Full Spectrum Storytelling Intensive, Dec 16-20, UnionDocs

Awesome storytelling training opportunity in Brooklyn.

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AIR and UnionDocs'
Full Spectrum Storytelling Intensive

Brooklyn, NY
December 16 – 20, 2013

 
Our inaugural Full Spectrum Storytelling intensive in August received rave reviews from producers, including this one from Emily Berman, Metro Connection producer, "This week was rejuvenating, inspiring and fun. It blew my expectations out of the water!” 
 
NYC producer Amanda Aronczyk leads a brilliant team of instructors determined to stretch the boundaries of craft and inspire makers pioneering 21st century media. Are you up to the challenge? We're looking for mid-career producers who want to embark on a week-long excursion through storytelling to sound processing to interactive design and more. Only a few spots remain for our December session at UnionDocs in Brooklyn, NY, so hop to it. Hands-on exercises and work-in-progress critique will put this new knowledge into practice. Please note: You must have a moderate to high level of experience in audio editing, i.e., mixed a news feature, or done basic editing via Hindenburg, ProTools, Audacity, or some other editing platform.
 
Sign up for AIR & UnionDocs’ Full Spectrum Storytelling intensive now! For a schedule and a full lineup of special guests – including Ann Heppermann, Jonathan Mitchell, and John Keefe – visit http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=782.
 
<<< EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: Cost: $750 | October 15, 2013 >>>
<<< REGULAR DEADLINE: $800 | November 1, 2013 >>>
 
(Photos from top left, clockwise: John Keefe, Janet Cardiff walk, Jonathan Mitchell, Christopher Allen | Photographs by Amanda Aronczyk) 

CLASS OVERVIEW*:
STORIES IN SOUND 101 | An in-depth look at the ways we both listen and hear.
 

CUTTING UP NARRATIVE | There are thousands of ways to tell the same story. Which way to go?
SOUND IN SPACE | Sound can represent and interact with place, architecture and the physical environment. 
BIG DATA | How can you incorporate the latest data into your storytelling on-air and on-line?
FUTURE AUDIO | A foray into interactive design and the narrative potential in networks. 

* Please note:  Class goes from 10 – 5:30pm Monday through Friday and full attendance is mandatory. Please do not sign up if you are unable to attend each day.

Funding for AIR comes from our members and the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Wyncote Foundation, Recovery.gov, and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Association of Independents in Radio
P.O. Box 220400
Boston, MA 02122
Phone: 617-825-4400
www.airmedia.org

 

AIR

PO Box 220400

Boston, Massachusetts 02122

Copyright (C) 2013 AIR All rights reserved.

2nd Session of Radio Boot Camp – NY

FYI NYC radio wannabes!

Posting on behalf of Radio Boot Camp class at UnionDocs in NYC. Our first session filled up so quickly we're offering a second, weekend long, session in November. There are only 3-4 spots left so if you're interested please register quickly! Boot Camp is a class for beginners/newbies/enthusiasts so please share with friends not on the AIR list!

http://www.uniondocs.org/radio-boot-camp-october-2013/

Latino USA Call for Pitches

Latest call for pitches from Latino USA.

NPR’s Latino USA has several shows with special themes coming up in the next few months. They are:

  • Neighbors
  • Money
  • Language
  • Labor
  • Sports (especially women and sports)

We’d love to hear your story ideas for these themes or anything else that you may have in the pipeline.

Please send queries to pitches@futuromediagroup.org.

And here’s a link to our reporter guidelines: http://latinousa.org/about/contributors/.

If you’re pitching for the first time, please include a few sentences about your experience and a couple of samples of your work.

Theme List for new NPR Science Desk Project

A new project from the NPR Science desk – headed by RadioLab's Lulu Miller and TAL's Alix Spiegel, so you KNOW this is going to be good. They say it takes them awhile to respond to pitches, so BE PATIENT. Send your fabulous ideas and give the ladies some space to work their magic. Details follow!
-mia


Alix Spiegel and I are working on a new project from the NPR science desk that’s about human behavior. We are looking for stories in which you make some real emotional contact with the main character(s) in your story. If you have stories that are in line with any of the themes below and are interested in doing something with us, write us a short paragraph about what the story is and send it over (please also include a sample of your work if possible). The stories can be long or short – we have a lot of room to play with. Also if you just have an epic story that you desperately want to tell, feel free to send it in because maybe we can build something with it. There are only two of us and we are often overwhelmed so please forgive us if we can't get back to you right away.

Anyway here are some of the themes we are thinking about – forgive the haste of the descriptions but we wanted to let y’all know what’s in the hopper as it’s hopping. Let us know if these themes jangle any of yo' bells.

