Author: EJohnson

Evaluations:

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/ote/evals/

Also:

Last-chance editing help, screenings, next semester offerings, THANK YOU and have an awesome break!

Reminder

Scripts for podcast #2 are due this Wednesday, Nov. 29. This again means that we will be doing in-person edit sessions instead of a regular class. Please sign up here for a time slot.

Rough draft of podcast #2 due Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Final draft of podcast episode #2 due Wednesday, Dec. 13. (We won’t have class that day. The last day of class is Dec. 11, which will be a production day for anyone who is still editing. We’ll also listen to some of your podcasts and I’ll bring in snacks.)

In class today: Screening episode #1 of your podcasts 

Updates/Reminders

This week, Wednesday’s class is optional. I will be here for anyone who needs help with anything: last-minute script edits, editing assistance, etc., but if you’ve already finished your podcast or need to travel for the holiday, that’s okay; an absence will not count against you.

Final due date for podcast #1 is Monday, November 27.

Scripts for podcast #2 are due next Wednesday, Nov. 29. This again means that we will be doing in-person edit sessions instead of a regular class. Please sign up here for a time slot.

Rough draft of podcast #2 due Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Final draft of podcast episode #2 due Wednesday, Dec. 13. (We won’t have class that day. The last day of class is Dec. 11, which will be a production day for anyone who is still editing. We’ll also listen to some of your podcasts and I’ll bring in snacks.)

 

Script drafts are due on Monday, which means that we will again be having in-person edit sessions in lieu of regular class. You can sign up for a time slot here.

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As you’re working on your scripts, it might help to have this to refer to. Here’s a typical structure for an episodic podcast:

Intro theme song.

Welcome from host.

Any announcements (live tapings, upcoming shows, ads/fundraisers, etc.)

Introduce episode/segment.

Play episode/segment.

Final comments from host: Credits, website, please rate and review on iTunes, etc.

Outro theme song.

It’s not required for this class, but if you intend to distribute this online, you’ll want to consider designing a graphic for your podcast. Something simple that captures the identity of your show, at a minimum size of 1400×1400.

You also will want to check out this helpful guide for podcast distribution.

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For the rest of today, we’ll be looking at/listening to more of your radio pieces and checking in on your progress with your podcasts.

 

Announcements

Believe it or not, we’re now entering the home stretch of the semester. There are only six and a half weeks left. This means that the structure of the course is going to change a bit, becoming extremely hands-on and a lot less lecture-based. So there will be more classes that will be cancelled so we can do one-on-one script edits, and more classes that are devoted to in-class production, and one or two guest lectures.

Upcoming due dates:

Script for podcast #1 due Monday, November 6

Podcast episode #1 due Wednesday, November 15

Script for podcast episode #2 due Wednesday, November 29

Podcast episode #2 due Monday, December 11 (last class)

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Finish reviewing pitches

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Discussion: Principles of Longer-Form Storytelling

Exposition

Rising Action

Climax

Falling Action

Resolution

 

 

Narrative arc – in an episodic format, there are often mini arcs within each episode and longer arcs that unfold over a whole series

Things to keep in mind:

Character development

Motivation

How are these principles the same/different in journalistic storytelling?

Reminder

Pitches for your upcoming assignment (the first of two episodes of a scripted podcast) will be due on Monday, October 23.

The Assignment

The pitch is two-fold: You’ll need to pitch an idea for a scripted podcast that is broad enough/structurally conducive to including multiple episodes. You will also need to provide a specific pitch for what the first episode will consist of. You don’t have to pitch Episode Two yet, but you’re welcome to if it makes sense to do so. The first part should be 12-15 minutes long.

An example of a pitch would be something like this: “The podcast will be called ‘The Graveyard Shift.’ In it, I’ll take listeners on a journey through various jobs that take place at night.” Episode One could follow a vendor or a buyer at the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, which opens at 1am and closes at 7am. Episode Two could follow a drag queen through a performance night in Hell’s Kitchen… and so on. Or Episode One could be the first part of one longer story that will continue in Episode Two.

The podcast can be journalistic/verite or it can be fictional, if you’re able to find enough friends and volunteers to play the various parts.

So that’s the assignment. Now, let’s talk about audio storytelling.

For your consideration: The first few minutes of S-Town.

Discuss: How does this capture the listener’s interest? What’s with the whole clock thing?

And one of the all-time great episodes of This American Life.

As you listen to the first part of this episode, I want to you take notes about its structure and the storytelling techniques you notice. We’ll sort of deconstruct it together afterward. For instance, make a note every time we move to a new scene. What signals the transition? How long is each scene? How is narration artfully woven into the nat sounds and sound bites to tell the story? What parts really speak to you and why? How is music used to create a sense of tension or pathos? How does the introduction set the tone and theme for what follows?

We’ll discuss the first part together. For homework, please finish listening to it and before our pitch workshop on Monday we’ll briefly discuss what you thought of the the ending.

Reminder: Your final due date for the radio piece is Monday, October 16, by class time. Please post the final mixed version on the blog, with a headline/title, accompanied by at least one photo and a modified version of the script for the web.

Start thinking about a pitch for your two-episode scripted podcast series, which we will be workshopping on Monday, October 23. We’ll discuss those assignments in greater detail next Wednesday.

Today is in-class production on your stories. I’m here to take a look at new script drafts, help with sound mixing, coach you through recording narration, etc.

