This presentation discusses how use of community radio in an international development context, and illustrates ways to use Audacity as a tool to edit audio.
Pitfalls: May ask for something in return, may question technical abilities or try to train you, may not want to work with new volunteers Strategies: Grant possibilities, show example of other volunteer work, come in with a volunteer who has worked with a station before, offer other services (event planning, money making, training) Feasibility/Needs: Some questions to ask yourself/the station: What are the technical capabilites of the station? What training is needed, among volunteers and radio station staff? What expertise can the volunteers in the area bring to the show? What sectors of vols live near enough to participate? Could you feasably support a weekly one hour show?
Pick your topic: Can be anything, funny or serious, think about regional strategy goals, think about what will translate well in radio format, think about your resources (ppl to interview, other volunteers, outside materials), decide what language makes sense Script: archives, online resources, Things to remember: introduction and closing, restating after music breaks, repetition, attention span, format (play, interview, news report, magazine, instructional, etc) The Right People: having the right information or incorporating people who can explain better than you makes you look more legitimate and is often easier to understand. It also helps you liase with other organizations. Relevance: Think about whats going on in the community, what people would be interested in, what big projects are happeneing, what world events are going on, what do ppl have problems with, what would they be proud of, people like to listen to something that’s local and relevant to them Community: Street interviews, real sound bites, call ins, even interviews of radio staff if you’re pressed for time Jazz it up: intros and outros, show name, jingles, commercials, tag lines or songs, reporter names, you’re going for recognizability. Also add as much other sound as possible (background music, sound effects, etc) Record and Edit: If you are doing a recorded show this is the next step. This allows you to do different pieces at different times, make yourself sound better, incorporate many sounds Archive: Trying to get this started, for now send your shows to adambhorowitz@yahoo.com, This way we can save, share and display radio shows
For a live show: All you will need is the mic hooked up to the mixing desk properly and headphones to hear yourself. There should be someone operating what gets broadcast. To play music you can hook up your computer or put things in the tape/cd deck. Can possibly make live sound effects and do live interviews. Try and have your station people record your show as you do it on their computer (this should be possible)
Drama- April’s show or Princess bride (sword fight) Interview- Awa News- Adam/my show Intros- Sports show, PC intro
Tech training: How to edit, how to incorporate editing in the shows they already do, how to record jingles/commercials/etc, how to archive shows, installing virus software and cleaning computer HD Promotion and money raising: selling commercials, putting on events/concerts, using the station to promote volunteer events, grant writing, on air contests Audience evaluation: Listening groups, call ins
Features: mix tracks, convert formats, edit audio, change tones and sounds, manipulate volume, etc Advantages: Incorporate more audio elements, make yourself sound better, prepare in advance, do parts in different places and at different times, more professional sounding, can record intros/outros/commercials/public service announcements, easy to use and converts to french
