Flight of Being
If, like me, you missed the 2007 Venice Biennale - recommend you check out the poor-man’s substitute of Bill Viola’s ‘Ocean Without a Shore’ on youtube - amazing piece – real ‘flight of being’ sort of stuff – blew me away... if only to be there in the flesh
LINKS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-V7in9LObI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTakwOpWqG4&feature=related
LINKS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-V7in9LObI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTakwOpWqG4&feature=related
Notes on basic Sound Recording
Below are a few elementary notes on things to remember when recording interviews in field:
- ALWAYS check the equipment before venturing off to record, even if the kit has been prepared for you by Operations staff – are the batteries fully charged? are the leads free of crackle? are all the bits in good working order? Obviously ensure you feel confident using the unit and understand the response curve and power source of the microphone. Also make sure you have back-up – extra… leads, tapes/recording space, batteries etc. – as well as the power supply and maybe an extension lead.
- Good levels peak between -6 and -12db: this leaves you with a minimum of 4db headroom in case the situation suddenly becomes louder. If the levels are too high and the sound distorts the material is unusable – if you record too low the sound will have an unattractive hiss when you increase the volume in post. Tip; if recording in an unpredictable situation with a single cardioid or directional mic onto a stereo track - set the channels so that one is a little lower than the other – this means that in post you can split the stereo into mono tracks and use the best one.
- ALWAYS monitor levels in the headphones – and check how high the monitoring or headphone volume is – if the monitoring levels are set high then you may think you are recording good sound when you are not. If you record often, find the ‘right’ monitoring level for you and reset the unit to it every time you record – this will help train your ears.
- Positioning the microphone… during an interview stay close to the sound source by default. Place the back of the microphone to the least wanted sound.
- Don’t record without setting the levels and doing a sound check first.
- Turn off mobile phones – both yours and the participants. Mobile phones cause interference and usually ring right at the wrong moment.
- As a matter of course, get the participant to spell their name, state their position/title and repeat their phone number ‘on tape’ – while you will not use this material in the edit, it means if you lose their details you have an aural copy.
- Sounds to avoid… all forms of wind noise – natural wind, wind generated by mic movement, wind from voice (the classic ‘pop’ – when a puff of breath crosses the mic). Handling noise is also unappealing – don’t fiddle with the lead or let the participant hold the mic.
- Noisy Locations… if you record in a loud and recognisable location (eg a café) do it for a good reason to do with the story/piece (not just because it’s convenient at the time) – either incorporate that location into the fabric of the piece (by verbal reference, recording atmospheres and spot sounds) or go somewhere else. Also, if you record in a space with a lot of natural reverb – know the verbal material will ‘bleed’, making it a lot more difficult to edit.
- Domestic Locations… if it’s a quiet home, the closest you will get to the semblance of a ‘studio sound’ is a room with a lot of soft furnishing – like a living room or bedroom. Listen out for consistent, irritating sounds like a fan or refrigerator buzz – ask the participant to turn it off – but if it’s the fridge don’t forget to remind them to turn it back on again!
- Always record an atmos track after an interview – particularly when the space has a little bit of aural movement. For example, if recording outside and the odd car or distant train sounds during the interview – hang around to capture the same sort of sound at the end. For some reason the cut you want to make in post is always across this incidental sound, so recording a ‘clean’ version enables you to mask this transition.
- Recording telephone interviews on a land-line from home is easy if you have a lapel microphone – a hardwire is best but a radio mic. will do. Make a small foam pocket for the mic and use Elastoplast or athlete tape to fix it to the ear piece – secure it well so it doesn’t move around and tape the lead down the back of the handset (you will still be able to hear clearly through it). You will need a second microphone to record your voice – and ensure you record the tracks separately rather than as a stereo mix. This technique is good if you are desperate, but obviously you will get a better sound if you record a phone interview with equipment designed to do it.
