The R.A.P. Soundstage: 25th R.A.P. Awards Finalists
Drum roll, please! Ladies and gents, here are your finalists of the 25th Radio And Production Awards! R.A.P. Gold Members will be receiving ballots and casting the votes for their favorites in each category, and the winners will be announced in next month’s issue of Radio And Production. Congrats to all who got to the finals! As always, the competition in each category was tight, and there are many great pieces of work not listed here. That’s why we invite you to stay tuned for the Best of the Rest presentations on the May and June Soundstages!
Q It Up: Adobe Audition Tips & Tricks
We ask the R.A.P. Q It Up Panel: What Adobe Audition tips or tricks have you learned lately? Maybe a new way to set up the mixer? Editing techniques to speed things up? A cool way to use a plug? Thirteen panelists weigh in with clever techniques and tips you may not be aware of.
Interview: Phylis West Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Sound and New Media, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
by Jerry Vigil
Phylis Johnson is like many of us who are or have been radio Production Directors and DJs, having worked in the small markets, working her way up to the majors. But the similarities pretty much end there when you add things like “Ph.D.”, “Professor of Sound and New Media”, “Editor, Journal of Radio & Audio Media”, and “Editor, Soundscape: Journal of Acoustic Ecology” after her name. And not only is she a professor teaching radio production at Southern Illinois University, she’s also teaching in the virtual world, in the online game called Second Life, where she also works for a radio station and has her own show, in-world. That sounded like enough for an interesting interview, and that’s exactly what we got. Strap yourself in. We’re going for a ride…
Production 212: Easy Bake Oven Production
by Dave Foxx
It is the season of the awards shows. The Grammys, The Oscars, CMA Awards, SAG Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, The People’s Choice Awards and The Tony Awards… just to mention a few, seem to pop up on one of the networks just about every weekend. I’m pretty sure that Jerry Vigil is planning some kind of awards show for the RAP Awards soon. I can almost hear Ellen Degeneris announcing, “The Best Major Market Promo goes to….” But, I digress. While some of these and other award soirees are of passing interest to our audience, the really big ones in the radio world revolve around music. Last month, the Grammy Awards, hosted by LL Cool J were all over the entertainment TV shows and the main event was carried by CBS. The two weeks or so before the show and the week after called for some production of sweepers for many of you. Now that the 57th Annual Grammy Awards is in the history books, I thought it might be instructive to talk about “cookie cutter” production, especially to some of our younger, less experienced production brothers and sisters. This is one of the few places I think it is ever warranted.
The Producer's VU: “Shire Of Dardanup RoadWise” from Tim Hammond, Southern Cross Austereo, Bunbury, WA, Australia
by John Pallarino
‘LESS IS MORE’… We have all heard this saying many times in this business and many of us use that practice in our work every day. It’s good to know that a saying used in a poem from 1855 is still being utilized and practiced today. ...[an] example from Tim is a commercial he did for Shire of Dardanup, a spot he said was one of his favourite to produce and this month’s featured spot on the Producers VU. Rather than the usual lay down a VO and throw in SFX and music from different sources, this was recorded all in the studio live. Tim says that not only does it make the performance a LOT better having them in the same room, it sounds a lot more natural.
Radio Hed: PSAs: Burdens or Opportunities?
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Some Public Service Announcements will come to you as produced audio, some as scripts, some as ideas and requests. Some will be good – and will enhance the sound of your station. Some will be useable, but not particularly effective. Some will be dreadful – created by well-meaning, but misguided people with no experience in audio communication. PSAs, like the music, talk, features, promos, and commercials on your station, are part of the programming. They will either increase or decrease listeners’ time spent listening. Although they don’t directly result in revenue for the station, it’s in your best interest to make them as successful as possible.
"...And Make It Real Creative!": The Season of the Switch
by Trent Rentsch
The seasons are different for Radio Creatives. Take, for example, the days leading up to Christmas. There is, of course, the usual crush of last minute holiday ads and promos to deal with, but at the same time, there is another holiday knocking at the door just a week later that requires a similar, but radically different approach (not to mention different categories of advertisers). Of course, there’s not just the “Happy New Year” to consider, but also those advertisers who make their push every January and their needs… gyms certainly fall into that category. We don’t just have our eye on the next season, we’re more often than not living in the future; writing and producing pieces that will play when we’re working on the next big event in the cycle.
...and more!
Get the whole story! Subscribe today!
