The Importance of Editing
by Dave Cockram
I find it amazing that an editor of any kind can alter the flow of the story. The editor can control the information the audience gets. It’s incredibly important in this day and age to waste as little of peoples’ time as possible. If you are gonna waste peoples’ time, you better be entertaining them or giving them useful information in the process. There is great power in editing if used properly.
Here are some simple tips on where you should be editing.
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Production 512: To Be or Not to Be
by Dave Foxx
As a young jock in Washington, DC, I remember the day my then wife decided to take off with the kids and all the contents of our house while I was on the air. I didn’t get a “see ya” or even a “you suck.” When I got home, all I had to my name was a big empty house with a big fat mortgage and a car with another 2 years of payments due. I knew things weren’t good, but I thought we could get things right again. Over the next six months, I was frantic, trying to locate my family, but her folks wouldn’t even talk to me and her friends were just as much in the dark. Pretty awful, huh?
Q It Up: What procedures does your production department go through when new salespeople come on board?
The Q It Up Panel weighs in: What procedures does your production department go through when new salespeople come on board? Do you have an orientation meeting? Maybe have them spend a few hours in the studio with you? Do you hand them a “production manual”? Or do you just train as you go? Please add any further comments/advice you may have on the subject! And feel free to comment on procedures at previous jobs.
"...And Make It Real Creative!" - Love for an Orphan: The 2nd Annual Audio Adoption Contest
by Trent Rentsch
Last year we had a small, but wonderfully Creative group of entries, more than I imagined we’d have, and many more Producers wrote me post-deadline saying they wanted to give it a go. So to those who missed out last year, here’s your chance!
From Radio to Voiceover
by Craig Alan
I’ll never forget the day, working in radio as an air-talent, being called into a meeting with my program director, our station consultant, and his assistant, for a periodic air-check. I had always looked forward to talking with this consultant. He was well known, an icon in the industry, and I welcomed every suggestion and new insight. I remember, many air talents not looking forward to such a meeting, but he had always been very positive and encouraging, and I was eager to improve. Today was different.
Radio Hed: Threshold Resistance – A Key Factor in Commercial Response
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Putting an offer in a commercial will increase the immediacy of response, but you must be careful. An offer with a high threshold resistance may be counterproductive. The famous shopping mall developer Arnold Taubman talked about threshold resistance as, “the physical and psychological barrier that stands between a shopper and the inside of a store.”
When Radio Was King
by Mary L. Collins
For most people under the age of 30, radio DOESN’T matter, and never did. They grew up with technology that allowed them to choose their music and information via download, social media (like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), or via pre-determined, and just as narrow, satellite radio in their cars. They have no recollection of the personalities who ruled the airwaves, or the news men and women who covered town politics, live games, and who left the police scanner on 24/7. They never slip cue’d an album (if they even know what an album is, let alone, slip cueing) and created a mix that was killer. They never tuned in to RADIO when a disaster hit. Why does this story matter?
The R.A.P. Soundstage
Another collection of excellent work to present on the Soundstage this month! We kick things off with our next Editor’s Choice Award winner. This is a spot (or maybe a PSA) for the Buckinghamshire County Council in England dealing with domestic abuse. It’s over 2 ½ minutes long, but wow, what a job on the copy and VO performance. No surprise it’s from the creative crew at UKRD and produced/directed by Alex Shenton. Track 2 is the promo Dave Cockram makes reference to in his article, The Importance of Editing, on page 3. Track 3 is a promo Dave Foxx references in his Production 512 column this month. More promos are on tracks 4-8. Commercials are on tracks 9-18 – lots of creative fun in this batch. Track 19 is a well-done tribute to Glen Frey which Dan Macintosh sent our way shortly after Glen passed. (Several tracks were submitted early in the year when we were presenting the RAP Awards, and we’re still sprinkling those in with the more current submissions.) And we wrap it up on track 20 with a piece from Chadd Pierce on the Orlando shooting.
