Radio Highs and Lows

I always knew that creating essays for the radio had to require a substantial amount of work and revision but I never fully considered everything that goes into creating recordings for the radios until I had to do it myself.

The thing that was the most challenging in the process of recording my radio essay was the scripting. We are so well trained from primary school on to write analytically and formally so to break that cycle and write something with a casual talking style was a difficult transition for me. I found myself having to simplify statements and break down descriptions into what was fundamentally necessary for a conversational typesetting.

The experience of recording was also interesting in that I had to become analytical about my actual speech patterns and styles. There were the basic issues of listening to my own voice and talking too fast but beyond that, I began to notice certain speech tics such as abbreviated pronunciations of words like "and". The recording process provided difficulty in trying to regulate my voice and speech and even after revisiting my final product I still found several things that need to be addressed and remedied in the future.

One thing that proved to be shockingly easy in all of this was the software and technology aspect of things. Manipulating and controlling recordings through the use of mic settings and software settings was easy and for the most part, made sense. I enjoyed being able to iron things and work out little imperfections through a click of a button.

Overall the biggest takeaway from this experience has been finding the small details that make a good piece and how I can control those small things. I found that even though it takes a lot of time and finetuning the process is both engaging and rewarding.

Comments

  1. Lillian,
    I really like your comment about the difference between analytical writing and radio essays. One fundamental difference has to do with the structure of each. Analytical essays are logically organized, typically moving from idea to idea in attempt to prove a point. Narrative essays explore causal relationships based on experience rather than ideas: this thing happened to me, and it was unsettling. What might be the causes and consequences of it?

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  2. I'm sure that we'll all get it down in time. I thought it was interesting that, while some people's recordings were a bit rough around the edges, you were one of the few people who almost overthought the pronunciation and voice regulation. But with practice I'm sure we'll all move towards the center.

    Something that you mention, and others have as well, is that what we're doing flies in the face of conventional writing instruction. Do you think that the skills we are developing now should have been introduced sooner? Or do you think schools are correct to teach that formal style as the base, and that this is the proper stage to begin looking outside of that?

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  3. I couldn't agree more with your statements about the work and effort it takes to create "radio essays". I also seem to be technically challenged when it comes to audacity and editing my audio files.

    However, it is nice to be able to have the opportunity to notice my style of speaking and see what I could change or what habits I have developed.

    Hopefully in time we will all have a better understanding of Audacity and be able to use it to our advantage.

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