Friday, November 7, 2008
Recording in Audio Suite 3
A basic tutorial for use of the Mackie console and recording in Audio Suite 3.
Virgin Canada WebRadio
The most visited web radio stations on the web worldwide are those belonging to the Virgin group, one tenticle of the giant media (and soda) squid that is Sir Richard Branson's Virgin corperation. With station affiliated in Canada, France, Italy, U.A.E (Dubai), India and Thailand, Virgin plans on buying more stations to make part of its global network. Virgin actally started as a three station conglameration of U.K. stations, which has sinced changed their names to Absolute Radio.
The website has a glossy, but uncluttered interface, that loads a flast, but high-res flash series of rock artist photography. After the brief, yet scintillating, Christina Agularia, Dave Grohl and Beyonce flash dance, an infered global network that harkens interpol pops up with flashing red stations. You can effortlessly listen to the same "alternative"-commercial (read: all songs propbably actually appear in television commercials) radio, repackaged for audiences in distint foriegn outposts. Kinda fun. The most coolest (and one of the few that are extraneous) feature is one that logs listeners joining and where they are listening from.
It was fairly seamless to scroll through programing streams. It was almost as easy as scrolling between stations on satellite radio, to avoid commercials and songs that are particularlly offensive to your tastes. Overall the site's, success and design sophistication shows that there is commercial potentially in online radio. As an uncommercial station, it isn't practically compareable to ours, but as propnents of online radio, we should be ambilently curious about this.
The programing isn't exactly cutting edge (it's a MTV like "what-is-hip," western trash-culture exporting machine), but is sometimes innovative. Our closest out post Virgin999, formerly Mix 99.9 in Toronto, has the worlds shortest program, "Plannet Maurie," a punchy one-minute rant. To be fair the stations more popular shows are Perez Hilton and the Canada Top 20 pop hits though, so the programming isn't worth abandoning your favorite station.
Don't expect anything especially innovative musiclly, programming categories are as wide-ranging as Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Pop Rock, Top 40, and Adult Contemporary. In addition to unexciting programing there are commercials included in the stream. For all these crimes against artistry, the interface was pretty slick. I don't know if it is feasibly sustainable while maintaining a chaoticlly diverse and unstreamable selection of studenet shows. The only show that wasn't available just as a stream on Virgin999's website was "Planet Maurie." Appropriatly it looked like the only good show anyway.
The website has a glossy, but uncluttered interface, that loads a flast, but high-res flash series of rock artist photography. After the brief, yet scintillating, Christina Agularia, Dave Grohl and Beyonce flash dance, an infered global network that harkens interpol pops up with flashing red stations. You can effortlessly listen to the same "alternative"-commercial (read: all songs propbably actually appear in television commercials) radio, repackaged for audiences in distint foriegn outposts. Kinda fun. The most coolest (and one of the few that are extraneous) feature is one that logs listeners joining and where they are listening from.
It was fairly seamless to scroll through programing streams. It was almost as easy as scrolling between stations on satellite radio, to avoid commercials and songs that are particularlly offensive to your tastes. Overall the site's, success and design sophistication shows that there is commercial potentially in online radio. As an uncommercial station, it isn't practically compareable to ours, but as propnents of online radio, we should be ambilently curious about this.
The programing isn't exactly cutting edge (it's a MTV like "what-is-hip," western trash-culture exporting machine), but is sometimes innovative. Our closest out post Virgin999, formerly Mix 99.9 in Toronto, has the worlds shortest program, "Plannet Maurie," a punchy one-minute rant. To be fair the stations more popular shows are Perez Hilton and the Canada Top 20 pop hits though, so the programming isn't worth abandoning your favorite station.
Don't expect anything especially innovative musiclly, programming categories are as wide-ranging as Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Pop Rock, Top 40, and Adult Contemporary. In addition to unexciting programing there are commercials included in the stream. For all these crimes against artistry, the interface was pretty slick. I don't know if it is feasibly sustainable while maintaining a chaoticlly diverse and unstreamable selection of studenet shows. The only show that wasn't available just as a stream on Virgin999's website was "Planet Maurie." Appropriatly it looked like the only good show anyway.
WERS.org Emerson College Radio.
