Unit IV - Chapter 4 - Radio Flashcards
Who heads a radio channel or station? What is his job?
The Station Manager/Director. He/she is usually a senior news broadcaster who works his way up to this position. It is his responsibility to ensure that the content and daily programming are put together in an interesting manner.
What are the common radio programming genres?
Music
Talk Shows
News
Who is a radio producer? What are his/her jobs?
A radio producer is in charge of a particular radio programme.
> He decides what should be the content for the programme. For example, in a music programme, he guides the RJ as to
(i) the selection of songs,
(ii) the sequence
(iii) the timings of commercial breaks and
advertisements
(iv) the narrative that will link the different songs together.
> He also negotiates terms with the programme sponsor and the advertising agencies
> He plans each day’s programme well in advance
Who is a Radio Presenter? What are his jobs?
A radio presenter is not an RJ. He/she presents the news, weather and traffic conditions.
Radio Presenters need to have a _______________ Voice. What is the meaning of the word which will fill the blank?
Radiogenic; A voice that is suitable for the medium of radio
What are some requirements to be a good radio presenter?
> A radio presenter needs to have a radiogenic voice, i.e. a voice suited for the medium of radio
He/she should have a voice that sounds good over the microphone, where pitch and accent are minutely picked up and transmitted over the airwaves
His/her voice should be soft, intimate and friendly. Every fibre and timbre of his/her voice has to be underplayed without any scope for dramatics.
What are musicians, actors and other performers on the radio also known as?
Artistes
Who are ‘Artistes’
Musicians, actors and other performers on the radio
What has been the most significant change in audio technology in the context of radio production? Elaborate
> One of the most significant changes has been the visualisation of audio on a computer screen.
Prio to the advent of computers, sound was not a visual thing. Radio presenters and RJs had to intuitively identify a particular sound, its components, change in pitch, volume etcetera.
Now, we can see sound on a computer screen, in different patters colours and sizes. We can even manipulate its aural characteristics based on what we see.
What are the advantages of physical control devices in radio production?
Recently, many companies are producing physical control devices that connect audio productions to allow manual interaction and control over audio parameters.
These control interfaces typically provide
> volume sliders,
> volume faders,
> on-off buttons,
> knobs for equalisation control,
>play/stop/record buttons and
> a rotating data wheel for slipping tracks just in time to change the audio parameters of the sound.
Before the advent of computers, how did Radio Presenters and RJs understand the aural characteristics of a sound?
Before the visualisation of audio was possible, people used to resort to other means to identify a particular sound, its components, change in pitch, volume etcetera. One good way to do this was to shut one’s eyes and concentrate one’s attention so that sound was the dominant sense
What does one need to do to develop analytical listening skills?
Focusing one’s attention on the aural environment, identify a particular sound and learn to identify its component parts.
Just like the extremes of sound volume are ‘high’ and ‘low’, what are the extremes of (i) pitch and (ii) timbre?
(i) high and low
(ii) bright and dull
What is the purpose served by radio production software?
The software in radio production provides each individual sound with its own visual representation,with changes in its loudness patterns over the duration of the production.
Each sound can be manipulated to change its loudness, and the computer can memorise this pattern for the future.
What is ‘ automation ‘ in the context of radio production?
Automation is the process by which the computer software used in radio production memories the manipulations of various sounds in the different tracks and repeats this pattern every time the production is played.
