The 2011 Radio And Production Awards: The Envelopes Please!

Please join us in congratulating the winners, runners-up and finalists of the 2011 Radio And Production Awards! We have some newcomers to welcome to the Winner's Table. First time trophy winners include Aussie Moore, Michael J. Popil, J. Calnan, and Jim Van Dusen. And welcome back for return visits, siDesHoW Mike Anderson and Paul Sakalas, along with Ross McIntyre who takes the lead for all time trophy wins from Joel Moss with win number ten!

Production 212: 2 Turntables and a Microphone... Part 2

by Dave Foxx

Last month we began a series of columns that will no doubt be a serious challenge for some. I hope by condensing the entire topic of music in production to a simple list of 10 things you need to know, you will feel compelled to really do some research, to stretch the boundaries of your understanding. There is simply no way I can convey all the music information you will find invaluable in all your production in the space allotted here. So, all I can do is point you in the right direction.

Feature: Under Siege

by By Michael R. Lee, Ph.D.

Disturbing signs are popping up all around us. And it doesn't take much intuition to realize that we are now, more than ever, under siege. Many of our friends and colleagues have been "laid off," but we know that is a euphemism since the time frame is likely forever. The Reduction In Force was a mass "contraction" that took a disproportionate number of imaging and commercial producers as its victims. We are told that higher quality results will be forthcoming from hubs and metropolises and other producers who are presumably not too mind-numbed by overwork to rise to this auspicious challenge.

Technology: Your Promo in the Cloud

by Steve Cunningham

It's been awhile since we discussed backup strategies in this column, and hopefully most readers have adopted a strategy and stuck to it. I say "hopefully" because where mechanical hard drive reliability is concerned, things haven't changed much in the past 24 months. In fact, there is quantitative evidence that says the situation has worsened, particularly with large hard drives.

Radio Hed: Subtract to Seduce: "Bob Newhart" Your Commercials

by Jeffrey Hedquist

The most compelling creative efforts are those in which the viewer, the listener, the audience participates. It gives them the "aha" experience. It elevates and energizes them. From a marketing perspective, when you engage your potential customer in that way, they become more likely to embrace your message, because they have made it their own.

...And Make It Real Creative: The Noisiest Things in Life are Free

by Trent Rentsch

I'll be honest with you, free is my favorite spice. This applies whether someone is picking up the dinner tab or if I'm looking for new ways to tweak audio. A few years ago I wrote about the freeware audio plug-in options available, which, at the time, seemed like a huge and varied selection. What's available today is even more astounding. Whether you want high quality EQ, Compression, Limiting, Reverb, Delays, the options really are endless... and did I mention, free?

The Monday Morning Memo: Random Entry The Key to Getting Attention. A Guaranteed Cure for Writer's Block.

by Roy H. Williams
In an over-communicated society, predictability is the enemy of effective writing. A recent Yankelovich study tells us that Americans are confronted by more than 5,000 selling messages per day – radio and television and magazines and newspapers and billboards floating on an ocean of store signage, posters, point-of-purchase displays and product packaging - each one hoping to gain our eyes, ears and attention. No wonder we've become so adept at filtering ads from our consciousness. Those time-consuming piranhas are out to eat us alive. And they do it so painfully predictably. I'm troubled when writers tell me they want to learn to "think outside the box." I always want to ask, "Why do you climb into the box to begin with?"

Get the whole story! Subscribe to Radio And Production!

Audio

  • The R.A.P. CD - December 2002

    Commercial demo from interview subject  Neil Holmes at Voice Creative, Charlottesville, VA; plust more creative commercials and promos from Timothy Miles,...