Notes on Analog Radio Recording, Scripting and Journalism.

The Recording Environment

Consider the recording environment. If its an interview take precautions to minimize background noise unless the background helps set up the mood for the piece. Even so its usually better to record the atmosphere sound separately and incoorporate it later in the studio. Its not always  possible or even desirable to record in a perfectly "dry" recording environment (like a studio). 


Look for a corner of a room  away from the crowd or a couch that will absorb sound. Go outdoors or to the basement. Sometime the intimacy of recording in a stationary car with your mic nice and tight works well.


Be particularly careful of air-conditioners. Try to have them turned off. Position your mike away from the unwanted sound source and make sure when you have completed the interview to record at least 60 seconds of the unwanted sound to use later in the edit/mix phase. Its called atmosphere and you should always record some when on location.


Set-up

Try not to engage your subject in direct conversation that you expect to be part of the interview itself. Its usually best if the interviewee’s responses come out fresh first time around. You can give them a general outline of what you are seeking but don't be too personal. Put on a professional air; formality will help the style and shape of the interview and you need to bring professional distance to your work regardless of how you feel about the subject.


Fluorescent Lights

Try to avoid recording in a room where there are fluorescent lights on. They can produce a radio frequency (RF) hum on your tape. Either switch off the fluorescent lights or check that there is no hum on playback. Other electronic devices may transfer hum to your recording too and sometime you'll even pick up extraneous CB radio.


Extension cables can also pick-up these unwanted signals and even your portable powerpak  may collect these signals. For this reason I always use batteries when on location.


This is a Test!

Always test your equipment before your begin.  You can do this as you check your record levels. Ask your subject to talk about the weather or to describe the room as you adjust your level. Then playback to ensure everything's OK.


I.D.  tape

Before you begin ensure you have identified your tape by date etc., ask your subject to identify themselves on tape - name and spelling if necessary, title etc., and place any other ident info such as the name of the assignment and the number of the tape - then you can begin.


Warm-up

Its good to begin with a couple of throw-away questions to allow your subject to warm up. This is a good time for you to get some idea of how the person speaks, pauses, actual levels, shuffling that may persuade you to rearrange the set -up. Never let the subject, take the mic from you and keep the cable away from them. Something the interviewee may unconsciously take the cable and handle it imparting noise.


Editing Pauses

Be sure to leave pauses between answers and questions - it helps a lot  when editing and sometime the subject will jump into that pause to continue with another interesting thought. This is a way to set-up a rhythm for your interview.


Uh-Huh!

Always avoid the temptation to acknowledge with "uh-huh" or to make any other oral response. Use body language and your eyes to show that you are completely engaged with the person. 


Re-starts

If an interviewee make a mistake, ask them to begin the idea again - perhaps you may want to re-phrase the question at this time and then cut the  two answers together during editing. 


Microphone Placement

Most mics should be six to eight inches from the subject's mouth. If its too far away, the speaker's presence will be lost and the background ambiance increased. If too close you run the risk of distortion and "popping" on explosive consonants. It removes too much of the background acoustic quality but  can sound too dry - you may as well be recording in a studio. 


Usually its best to hold the mic so you can follow the movements and shifts of the interviewee. This means you need to make sure you are comfortable and that your arm won't tire. A good position is to sit leaning forward with your elbow supported on your knee, holding the mic. Under no circumstances let the subject hold the mic. 


A lavaliere/lapel mic will avoid this problem but occasionally the subject may bump the mic or cable. 


You may wish to use more than one mic and with a stereo machine you can direct two signals to your machine - to the left and right channels. If you need more mics then you will need a portable mixer. 


A shotgun mic can also be useful. It will provide a close and personal result but is best used when you are interivewing only one person.  If there is more than one person in the interview situation, when you move the mic from one person to the other you may clip the beginnings of answers becaue of the extreme directional qualities of shotgun mics.


Questions

The basics are WHO, WHAT, WHEN WHERE, WHY and HOW?


You should always research your subject before hand and like a good lawyer, you will probably already know the answers to some of your questions. You should know some of the questions you will ask but don't be a slave to them. Be ready to go with the interview if it is taking you to interesting and unexpected places. And of course, make sure you ask the questions y ou prepared in the first place.