Fear:

This is a show that looks at the way that fear affects our lives. The big ways that it affects us, and the small ways that it affects us and shapes what happens in our lives. We are looking at all kinds of fear from all kinds of angles, so if you have a story which involves someone facing up to a major fear, or someone realizing something about their fear, or something who learns something from an experience they've had with fear – or something who just has a great story about something that was genuinely terrifying to them – write us about it. At the moment, this is what we have: a story about a man who is biologically incapable of fear and how that affects his life. A sprawling (slithering?) story about fear that looks at fear bunch of different angles – including fear on the molecular level and the pentagon researchers that are putting it in a bottle, and also snakes. Also a “mapping fear” story about criminologists who look at how long fear lingers in a place after a death. Send your fear stories.

 

Struggle:

This show is trying to look at struggle. The main story is about a man who was born blind into a borderline abusive family, and how he believes struggling through that situation actually enabled him to become the bike-riding, free-walking, running, hiking blind man that he is. In other words, according to him? Struggle = good. No struggle = bad. He’s at the point where he believes helping disabled people is essentially like enslaving them. We’ve got a story about cross cultural struggle – how when a kid struggles intellectually in the West, people think the kid is weak because the kid doesn't have talent – but in the East – if you struggle you are just seen as strong – the WORST soccer player gets the award! — because greatness is seen as coming less from talent than from how hard you work.  So we are looking for stories – which contradict the first story – maybe someone who was forced to struggle too much and gave up. Or a story where help… was really profoundly great and necessary for getting over a hump. Or maybe a story of how hard it is to watch your kid struggle and how you want to help them. Or any other story about struggling that you can think of – maybe you have a neighbor who went through unbelievable struggles (an immigrant) to come here, and now then set out to save their kids from struggle – and what they think of it now that their kids are grown up. If you can think of anything let us know.

 

100 Miles Apart:

There’s a strange thing in quantum physics where two particles, even if they are 100 miles apart, are still sort of… the same thing. Touch one, and the other one reacts in just the same way. It’s nearly impossible to comprehend… they are the same thing, the same particle, hopelessly and literally ENTANGLED… even though they are a hundred miles apart. Do you have anything that could fit thematically into this?

 

How Technology Changes Us

Alright.  Maybe you’ve heard this topic on every show, magazine, and news program already…  BUT! what story do you have about it? What’s the thing under your skin or that you’ve noticed or heard about as a result of the tide of computers, smartphones, internet, and apps taking over the way we communicate with each other. We’ve got a trilogy of cell phone deaths, how anonymity coaxes out our dark side, the weird things call centers are recording you do. What weird thing (good, bad, hopeful, unknown) have you been thinking about? 


Maths 

Or maybe “Paint by Numbers.” Stories of people putting numbers to the living world. If it can be done, what they can find out, what they can’t. Why you can’t divide by zero, but how, if you could you may gain entry to a secret universe– but really, a real one. How algorithms are controlling your world. Math stories in non-living world is ok too. 

Storyhunters (When stories harm – medicine, reporting, therapy, trauma.  When stories help.)

Grief Show (5 stages: denial – anger – bargaining  depression – acceptance.  Which one you got a story about? Doesn’t necessarily have to be about death.)

Upside-Down Show (there are more bugs than humans, there's a disease where a symptom is happiness, there is a town where the weird-crazies aren't weird or crazy. they are the norm!) 

Alcohol Show 

We are also looking for any absolutely fantastic story you know. With the one condition that it is fabulous.

So if something here hits a chord with something in your head or something you encounter in the world seems relevant, let us know. We are still figuring out how we might work with independent radio producers (actually we are still figuring out everything about what we are doing) so please have patience.  I think that's all. Send ideas to Lmiller@npr.org and aspiegel@npr.org   


Thanks and be good! 

Lulu


Lulu Miller

NPR Science Desk

LMiller@npr.org

Soup to Nuts, Oct 26-27, SF Bay Area

A new Soup-to-Nuts session in the Bay Area, Oct 26 and 27. Details below.

 

Dear Radio People,


I'm offering my Soup-to-Nuts weekend again in the San Francisco Bay Area on:

October 26 & 27, 2013.


Please see the flier below.

AND... check out my website! <<claireschoenmedia.com>> Under “Teaching” you can find feedback from previous “Soup-to-Nuts” students. Under “Biography” you can find out more than you’d ever want to know about me. Under “Productions” you can listen to the past 25 years of my audio work.

If you are interested in attending, please let me know asap, as the class sometimes fills quickly.

 

I hope you can join us in October.

Best, Claire Schoen

 

Claire Schoen Media

claireschoenmedia.com

cschoen@earthlink.net

510-882-6164

 

 

======================================================

 

"From Soup to Nuts"

A 2-day intensive

on

documentary radio production

offered in the San Francisco Bay Area


Logistics:

This seminar will be held October 26 & 27, 2013.

