Planning A Radio Show Sonia Randhawa. Basic facts Know your time limit Remember that you need to...

Planning A Radio Show

Sonia Randhawa

Basic facts

• Know your time limit• Remember that you need to keep

the programme aurally interesting – intersperse music and dialogue.

• Think about how people listen to radio (what time of day your programme will be broadcast)

• Who is your audience?

So, what does the audience want?

What do the listeners want?How do you know?– Surveys– Interviews– Focus groups

So, what do the community want?

What do the community want?How do you know?– Surveys– Interviews– Focus groups

THIS IS ALL PART OF PLANNING YOUR PROGRAMME

Okay, then what?

Types of programme:• News• Drama• Feature• Talk show• Music• And on & on….

A Magazine Show

What are the resources you need?• People• Studio• Editing suite• TIME

A Magazine Show

How is the show structured?What are the important

components?

A Magazine Show

How is the show structured?What are the important

components?• Music• Feedback• Same time, same place…

A Magazine Show

Why will your show fail?• Boring…• Difficult to understand• Nasty music• Nasty announcer• Uninteresting topic• Something else is better…

Things to remember…• Radio is personal• Radio is SOUND• Radio is warm, emotional• Radio entertains• Can cross seas, mountains• Radio’s instant• Radio reaches people who can’t

read• Radio is ‘hands-free’

Conclusion

Planning a show, you need to be aware of your CONSTITUENCY, who the show is for…

You need a format for the showYou need the resources…

Field Interviews

Sonia Randhawa

Contents

• Where are you going to have an interview?

• Planning an interview• Conducting a field interview

Where to have the interview

Where to have the interview

Where to have the interview

• Look around you for distractions & for problems

• Record some ‘atmos’• Check the atmos with your

HEADPHONES on…

Interviewing in the field

• What do you need?

Interviewing in the field

• What do you need?– Recorder– Wires (do they work?)– Microphone (is it appropriate?)– Spare batteries– Spare tape/ MDs– Headphones

Interviewing in the field

• Keep control!- Don’t give away the mic- Mic handling

Power & You

• Think about the power relations between you and the interviewee

• How does this change if you’re addressing a Cabinet Minister?

• Or a victim of domestic violence?• How can YOU make a difference?

Care of your equipment

Hold your mics properly

Don’t put any strain on flimsy sockets• Have SOMETHING that can hold them steady (if

possible)• Ideally, don’t pull the jacks in and out constantly.

BUT if they are not being held steady, DO NOT travel with your cables connected.

• Clean your tape heads regularly.And read your manuals, so that if something goes wrong, you might be able to fix it.

News-Writing for Radio

Sonia Randhawa

Introduction

1. Recap: Writing for print2. Radio – Basics of what radio is3. How to do a re-write4. Writing in a script

Recap: Writing for print

1. Answering the Five Ws and One H:Who, what, where, when, why and how2. The inverted pyramidYour lead is the most important

sentence in your story.

You have to forget BOTH of these when writing for radio.

Recap: Writing for print

Other bits & pieces:• Age• Numbers• Titles

Radio: What is it?

What is radio?

Basically radio is sound. We listen to radio – there are NO visual clues, there are NO re-runs.

Radio: What is it?

How do people listen to radio?

What do people want from radio?

This varies, but there are two basic needs – functional and emotional needs.

Radio: What is it?

Are people really listening?

Radio: What is it?

Principles for radio news:• Don’t lecture – you’re talking to

an equal• Be clear – you don’t get to

repeat, the listener can’t re-read what you’ve said

• DON’T be sloppy or lax

Radio: What is it?

Rules for radio news:• You can’t afford to lose your

listener’s attention• Your listener isn’t listening• You have to be up-to-date• You may not give all the 5 W’s and

the H• You need a different style.

Doing a re-write

Step One: Understand the storyIf the information you’re given is

not sufficient, find more information!

Doing a re-write

Problems with re-writes:1. The source didn’t write for radio.2. Information may be biased/

unreliable.3. Inappropriate style.

To overcome these, you need to not just cut paras, and hope for the best!

Doing a re-write

Step One: Understand the storyStep Two: Tear it apart!Step Three: Keep your sentences

Subject-Verb-Object.Step Four: KISSStep Five: FiguresStep Six: Read it out loud

Doing a re-write

Step Six: Read it out loudThis is THE most important part.

Can you read it and does it sound natural?

Is this how you would talk to a friend?

