October 2007 RAP
October 2007 Highlights
Production 212: Lifestyles of the Almost Rich and Nearly
Famous
by Dave Foxx
I was just musing to myself how much things change over time. As I write
this, I am sitting quite comfortably in a Boeing 737, cruising at
35-thousand feet, preparing to eat breakfast as I type away on my MacBook
Pro. In a few minutes, I’ll hook up my m-Box and start mixing a promo I
started yesterday but just was too tired to finish. That way, when I get to
Punta Cana, I can jump on the wi-fi and send the finished promo back up to
New York while I sip a big tall glass of something cold, wearing only swim
trunks and a smile.
Interview: Frank Scales, EMF Broadcasting, Rocklin,
California
by Jerry Vigil
EMF Broadcasting is a network of two Christian formatted stations,
broadcasting on some 500 frequencies across the country. Although these are
non-profit stations, the production task is not a small matter. A staff of
seven full-time producers in a building with nine full blown production
studios knock out an enormous amount of audio every day. Heading the
department up is Frank Scales, a veteran producer who learned a lot about
large production tasks during his prior tenure with Bill Young Productions
in Houston, Texas. This month’s RAP Interview checks in with Frank to get a
peek at this monster network and how he manages the huge production load.
Check this month’s RAP CD for a sampler of excellent work from Frank and his
crew.
Test Drive: Music Production Toolkit for Pro Tools LE
by Steve Cunningham
I’ve set up a number of Pro Tools rigs for voice actors here in L.A. over
the past few months. Pro Tools is the undisputed DAW of choice in L.A., and
perhaps on the entire West Coast, especially since Digidesign lowered the
price of entry to under $300 on the street. Actors here have been buying
these little Mbox Mini interfaces to do auditions and (occasionally) entire
jobs from home. The beauty of these rigs is that they work on almost any PC
or Mac, and include all the basic tools you could need to provide your agent
with a clean, pro-sounding audition.
However, some actors really get into the process and into production, and
want to expand their Pro Tools rig with some additional capabilities.
Digidesign offers an expansion package for Pro Tools LE that adds good value
to your rig. The Music Production Toolkit provides several strong plug-ins,
breaks the 32-active-track barrier by providing up to 48 mono or stereo
tracks, and is a good value for those diving into radio production at home.
Feature: Love Me, Hate Me, Love Me Again
by Ed Thompson
I love cigars. Not a particularly profound statement though a statement
of profound truth. Paradoxes. You gotta love ‘em. How can an exclamation
such as, “I love cigars,” not be a profound statement yet contain a profound
truth? Simple. Examine the emotion behind exclamation.
I love cigars. I love to buy them. I love to light them. I love to smell
them. I love to talk about them, I love to read about them, I love to write
about them, but most of all, I love to smoke them. Write and produce a radio
commercial that talks about a cigar store that has twenty years of service
with a friendly, knowledgeable staff, and I will IGNORE you.
Notes Off The Napkin: Opportunities, Eggs & Rocks
by Andrew Frame
In our search for a new spiritual home, we visited a small Congregational
church for the second time this past Sunday, a modest and lovely structure
built in 1927. The pastor was a visiting cleric, well spoken, and his
military background was clear from his sermon. He mentioned that he had
“retired” three times -- from the Navy as a Chaplain, from the Church as an
active daily minister, and from the Sheriff’s Office as a Chaplain. But time
and circumstance present him with new opportunities. And as long as he can
handle them, he will. Opportunities require something on our part though. We
have to be alert for them. We have to be willing to seize and follow them.
...And Make It Real Creative: Making Noise - Chapter 8
by Trent Rentsch
To say that a synthesizer creates a sound “from scratch” is about as true
as a magician explaining his mysteries with the chestnut, “The hand is
quicker than the eye.” In both cases, there are several elements in play
that actually accomplish the finished effect. For the magician, misdirection
is really the key element. For the synthesizer programmer, it is the
oscillator.
Radio Hed: Pull Back the Curtain
by Jeffrey Hedquist
If a radio commercial is theatre, why do our listeners only hear from our
clients what happens “on stage” – in front of the curtain? It’s time to
invite the audience “backstage” to experience what creates the reasons
behind the sales, events, discounts, promotions, free consultations,
giveaways, bonuses and services. Give the audience the privilege of
eavesdropping behind the scenes. There’s a reason why “the making of…”
episodes are so popular.
Personal Computing: Flash Drives: The Latest and
Greatest Gadgets
by Reid Goldsborough
The one constant about personal computers is change, and the one PC
technology that has changed the most is storage devices. The first IBM PC in
1981 came with one or two 160-kilobyte floppy drives. Following the lead of
Apple’s first iMac in 1998, most of today’s PCs dispense with floppies
altogether. Various technologies have vied to replace the venerable, but
slow and low-capacity, floppy drive, from Zip drives to rewritable CD and
DVD drives. The most versatile is the USB flash drive, first used by IBM in
1998 on its ThinkPad laptop computers in sizes from 8 to 64 megabytes.
Monday Morning Memo: A Master's Method for Subtly
Surprising Broca
by Roy H. Williams
Toward the end of last week’s Monday Morning Memo I promised, “Next week
I’ll teach you how to increase the magnetism of a message by referring to
unseen action.” Mischievously, I preceded that statement with a subtle
example of the very thing. Do you remember the quote that preceded my
promise? “Thoughts are the threads that bind us to deeds. Deeds are the
ropes that bind us to habits. Habits are the chains that bind us to
destiny.’ – inscription carved on the West Wall at the palace in Maygassa”
Where is Maygassa? Who carved the quote? How large is it written? How long
has it been there? These are the questions that immediately spring to mind,
right? By referring to an unseen act – an event in an untold story – a
writer stimulates curiosity, elevates interest and heightens awareness.
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