Use index cards for your questions. When you are researching create subject headings for on index cards to help build your questions and scripting points. You can shuffle the cards when you are working on the order for your questions. But in the actual interview be careful not to literally read off your cards but use them as a point of departure. Direct reading will sound staged.


Use the library. Read books. Search the Internet.


Maintain self-discipline during the interview and don't inject you own opinions.


Keep in mind that you will have to edit the interview so make sure you have adequate in and out points. 


Don't be afraid to ask provocative questions by using the "devil's advocate" approach or "...with respect, some people have accused you of inaccurately representing your position - how would you respond to that?" Be ready with a follow-up question to dig more deeply for the answer.


Always be prepared to ask a follow-up question if you are not satisfied with the first answer. You will be surprised how easy this is once you've done it a few times. 


You should be aware of the opposing point of view and represent it in your questions.


Do not rehearse questions - this is ultimately a dishonest and unprofessional way to conduct an interview - it turns it into a puff piece.


If the answer is unclear to you it will be unclear to your audience 


Technical and esoteric language

be careful when the subject slips into over complicated language - you too. Keep it simple and direct most of the time. Try to have the interviewee tell stories with specific examples. Excite their memory - seek concrete information and not hearsay - eyewitness accounts are best: "...but what did you actually see?"


And keep your questions as short as necessary. Be as specific as possible in your questions and try not to ask double-barrel questions.


Length

Watch for signs that your subject is tiring or becoming impatient. In general 45 minutes to an hour is sufficient. Longer interviews may need to be done in more that one sitting. This may actually help particularly if you decide to choose another location for the continuation of the interview. When you use a 60 minute cassette  you will have to stop after 30 minutes and this is often good as it forces you to be more concise and gives you a nice natural break point. 


Complete statements

When interviewing for a documentary, it is possible  that your questions will be cut from the final production. At the beginning of the interview make sure that the interviewee understand you are seeking answers as statements that stand by themselves (without the need for the question of set-up script). This is a skill you learn over time. Always include your questions even if they are off-mic.


Ambiance

At the end of the interview record at least a minute of room tone/ambiance while you both sit quietly in the same interview space. This sound may be used in the edit/mix-down.


Running out of tape

Devise a way to keep an eye on your tape so you don't run out inadvertently. You may want to put the machine on the ground to one side or between your legs.


Labeling

Label clearly - interviewee's name (yours too), tape number, date (which may become the key number as 090196, Sept. 1, 1996),  location and subject.


Notes

Use a note book or index cards to write a description of the interviewee and location etc.  - information that will be helpful when you are preparing a script. This should be in the form of a word picture.


_________


Part IV: 

Script Writing and Presentation Technique 


Compared with television, radio is a non-compulsive medium. When someone talks to us we normally expect not only to hear them but to see them as well. When we get only a voice from a box we are in a highly artificial situation. In radio the link between speaker and audience is frail. When there is no vision people tend to become bored more quickly.

 

The most effective communicator  is one who is personable. A script should be read in a naturalistic and personal manner so it sounds as if you are not reading at all. It is in fact quite theatrical. And like in theater a large part of your objective is the suspension of disbelief by your audience so they will come to you in a more open and impressionable manner. In many ways it is the subliminal, the subconscious impression that is important. The listener should believe that you are actually speaking to him or her and him or her alone. Radio is an intensely personal medium. Whilst in fact you may be speaking to thousands of people at any one time, the impression should be that you are speaking just to one. It should be an intimate experiences  - at times as intimate as whispering to your lover.


For most of us there is an enormous distance between the spoken and the written word. We are taught to present our ideas on paper in a grammatically correct manner far removed from everyday speech. But radio demands that we toss conventional grammar out the window. In radio your speech needs to be conversational to be convincing and alluring. You may be reading from a script but your audience does not have to know that. You are in fact carrying on a one-way conversation - filling in the blanks, even including the natural hesitations one employs in everyday speech. What might normally be considered a mistake, something miss-spoken can become a device to draw your listener closer, encourage their empathy and trust that you are a real person interested in them with something interesting to say - to share with them.


