Book Review

Kate Murphy

Intro to Broadcasting

Book Report

10-31-12

            For a course textbook, I chose Audio in Media, by Stanley R. Alten. I decided that this book would be beneficial to me because as of right now in my life, I have this drive toward radio. I am not entirely sure why radio is the path I want to take right now, but I am interested in it, and this class gives me the opportunity to explore my horizons on audio recording. The book is the eighth edition, and it features coverage of digital technology, sound, and edition, just to name a few. This book went into extensive detail on all the many aspects of audio in media, not just radio. For me though, I focused my attention on the certain aspects of radio that I thought would be beneficial for me to learn. I want to take out as much as I can from this class, and by applying this textbook to my projects, I think that it will only bring enrichment to the process.

            To me, one of the most important aspects of radio is the speaking voice. This may sound like an obvious statement but how you speak and the way you do so, is crucial in radio. Unlike television, your intended audience cannot see you. In radio, they are relying on your voice. I do not want to sound monotone or boring, and to have my listeners tune out. It is stated in the book that “…speech must be intelligible while maintaining natural voice quality. Moreover, in audio production speech must also be relatively noise-free” (Alten, 171). When I have a project idea in my mind that I want to execute, I always go to the studio to record. The studio was built for production, thus, unwanted noises won’t be welcomed, making my project clear to listen to. The book also gives advice on placement on the microphone. The host should work at a relatively close microphone-to-source distance. I want my listeners to be able to hear me talk, but not be overwhelmed by my voice. The recording should be in the optimum audio recording range, and I always strive for that.

            Chapter nine of the book dealt with studio production and talk as well. I found many key passages about voice acting. “Delivering copy involves more than just reading it. To have an impact, it is not so much what is said but how it is said that conveys a message’s overall intent; the sound behind the words is what gives them meaning” (Alten, 186). This was an “aha-moment” for me; this is what I was going to focus my time and attention on during my projects. As stated earlier, I do not want to sound monotonous or boring. I want to have this great persona that people want to listen to. I want to capture people’s attention, solely with my voice. My voice is the media; “Another aspect of voice acting is knowing the character of the script and how to deliver the appropriate sound…inflection, emphasis, rhythm, phrasing, and attitude…Infusing a reading with the appropriate message is critical to the believability of the sell” (Alten, 186). I do not have video recordings in my projects, so I need to captivate my audience with the way that I speak. I shouldn’t just rush through the script, or just have a monotone voice (unless that is what I want to convey). I want to have this persona of a confident person, trying to dish out the celebrity hot topics, almost as if I am saying “You should know about this celebrity, and here’s why it impacts you.” By doing so, I am specifically choosing an audience, which is also addressed in the book: “…one speaks to, say, a teenage audience in a different style, pace, and mood than to an audience of retirees…But do not speak to the target audience at large; have an individual in mind…Arthur Godfrey, once advised that when you speak to thousands, you reach no one. When you speak to one person, you reach thousands (Alten, 186). I want my radio show to be very conversational. I am not trying to be a formal, uptight person. I want to be laid-back, having a good time in studio, talking to my best friend about the latest celebrity scandal. Informality would be looser, more relaxed, and more personal. This has a big reaction on people, and I want to portray that to the best of my ability.

            A technical aspect that I found in the book that I want to focus on is fade-ins and fade-outs. I think these are crucial because I do not want my show to sound choppy and not smooth. It is aesthetically a cleaner, gentler cut; it opens the door to possibilities of a new scene more smoothly. The text made it known that there are no guidelines to fade ins and outs. It truly depends on the individual how fast or slow you want it to be. The great thing about this class is that I can experiment and try out different options. This is an introduction to the large world of broadcasting, so I am going to learn as much as I can, and try all my options. That way, I can decide for myself if I like longer or shorter fade ins and outs.

