I must admit. When i joined radio in 1987, i only learned a few about broadcasting and about radio per se except for its technical side where i had been trained in school.
I honed my skills in radio broadcasting through self-study and work experience. I further dipped my fingers in radio when i took my master studies in UP-OU and more about digital radio production during my Digital Radio Journalism course at the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center For Journalism in AdMU.
Fortunately, for my students at the University of San Jose Recoletos in Cebu City they shared my vast knowledge i gained for years. Here is one lesson that i also liked–AUDIOCRAFT.
*Ironically, the audio clips here have no sounds because of the Slideshare’s inability to play sound.
SLIDE 1
I appropriately named this presentation as Audiocraft, “Tools of Radio” because the items inside are all collaborative in producing an excellent piece of audio production.
SLIDE 2
Watching your favorite news program without any sound coming out from the TV set could caused you to be upset. It would surely crave you for its sound.
SLIDE 3
That feeling proves that without sound, picture is incomplete. Sound is “half the picture”. Sound completes the ideas presented along with the picture.
SLIDE 4
No one wants talking in front of the rostrum but you can’t be heard by the audience.
SLIDE 5
(playback with sounds already)
SLIDE 6, 7, 8
Audiocraft is not only the combination of different sounds but it’s the management of different sound elements. It deals with inter-relatedness of voice, music and sound effects. A montage voiced report is an example of how sounds are managed to picture a story.
SLIDE 9
Voice, Music, and Sound Effects are elements of Audiocraft.
SLIDE 10
While Voice is created by the human’s vocal chord, not every person is created equal when it comes to voice. The human voice can be mimic but not completely copied. Our voice is unique to each and every person.
In broadcasting, there’s a newscaster’s voice: baritone for men while lyric tone for women. Most male newscasters are baritone. GMA’s Mike Enriquez, to name a few, is an exception. The late Angelo Castro of ABS-CBN was a good baritone-voiced anchor. The likes of Korina Sanchez, Mel Tiangco, Claire Celdran, and other female anchors have the sweet and melodic voice. The veteran news anchor Tina Palma, on the other hand, doesn’t fall in this category.
SLIDE 11, 12
Voice comes with proper pacing and delivery to achieve impact. Most of the time, it is done according to the type of script you are voicing or narrating. To deliver the lines correctly, you have to familiarize with the script. Read it aloud and mark the lines where you are supposed to pause to change idea or catch your breath.
SLIDE 13
Pronunciation and Enunciation provide the clarity of speech. Announcers who commonly mispronounce words are oftentimes perceived less credible. Be familiar with the words and do a pronunciation guide in the script. Enunciation refers to the ability of the newscaster to phonate or produce or not to produce the sound of the individual letter.
SLIDE 14, 15
Emoting simply means actually feeling what you are reading or talking about. In other words, let your voice create the “picture” in your listener’s mind.
Underline the word/s that needs to be stressed. Stress or degree of emphasis on a word can enhance the meaning of what you are talking about.
SLIDE 16
Modulation is what makes a stage performer and a radio announcer differ from one another. A stage performer is taught to project his voice all the way to the back of the hall while the announcer is trained to focus his voice only to the microphone.
A relatively low pitched voice sounds more credible than a high pitched one. So, a news anchor in radio or TV doesn’t need to shout. He is not inside a hall. He is facing a microphone that is used to enhance his voice and let everyone hear him like he’s talking to them in person.
SLIDE 17
Microphone technique is a way to effectively use the tool. I’ve discussed thoroughly about the Microphone– its type, characteristics, pick-up patterns, and technique in my previous post.
SLIDE 18-22
Music, as an element of Audiocraft influences the mood and experience of the audience. It can be used as background or as a music bed and as a jingle.
SLIDE 23-28
The use of sound effect completes audiocraft. It completes the picture that one creates in his mind while listening. It can move us as an action sound. Teleport us to a scene when it is used as a setting sound. And it makes us feel of certain conditions when it symbolizes a scene or condition.
SLIDE 29
The management of sounds (music and sound effects) follows basic directions. These directions are most often indicated in the script to guide voice talents, directors, audiomen, and effects men.
Establish or Hold— is executed when the level of the sound is at normal (at about Zero in the Volume meter). It stays at this level for certain period or for few seconds before fading out.
Fade-in, Fade-out, Fade under— is done by adjusting up and down the Volume level.
Segue— is done by an abrupt change of sound or music while both outgoing and incoming sound or music are at normal level.
Crossfade— as explained in the slide is fading out of the current music/sound and fading in of the incoming music/sound. Later, the incoming music/sound will stabilize at normal level.
SLIDE 30
Sneak In, Sneak Out– is the coming in and coming out of a sound/music as if a car is passing by an area.
Montage– is a combination of many sounds: voice, music, effects. It can depict a scene like in a war or emergency. Proper management of sound levels and mixing is needed for this.
Bridge–is done when a music or sound connotes connection between a scene to other scene like depicting a dream in a radio drama.
Stinger– is mostly used in public affairs or radio commentary programs to stress a statement. It can be voice, music or sound effects. Bombo Radyo has been using the bass drum (Bombo) inside their announcer’s booth to mark a point literally with a bang of the drum. A fart sound could be used to convey lying or telling lies. A smashing glass could be used to point an accident. The list is endless for stingers.
That’s all folks. Drop a comment or two below if you have questions or reactions to share. Thanks.
jun tariman 