June 2004 RAP
June 2004 Highlights
Feature: Homework
By Craig Jackman
Have you ever thought about working from home? Have you ever read RAP
with a touch of envy, about those who have home studios? Maybe you are one
of those who've invested in toys to play with at home. Me? During the glory
days of tape there was no way, but ever since I switched to computer
editing, I've thought seriously about it, but never really had the
professional need. To follow corporate speak: I couldn't make the business
plan work.
Interview: Chris Pottage, Rogers Radio, Toronto
By Jerry Vigil
A glance at RAP Awards winners from the past several years will give you
an idea of the quality of imaging and commercial production that emanates
from north of the border. Canadian radio continues to put a great emphasis
on quality production, and Toronto is perhaps one of the most competitive
Canadian markets in this regard. In the midst of the Toronto production wars
is the Rogers Communications group of stations, a cluster of four including
their powerhouse AC station CHFI, and the recently launched Jack FM. Heading
up the rather large (by US standards) production department is Chris
Pottage, an extremely talented producer with an interesting background in
the biz. Check out Chris's demo on this months RAP CD, and then read on for
a remarkable peek at Canadian radio at its best.
Test Drive: Fostex FR-2 Field Memory Recorder
By Steve Cunningham
My old DAT recorder, the Sony gray-market-special from Japan that I
bought in 1988, finally died. Actually its not dead, but its been eating
tapes, and it will cost far more to fix than its worth. So when I heard that
Fostex was finally shipping their new FR-2 portable field recorder, I called
my buddy Rick and begged him to send one over. Its time to leave the DATs
behind, doncha think?
Production 212: Less is More...(more or less)
By Dave Foxx
Ever since I started writing these columns for RAP, Ive been getting, on
average, 4 pieces of production in my email INBOX every week. Some of them
are pretty good. Some are simply dreadful. The one flaw that seems to crop
up with any regularity is verbose copy. Good Lord in heaven, do these people
like to hear themselves speak!
Radio Hed: Personalize This
By Jeffrey Hedquist
They say that narrowcasting is the future of advertising. How narrow?
What if you could personalize a commercial for each member of your audience?
Well, we may not be there yet, but radio can do the next best thing. First
you can target your audience by format and day part, and then you can help
each listener make the commercial message their own.
Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks - Do You Outsource
Voice, Copy, Production?
Q It Up: One thing consolidation has done is increase
the amount of outsourcing radio stations do for their commercial and imaging
production. Do your stations outsource voice, production, and/or
copywriting? If so, who do you use and for what? Do you use just one service
or several? For example, if you outsource voice talent, do you use just one
voice talent service with multiple voices to choose from, or do you use a
variety of voices from different services? Independent production houses: Do
you outsource voice work and/or copywriting? Please add any further thoughts
you have on the outsourcing you do or outsourcing in general.
Feature: Thinking Inside the Box
By Ed Thompson
Over the last decade, radio has been pushing the envelope of taste and
decency. Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony, and Bob & Tom are just a few examples
of syndicated morning shows which have pushed the limits of the decency
bubble. Dozens of local morning shows followed suit. And it wasn't long
before the commercials, which aired in those shows, would begin to reflect
the content.
...And Make It Real Creative:
By Trent Rentsch
I may or may not have more computing power in my laptop than NASA had in
the 60s, but I do know that I have more audio producing power than most
full-blown recording studios did then. And there is no question that in the
last 20 to 25 years, audio production has gone from a rocky, sometimes
barren field to a garden of paradise, where our every processing dream is
just a mouse click away. But its easy to let the garden get over-grown. I've
made the problem even worse for myself by trying to tend other creative
flowerbeds with the same result: too many tools, no flowers. And if those
tools are hindering growth, they're nothing but weeds, really.
Personal Computing: Signs of an Impending Hard Disk
Crash
By Reid Goldsborough
If you've worked with computers for any length of time, you've
undoubtedly heard the warnings and the recommendations. Data stored on PCs
can disappear in a nanosecond. You need to back up any crucial data you cant
risk losing. Ideally, you should store at least one set of crucial back-up
data off-site in case of a fire, flood, or other natural disaster. The main
cause of data loss is hard drive failure, accounting for about 65 percent of
it, says Bill Margeson, president of CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc., a
data recovery firm with offices in New York City and San Diego.
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