            Stanley R. Alten’s book, Audio in Media, is a book packed with so many aspects of all aspects of broadcasting. I focused my time reading the material that I thought would be beneficial to me, mainly the speaking voice. There were other key concepts that I will also work into my projects for the class. All in all, I think this book will help me become the confident, well spoken, radio host that I want to be. 

Walmart Shot List

Kate Murphy

Running Time: 30 seconds

Wal-Mart Commercial

SHOT LIST: (Settings:kitchen, living room, Walmart)

1. ESTABLISHING SHOT. Camera has in view a shot of a disgruntled woman in a green shirt. She is standing behind a kitchen counter, with a plate on top of the counter. On the plate is two slices of bread.  She is holding an opened, empty peanut butter jar.  VOICEOVER: “Did you just run out of peanut butter?” The woman looks at the camera and nods with a disappointed look her face. (4 seconds)

2. CUT TO scene with two men in an apartment. Man A is wearing a white long sleeved shirt. Man B is wearing a green sweatshirt.  The two men are facing each other, with a table lamp and table visible on the left hand side of the screen. VOICEOVER: “Don’t you just hate life’s unexpected moments?” Man A (on the left side of camera’s view) says, “Come at me, bro!” Man B charges at Man A and the two men knock over the table lamp, breaking the lamp and light bulb.  Sounds of light bulb and lamp breaking are heard very clearly. The camera follows the men as they crash onto the lamp and table. Man A says, “Uh oh.” (7 seconds)

3. CUT TO scene of the front of a Wal-Mart store. The camera pans about the front of the building. FADE IN happy, upbeat music playing in the background. VOICEOVER: “When life hands you unexpected twists and turns…” PAUSE (3 seconds)

4. CUT TO camera views of the inside of a Wal-Mart. Different angles of looking down the aisles and people shopping with shopping carts. VOICEOVER: “…go to Wal-Mart for all your necessities.” (3 seconds)

5. CUT TO side view of the woman looking at the jars of peanut butter. (1 second)VOICEOVER:”Whether it is peanut butter…” PAUSE.

6. CUT TO side view of the men looking at the different varieties of light bulbs. (2 seconds) “…light bulbs, or any household item, Wal-Mart is sure to have it.”

7. CUT TO blue screen with centered, iconic, white Wal-Mart logo.  Underneath the logo, there is the white text “Save money. Live Better.” Underneath the text, is more text, in the font Courier New: “4740 Mall Drive Hermantown, Minnesota” VOICEOVER: “So go ahead, go to your local Wal-Mart today!” PAUSE. VOICEOVER: “Save Money. Live Better. Wal-Mart.” (9 seconds)

8. FADE OUT music and FADE OUT.

Shot List

Kate Murphy

Anatomy of a Scene: Gorton’s Fisherman – Fish Sticks

Running Time: 15 seconds

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2pU3LbfjFE

SHOT LIST: (Settings: Kitchen counter, kitchen table with plates, large body of water)

1. ESTABLISHING SHOT. A kitchen counter with a bag of Gorton’s “30 Crunchy Breaded Fish Sticks.” A woman’s hands are in view, opening and closing the bag. Upon opening, Hispanic music is being played. When closed, the music stops. In the background (on the counter) are fresh ingredients on the left side of camera’s viewpoint: small bowl of cheese, half cut onion, tomatoes, and peppers. On the right side of the camera’s viewpoint is a glass of lime juice and limes. The woman, wearing a long, blue sleeved shirt, opens the bag, and then closes it. Then she opens it again, leaving her hands on both sides of the bag’s opening, and keeping it open.  (5 seconds)

2. CUT TO close up, side angled view of the bag, fresh ingredients, and fish sticks. Music is still being played. VOICEOVER: “Make taco night a fiesta, with the goodness of Gorton’s Crunchy Fish Sticks.”

