Traditional Broadcast Methods
Radio has been transformed as we now use digital methods rather than analogue.
A DJ (Disc Jockey) will cue music, jingles, adverts (the order of the adverts are predetermined due to how much money the company has paid to get their advert played) adverts are also played a certain times due to peak times and amount paid such as on Heart fm Pizza Hut are often advertised around morning and night rush hour, this is probably because they are one of highest paying company who want to be advertised.
Traditionally DJs would have to produce and edit music/features for the show although now there are new technologies and producers to do this instead as it was very time consuming.
Traditionally songs were played using a vinyl recorder or 8 track recorder although now cued by the DJ which was very expensive because there was excess equipment to cater to all the music (some were vinyl, some were 8-track). Pre- recorded packages were used when reporting on stories or interviews which could have been played in the appropriate time slot. An Ident is the jingle used at the beginning and throughout the show, these would have been recorded on analogue tapes. Splicing is used to manually editing the tape by cutting it up and sticking it back together in the right order to cut out the bits which weren't needed.
Impact of technology broadcasting
In the 80s digital technologies introduced CDs which started to replace the analogue formats used before, this was used as it improved the sound quality. CDs are also smaller meaning more could be stored in the same space as a vinyl would. CDs a quicker and easier to operate than vinyls.
The 90s introduced recordable digital format such as a mini disc and digital audio tape which made the DJs production easier.
21st century has revolutionised radio production, most radio music is now stored on computer servers ( a play server) this has compacted the storage as it is all on the play server. Through this the DJs job is more simple, with them just have to click on the song to play it. Each song also has the duration and sometimes even how much intro music so the DJ doesn't speak over the lyrics. At Heart FM they will use player servers to store all their music, this is to make the DJs job more simple and to ensure the audience have the best experience when listening. A digital mixing desk controls are used control adverts/volume/ microphones to fade in and out, through these change of technology it has made the DJs job simpler. To edit Jingle or music together audio files such as WAV and FLAC would be used as they are high quality and lossless.
Non-linear editing packages mean things do not need to be edited in order, such as Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, sound booth or Cubase are used to edit recorded programmes, packages, idents, adverts and stings. This software is usually already built in the hardware which has aloud the rise of the prosumer as anyone can create there own radio show through these software. These will mainly be used to edit pre-recorded content to play on the show.
To create a radio show there needs to be specific roles such as; producer which plans what goes where, sound control, sticking to guidelines. Assistant producer who uses the computer for live research/ audience participation on social media. Presenter is responsible for presenting the show and entertaining the audience. Finally the news-team who are in the other room sorting through news in order to inform the presenter of new updates.
It is important when planning a radio show such as Heart FM to stick to song guidelines, this is because if not your show could be taken off air. In order to do this the show has to be planned in advance,part of this is creating a running order. The running order establishes the songs, information and content they will talk about and when in the show. Another aspect of show planning is having playlist meetings, in this they select about 50 tracks which are separated into an ABC list, C list contains new songs with less rotation (about 4-6) B list gets (8-12) and A list (15-25). This ranking is based on how much they are paid to play the music, how popular they are and how new they are. This system is also used so that the show can monitor the variety of their music so they audience are entertained.
Digital technologies can also impact the audience by changing how they interact. Traditionally the audience had to ring in or write letters to the studio, now they can interact through email, text, social media or blogs to interact with the radio (show social media/ blog page of heart fm). this has brought a rise in competitions. throughout the show on Heart FM the audience is encouraged to contact the presenters through social media or by the phone in order to enter competitions. The website can help the audience learn more, contact, listen live and listen to podcasts of the show. As Heart FM targets a slightly younger teen audience it has social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, twitter and even an app to download, all this encourages the audience to interact with them, from this they can get interesting segments with listener feedback on subjects they are talking about on the show. This gets the audience excited as their opinion could be featured on the show.
Technologies have revolutionised radio by that radio is broadcasted live on the radio but can also be streamed online through webcams at a later time which would not have been available before web 2.0.
When creating a radio programme certain hardware is needed such as faders, digital cartwall, monitors and microphones, this is to ensure the programme flows smoothly and allows the DJ to easily access the information they need during the show. Faders are used to fade jingles, adverts and music in and out this is to make the programme seem more seamless rather than a straight cut. A digital Cartwall can store audio files, this allows easy accessing to audio files to be played and sort into schedules, this important to help the DJ when live on air as it allows easy access while broadcasting. Monitors and microphones are important in the production of radio programs, the monitors can hold audio file, information and schedules which the DJ may need to look at during the show and the microphones are used to record the show.
No comments:
Post a Comment