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Radio And Production
August 2009
August 2009 Highlights
Interview:
Ty Ford, TyFord.com, Baltimore, Maryland
by Jerry Vigil
The original “Production Rat.” Depending upon how far back YOU
go, you may remember articles in Radio World by Ty Ford, and if
you’re a long-time subscriber to RAP, you may recall our first
interview with Ty sixteen years ago in 1993. Ty had been out of
radio for a few years, enjoying some success in the voice-over
business, and had just finished a book on audio production,
which was a focus of our interview. Has he managed to remain
self-employed all these years? Yes. Has he become another one of
those big six-figure voice-over guys? No. What does a
Production-Rat-turned-voice-guy do when the voice-over market
crashes? How does he survive? Even flourish? We have those
answers for you, and answers to questions you haven’t even
thought about yet. Radio production people have a special skill
set, and as Ty unmistakably demonstrates, it is a sturdy
springboard for those looking beyond the hallways of radio
stations.
Notes Off the Napkin:
Survey Says!
by Andrew Frame
Two hundred word :60 spots. One hundred word :30’s. Every
item sold in the store listed. Bars telling you what they’re
doing every night for the next week. Car dealers blasting you
with prices, discounts, down payments, and a phone number to
call. Cliché’s layered together to create these genetically
altered phrases that should have been left to wither atop the
blood agar in the Petri dish. When you write a sales message,
you have a finite amount of time to work with in most cases.
That means a finite word count. So shouldn’t the words “count”?
Filling copy with empty phrases, bad metaphors, an arithmetic
primer full of numbers, and situations no human beings have ever
actually been through, is a waste of that finite amount of words
and time.
Test Drive:
Heil PR40 Microphone ♦ PreSonus Studio Channel
by Steve Cunningham
This month brings us a two-fer, consisting of two products I
recently installed for a voice actor as part of a home studio
refurbishment. This individual already had a suitable notebook
PC running Adobe Audition 3 on XP, using an inexpensive USB
audio interface to capture the sound from a Chinese-built large
diaphragm condenser microphone. He told me he felt his room just
“wasn’t working” as well as he’d like, so I set about performing
general maintenance on his computer and the signal path. I had
just finished tuning his room, when he announced that he’d like
to replace his microphone with something that was a little
“warmer” sounding. Then he mentioned that Leo Laporte uses a mic
that he’d like to try, which turns out to be Heil PR40 dynamic
microphone. This beast has been around for almost four years,
and has become a standard amongst broadcasters and podcasters,
giving the Electrovoice RE-20 and -27 a good run for their
money. It so happens I’d requested an eval unit a little while
ago -- perfect timing. He also allowed as how he’d like a better
preamp than the one in his USB interface, preferably one with EQ
and compression built-in, but at a budget price. I’ve had my eye
on a relatively new entry from PreSonus, the Studio Channel,
that seemed to fit the bill. A couple of phone calls and we had
one available for an evaluation (and of course, a RAP column!).
Let’s have a look.
Production 212:
Clanging Bells and Slobbery Dogs
by Dave Foxx
I recently did a seminar by telephone in which participants
were allowed to ask any question of me they wanted. I was
particularly fascinated with the wide range and depth of
questions. We covered writing, voice work and production, got
pretty deep into demo preparation and even talked for a time
about rates for voice work. There was one question that I think
I covered pretty well during the seminar, but would like to
expand on it a bit here: Classical Conditioning. If you’re going
to be serious about this business at all, you need to not only
understand how it works, but also know how to make it work for
you. We all do it, mostly without knowing it. The end question
is, “Is what you are doing, helping, or hurting?”
Radio Hed:
Fill the Marketing Funnel
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Here’s how to help your clients build traffic, build trust
and build sales. And you thought you were just creating radio
ads? Get your clients to offer free lessons, coaching, free
samples, free seminars, deep discounts, free ancillary services
or products. For example, free cooking classes from a
restaurant, food store, or kitchen supply store; free music,
golf, tennis or martial arts lessons from a sports store; a free
book, e-book, teleseminar or guest lecture; free how-to seminars
(buy a used car, landscape your yard, build a deck, make wine,
plan garden, build a straw bale house). There are endless
possibilities.
Q It Up:
The RAP Network Speaks - What's In Your
Home Studio? Part 1
Q It Up: Lots of responses
to this month's Q It Up question! We're going to split it up
into two parts, with the rest in next month's issue. Q It Up:
What’s in your home studio? Mac or PC? What audio software are
you using? What about your microphone and preamp? Do you use an
external mixer for anything? If so, which one? Are you happy
with your setup? Do you have any changes or upgrades to your
studio planned for the immediate future?
If you have a question for the RAP Network, email it to
editor@rapmag.com!
...And Make
It Real Creative
by Trent Rentsch
Quick show of hands... how many want to win a major award?
Ah, that many? I certainly understand; it’s human nature to want
to be a winner. Well, thank heavens so many of you are with me,
because at the end of this column, you just might be THEE winner
of a major award... honest!! WAIT... NO skipping to the end
allowed, under pain of disqualification. All the good boys and
girls still with me? Great! Let’s begin... Early in my career, I
became obsessed with winning awards for my production.
Monday Morning Memo: A Comparison of 9 Major Media - The
Medium is Not the Message
by Roy H. Williams
Marshall McLuhan’s famous line, “The medium
is the message,” is at best a Japanese koan (ko-ahn.) You know,
“What is the sound of one hand clapping,” and all that? I’m sure
I’ll get a thousand ranting emails about this, but I’ve always
felt koans to be a silly attempt to sound profound. McLuhan’s
koan is at the top of my list. It was originally published in
his 1964 book, Understanding Media. Nearly half a century later,
his disciples are still trying to explain what he meant. Enough.
The medium is the medium. The message is the message.
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