3. The camera swoops about the food in a half circle motion, from left to right (counter-clockwise).

4. Close up shot of fish sticks in the tortilla shell, surrounded by cheese, cilantro, limes, and tomatoes. This taco is on top of a gray colored plate, which is on top of a tablecloth. Steam is coming from the fish sticks. (6 second synopsis)

5. CUT TO scene of a boat on a large body of water. The Hispanic music has stopped, and the iconic “Gorton’s Fisherman” jingle comes on. VOICEOVER jingle: “Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman.” Centered on the bottom of the screen is the text: “Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman” with the Gorton’s logo to its right. (4 second synopsis)

6. FADE OUT

Episode 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8lyCc7d3jc&feature=plcp

Radio Broadcast Pilot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVhJLtJhpBs&feature=plcp

Course Text

For Intro to Broadcasting, I found a book that I think will be beneficial to me and my projected work:

Alten, S. R. (2008). Audio in Media (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

(ISBN: 978-0-495-09568-2)

            The book is titled Audio in Media, which features explanations of digital technology, production processes, editing, and recording, just to name a few. After briefly glancing at the book, I thought it would be relevant for me because I plan on creating radio podcasts for my project. More specifically, the book goes into detail about specific media technologies needed, the different types of microphones, how to work with sound and your own speaking voice, and how the way you speak can have an influence on dialogue.

            The combination of being able to speak well and learning the different aspects of the technologies of radio will benefit me for these projects. I think this book will guide me the way toward strengthening my projects and my speaking self. 

Prospectus

Kate Murphy

Intro to Broadcasting

Prospectus

9-28-12

            For Intro to Broadcasting, my plan is to create a radio show, or podcast. Thus, the tools that I would plan on using would be the studio, digital audio recorders, and fellow classmates. I have been talking to Kim and Sarah about working together, sharing SD cards, and helping each other out in the editing room. I am more than willing to help more people out though; through other classmates’ projects is how I will learn about video production because I am basing mine off of audio. That way, by the end of the semester, I will have fully gained knowledge of both audio and video. For the production process, I plan on using the in studio audio recorders. After recording my audio with a 2 GB SD card, I want to edit my podcasts through Sony Vegas 11, which is on the computers in the studio. Once the editing has been done to my standards, I will upload the episodes onto the class’ YouTube channel. My contribution to the class is slightly different in that I am doing a radio show, but I think that will make the channel a little more diverse because there is so much to broadcasting. After uploading my episodes, I plan on putting links onto my blog and tweet about my new episode and upcoming episodes.

            Again, my concept is to create a radio show. I listen to the radio all the time when I am driving, and I have an internship lined up at a local radio station next summer. Basically, my concept is to be a radio host, dishing out hot topics. I would greatly appreciate help from other classmates with editing because I have never edited before.

 My plan is to create a total of five episodes, which includes a pilot. These podcasts will be two to five minutes in length, depending on how much information I have. My rough idea of a schedule is to have a podcast every two weeks, which means my first episode, or pilot will be heard on October 8^th and my last podcast will be heard the week of December 3^rd.

            I want the podcasts to feel like a radio show. I have noticed that radio hosts are very conversational. Along with that, they have to have a strong persona; you can only hear their voice. I plan on incorporating music and advertisements, with smooth transitions. I have been brainstorming other ideas, as well. I have thought about having a co-host for an episode, where we can talk about a certain topic.

            For the pilot episode, I want to do a show related to celebrity gossip. I enjoy reading the celebrity magazines and that is a topic that I hear quite a bit on the radio back home. I want to do a celebrity episode because we, as a society, usually listen to the radio to hear the hippest tunes of right now. Our favorite artists and bands play music on the radio, and thus, being that they are of a celebrity status, are relevant to a hot topics episode. I would basically bring up a topic (example: Kim Kardashian) and talk about a rumor going around about her. I would discuss the topic, share what I have to think about it, and then move onto the newest celebrity scandal. 

            Even though I am not doing a television broadcast like most people in the class, I still believe that radio is a great way to get information out to people. Radio is a part of mass media that I am currently interested in and want to learn more about. With support from the class, knowledge of the studio, and doing the work, I believe that this semester will be a success.