Each day's class will run from 10 am to 5:30 pm,

including 6 hours of class work, plus lunch and breaks.

 

It will be held at Claire’s studio in Berkeley, California

Class will be limited to 8 students.

The cost of the 2-day seminar is $250.

The Course:

Through lectures, group discussion, Q & A, written handouts, and lots of audio demos, this two-day class will explore the ins and outs of creating a long-form radio documentary. Designed to meet the needs of mid-level producers, this seminar will also be accessible to individuals who have little or no experience in radio production.

 

Compelling audio documentary incorporates a creative weave of elements including narration, interviews, music, vérité scenes, character portraits, dramatizations, performances, archival tape and ambience beds. Students learn how these elements serve to paint a picture in sound.

 

Emphasis will be put on the production process. To this end, the class will examine the steps of concept development, research, pre-production, recording techniques, interviewing, writing, organizing tape, scripting, editing and mixing required to create an audio documentary.

 

Most importantly, we will focus on the art of storytelling. We will discuss dramatic structure, taking the listener through introduction, development and resolution of a story. And we will explore how character development brings the listener to the heart of the story.

 

The Teacher:

Claire Schoen is a media producer, with a special focus on documentary radio. As a producer/director, she has created over 25 long-form radio documentaries and several documentary films, as well as numerous short works. As a sound designer she has recorded, edited and mixed sound for film, video, radio, webstory, museums and theater productions. Her radio documentaries have garnered numerous awards including the SEJ, NFCB, Gracie, Clarion, PASS and New York International Festival. She has also shared in both a Peabody and a DuPont-Columbia award.

 

Claire has taught documentary radio production at U.C.

Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, AIR's mentorship program, the Third Coast Festival Conference and other venues.

 

To Register:

Contact Claire Schoen

cschoen@earthlink.net    510-882-6164     www.claireschoenmedia.com

pdf iconStoN’s Flier 2013 Oct.pdf

Radiovision 2013, Oct 19, NYC

RADIOVISION 2013

Scholastic Auditorium

557 Broadway, NYC

Saturday, October 19th

Celebrating its 3rd year, Radiovision celebrates radio's future as it takes on new forms in the digital age for the medium's fans, tinkerers, and future thinkers. It includes a day of talks, panel discussions and performances, featuring keynote speaker Laurie Anderson.


Programming highlights: New Streaming services and Community platforms – Native advertising and content creation – New funding models for radio and independent producers, plus sessions on radio essays, comedy podcasts, DJ tools and more.


MORE INFO:

http://radiovision.wfmu.org/


TICKETS:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/424428


GUESTS INCLUDE:

Laurie Anderson,  Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), Julie Klausner (Comedian), Ken Freedman (WFMU), Starlee Kine (This American Life), Alex Blumberg (Planet Money), Jonathan Goldstein (WireTap), Rob Walker (Author), Tom Scharpling (Comedian, WFMU), Jake Fogelnest (Comedian), Elena Razlogova (McGill University), Jon Ronson (Radio 4), Diana Kimball (SoundCloud), Liz Berg (WFMU) & More to Come!

Request For Pitches – The Knowledge Drop

New show, new opportunities! Details below. -Mia

+++++++++++++

The Knowledge Drop

We are a new production company and this is a new show. We encourage newbies that are talented as well…mostly because we are new too :)! If you have other skills such as being a freelance journalist and are available for local coverage/write ups and/or are a serious writer on political events and global issues (no matter if you lean left, right or center) reach out to us as well. We are looking to establish a solid relationship with a journalist in the next 2-4 months, so reach out!

**A New Production** 

The Knowledge Drop is educational in nature. The topics should be related to political governments only. The topic should teach, in an interesting manner, something about a political system or function of government that is not currently known, or, is widely misunderstood. An example topic maybe the Electoral College or how the Security Council  operates.  Also, it could be historical; for example, how the United States went from in-direct to direct election of senators. Although we are open to interesting ideas, the design is as follows: (1) What is it the topic; (2) What is the Misconception about the topic; (3) How did we get that misconception; and (4) what is the actual truth.  Think "I am Just A bill" (I'm Just a Bill (Schoolhouse Rock!)) except this is for adults.

Be creative. This should not be boring or have the "feel" of sitting on the soft. It should be alive.

show: planned for weekly, initial distribution twice per month

Time: 4-7 minutes
compensation: $125 – $300+ depending on experience of the producer. (Most selected pieces will sit in the lower range because of our budget).

pitch: Send all pitches in email form to: autry@urrepublic.com


**We are brand new; so, please…feel free to pitch what you know.  Be sure to send a link to a current production or sample audio you have and your level of experience.**

AAWW seeks WordPress/PHP developer

Pass this along to your hacker buddies.

