Career path: 3r Interactive developing audiobook production
| KPC News
December 14th, 2018
How would you describe 3r Interactive, LLC?
3r Interactive is an independent game development studio and user experience/user interface research and design firm in Fort Wayne that helps businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs work toward market dominance.
Jay Johns, Founder, CEO | 3r Interactive LLC
How did your entrepreneurial journey bring you to what you are doing with 3r Interactive?
In 2009, I was a co-founder of a company named Moonlite Games LLC. Our main goal was game creation, but we attempted to earn money by creating business apps. At the time, Chipotle was the only business-oriented mobile application experience.
I founded 3r Interactive LLC in 2012. Through 3r Interactive LLC we have created video games on mobile devices, and MacOS. Along with games, we have created a variety of mobile applications as in-house projects or as contract work. Websites, traditional books, and audiobooks are the remaining types of projects I have been a part of creating.
What can you share about your latest project?
I want to build a sound booth for audiobook and podcast creation. I have been creating or helping people develop audiobooks and podcasts since 2015. Thus far, all of the audio recordings for them have been done in different rooms, based on availability, at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center.
Because of the inconsistency in room location and office noise, the quality of the audiobooks has suffered. We tend to need multiple recording sessions to fix issues with slamming doors, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or construction noise.
The other alternative is to schedule booth time at studios such as Sweetwater Sound. With the studio rental fee at $100 an hour, we will have significant production costs given the fact that the current book series we are recording has an average listening time of 10.5 hours. To record one book would be at least $1,000.
The goal is to make a sound studio, so we can always have the same microphone location and more importantly ambient sound reduction. With these improvements, our audiobooks will have the better quality, which improves sales.
Additionally, lowering the production costs will allow us to produce more projects at a time. I have been creating audio projects since 2015, but it has been a year since we have seriously focused on getting our own booth.
Tell us about anyone you have been working with in the development of the audiobook production business.
I am partnered with an author of a book series who is interested in converting it into audiobooks. Additionally, I have put together a small team of narrators, which will be available to create audiobooks.
I have not had any specific advisors for the creation of audiobooks, but from a 3r Interactive business perspective, I have been advised by Mike Fritsch, John Richards, and Steve Franks.
How will you use the $1,000 Fortitude Fund grant you received for the project?
We would purchase soundproofing materials and better-quality microphones for the sound booth’s creation.
How do you see yourself fitting into the Fortitude Fund community of entrepreneurs, and how could it benefit you?
I heard about the Fortitude Fund community and grants through the social media notifications of the Atrium and through a presentation at 1 Million Cups by Steve Franks.
I am interested in the community aspect of the Fortitude Fund as a believer in the saying, “A high tide raises all the ships.” I think that when the community as a whole does better, then everyone wins.
I have been an entrepreneur for nine years. With experience comes a lot of advice, mainly advice based on my mistakes. I could be a sounding board/resource for new entrepreneurs, particularly for game design and audiobook creation.
The community could help connect me with other local audiobook creators and authors.