[Imc-radio] Propose segments on WEATHER for "Sprouts"

[Sascha Meinrath]

FYI:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:51:16 -0500
From: Chip Mitchell <chipm at mn.rr.com>
To: chipm at mn.rr.com
Subject: Propose segments on WEATHER for "Sprouts"


The producer of next week's "Sprouts" is Ann Alquist of KFAI in
Minneapolis (612-341-3144 x16, aalquist at kfai.org). Reply with any
segment proposals to her, not to me. Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Alquist [mailto:aalquist at kfai.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 3:35 PM
To: AffPac at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AffPac] Next week's show

For next week's "Sprouts," we have openings for 5-minute segments on
WEATHER. Address the topic by focusing on climate change, stories about
summertime activities (like the tall bicyclists who emerge every spring
in the Twin Cities), how weather can affect the economy, immigrants
responding to weather in climates opposite their own, just about
anything, as long as it can fit under the umbrella of the weather and it
has enough humor, tragedy, irony or fury. The format is open: news
reporting, personal essay, investigation, vox, Q&A, original music, etc.
The more audio, the better. Tell a good story or coax one out of someone
else. Be creative!

Here's how to contribute: (1) Read our production and submission notes
below. (2) Reply to me with a brief proposal for your segment by Sunday,
7/13, noon CENTRAL, but preferably within the next couple days. (3)
After getting the green light, submit your script by Monday, 7/14, noon
CENTRAL. (4) After receiving an edited version from me, submit your
finished segment by Tuesday, 7/15, noon CENTRAL.

"Sprouts," one of the only national outlets accepting long-form
segments, is a half-hour newsmagazine produced and broadcast by a
growing list of community radio stations, including KCSB (Santa Barbara,
California), KFAI (Minneapolis), KGNU (Boulder, Colorado), KVNF (Paonia,
Colorado), WBAI (New York City), WHUS (Storrs, Connecticut), WJFF
(Jeffersonville, New York), WORT (Madison) and WVJW (Wheeling, West
Virginia). We prefer working with folks at stations airing the show or,
at least, with folks who're advocating for the show to air on their
station.

There's no pay. But 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 2 p.m. EASTERN. 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, please get in touch
with me through this Friday. My phone number is 612-341-3144 ext 16.
Please email me with any questions for coaching or troubleshooting on
your segment's conceptualization, research, audio gathering, scripting,
voicing, mixing, MP3 uploading and so on.


---------------------------
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; 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 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 Chip Mitchell,
chipm at mn.rr.com. If he's not available, contact 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 (libel, for example) and no
time for the reporter to revoice and remix it.

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) At least the first and last sentences 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" for the 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 "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 story, archiving it, etc.