-mia
++++++++++++++

AAWW WordPress/PHP Developer (Freelance)

The Asian American Writers' Workshop is looking to hire a freelance

WordPress/PHP Developer to troubleshoot and maintain the backend of our
three sites: The Margins (aaww.org), Open City (opencitymag.com) and

CultureStrike (culturestrike.net). See full description here.

link:

TAL Mini Theme List

The latest from TAL. -Mia

Hello This American Life Contributors,

We plan to be sending out a more comprehensive email listing themes-in-progress in a few weeks. That list will have the shows we're planning for late fall and winter. But in the meantime, there is one show we're so excited about that we'd like to begin the work on it immediately. The show – tentatively titled "The Things You're Not Supposed to Talk About" – is being put together by TAL producer Sarah Koenig, so I'll just let her take it over from here.

You can reply to Sarah at this email address or sarah@thislife.org

Here's Sarah:

My mother lives by a set of rules about conversations. Things you're not supposed to talk about with anyone outside your immediate family – or even, sometimes, inside your immediate family. The list has eight topics on it, chosen not because they're taboo, but because they're potentially boring.

We'd like to do a radio show where we prove this list – and this mother – wrong. Our challenge is to find such interesting, entertaining stories on each of these supposedly off-limits topics, that by the end, the list and its limitations will seem feeble.

Here is the list of things you're not supposed to talk about:

1. Sleep. As in, how you slept the night before. "…Oh, I slept so horribly. I got to sleep easily, but then I woke up around 2 am because there was a dog barking and then I couldn't get back to sleep so I took a pill, but then… " You get the idea.

2. If you're a woman, you don't talk about your menstrual cycle. Nobody cares.

3. Your dreams. Again, no one but you finds them interesting.

4. Your health. Big, serious health scares are OK. But talk of aches and pains and the common cold and "oh, I just don't feel so good today… " – that stuff is deemed whiny and uninteresting.

5. Money. This one, as opposed to all the others, is because of old-school taboo, not because it's necessarily boring. Money talk is just not done; it's vulgar. So you shouldn't talk about how much you make or how much your house or your car costs or any of that stuff.

6. Route Talk. This is the number one off-limits topic for my mother. Any discussion of how you got somewhere – no. Especially how you got to where you've just arrived. As in, "Sorry we're late. We planned on coming in on I-94, but there was a detour because of an accident, so we took route 79 instead, and then got off on exit 12, which wasn't quite right because we ended up just north of…" etc. Again, it's just boring.

7. Weather. Just regular what's-it-like-out-today weather discussion. Once again, boring.

8. Your diet. What you're eating or not eating; your weight-loss regime. No one cares.

So that's the list. We already have a pretty good one for the menstrual cycle example, so we probably don't need pitches about that, unless they're really, really good. But for all the others, we need your stories! Again, we want stories on any of these topics that are the opposite of boring; they're so gripping or funny or surprising that you can proudly tell them at any dinner party — at which you can imagine my mother sitting, one of the guests, rapt. The stories can be serious, too – funny is great, but certainly not mandatory.

Thank you so much for your pitches and suggestions.

Best,
Sarah Koenig

Banff Centre opportunity for radio producers

The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada is offering a work study program for radio producers. Details http://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/program.aspx?id=1376“>HERE and below. (Rumor is that the deadline has been extended until Sept 16 for the upcoming program.) -Mia

About the Radio Producer Work Study Program

This Work Study Program provides the opportunity to assist in the development and production of new radio programming at The Banff Centre.

Duties will include program production from concept to capture and delivery. The participant will assist in the cataloguing and digital transfer/ingest of recorded music, live concerts, and archival materials. In addition, you will work with other Banff Centre digital media assets including digital photographs, animations, videos, and archival sound recordings. 

The participant will liaise with multiple Banff Centre departments and receive combined mentorship from our Executive Producer, Audio Programs and our Senior Audio Broadcast Producer.

The Work Study participant will develop research, communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills through his or her work with Banff Centre staff, faculty, and artists. The participant will have the opportunity to engage in discussions about key trends in broadcasting, audio production and radio journalism; attend various seminars, workshops, and cultural events; and expand his or her personal network through participating in community outreach initiatives and project committees specific to audio content creation and broadcast. 

Qualifications

  • Passionate interest in radio, podcasting, and audio documentary
  • Strong interest in music and audio 

  • Demonstrated research and database skills 
  • Strong oral and written communication skills in English and French

  • Highly computer literate with expertise in Microsoft Office 
  • Strong audio editing skills 
  • Ability to assess and advise on audio quality 
  • Effective multitasking, strong time-management skills, and attention to administrative detail 
  • Excellent diplomacy skills, with a high level of confidence 

  • Ability to manage resources and produce to schedule