27th Novembers Show

The last show we did was quite an important one because it was the first one where we were mainly in charge instead of Andrew as Alex was the one who presented the show this week and was using the desk to play each song and bring up the mics when needed etc. And as always we each collected the needed information for each of our topics we were talking about like mine was weather and traffic, this also meant that was in charge of communications as well so i was checking the inbox for any emails or texts and i was also in charge of communicating with Kelly who keeps an eye on all the diffrent shows and messages us when we need to start broadcasting, and if we needed to change any of the levels etc. So if he said something that needed doing i would tell everyone else and then they would sort it so the show would continue in working order. At the end of the show we also discussed what we would each be doing next week so that we know what information we need to collect.

25th November Lesson

Today we started off chosing the music for fridays show, making sure we got a good mix of different genres of music so that people won't get bored with the music, and then put into an order, taking the script into account, so we knew when we would need to pick things up with an upbeat song or let it down a bit with something a little slower.

After this we each had a go at introducing the show ourselves and using the desk to bring songs and ident in when needed. I learnt how to play the ident and then bring up the mic and start introducing the show and crewI then carried on by introducing some of the music we will have throughout the show, making the next song play and then introduce the song will the intro of it is playing so that it seems to run smoothly. This was good because when it actually comes round to the time i have to introduce the show i will be more confident at doing it and evereything will hopefully run nicely.

We finished off with a few dry runs of each of us introducing the show and then wrote down some notes on what we will have to say for which ever topic we will be reading out in the next show, like college events, local events, weather and traffic and the interview. This is so that we have everything organised for and ready for the show on friday.

Making an Ident

I have started to make an ident that can be used in one of our shows using a programme called logic. What i've been making is going to be used like backing music as it will be playing whilst someone is speaking over the top of it. I made sure that it wasn't too loud so that it doesn't attract attention away from the person speaking on air at the time, so it only consists of a couple of instruments. When making it i imagined speaking over the top of it so that i could see whether it sounds right and fits together nicley, and when i have finished i can export it and then put it onto the list of music in the studio so that it can then be used on air for one of our shows.

20th Novembers Show

For this show we each had our own topic that we had to read out at some point during the show, for example mine was reading out the local events around southampton including what music concerts are on and what films etc. We came in about half an hour early before the show starts so that we could make sure everyone was prepared and so that the person doing weather and traffic could re-write the information into their own words so that it sounds better when reading it on air.
Also, we went through a quick dry run of the beginning so that we all knew roughly what we were saying and when to say it so that we don't end up talking over each other or cutting people off. After the show begun, each time a song was currently playing on air we would read out what we had to say for the next part as if we were on air, for example when it came near the time for me to read out about the local events, we ran through it like we were on air so that i could get make sure i was happy with what i was reading, making sure that certain words are said properly and it also meant that i wasn't as nervous when actually on air.

Radio Production Progress 04/11/09

Today we got introduced to the standard radio equipment and familarised with it, this included things like the audio mixing desk, microphones, headphones and headphone amp, and some of the audio editing software like the playout programmes. I enjoyed this because we got to see how actual radio stations would produce and present a show, and i learnt the basics on how to use the software including how to line up songs and play them with indents played over them aswell.

We also helped with creating the song plan for the next show by picking the right selection of songs so that it's varied for different tastes in music, and we looked at how long it took each song to kick in so that we knew whether an indent should be played or if the intro should be talked over so that everything flows better.