The site for WERS is aesthetically cliché with its uses of pastel purples and blues, and its splatter paint banner. But in relation to functionality it is effective. The banner reads "Voted #1 College Radio by the Princeton Review". On the left and right column there is advertising. And on the top right corner of the left column it displays what show is playing right now and the different modes to listen to it: Analog 88.9, realplayer, streaming audio, and iTunes. Under the banner there are links to sections titled: Listen, Membership, Articles, Shows, Playlists, and Info & Contacts. When clicking on Listen it takes you to a page showing the different radio stations in the region that it broadcasts on, including HD, and online it gives you two different streaming and iTunes options. Under shows it displays the hours Monday-Sunday that various shows and DJ sets are played, and shows the various programs when scrolling down. In the Articles page it presents a library of links to pieces written on the radio station. When clicking on Playlists, one can see minute by minute which songs by which artists are coming up. The best part about the WERS webpage is that on the main page the layout is in grid form. This displays various shows, events, prizes, CD release parties, and live concert schedules. I feel like this layout versus the WNSR layout is better for people to see what is being offered by the station. Instead of having to scroll down and browse vertically, all of the shows are presented right in front of you.
WERS.org
WERS.org
Thursday, November 6, 2008
WMUC: University of Maryland Radio
WMUC, one of the oldest college radio stations in the world, made its debut in 1937 as a news and information station after CBS donated equipment to the
When I first accessed the site, I was immediately drawn into the blog, which is the central element to WMUC’s homepage. I think this is very effective as it features current and upcoming features on the station, with text and images. The top of the page showcases their calls letters over a nicely-colored 1950s-esque image, which gives the feel of old-time, glory-days radio. As I continue to browse the site, Etta James’ “At Last” ironically streams from the station into my iTunes player (okay, a few years off).
The first option on the upper left-hand side of the page is to “Listen Online.” Four options follow: WMUC HQ (96Kbps), WMUC Lo-fi (32kbps), WMUC HQ (96 kbps) and WMUC2 Lo-Fi (64Kbps). Directly below this, WMUC lists what is playing at that exact moment, with the option to Instant Message the DJ or call in. At this point, you can probably tell that they stream live. Below this, there are several easily-navigable options including options like Show Schedules, Calendars, DJ Profiles and a Discussion Board. There are also options to Contact the Staff, look at Station History, and opportunities to Submit Music and PSAs.
WMUC’s station staff is fairly basic, but they certainly have all aspects covered appropriately. Listed positions include the following: General Manager, Operations Manager, Program Director, Business Manager, Promotions Manager, Chief Engineer, Music Director, Live Music/Third Rail Directors (2), and Sports Director.
I found this site to be easily-navigable, attractive, and entertaining. The most appealing aspects of the site, from my perspective, are the central blog, the live streaming and the overall ease of accessing information and entertainment.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The New Campus: a partnership
Hello again!
As mentioned in class on Friday, I recently met with the folks over at The New Campus to talk about cross-promotion possibilities. The first and most exciting news that I have is that they have already established a location on their updated site for a button that links to WNSR! They are planning on launching the update next week, so we should be able to find our link up on their site on or around November 11th (a week from today). We will be reciprocating in kind soon. Karl (Mendonca, the professor and Media Studies alum!) also mentioned the possibility of throwing a playlist generator like Last.fm up on their site which could link to some of our DJ sets, or perhaps occasionally News, or some topical Features. This may be longer in the works, but is a possibility nonetheless.
Also exciting is the fact that they are planning an event on campus for December 11th and have invited us to participate, making it a kind of double-whammy super-event! I think this would be fantastic, considering we weren't able to pull off something for Election Week. Anyone who would like to be involved in helping to plan this should let me or Dennie know so we can get the ball rolling. Right now we're still looking at venues--they envision a kind of "progressive" event scenario, with different student media diffusing in different spaces.
Karl also mentioned the possibility of some live DJ sets at the event, which I know was something that had been discussed in our initial planning. Anyone who'd like to get involved here, again, let us know.
Finally, we'd like WNSR to produce a short news piece and longer feature piece on The New Campus and the classes based around it. We really need your help on this one! Anyone who would like to help interview, record, edit, narrate, or otherwise be involved, PLEASE let us know ASAP!
Questions? Comments? Let me know. Thanks!
Cambra
As mentioned in class on Friday, I recently met with the folks over at The New Campus to talk about cross-promotion possibilities. The first and most exciting news that I have is that they have already established a location on their updated site for a button that links to WNSR! They are planning on launching the update next week, so we should be able to find our link up on their site on or around November 11th (a week from today). We will be reciprocating in kind soon. Karl (Mendonca, the professor and Media Studies alum!) also mentioned the possibility of throwing a playlist generator like Last.fm up on their site which could link to some of our DJ sets, or perhaps occasionally News, or some topical Features. This may be longer in the works, but is a possibility nonetheless.
