[Imc-radio] Need segments on (a) SUBVERSIVE ART IN THE WORKPLACE and (b) LABOR DAY (fwd)

[Sascha Meinrath]

FYI:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:33:11 -0500
From: Chip Mitchell <chipm at mn.rr.com>
To: chipm at mn.rr.com
Subject: Need segments on (a) SUBVERSIVE ART IN THE WORKPLACE and (b) LABOR
    DAY

Hi folks:

This query seeks 5-minute segments for TWO editions of "Sprouts." Both
shows address labor issues and will receive unusually high exposure over
the Labor Day weekend, when stations are looking for holiday
substitutions. Read our production and submission notes (below) and feel
free to pitch any format: news reporting, personal essay, investigation,
vox, Q&A, original music, dramatic readings, joke telling, etc. The more
on-site actualities, the better. Tell a good story or coax one out of
someone else. Be creative!

(a) SUBVERSIVE ART IN THE WORKPLACE, produced by me, Chip Mitchell, at
KFAI in Minneapolis. Address the topic by focusing on bathroom graffiti,
union buttons, creative sabotage, clothing and fashion issues,
unflattering photos of the boss, picket slogans, radical music snuck
onto an official P.A. system, phone greetings, cubicle decorations,
artistic use of employer e-mail resources, reflections on art and
solidarity, etc. (1) Reply to me, chipm at mn.rr.com, with a brief proposal
for your segment by Friday, 8/15, noon central, but preferably sooner.
(2) After getting the green light, submit your script by Monday, 8/18,
noon central. (3) After receiving an edited version from me, upload the
MP3 by Tuesday, 8/19, noon central.

(b) LABOR DAY, produced by Bryan French at WVJW in Benton, West
Virginia. He'll consider segments on any topic, but will prefer those
dealing with Labor Day. For example, he'd like a vox pop that asks
members of the public, "What does Labor Day mean to you?" He'd also like
segments that address general questions such as: What is Labor Day?
Where did it start? How/why did it start? When did it become a federal
holiday? Why did it become one? Why do we still celebrate it? (1) Reply
to Bryan, bryan27 at yahoo.com, with a brief proposal for your segment by
Wednesday, 8/20, noon central, but preferably sooner. (2) After getting
the green light from him, submit your script by Friday, 8/22, noon
central. (3) After receiving an edited version from him that evening,
upload the MP3 by Sunday 8/24, 2 p.m. central.

"Sprouts," one of the only national outlets accepting long-form
segments, is a half-hour newsmagazine produced and broadcast by more
than a dozen community radio stations. There's no pay but we don't
require exclusive rights and we welcome previously broadcast material.
We uphold high editorial and production standards while providing
access, training and mentoring to contributors of all skill levels. The
show runs on Pacifica's KU Right satellite channel each Wednesday at 1
p.m. CENTRAL. And a broadcast-quality MP3 becomes available around the
same time at http://hccrc.org/ (ask me for downloading instructions).

If you'd appreciate any help producing your segment, we'll connect you
with Free Speech Radio News co-producer Randi Zimmerman, based at
Tampa's WMNF. She, Bryan and I are all happy to provide any coaching or
troubleshooting on your segment's conceptualization, research, audio
gathering, scripting, voicing, mixing, MP3 uploading and so on.

Thanks.

Chip

P.S.
Again, reply to me (chipm at mn.rr.com) about SUBVERSIVE ART IN THE
WORKPLACE and to Bryan (bryan27 at yahoo.com) about LABOR DAY.


****************************
Chip Mitchell
3024 14th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-721-3657
chipm at mn.rr.com
Co-Editor, Colombia Week
Member, Newspaper Guild (Local 2)
and National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981)


---------------------------
PRODUCING A SEGMENT (STORY)
---------------------------

See what you can learn from Free Speech Radio News guidelines:
http://www.fsrn.org/guidelines/Basic_Technical_Guidelines.html
http://www.fsrn.org/guidelines/Voice_techniques.html
http://www.fsrn.org/guidelines/mic_techniques.html

If you're using cassette tapes during the sound-gathering or production
processes, use high-bias or metal ones (avoid the cheap stuff). If it's
available, use Dolby B for recording and playback; if it's not available
for both recording and playback, use no Dolby. Make sure your recorder's
heads, pinch rollers, and capstans are clean. Make sure the azimuth and
speed are adjusted correctly.

Record everything in mono (not stereo, which doubles the file size).
Mono is how the show airs ultimately anyway.

This is radio, not print. Use the medium and collect AUDIO. Record
ambient sounds for use throughout the segment, especially the beginning.
Use telephone actualities only as a last resort. Get out of the studio!

If necessary, search the Web for sounds. Check out
http://www.zooish.com/Sounds.htm,
http://www.archive.org/movies/movies.php <http://www.avgeeks.com>  (use
the search function), http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com,
http://subaru.acn.waw.pl/sound.htm.
Let us know about any other Web audio troves you find.

Seek actualities to represent more than one side of a story. We don't
earn credibility or captivate listeners by providing just one viewpoint.
Airing contrasts and conflicts is most interesting and truthful.

While recording into a computer or minidisc unit, use headphones to
monitor the volume (the "level"). And check the meter frequently to make
sure the peaks don't ever exceed -4 dB. This will avoid "clipping" --
the scratchy sound when a peak overloads a digital system.

