Anecdotal Narrations
Still the most challenging element of these radio essays remains the “SOFT” of the piece. I’ve prided myself over the years for the variety and volume of stories I have collected: band stories, film stories, traveling abroad stories, etc... but when run through the “SOFT” test, I found many of these anecdotes fell short of containing a greater, more compelling meaning. They may resonate at parties or around friends, but become much harder to pull off under the critical ear of some unknown stranger listening in. I found myself writing out stories I’ve told dozens of times only to find them fall flat in this more challenging form.
I didn’t have as much trouble placing music cues. I’m sure there’s a science behind it, but beyond breaking up acts with cues, it seems to be more of a gut-feeling process than anything else. Placing music cues is a lot like editing film in that regard: there are techniques and strategies to be sure, but the biggest test is simply whether you think the move works or not.
It's helpful as well to listen to your project through a few different sets of speakers if possible. Doing this, I was able to tell when a few music cues were a little too loud, and others were maybe a bit too quiet (and in turn became more distracting than anything). This is a common practice with musicians when they are mixing an album to release: they'll listen on tons of speakers, taking note of what varies the most.
I struggled with my narrative piece in the sense that I felt it wasn't powerful enough, or the message wasn't as strong as I wanted at the end. I think, in a revision, I'd like to pull back a little sooner; to go from the water to the mountain as Professor Ballenger describes it. Doing so requires me to cut and compress the existing narrative, but I don't think that'd be too difficult. It will make the end much more compelling, I think.
I didn’t have as much trouble placing music cues. I’m sure there’s a science behind it, but beyond breaking up acts with cues, it seems to be more of a gut-feeling process than anything else. Placing music cues is a lot like editing film in that regard: there are techniques and strategies to be sure, but the biggest test is simply whether you think the move works or not.
It's helpful as well to listen to your project through a few different sets of speakers if possible. Doing this, I was able to tell when a few music cues were a little too loud, and others were maybe a bit too quiet (and in turn became more distracting than anything). This is a common practice with musicians when they are mixing an album to release: they'll listen on tons of speakers, taking note of what varies the most.
I struggled with my narrative piece in the sense that I felt it wasn't powerful enough, or the message wasn't as strong as I wanted at the end. I think, in a revision, I'd like to pull back a little sooner; to go from the water to the mountain as Professor Ballenger describes it. Doing so requires me to cut and compress the existing narrative, but I don't think that'd be too difficult. It will make the end much more compelling, I think.
I appreciated your tip about listening to the piece through "different sets of speakers," Ben. That hadn't occurred to me. And you echo what Dante said in his post about scoring as both a logical and intuitive process. But what struck me most was your discussion of SOFT, and the difficulty of finding some "compelling meaning" to animate the story. It is difficult. But my theory is that it begins with the choice of subject matter. Do you write about things where you already know what you think and what you're going to say? Or do you write about subjects where you want to discover what you think and feel? These are the stories that raise questions about ourselves and the world that we don't have ready answers for. That's why we write about them. The now-narrator is in charge of finding the SOFT, and I think that self is likely to be more engaged from the beginning with topics where you're trying to figure things out.
ReplyDeleteI really connect strongly to a lot of what you're saying here, Ben.
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned it in my post, but I've had the speaker issue...something sounds great on headphones, but falls apart over the speakers in class, because it is being exposed in a different way. It's mortifying, and I hope third time will be the charm on catching those audio issues for me.
I also agree completely about "cool" stories not always having a compelling SOFT. I look at my life, and I grew up on a ranch, went to elementary school on an Indian Reservation, went to boarding school, was homeless...I have a ton of fun anecdotes, but it it hard to know which of those has a deeper emotional hook. It doesn't come effortlessly to me the way that it sometimes works when I have the privilege of making it all up.
I have to admit, Ben, I am jealous of your skill sets and experience going into this class. :) Both you and John excel at incorporating humor into your pieces. Mine are just so...serious. :/
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of listening to my recording through multiple sound sources. (I can't believe I didn't think of this before, somehow.)
My new goal will be finishing a rough draft of my recording earlier enough to try it out several times on different methods before it is due. Thanks for the suggestion!