Recording Narration: A Tutorial

Studio

For a good quality audio recording, I highly recommend taking advantage of the new studio we have in room 174 off the Dollars and Sense suite. If for some reason it is unavailable to you, you can improvise a recording studio by covering the walls of your closet with blankets or towels, or simply pulling a blanket over your head. It sounds silly, but it works in a pinch.

The important thing is to be in an environment that absorbs sound. The absolute worst place you could go to record your narration would be something like an empty stairwell, full of echoes and hard surfaces.

Microphone

Use a Zoom!

Remember that generally, you’re going to want to hold the mic 1-2 feet from your mouth while you’re recording. Too close and your breath will create a popping sound; too far and we won’t be able to hear you.

Script

Here’s where we get into the art of it all. You may be reading from a script, but you don’t want to sound like you’re reading. Good audio is conversational. Pretend you’re telling a friend about this really interesting thing that just happened to you. Speak clearly but don’t over-enunciate, either.

Trends in narration: A lot of people on the radio these days seem to be doing a straight-up imitation of Ira Glass.

NPR Voice

It helps to print out your script or read it from your phone; this serves two purposes. First, you can hold it up in front of you so you don’t have to hunch over a screen, which will make your voice sound weaker. Second, sometimes having serious electronics too close to your mic can create feedback and ruin your recording.

Voice

Stand up straight and speak from your stomach, not your throat. Bear in mind that your voice will sound better if you’re hydrated, and phlegmy if you’ve just had dairy products. Professional radio reporters and hosts will sometimes do tongue twisters and literally stretch their jaws before recording. Again, it sounds silly and looks silly, but it makes a difference.

Headphones

Use them! Without them, you can’t monitor your levels. You don’t want to spend twenty minutes creating the perfect narration only to realize the mic was unplugged the whole time.

Reminders:

Scripts for the 4-5 minute radio feature are due this Wednesday, October 4. Your final edited radio story, along with accompanying photos and web version, will be due on Monday, October 16.

We will NOT have class as usual on Wednesday. Instead, I will be meeting with you all individually to go through your scripts and give them an edit. Sign up for time slots here. If none of those time slots work for you, let me know when you’re available and we can schedule an edit session over the phone.

In class next week, we’ll have an in-class production day when you can work on mixing your projects. I will be giving a refresher/tutorial on recording narration at the beginning, and will open the recording room opposite the Dollars and Sense Suite for those who are ready to track their stories.

Workshop:

Together we’ll look at your script-writing exercises to discuss what works and what doesn’t.

As a reminder, your scripts for the 4-5 minute radio feature are due on Wednesday, October 4. This means you will need to have already conducted your interviews by then.

IMPORTANT: When you go out and record your interviews, DON’T FORGET to record 90 seconds to two minutes of ambient sound/room tone in the location where you conducted your interview. It should become a deeply ingrained habit to wrap up the interview and say “Now if you don’t mind, I’m just going to stay here and record a couple minutes of nothing!”

In-class exercise: Script Writing

I’m going to give you the raw tape of an interview I recorded recently, and you can also use excerpts from other sources (public speeches found on YouTube etc.—this is considered fair use) to fill out the story. Give it a listen, decide on four or five sound bites of no more than about 20 seconds each (with maximum three of those coming from the interview), and write them into a short script that provides full context and background on the situation.

Download link here.

For future reference, if you intend to use any audio from these extra sources (if recent public statements by the mayor are relevant to your story, for instance), a good resource for ripping the audio is Audio Hijack. There is a free version.

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Remember that the template for writing a script looks like this:

HOST INTRO:

AMBI: (natural sounds and room tone go here)

TRACK: (your narration goes here)

ACT: [NAME]: (transcription of soundbites goes here)

TRACK: …and so on

Remember that you’re writing for the ear, which means simple sentences, conversational style, and lots of description. Be careful to write into and out of the sound bites in a way that clearly introduces the speaker and sets up what they’re going to say.

If you’re not finished writing the script by the end of class, that’s okay: just make sure you email it to me by Monday so we can look at them together in class.

Let me know if you need equipment!

Pitch Workshop

Before we get into your pitches, one common issue I want to address (and this is something almost all new journalists often struggle with) is that, by and large, they’re too broad. In many cases, they’re lacking an angle.

What is an angle?

It’s the lens through which you report the story. The main takeaway.
The point.

Every topic has multiple possible angles. Sometimes your angle will be obvious, as with many breaking news stories. Other times it won’t be as immediately clear. To be fair, with some stories, it’s impossible to know your precise angle until you’ve done some pretty substantial reporting, which may or may not come before the pitch stage. But at the very least, your pitch should include some acknowledgment of this and mention what your plan is. “I will find a family whose story is

The first step of coming up with a story idea is to say “I want to do a story about X.” But in many of your early pitches, this is essentially where the pitch stops. It’s broad; it’s vague; it could go many different ways. A helpful way to think about developing an angle is to say “I want to do a story about X and how or why… Y.”

Here are some examples of narrowing a broad topic down to a story with a compelling angle:

“I want to do a story about private budget bus lines.”

“I want to do a story about the proposed new healthcare bill.”

“I want to do a story about the German election results.”

“I want to do a story about the impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.”

“I want to do a story about Tibetans in exile.”

So while we go through everyone’s pitches today, I want you to be asking yourselves and your classmates what the angle is and what possibilities there are if you’re not seeing one.

Also, because the assignment includes photos for the web, pitches for a story like this should always include a mention of what type of visuals you’re likely to submit along with your script.