Scripts.

Why do we need scripts if we are trying to sound as if we are not reading from a script at all? Because radio is theater. The script is the essential skeleton that can give you the tidy phrase, the elegant swoop of an idea that most people will find impossible to present without one. Without a script we tend to become repetitive and prosaic. A script will provide shape and direction to your presentation.


Once again, in radio your audience is an audience of one infinitely repeated. A useful way to draft a script is to imagine an audience of one, to imagine you're explaining your idea to one person and to write accordingly. Some broadcasters find it helpful to "talk" the script - mutter it aloud so you can actually hear its sound and rhythm.


Here's a BBC example - the opening of talk called "Life Begins at Seventy" by Vernon Bartlett: (try reading it aloud so you can hear and feel how it sounds.


"I can't claim any special merit for the fact that I've survived the hazards of this world for just over seventy years. Quite a lot of people have done that in the past. Quite a lot will do it in the future. Why then am I presuming to talk to you about it today?  Mainly because I happened to broadcast a talk ten years ago in which I claimed that life began at sixty. I was then on the point of pulling up my roots and going to live in Malaya, and not very many people decide to emigrate at so advanced an age. And, in a way I certainly hadn't anticipated when I prepared the broadcast, my claim that life began at sixty turned out to be true.


I came to the studio direct from the hospital and as soon as the talk was over I went back to the hospital, where they had to chop me about so vigorously that I wasn't really expected to survive. I did survive, after all - here I am talking to you today."


You may object that Vernon Bartlett's subject matter was personal and that you can't deal with every subject matter that way - and that's true. Well there are several answers. The short one is you can't speak personally when on the air you had better not speak at all because nobody going to listen to you. Of course every medium has its limitations. There are some subjects that defy radio's treatment, subjects for which the spoken word is insufficient, like advanced chemistry. Diagrams and equations are not good on the radio. If you think a subject is resistant to radio then don't bring it to the radio.


However, in most cases the problem lies more with the lack of imagination and skill of the speaker than it does with the subject matter. Usually if somebody knows their subject and can write (that is write for r radio), they can bring it to radio and paint pictures on the minds of listeners.


Now being personal and conversational on the radio does not mean being twee or cloying or sub literate and simplistic. But there is a big difference between being talked down to or talked at by a speaker and speaking with an audience - inviting them into the process.


Listen to a BBC talks presenter called Peter Murray describe the  huge dome of a Florence Cathedral and  how it was constructed.


"If you have ever watched an arched opening being built you will know that the arch, like the wheel, is one of the greatest of human inventions. You build an arch by making a wooden framework, exactly the size and shape you want, putting this frame in the wall at the point from which the arch is to spring and then laying your bricks, or stones carved  in wedge shapes, on the framework. Obviously, if the framework were to be removed, or fell down, all the stones would come crashing down as well;  but if fit all the stones together, inserting a wedge-shaped one - the keystone - at the very top, then, when the arch is complete, you can take the wooden frame away and all the stones, under the influence of gravity, will promptly try to fall down. Because the ring is complete and because the keystone is wedge-shaped, what in fact happens is that the stones all jam together solidly to form an arch which can carry a considerable load. Indeed, within limits, the greater the load on it the more firmly the arch is bound together. A dome is no more than an arch revolved through 360 degrees, so if you can build an arch on timber centring, as it is called, then you can also build a dome."


When you talk to somebody in person they indicate in many ways whether or not they are following or interested in what you are saying. On the air you have no such help. In your script, phrase by phrase, you should be clear in your own mind that you are talking to a person - imagine that person is a beloved grandparent whom you want to have understand what you are saying. 


You should understand that unlike a newspaper or magazine, on the radio  your listeners have no opportunity to read ahead to maintain their interest not do they have the luxury of reading back to check a fact.  Even if you capture a listener at the start of your piece, you have to retain that interest moment by moment. A writer may be able to afford a few dull passages. Not so on the radio. You have to be interesting all the time. And a reader can choose their own pace but a listener is a prisoner of the pace of the broadcaster.


