AUDIO

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Today

Think about the linear narratives of audio

Consider different editorial approaches

Look at how audio is being shaped by social media

Look at the future of radio and responsive devices

Origins: Broadcast Traditionally a linear

process

Dominant media form

Listening to a standard broadcast is passive

Radio and more comprehensive recordings need to create a ‘texture of sound’

Hindenburg

Herbert Morrison working for WLS recorded the events as they happened

Followed crash with a range of interviews with survivors and witnesses

Helped to form a stylistic approach to radio news broadcasting

Ofcom: Radio is still relevant On average, 90% of the UK adult population tuned in to the

radio each week in the 12 months to March 2013

Listening to the radio on digital devices has increased to 34.3% of total listening, a 5.1 percentage point increase on last year.

  The proportion of radio listeners with a DAB radio set in the home

grew to 44%.  Radio listening on a mobile phone has risen from 13% to 20% over

the past year.  Total UK radio industry revenues reached £1.19bn in 2012, an

increase of 2.8% year on year.

Ofcom: The Communications Market 2013

Audio Production: Stylistic approaches Clips: Short, sharp bursts of

information that convey essential information

Vox Pops

Packages: Incorporates script and interviews on a specific theme or issue

Long-form documentaries: A more in-depth, and immersive experience

Bulletins: Live news flash based around breaking information

Overall media landscape (2010)

Proportion of radio consumed (2012)

How this might work on a digital platform…?

What’s happening online

Combined with other media elements rather than a standalone report The BBC

Personal storytelling

Immersive Media: Hope

Access on-demand audio and non-scheduled format: Podcasts and social sharing

Offers users an alternative and ‘ambient’ way of consuming media

Journalistic process

Ask yourself Is audio the appropriate

medium? Can it be used to add

breadth or depth to your piece

Ensure you follow good journalistic practice

Do not misrepresent and be faithful to your interviewees intention.

Kit requirements

Audio can be recorded by a number of devices Dictaphone Telephone

Conversion between file types may be required: Think about

compatibility compression

Quality TOP TIP: Always try to acquire recordings at the

highest quality possible

CD 44.1 KHz Dictaphone 22 KHz Telephone 8KHz

44.1 KHz means the recording device will ‘sample’ the sound 44,100 times a second

Interview technique Be nice

Control your environment

Ensure the interviewee gives name, rank and serial number

Aim to ask open questions

Avoid utterances such as: yeah, a-ha, mmm…

Try not to interrupt

Use silence to your advantage

Repeat if required

Say thanks

Broadcast voice

Scripting: control your audio

Aim for around three words a second (a pace that is too fast or two slow impacts on overall effect)

Control your interviewee to ensure your content is usable

Post production considerations

Editorial Sound can be used to illustrate a story, and add texture Descriptions need to fuel audience’s imagination WARNING: Working with audio (and video) can be time-consuming

Technical Tidy, remove noise and equalise if required

FX and other additions Music and other sound effects can be used to move story forward Look at SoundClound for open source music and audio) Additional tools of fade outs/ins, silences and voice manipulation can prove

useful

Pre-publication Final checks

Does it make sense?

Does it flow?

Can you hear everything and understand it?

Is the subject matter and interviewee responses accurate and in line with original intentions?

Distribution: Podcasts and social media

Podcasting Social tools Blogs

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