their stories. As they say, "it's
60 minutes and it's really cheap," only $4.00.
I would like to see more radio stories made, especially in Kunstkopf
binaural sound. The effect is amazing. It's not as much like watching a
movie as the other productions have been; it's more like actually being in
the story. Things happen around you rather than in front of you or inside
your head.
--
Walter Smith, CS undergraduate, Carnegie-Mellon University
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