Production 212: How To Get My Gig
by Dave Foxx
Several years ago now, the first time I ever gave a lecture about radio production at the Dan O'Day Production Summit in Los Angeles, I used the sub-title "How To Get My Gig." Nobody has taken up the challenge yet, but I'm fairly certain it will happen one day. Of course, just like real life, radio life demands you pay your dues by starting low and slow, and that is the topic of this month's installment of Production 212.
R.A.P. Interview: Heikki Wichmann, Production Manager, NRJ Radio, Helsinki, Finland
This month's RAP Interview makes a first ever stop in Finland for a chat with Heikki Wichmann, the Production Manager at NRJ radio in Helsinki, the capital of Finland and the largest city in Finland with a metro area population of 1.3 million. As in many European countries, commercial radio is a relatively new thing, with 1985 marking the beginnings of commercial radio in Finland. The radio landscape is still evolving, and NRJ radio is staking its claim to a chain of commercial stations across Europe, including stations in Austria, Belgium, Ukraine, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, Russia, New Caledonia, Réunion and France. We get a look at NRJ Finland and find out a bit more about our fellow RAPster behind the production controls, and be sure to check out some great audio from Heikki on this month's RAP CD. While most of it is in Finnish, Heikki did throw in several cuts done in English!
Test Drive: Steinberg Nuendo 5
by Steve Cunningham
Users of Nuendo 4 have waited nearly three years for the new release of Steinberg's flagship multitrack audio editing product; this column hasn't looked at Nuendo since version 3 back in 2005 and believe me, there are plenty of changes and additions in version 5. Nuendo is a serious editor that has been attuned to the needs of post production since version 2, while still keeping its music production chops sharp. Unlimited tracks, trim bins that now include Clip Packages to group multiple sound objects as one, a highly capable and flexible mixer, and 50-odd effects plug-ins make Nuendo one of the most powerful DAWs on the market today.
Notes Off the Napkin: "My Friend, Trent"
by Andrew Frame
There is a monthly column in every issue of RAP called "And Make It Real Creative..." written by my friend and colleague Trent Rentsch. This past summer, we were whining that neither of us have ever been interviewed by any Prominent Media Publications – which goes to show that no Prominent Publication is that desperate – and we should do something about it, a "twenty questions" kind of thing. Caution: Like participating at a nude beach, being able to do something, doesn't mean you should.
...And Make It Real Creative: Andrew Frame - A Pirate Creates
by Trent Rentsch
If you only know him from RAP, the first thing that probably comes to mind when you hear the name "Andrew Frame" is "Notes Off The Napkin." When I think of my friend Andrew Frame, I think of Pirates of the Caribbean, and not just because we once rode it together, backwards (a story for another time). Andrew is, in many ways, a Production Pirate. Smart. Fearless. Fiercely independent. For example, he sailed away from the daily radio station churn and burn to form BAFSoundWorks, the premiere Creative audio company in Southern Florida...
Radio Hed: 180 Degrees of Separation
by Jeffrey Hedquist
So many choices, so little time. How do you determine the kind of commercial to create for your client? Often they'll have suggestions (demands). Sometimes they're right. Often they're not. Here's a question that can set you both on the right path: What is your client's competition doing? In many markets, all the advertisers in each category are doing the same thing. Car dealers – all screaming. Furniture stores – all discounting. Health providers – all caring. Food stores – all price & item. Financial services – all here for you.
The Monday Morning Memo: How Do You Want to Feel Right Now?
by Roy H. Williams
We've invented a machine that lets you select your mood. This astounding device can be adjusted to make you feel however you'd like to feel. It's called a radio. The distinct advantage of humans is our ability to attach complex meanings to sound. The most important sounds are called words. NOTE: The written word has no meaning until it has been translated into the spoken word it represents. How many times have you been lying in bed reading a book when it occurs to you that your eyes have been scanning the same paragraph over and over, but you still have no idea what it says? Falling asleep, your eyes continue to take in the written words, but the visual symbols are no longer being translated into their corresponding sounds. Consequently, no comprehension.
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