Participants wanting ‘veto’ of the broadcast
Sometimes program participants want to have the ‘final say’ or ‘veto’ over the program before broadcast. It’s an understandable desire – they have given you their voice – let you colonise their story - and it’s natural for them to feel concerned about how you will use it… And sometimes there are other legal issues involved too.
However, there is no way your commissioning broadcaster will allow the participant such a level of control over their investment – it’s just not going to happen, so don’t even toy with the idea.
In most cases there is no other way around it than to accept and acknowledge that the ‘exchange’ between program maker and documentary participant is a gift based on trust. It’s a leap of faith they either are or are not willing to take with you. I usually tell participants that I will to listen with them to the final program before broadcast and ‘seriously consider’ any concerns or suggestions they may have – I can’t give them a guarantee.
Obviously things get a lot more complicated if you are taking an adversarial approach to the program or discover something that changes things… and that opens up a whole can of worms about the relationship between maker and subject and journalistic ethics.
However, there is no way your commissioning broadcaster will allow the participant such a level of control over their investment – it’s just not going to happen, so don’t even toy with the idea.
In most cases there is no other way around it than to accept and acknowledge that the ‘exchange’ between program maker and documentary participant is a gift based on trust. It’s a leap of faith they either are or are not willing to take with you. I usually tell participants that I will to listen with them to the final program before broadcast and ‘seriously consider’ any concerns or suggestions they may have – I can’t give them a guarantee.
Obviously things get a lot more complicated if you are taking an adversarial approach to the program or discover something that changes things… and that opens up a whole can of worms about the relationship between maker and subject and journalistic ethics.
also posted on ABC Independent@gLOBE
Is Your program concept sufficiently developed?
While it is not economically viable to put a massive amount of work into developing a project concept before you receive some kind of expression of interest from the broadcaster… You do need to have thought things through…
The most important thing to ascertain from the outset is – are you barking up the right tree? As in, are you pitching the idea to the most appropriate ‘host’ program? Ensure you listen to and are familiar with the program you are pitching to – and make sure you look though their ‘past programs’ to see if they have covered the idea previously.
At the pitch stage you need to clearly communicate that you:
The program concept you propose is not ‘set in stone’ – there is room to move once the process is ‘in its stride’ – and the idea may not turn out exactly as you thought it would in the beginning… but you need to write a proposal in ‘good faith’ in the light of the best information you can gather at the time.
The most important thing to ascertain from the outset is – are you barking up the right tree? As in, are you pitching the idea to the most appropriate ‘host’ program? Ensure you listen to and are familiar with the program you are pitching to – and make sure you look though their ‘past programs’ to see if they have covered the idea previously.
At the pitch stage you need to clearly communicate that you:
- have a focus
- Have a strong hook - you know who will be interested in your story and why
- know your characters, what they will say and do why they are interesting
- know your story, how it unfolds and resolves, how you will capture it and why it is good
- know why it’s a good story for radio and how it is relevant and contributes to your host program
- have a sense of how you will structure the program, its style, the best length for the piece
- Know the project is doable - and have a draft production schedule and a sense of potential difficulties
- Research background & context
- Ensure you have access to materials and program participants
- Conduct a reconnaissance mission & preliminary interviews
- Identify useable textures and sound materials
- Sort out the logistics of the program
also posted on ABC RN Independent@gLOBE
Delivering Projects to ABC Radio National
Delivery items and specific program requirement are usually worked out with your EP – but there are a few bits and pieces it’s good to get into the habit of having prepared:
- Program Summary/Synopsis or ‘intro notes’
- At least two CD copies of the completed program.
- Full list of credits
- Full list of music details – including publisher, artist, composer, duration used etc. (if there is more than 30-seconds of copyrighted music ‘in the clear’ it gets ripped out of the podcast – beware!)
- Relevant production still – it’s always nice to have a picture for the website.
- relevant links and information, including books and articles
- Your invoice.
also posted to ABC RN Independent@gLOBE
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