Is each word a word you would normally use?

Doing a re-write

Things NOT to do:• Useless bridging words e.g. Meanwhile

<grr>• Which & that• The time is NOW• AgesWhen was the last time you heard someone

say, “The teacher, 43, was murdered.” Unlikely. “The 43-year-old teacher was murdered” sounds far more natural.

Doing a re-write

Things NOT to do:• Useless bridging words e.g.

Meanwhile <grr>• Which & that• The time is NOW• Ages• No jargon

Doing a re-write

Winging it – No ‘ings’ at the beginning of a sentence.

At the start of the sentence a verb ending in ‘ing’ causes the sentence to lose power.

e.g. Running up the hill, Jack fell down and Jill came tumbling after.

Doing a re-write

Cut the flab!‘In order to’‘Actually’‘In fact’

These are unnecessary in print and doubly so in radio!

Doing a re-write

Don’t make assumptions – is it really a surprise? Is it really unsurprising? Same goes for ‘expected’, ‘unexpectedly’ etc.

And don’t assume something is good or bad news – not all your listeners might agree!

Doing a re-write

Signs of something wrong:The words ‘continuing’, ‘once more’,

‘again’. Why is this story news if it has happened before?

e.g The sun continues to rise.

Doing a re-write

The weakness of be-ing.

If there is an ‘is’ or an ‘are’ in your first sentence, you can probably make it stronger.

Feature writing

Sonia Randhawa

Introduction

• Sound conveys meaning. • Sound stimulates our visual imagination:

it creates visual images in our minds. • Radio Theater is telling a story by the

careful mixing of sounds - both verbal and non-verbal.

As one child said, "I like radio because the pictures are better."

Introduction (cont.)

• Radio is a "hot" medium - that is, the listener's imagination and experience are involved in giving the story depth, substance and meaning.

• Sound effects describe the circumstances of a dramatic audio situation. They can be used for such things as setting and place, conveying action, solving certain narrative problems, and evoking characterizations.

Planning the script

• What do you want to create?

• Whose point of view (POV) are you using – the main character? An omniscient narrator?

Planning the Script

• What do you want to create?– DIALOGUE is the most important tool– ACTUALITIES/ Music are the next

most important– SFX are the LEAST important tool

• Whose point of view (POV) are you using – the main character? An omniscient narrator?

Planning the Script

• What do you want to create?– DIALOGUE is the most important tool

Note that dialogue can tell the audience the details that are given by pictures on television.

e.g. “I’m late for a lunch date” tells you the time of day (no need for lighting!)

Planning the SFX

SFX are the LEAST important tool, BUT:

– They can RUIN an otherwise excellent script

– They can make an otherwise dull script passable

– They can make a good script GREAT

Walla

• These are crowd noises• How do you create them?• What problems might you have?

Where to find SFX

Find digital SFX at:www.flashkit.comwww.soundfx.comwww.wavcentral.comwww.ljudo.com

Audacity

Sonia Randhawa

Contents

Setting up

• Go to File - Preferences

Setting up

Setting up

• Choose the appropriate bit depth (16) and sample rate (44100 Hz).

NOTE: Sometimes Audacity doesn’t work well with 16 bit depth, so you may need to use 32 instead. Do it!

Recording

• Hit the record button!

Editing

You have six tools you can use – cursor, envelope, draw, zoom, time shift and all at once.

EditingTo cut, copy, paste – use the cursor

tool as you would in Word!You can insert silence by highlighting

an area, then going to Generate, then to Silence (everything moves).

If you want to choose a particular bit of a track, highlight it, choose Edit and Split.

Using the time shift key you can move the sound back and forth.

Exit

Exit

• Make sure you’re on the right settings (ie 16 bit, 44100Hz)

• Go to File, choose Export in the format you want (might not be able to export as MP3).

DONE!

Your Equipment

Sonia Randhawa

Contents

• Digital and analog• Analog recorders• Digital recorders• Which mic?• What’s an XLR?• Taking care of your equipment

Digital vs Analog

There are basically two main types of recorders:- Digital- Analog

Analog - Problems

• Fidelity• Generations• Deterioration over time

Digital

Digital recording basically transforms the sound waves into a series of numbers.

How and why bother?

Digital

Digital recording basically transforms the sound waves into a series of numbers.

