March 2008 RAP
March 2008 Highlights
2007 RAP Awards: Finalists Chosen! RAP Members Vote This
Month!
Check this month's RAP CD track sheet for the Finalists of the 2007 Radio
And Production Awards!
Production 212: It Ain't Quadratic Equations
by Dave Foxx
Remember when you were in school, studying some odious subject that is
really difficult? Inevitably, you end up thinking, “I’m never gonna use this
in real life!” I had several of those episodes. And while I was sometimes
correct (I’ve yet to use a quadratic equation in real life), I was a lot
more often wrong. I strongly suspect that many radio producers had that
little moment when they were in band or chorus, because so many just don’t
understand how music works, from a technical standpoint.
Dave makes reference in his article to 6 audio files. Here they are: Track
1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, Track 5, Track 6.
Interview: Kurt Schenk, The Write Creative, Rochester,
NY
by Jerry Vigil
Eleven years ago, we touched base with Kurt Schenk, who was getting a
handle on a growing cluster of stations in Rochester, NY. Not long after,
Kurt exited the stations, took his highly honed skills for cranking out the
production, and turned them into a production house aimed at medium to
smaller market stations. The Write Creative is doing well in its seventh
year, serving clients around the country. The Write Creative produces nearly
one thousand spots a month, with turnaround times that would make the
average Production Director shiver at the thought. This month, owner Kurt
Schenk gives us the tour of this amazing little monster of a production
house for the little guys. Due to the 2007 RAP Awards taking up the March
RAP CD, we will share some of The Write Creative's work on next month's CD!
Feature: The New World of Opportunity
by Michael R. Lee, Ph.D.
As 2008 unfolds, there is considerable consternation at all levels of
radio. Declining audiences and revenues, ongoing encroachment by internet
radio, iPods and satellite radio, personnel attrition and incredible
shrinking budgets are but a few. The simple fact is that these issues are
supra the role and scope of radio’s imaging and commercial producers. Your
ability to persuade the decision-makers that creativity is important has
been limited. Readers of RAP have fought the good fight for many years,
eloquently and passionately.
Test Drive: iZotope RX Noise Reduction Software
by Steve Cunningham
If you do any type of remote recording, at some point you will need a
noise reduction program. Hum, buzz, air conditioner noise, general room
noise — any of these will give you fits if you need to clean them using EQ
or expanders or any of the other tools with which we make do. Many of
today’s editors come with their own noise reduction functions or plug-ins.
Some are quite good, while others... well, not so much. Then there are the
third-party noise reduction plug-ins, some of which we’ve reviewed here
(Waves’ Restoration Bundle and Bias’ SoundSoap Pro). The Waves bundle is
particularly good, but it comes at a high price ($1200 for the native
version). iZotope have recently released their own noise-reduction program.
It’s a standalone program called RX, and it lists for $349 USD,
substantially below the third party plugs. What’s more, RX offers five
distinct modules: a de-clipper, a de-clicker, a de-noiser, hum removal, and
spectral repair, all in one interface. I’ve mentioned iZotope recently in
connection with their Radius time-stretching software, which is now used in
Adobe Audition 3, Pro Tools 7.4, and other editors. The programmers at
iZotope seem to know what they’re doing with DSP, so let’s see how they do
with some sonic nasty bits.
Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks! - What Have You Learned
Lately?
Q It Up: To be good in this business, you have to
constantly be learning. What was the last thing you learned about doing your
job? Did you finally learn how to really tweak that new plug you bought six
months ago? Did you have a situation with a client that taught you a good
lesson? Have you learned some new imaging techniques, or copywriting skills?
Perhaps it’s something about working with the people around you, in sales,
promotions or management. Or maybe it was a simple yet powerful lesson about
perspective and how changing yours to some degree has improved your overall
performance. What have you learned lately?
Feature: "I'm sorry. You were saying..."
by Ed Thompson
The suits at my radio group are scared. The suits at radio groups in
every market in America are scared. They should be. Radio is in danger of
becoming irrelevant and it’s our own fault.
Radio Hed: Sensual Radio
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Every advertiser would love to reach out and magically give each prospect
the experience of visiting, shopping, buying and enjoying the benefits of
what they offer. Of course this is impossible. Or is it?.
...And Make It Real Creative - Things Change
by Trent Rentsch
When I made my choice to be in radio, I knew what I was in for; I had
heard the theme song, “Town to town, up and down the dial.” But while I knew
there would be multiple jobs in my future, I’ve certainly done my best to
make each new location home for as long as I could. Because of that, I can
still count the number of jobs I’ve had without taking off my shoes. Which
leads me to the end of January. I was laid off. Not fired; my employers made
that clear (and my friends have continued to remind me since then). Budget
cuts, position eliminated, old story, been there, done that before. That
doesn’t mean it’s easy.
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