Only 3 responses to this month’s Q It Up question, and two of them not really direct responses. Nevertheless, they were worth the ink. Thanks, guys!
Q It Up: If you’ve been following along the past couple of months, you’re aware of the “Produce Dave Foxx!” fun we’ve been having. On the September RAP CD you found 31 versions of the same promo, all voiced by Dave Foxx, but produced by 31 different producers from around the globe. No specific instructions were given other than to “produce it as you hear it.” Whether you participated or not, after listening to the results, what did you learn about producing a promo from this experiment? Did you discover a technique that you might use on a future promo of your own? Did you learn something new about compression and EQ? Or maybe some new ways to use other voices? Which version appealed most to you, and why did you like it? Please add any other thoughts you might have!
Dave Golterman [voiceoverpro[at] gmail.com], Simmons Broadcasting, Langdon, North Dakota: This morning my boss and I drove 45 miles to pick up the Maverick 105 Jeep which was parked at the home of one of the account execs. He’d used it last night for a station promotion and I need it today as I’m on my way to Devils Lake, ND (an hour south) to be the track announcer at the Devils Lake Speedway. On the drive back, I was listening to a copy of Programmer’s Digest from I think 1973 or ’74 that I had found on the net last night. The production section of the magazine featured Jack McCoy of KGB and the comment was made to watch for the “economy of words” in his production. That’s always been something I’ve worked to achieve in my radio career whether it was on-air or in my production.
This ties in to the Produce Dave Foxx feature as well. What stood out for me was the writing that occurred before the voice tracks were produced. The music and effects that came later were just the frosting, but the heart of the promo was in the script.
Thanks for a great magazine. I find myself eagerly awaiting the mailman at the end of each month.
Reggie ‘C’ Crawford [reggie.c[at]cit comm.com], Citadel Broadcasting, North Charleston, South Carolina: Great idea Anthony McNutt!! Unfortunately I didn’t take the time to join in on the fun this time :-(
This disc was FULL of great production (as it usually is), but I have to say my favorites are #13 from Grant Brodie, #16 from John Pallarino, and #23 from Barry Funkhouser. I really appreciated the creativity and humor that went into these in particular. You guys are nuts!
Great job to everyone who participated!!! This was the first CD in quite a while that made me actually listen to every track! Thanks to all 31 of my Prod Fam who inspired me today!!!
Vaughan Jones [scproduction[at] primeradio.com.au]: Hmmmmm, a sour point in here actually!
I excitedly built the Dave Foxx Promo to contribute, carefully crafting it with extra attention to detail... I spent so much time considering the craft that I overlooked a small operational detail that would bring me undone. Just like a plane crash!
A new colleague had started with us only a few days earlier, and by pure chance he opened that template out of the dozens of empty session templates available to commence work in. Not recognising the VO, the promotion or the station name, he then deleted the promo thinking it was unimportant.
As it turned out, after completing his new work he also left the session edit window open overnight and all the auto backups rolled over. I was left with 30 backups of nothing. It came during the busiest week I can remember and I only discovered it missing late in the week when I went to bounce it to mp3. By then it was too late to rebuild, although I did try!
So the lesson I learnt was nothing as subtle as EQ’s or compression. I learnt that regardless of how many blank templates you have on hand, don’t leave anything to chance, label clearly and back up immediately!
Just a shame that it took Dave Foxx’s brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable contest, to teach me this crude, rudimentary lesson... life is like that though!
♦