Clarity, brevity and logic are essential keystones that hold a good radio script together. In radio you need to "communicate meaning at first hearing"


At the microphone

A good script does not guaranteed a good broadcaster but it takes you most of the way. Don't adopt a special "radio" voice when you read. Center yourself before the microphone. Get comfortable. Breath. Speak from the heart space in your chest. Relax. Speak in a normal tone and your normal pith. You may want to lean into the mic a little at times to become more personal. At other times you may want to move back a little to raise your voice. It is all about attitude and it is a special kind of theater. Concentrate on the person you are speaking to - imagine the microphone is their ear into which you are now speaking. Be gentle and open. 


And as you speak - though you may have spent hours working on your script, forget it. You are now reading it, rather talking or saying it for the first time - it should come out fresh as you mean what you say.  As you read you may alter some of the script as you read it - put in pauses - give yourself some latitude - loosen up.  But keep the meaning and the sense of what you want to say clearly at the center of your thoughts. New phrases, whilst not as perfect as those you may have written will probably sound more real to your audience and they'll improve your natural sound rhythms.  


And forget about conventional punctuation. Concentrate only the meaning of the script. Spoken words will be grouped very differently. Mark your script before you read live - build in the pauses and the points of emphasis.



_________


Part V: 

The Art of the Interview

Every day hundreds of people spend thousands of dollars to speak to therapists. People need to talk. Most people love to talk. They love to tell their stories. Who, what, when, where, why and how? These basic keywords (the five W's and an H) are sufficient to unlock most stories. 


An interview is not a conversation, equally balanced between interviewer and interviewee, nor is it a dialogue. At best interviews are eye witness accounts based on the interviewee's first-hand experience. You are simply the facilitator. In radio the best interviews tell stories. They are first person narratives. 


Good stories have a start, middle and end. They are rooted in everyday language and best told in ways that are accessible and conversational. Specific, concrete details build the elements for riveting stories that can come alive when retold. Keep away from abstractions and generalizations. You are painting pictures for the mind. 


You are dealing in social realism - like photography. Social realism requires details to bring it to life. A poetic interpretation of this idea is that, "there is no experience but in things," an enigmatic idea that challenges us to think more deeply about the everyday. This expression urges us to seek out the deeper stories and meanings  embedded in "things." Sometimes the most important details can be found in the most banal. Detail, detail, detail.


It is the factual evidence and detail in stories that glue listeners to interviews. Opinions may be interesting but facts and details make the interview believable and concrete. And if the interview is believable so are you. Credibility is everything to a journalist. 


Before we go on, just a few notes on "facts" and "truth." These are terms loaded with portent. What are facts? What is truth? These are not idle considerations. They can have different meanings in a philosophy class than when argued in the newsroom. 


A "fact" is defined as something which is done, a deed;  but it is also defined as something declared to have happened, an assertion of something as existing or done; as he depends upon his imagination for his facts or there are many false facts in his report. In other words, a fact may not be true.


"Truth" is defined as verified fact in accordance with experience or reality, conforming with the facts, the real or true state of things. But just as one person's freedom fighter is another's terrorist, truth is relative. 


I like to think that journalists search for facts. Poets seek truth.
The best journalists have poetry in their hearts - you can hear it in their work.  (insert e.g.)  


Corroboration of the facts is an essential part of credibility in any interview. It is helpful when seeking corroboration to ask questions like: "How do you know that?" "Who told you?" "What specifically happened." When you ask somebody to be specific it sends them the signal that you mean business and want them to dig deeper. You should do this in a polite but firm and respectful manner. Its your job to get as close to the truth as possible.


Too often journalists are afraid to ask hard questions, particularly of people with whom they are sympathetic. This happens frequently when journalists are trying to make a political point or are simpatico with the position of the interviewee. It  can happen when journalists are overwhelmed with the status or power of the person they are interviewing. 


