Racial Cleansing In America

January 26th, 2010 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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Finally! A book about the craft and art of radio documentary. It’s about time!!

John Biewen and his co-editor Alexa Dilworth have assembled Reality Radio, a collection of masterful essays by radio’s best producers. Reading this, I feel as though I’ve had a personal, one-on-one conversation with many of the contemporary heroes of documentary radio. The essays eloquently convey the power of sound, the back-story to radio production, and the unique motivations of each essayist. Reality Radio will stoke “radio fire” in the belly of new producers, stir the embers for radiophiles afflicted by the radio bug for many years, and serve as the perfect introduction for people outside the radio field.

Or, put another way: Reality Radio? Ya gotta read it.

John is a long-time public radio documentary producer. You can hear much of his work here and here.  John also directs the Audio Program at the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University. Alexa is the Publishing Director at CDS.

On this Saltcast we feature John’s story “Racial Cleansing In America.” It’s about the expulsion of blacks from Corbin, Kentucky by the town’s white citizens in 1919. Have a listen then have a read!

Best,

Rob

PS – Alexa says the radio on the cover of the book is an actual, working radio — the Isis 20. Sweet!

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:17 — 31.7MB)

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Brainhilda and I

January 11th, 2010 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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Carole Starr had a car accident a few years ago and her brain suffered an injury, one that’s had a profound effect on her life.

Carole was diagnosed with hyperacusis, a severe sensitivity to sound. This would be traumatic for anyone, but for Carole it’s had great significance. She had to give up what she most cherished — playing the violin.

Salt radio student David Golann brings us the story of Carole and her constant companion, “Brainhilda.”

This is the first piece we’re featuring from the class of Fall 2009. Check out all the others over at PRX, the Public Radio Exchange.

Yours in listening,

Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:00 — 22.9MB)

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Hats Off to Radio Diaries!!

December 30th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Hats Off to Radio Diaries!!

Our friends at Radio Diaries turn 15 this year. Congrats to you Joe!!

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Saltcast Parody

December 28th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Graduation at Salt is not to be missed.

At the end of a ridiculously rigorous 15-week semester, students, staff, faculty, family, and friends gather for a grand farewell. Really, it’s like no other graduation I’ve ever seen.

Staff and faculty offer heartfelt missives. Students receive certificates. But, the highlight is the student presentations. Each track at Salt — writing, photography, and radio — is given the opportunity to dance, offer a speech, give thanks, or do whatever they like to bring some closure to the semester.

This fall, the radio students produced a parody of the Saltcast. It’s a riot. And, it’s today’s feature. I admit, it’s a bit of an insider piece but I think you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.

We’ll return to normal in the next couple of weeks. Happy holidays.

Rob

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Laura Herberg announces the “host intro” for the Saltcast parody. (Photo by Kristen Hewitt.)

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Rob holds his head in his hands, tears from laughing so hard. (Photo by Adriana Teresa.)

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“That’s was amazing,” Rob shouts, leaping from his chair. (Photo by Adriana Teresa.)

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(Photo by Adriana Teresa.)

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 8:23 — 19.2MB)

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Pizza Time!

December 14th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Make way for Tom Witkowski, the dean of delivery at Pizza Time, Portland, Maine. Photo by Rebeca Beeman

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Mark Kramer is probably the intellectual heavy-weight of narrative journalism. Mark wrote Telling True Stories and he was the founder of the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism.

Mark says if a story doesn’t have an obvious narrative hook, it needs a strong character, compelling images, and anecdotes.

Well, meet  Tom, the delivery dude for Pizza Time in Portland, Maine. Producer Alex Malmude rode along with Tom several times and produced the profile we feature today on the Saltcast. There’s no conflict. No drama. No tension. Just a colorful character, visual sound, and some pretty funny anecdotes and chance encounters. It meets the Kramer test for a good story. Have a listen.

Best,

Rob

Podcast: Download (Duration: 8:53 — 20.3MB)

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Flatline Days

November 30th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Hillary Hebert takes a break after talking about motherhood and bi-polar disorder. Photo by Keith Lane.

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Radio producers have a many tools to craft a story. Narration. Writing. Quotes from interviews. Ambient sound. Active tape. Music.

What about art?

We don’t teach “sound art” at Salt, but we do wonder from time-to-time how a feature might benefit from using sound art to tell a story. In particular, how can a producer artistically use sound to convey more than what just words and ambiance alone communicate?