How and why bother?- High fidelity- No loss over generations

Analog recordersWhat are you looking for?• A socket where you can plug your mic in• A monitor, where you can see how loud

the sound is when it goes into the recorder

• Something portable• Something easy to use• Headphone socket

Analog recorders

Advantages of analog• Reliable• Easy to get tapes• Low maintenance• Easy to use, and fairly idiot-proof.

Digital recorders

Various types, most important for journos are:- DAT- Minidisc or MD

Digital recorders

What you need:- Sampling rate of 44.1 kHz (that’s 44100 Hz)- a mic socket- ideally, some way to control loudness- 16 bit depth

Digital recorders - MDs• Cheap• Easy-ish to use• Digital – ie high fidelity, no loss of

generations, high quality• Can NOW download sound direct via

USB port (HD MD players)

But….

Digital recorders - MDs

• Watch out for your TOC (Table of Contents)– Stop recording frequently– Make sure your battery lives

Get rid of the STUPID lavalier mic!!!Some data compression (but not

enough to matter)

Microphones (Mics)

Choices you have to make• Condenser or dynamic• Pick-up pattern• Large or small

What you choose will depend on where you’re working.

MicrophonesDynamic vs Condenser

Dynamic mics…• Need no external power.

• Durable.

• Handle high volumes well.

MicrophonesDynamic vs Condenser

Condenser mics…• Require phantom power• Fragile• Louder output

MicrophonesDirectional vs

OmnidirectionalSimple…Directional go in a directionOmnidirectional pick up everything

What does this mean for you as a reporter?

MicrophonesDirectional

There are different types of directional mics

• Most common are cardioid (heart-shaped)

• Figure-of-8 (bi-directional)• And others….

Mixer

The mixer allows you to take different sound channels and, um, mix them.

• Mic inputs• Line inputs• Outputs• Alt ¾ Bus

Care of your equipment

Hold your mics properly

Don’t put any strain on flimsy sockets• Have SOMETHING that can hold them steady (if

possible)• Ideally, don’t pull the jacks in and out constantly.

BUT if they are not being held steady, DO NOT travel with your cables connected.

• Clean your tape heads regularly.And read your manuals, so that if something goes wrong, you might be able to fix it.

Lecture ThreeInterviewing for Broadcast

Sonia Randhawa

Planning the Interview

• What do you want from the interview

• Can the interviewee give you that?• What are you going to ask?• How are you going to start?• How are you going to end?

Planning the Interview

• An intro:“Kuala Lumpur was cloaked in haze

today. Radiq Radio reporter Sonia Randhawa is talking to Dr Chan to find out how this affects our health.”

Or “I’m Sonia Randhawa, interviewing Dr Chan of University Malaysia on how the haze is affecting our health.”

Planning the Interview

• An outro:“That was Dr Chan explaining how

the haze is affecting our health. Back to Nara at the studio.”

Choosing the interviewee

• Before you start, talk to the interviewee

What are you looking for?

Choosing the interviewee

• Before you start, talk to the interviewee

What are you looking for?• What do they sound like?

Choosing the interviewee

• Before you start, talk to the interviewee

What are you looking for?• What do they sound like?• Are they interesting?

Choosing the interviewee

• Before you start, talk to the interviewee

What are you looking for?• What do they sound like?• Are they interesting?• Do they know their material?

Doing the Interview

• Keep calm• Ask SHORT questions – your

interviewee can’t wriggle out of them!

• Make sure you can be understood – no jargon

• Stick to your pre-scripted questions (NOT a hard and fast rule)

Doing the Interview

• Don’t just rely on the recorded interview– Take notes with PEN AND PAPER!

• Remember the TOC edit/ write• Remember to take blank ‘atmos’

again if there is a massive change in the sound around you.

After the Interview

• Have you got what you wanted?– Content– Quality– Quantity

Is this all you need? What follow-up is there?

After the Interview

• How could you have improved with the interview?– A better interviewee?– More preparation?– Clearer questions?– Better questions?– Clarity of voice?– Venue?

After the interview

• Transcribe your interview – write it out!

After the interview

• Edit the interview – if you’re using an MD you can mark off the sound-bites you want to use.

Interviewing in the studio

• Equipment isn’t as a big a deal!• Water!• Sound checks

Interviewing in the studio

• Making your guest feel comfortable:

- Introduce to the studio- Explain how to behave- Tell them how to speak

Power & You

• Think about the power relations between you and the interviewee

• How does this change if you’re addressing a Cabinet Minister?

• Or a victim of domestic violence?• How can YOU make a difference?