Too often the press sells out our right to know. In the United States particularly, it is happening more and more on an individual and institutional basis.  The Jeffersonian tenant that the press is "the watch dog of democracy" is not as true as it was. There is no doubt that the press has become more complicit with government in recent years. The onslaught of the Reagan-Bush years severely eroded the credibility of journalism. From Grenada to the Iran-Contra Affair to the Gulf War, media organizations failed miserably to do their job and has created a climate of complicity that has become acceptable today with few exceptions. 


Sometimes you will need to ask difficult adversarial question or to play "the devil's advocate." It is easy to do. Simply tell the person you want to play devil's advocate for a moment and let'em have it! Or use the phrase: "Some people say Mr. Eliot Abrahams you are simply not telling the truth, you are a liar, and that you lied to Congress..." or whatever else you want "some people" to say. Or perhaps you prefer the more disarming phrase: "...but with respect Mr. Abrahms, that is not what you said during the elections." 


But don't limit hard questions to only those you dislike. In fact liking has nothing to do with it. It is commonplace in community radio for interviewers to destroy most of their credibility by always interviewing people they agree with and never challenging their ideas. This happens throughout much of the political left and reveals a lack of intellectual honesty and journalistic courage. It is why so much of community and public radio is simply dull.  Take the plunge. Ask the hard questions. Your work will be better and will have far more credibility and you'll be doing a major service to the profession of journalism wherever you work.


Good interviews should be concerned with intelligent listening more than intelligent questions. But that doesn't mean questions are not important. They are the signposts that guide the interviewee and the listener. Like signposts, they should be clear, specific and brief. A well asked question should not be a statement nor an opportunity for the interviewer to display how much they know about the subject. 


When you interview somebody you become the listener's representative asking the questions they might ask. If your grandmother were listening what would she want to know? If you approach a subject with this in mind, the kinds of questions you ask become more obvious.  Don't be afraid to ask simple questions but don't be afraid to ask complicated ones either. Simple is not simplistic. Complicated questions can be kept simple.


Sometimes it helps to break a complicated question down into digestible pieces. I've said that its best to keep questions clear, specific and brief and not turn them into statements. But sometimes it helps to set-up a question by expanding an idea, giving an example, reading an excerpt from a newspaper clipping or the author's writings, creating context for the question. But if you do this consistently you begin to sound bombastic and pedantic. The interview will quickly become dull. Remember to keep it simple. 


Here are the basics. 


Research

Do some research before you start. If you are interviewing an author do the obvious - read at least some of one of their books. You may have to spend a day in the library to do that. I can't think of few better ways to spend a day. Ask the librarian for help. Tell them what you are doing and they'll love to show you where to go for the appropriate reference books like "Who's Who."


Take notes. I use 5x8 inch index cards. I use one set to take notes and another to record possible questions. This is hard work but you'll be impressed by how much you learn and so will the author. This kind of research applies to any interview - you have to read, or in the case of a filmmaker, photographer or musician, look and listen to learn. This is fundamental.  


Remember that libraries carry back issues of newspapers and magazines with extensive indexes. There are electronic retrieval systems too like Nexus (which is expensive) and Compuserve (which is not). Sometimes you may be able to find a friend in a corporation or a university who can help. We are told the information age is for everybody so take advantage of its availability and don't be shy about asking. 


If you have been commissioned to do an interview you should expect your editor to give you some guidelines describing what they want. Ask them to be specific. If you find that the subject is far more interesting than the editor leads you to believe, still do what they want and then do what you want  as well. Don't assume that you know best. 


Where to do the Interview

Depending on the kind of interview you are doing, there are reasons why one location may be better than another. You should have some idea of the style and aesthetic you think appropriate for the subject. 

A serious profile is probably best done in a studio or in another acoustically stable environment where there will be no interruption.



_________


Part VI: 

Creating  a Radio Documentary 

Begin at the beginning. Write out the ideas you wish to convey in the documentary - create a synopsis with the who, what, when where and why of your proposed program. This will help consolidate your thoughts. Think about how your proposal would sound were it book jacket sales copy. Other subject matter will emerge as the idea develops but you need a firm idea to get started. You need to have the main characters/interviewees established and the major sound elements outlined before you get started. Think of writing book jacket publicity and use the terseness and direct style to make your case quickly. Put your strongest, most compelling idea at the beginning.