I try to answer this question with a student-produced piece profiling Hillary Hebert, a mother with bi-polar disorder. The piece is called “Flatline Days” and it was produced by Catherine Spangler in the spring of 2009. Catherine used a little bit of sound art to convey what happens in Hillary’s mind during a manic phase. Catherine assembled a short montage of quotes then layered and panned them over the sound of fast footsteps to portray ideas popping in Hillary’s head. Take a listen and let us know if you think it works.

If you’re intrigued by sound art, here are a few sites to get you going.

radiolab

ubu

outfront

joan schuman

gregory whitehead

peter leonhard braun

hildegard westercamp

list of sound artists

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Cheers,

Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:43 — 21.5MB)

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Mind on the Brain

November 16th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Watch a video tape as a prompt during an interview.

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One simple way to help an interviewee open up during a conversation is with photos. Thumbing through a photo album or a box of old pictures can jog a person’s memory, help take them back in time.

In fact, anything that might activate another sense during an interview may prompt a deeper, more profound response to questions. Have an interviewee hold an object. Bring them to a place from their past and walk around. Take a look at the clothes they wore for a special occasion.

In short, get people moving and using senses other than their ears during an interview.

Salt student Caty Enders used video tapes to prompt discussion. The added benefit to video is you can use the sound in your story. Take a listen to Caty’s piece “Mind On The Brain” and hear how she integrated audio from video into her production.

Cheers, Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:13 — 20.6MB)

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Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette’s

November 2nd, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

Have tape deck, will diary.  Josh Cutler, the subject of Joe Richman’s “Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette’s.”

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Just over a year ago, I dissected “Dead Animal Man” by Ira Glass for the Saltcast. I think that episode got more responses than any other Saltcast. Since then, I’ve been meaning to dissect a piece in a similar way. It only took a year (!) but I’ve finally gotten around to it. This time, Joe Richman joins me and we sift through, scene by scene, a story he produced in 1996 called “Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette’s.”

Joe Richman has made some of the best documentaries on public radio. His work is stellar — sound rich, dramatic, personal.

Joe may be best known for his radio diaries, stories where an individual is given a tape deck to document their lives. In fact, that’s the name of Joe’s company — Radio Diaries. Much of his work is available to listen to at the Radio Diaries website. But, before you zing off to his website and get lost in all the stories, take a listen to this podcast. Joe gives us the back story on producing “Josh” and he offers great insight on radio storytelling.

This is a long Saltcast so get comfy. And, please post your thoughts and questions here at the blog.

Ciao for now.

Rob

PS – Joe says he was inspired to produce audio diaries by “Ghetto Life 101” by Dave Isay as well as “Life Stories: First Person Portraits” by Jay Allison. Click and listen.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 35:57 — 65.9MB)

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Sound Healer

October 19th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Sound healer Sandra Chausse. Photo by Rebeca Beeman.

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This is probably stating the obvious, but Salt teaches students to tell stories. In the radio track, we use Jon Franklin’s definition of story. Franklin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and he teaches at the University of Maryland. His definition of story goes something like this: A story is a sequence of events where a sympathetic character encounters a challenge and overcomes it.

During her semester at Salt, Natalie Jablonski wrestled a bit with part of that definition — sympathetic character. Her story about a sound healer features a woman with a very uncommon approach to healing, an approach a general audience may find incredibly odd and off-putting. On this Saltcast, Natalie offers a couple of thoughts on how to portray an unusual character as sympathetic.

Dig it.

Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:39 — 17.4MB)

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Survivors: Solitary Confinement in America’s Prisons

October 5th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Survivors: Solitary Confinement in America’s Prisons

Robert King Wilkerson spent twenty-nine years in solitary confinement. Photo by Terry Foss.

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When is the sound of a slamming door not a slamming door?

When it’s designed.

Radio documentary producer Claire Schoen learned “sound design” when she worked in film. She brings those unique and valuable skills to her radio productions. As a sound designer, Claire artistically assembles audio to create an effect and magnify the qualities of a sound.

On this Saltcast, we feature Claire’s story Survivors: Solitary Confinement in America’s Prisons. It’s a sonic feast full of audio craft — including a slamming door sound created from five separate sonic elements.

If you’d like to hear more about audio storytelling from Claire, check out her 2007 presentation at the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Her talk was titled “Making a Scene: The Use of Verite to Show, Not Tell, Your Story.”

Your ears are in for a treat! Happy listening.

Rob

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 39:19 — 54.0MB)

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