Script no verb tenses or time references ("today," "last week,"
"Sunday," etc.) that will render the segment out-of-date within two
weeks of the deadline. These are magazine-style features, not spot-news
items, and the show airs on different days (and in different weeks)
around the country.

Refer to all locations in a way that makes sense to a national audience.
For example, specify the states of all but the largest U.S. cities (e.g.
say "Wisconsin" before or immediately following the first reference to
"Madison"). And describe locations in relation to the nearest big city
("He represents a suburb called Corcoran, a half-hour west of
Minneapolis").

Local stories are terrific, but explain the national context and
significance. Just a couple lines, even a single phrase, may do.

If you're not recording on location or in a professional studio, make
sure the room's walls (and, if possible, its ceiling and floor) have
"baffling" to avoid resonance from your voice. The baffling can be
anything porous: egg cartons, foam rubber, carpeting, old blankets, etc.

Try to begin with 3-10 seconds of ambient sound. Try to use ambient
sounds through the entire piece. Use the audio to define the beginning
of a new section in your segment, then fade it partially so it remains
as a "bed" for your voiceover.

Try to edit (splice) between sentences only. When doing so, leave the
space of one breath between each sentence--usually between 1/4 and 1
second, depending on the reading pace. This rule applies whether the
splice connects sentences spoken by the same person or whether it
connects the reporter's voiceover to an actuality (or vice-versa).

Try to cross-fade most transitions between your voiceover, the
actualities and the ambient sounds, so listeners cannot perceive any
sharp changes, unless you intend them to. If you don't have confidence
in your mixing skills, feel free to separate your file into three
sections -- voiceover, actualities and ambience. Your script (see below)
will enable the weekly producer to do the mixing in proper sequence.

Maintain volume consistency.

Aim for 5 minutes unless you've agreed with the week's producer on
another length. Do not use time-compression software.


---------------------------
SUBMITTING A SEGMENT
---------------------------

Propose your segment to the week's producer by e-mailing a brief
description. If you don't know who's producing the week's show or
whether the show's segments must address a theme (budget cuts, antiwar
protests, FCC rulings, etc.), find out from collaboration coordinator
[collaboration coordinator's name and e-mail address] or Pacifica's
Ursula Ruedenberg, ursula at wbai.org.

After getting a green light from the week's producer, submit your script
for editing before voicing the story. Why? One reason is accessibility
and training for reporters of all skill levels: Working with an editor
is the best way to improve our ability to, for example, write clearly
for the ear. Everyone needs an editor to make the most of a story, and
such detailed feedback almost never comes after the segment has aired.
Another reason is respect for the reporter's time: We don't ask anyone
to submit a produced segment "on spec" (on speculation, not knowing for
sure whether it's running). We don't ever want to reject a produced
segment because there's a script problem (a libelous portion or FCC
violation, for example) and no time for the reporter to revoice and
remix it.

SCRIPT: Make sure your script includes: (1) Your segment's approximate
length (minutes and seconds). (2) Your e-mail address and phone
number(s). (3) A suggested introduction (a.k.a. "lede") for the host.
(4) The complete text of your voiceover. (5) A complete transcription of
every actuality. (6) An outcue that includes your name, your home
station (if you have one), and the place where most of the reporting
occurred. This place, usually a city, is not necessarily the location of
your studio.

After the week's producer has edited your script, then voice the
segment, mix the audio and prepare a single mono (not stereo) file (see
"producing a segment" above).

Insert at least 5 seconds of silence at the beginning and end of your
segment. MP3 conversions and Web uploading/downloading often snip off a
few seconds.

"Normalize" the volume levels to 40 percent. If your audio software
doesn't do that or you don't know how, just reduce the entire segment's
volume level by about 5 dB. That's because the Web uploading/downloading
processes seems to elevate the levels, resulting in "hot" (overloaded)
sound or even "clipping" (scratchy sounds) at the peaks.

Convert your file to an MP3, encoded at 96kbps or higher

Name the file with the production date (YYYYMMDD format), followed by
your station, followed by your segment's topic. Use only lowercase
characters. Use underscores (_) instead of spaces. Don't use quotes,
apostrophes or slashes. For example: 20030523_kgnu_kidsprotest.mp3.

Upload it through the High Country Community Radio Coalition site: (1)
Go to http://www.hccrc.org/secure/transfer. (2) Key in the username:
(we'll provide it after receiving your script). (3) Key in the password:
(we'll provide it after receiving your script). (4) "Browse" to your MP3
file, then click on "Upload!" Read that page for an idea how long the
upload will take.

Test the file by downloading or streaming it from
http://www.hccrc.org/pickup/ (same username and password): Listen
especially for "clipping" (scratchy sounds) at the volume peaks. If you
notice hot peaks or clipping, go back to your WAV version, lower the
volume a few decibals (or figure out the 40 percent "normalization"),
convert it to an MP3 again, and upload it again.

E-mail the producer, announcing that the MP3 is available for
downloading. In this message, include (1) the name of the file and (2)
the script again, including any changes since the producer edited it.
The producer needs the final script for writing the host's introduction,
identifying a portion for the show's opening "billboards," promoting
your segment, archiving it on our Web site, etc.