 Give some thought to how your piece will be introduced by the host announcer. Often the introduction will be a teaser for your story. It should give the audience the scope of the program to dome and should at least hint at the nature of the story - whether it will be controversial, explanatory, or a revealing documentary. The reporters opening script should flow naturally from this introduction - the introduction should be similar to a reporter's set-up for an actuality.


The reporter's opening script should usually establish location in the within the first two sentences. A declarative style is best that takes us immediately to the heart of the matter. 


The opening script should begin on a general plane and move to the specific. It is as if you are zooming in on the story, first establishing it with a wide-shot, then moving into close-ups, leading the listener into the piece and the points to be made in the following actuality.


Identifying speakers is very important and there a variety of ways to do this. But the most important thing is to keep idents  simple and clear. Usually the ident will hit first but sometimes it will follow soon after a speakers opening statement. It is usually unwise to run the speakers opening statement. It is usually unwise to run the speakers voice under the ident though this is not a rule. It is often necessary to signpost/direct what the speaker is about to say thereby setting up the actuality for the audience so it is clear and easy for them to understand what it is to follow. The idea is to write into the actuality to the interviewee picks up where the reporter finishes.


The actuality should advance the story. Do not begin an actuality with a reporter's question. 


After the opening scene  has been established and following the first actuality, you need to make a decision whether to have the speaker make another point to advance their story or whether to cut to another scene and another speaker with another pov. (in which case a new scene, new location must be established). If the first speaker continues then the background sounds may remain the same; if not, new sound needs to come in through an appropriate transition and this new sound continuing under the next set-up narration preceding the new actuality. We are shifting the focus/angle of the story. We need to quickly establish a new location. A sound punctuation point is often helpful to facilitate this - a bell for instance - will signify a change.


Keep the documentary moving forward. We are on an aural and intellectual journey. Your scripts segments should seldom be longer than 45 seconds and do not try to convey more than one basic idea in each script segment.


Keep in mind the rhythm and pacing of your piece - there should be peaks and valleys of interest and intensity - put your best tape at the head of the show and less interesting but still relevant material near the middle. This will give listeners an opportunity to take a small rest after the initial excitement.


Radio is a poor medium for communicating cold data. Statistics are hard to absorb. People have no chance to stop and cogitate numbers or to go back over the details. But radio is excellent for conveying emotions and texture, the tone and ideas in a story. Anger, sorrow, frustration, fear and relief  can be heard in the voice. Radio is a dramatic medium.


Sometimes it is good to record voice-overs on location - as if you were doing a television "stand-up." Remember that you don't have to use it if you don't want to. You can write something later and record it in the studio. But you must record the ambient atmosphere at the location at the time. And you must make notes of what you see and feel as a print reporter would;  these will become the grist of your finished script.


When reporting from location always leave plenty of clean sound at the head and tail of your reporting - at least 10 seconds. The tone of delivery in a documentary is important. Unlike a studio announcer comfortable in the confines of a studio, you should sound like you are on location (if you are). Project your voice - imagine you are speaking to someone six feet distant but don'[t shout it.


Some simply documentary writing points.

• Try to avoid connectives like however, above-all, nonetheless etc.

• Avoid subordinate clauses especially at the beginning of sentences.  It is hard for a listener to mentally leap back to the beginning of a sentence to remember what when before.

• Brevity and conciseness are essential in good radio writing. Use simple declarative sentences and go easy on adjectives. Tell the action. and use active verbs in the present tense whenever possible. This keeps the story moving.

• Avoid lyricism. While color and texture are important in a scene to not fill your script with images evoking splendor and horror and keep metaphors to a minimum - just the facts please.

• Avoid jargon and slang Always assume the audience is not familiar with acronyms.

• Use people's full names and titles.


In general when you are planning a radio documentary think in terms of scenes in a film - each scene focuses on one main  idea and dramatic moment. The analyst who reflects or comments on the particular dramatic incident should be an actuality insert - build a link between the particular and the general and always advance the story. Pacing is very important - keep it moving forward.

_________


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