Also exciting is the fact that they are planning an event on campus for December 11th and have invited us to participate, making it a kind of double-whammy super-event! I think this would be fantastic, considering we weren't able to pull off something for Election Week. Anyone who would like to be involved in helping to plan this should let me or Dennie know so we can get the ball rolling. Right now we're still looking at venues--they envision a kind of "progressive" event scenario, with different student media diffusing in different spaces.
Karl also mentioned the possibility of some live DJ sets at the event, which I know was something that had been discussed in our initial planning. Anyone who'd like to get involved here, again, let us know.
Finally, we'd like WNSR to produce a short news piece and longer feature piece on The New Campus and the classes based around it. We really need your help on this one! Anyone who would like to help interview, record, edit, narrate, or otherwise be involved, PLEASE let us know ASAP!
Questions? Comments? Let me know. Thanks!
Cambra
PROPOSAL: En Route
Hello class! Below is a proposal for the series Jim and I would like to do, centered around stories of travel in and around NYC and titled En Route. Please let us know if you'd like to get involved! I'm going to be disseminating calls for submissions around campus for the rest of the week as well.
NAME: Cambra Moniz-Edwards, Jim Briggs
CONTACT INFORMATION: 415-690-0759, camdiggidy@gmail.com, briggsjr@newschool.edu
CLASS: WNSR: Radio Lab
TITLE: En Route
HOST(S): TBA (see below)
GENRE: Feature. Because this program will be based on outside submissions, the content itself will incorporate various genres (documentary, sound art, etc.)
LENGTH: 30 minutes (incorporating a handful of submissions into each individual show).
FREQUENCY: TBA, depending on the volume and quality of submissions. We imagine this more as a miniseries than a regularly scheduled program, since, again, it will be based on outside submissions.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHOWS: TBA
PITCH: En Route is an invitation for members of the New School community to share their stories of all kinds of travel and transit in New York City. The show will air semi-regularly and incorporate various submissions, which will encompass myriad radio genres, into half-hour shows. A regular host will introduce the program and provide necessary introductions to and explanations of the content.
THE SHOW (a longer explanation of the show):
ONE-SENTENCE PROMO! "Tell us how you got here."
This will appear on our campus call for submissions:
En Route wants to both explore the diverse and entertaining ways that transit factors into our lives both as New Yorkers and members of the New School community, and to promote creativity in audio work. The program will highlight both the diversity of travel within our communities and city as a whole, as well as emphasizing a variety of New School-ers’ experiences around a common theme. Our emphasis on incorporating as many radio genres as possible both increases the potential for submissions and underscores our identity as a freeform station committed to representing our university as a whole!
TIME CLOCK: The nature of the program and our inability to predict submission lengths makes it hard to lay out any sort of time clock here. We imagine a regular host tying all the pieces together and providing context for any particular show (themes being highlighted or illustrated, for example). In this sense a good analogue to imagining the sound might be This American Life, not in the sense of Ira Glass's hosting style or verbal tics, but the idea of 3 or 4 stand-alone pieces illustrating a single idea or concept, woven together by a single host.
TARGET AUDIENCE: We would love to use this series as a way to introduce a kind of microcosm of the varying genres we feature on the station. Ideally we would be able to attract listeners who enjoy more straightforward, NPR-style news and documentary, as well as those who want to hear more abstract or artistically-motivated work. The fact that we are encouraging the New School population to participate also ups our chances of increased university listenership.
STAFFING REQUIREMENTS: Jim and I are happy to get the ball rolling once we put out our call for submissions (which, again, will go out this week), but we'd LOVE help from the class! In the long term, roles to be filled are:
1. A regular host. We can't give an idea of time commitment just yet, but I imagine the show wouldn't air more frequently than every other week, 30 minutes a show. There is time before our first production gets underway to allow for people to submit their work.
2. Producers/script writer(s). This can fall under the host's purview as well, if interests dovetail; if not, division of labor it is! This would entail listening to submissions, grouping them into appropriate "themes" and arranging them in a way to accomodate a half-hour (give or take) framework, and writing appropriate introductions to and commentary on the pieces themselves, as well as general episode intros and outros.
3. Editors. Again, people are welcome to participate on all fronts, but this is another aspect of production that will need attending to--stitching together the above pieces of the show-puzzle, bouncing to disk and submitting appropriate file formats to our submission address and/or ensuring their safe transference to the class hard drive.
And, as always, any thoughts or feedback are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Cambra
NAME: Cambra Moniz-Edwards, Jim Briggs
CONTACT INFORMATION: 415-690-0759, camdiggidy@gmail.com, briggsjr@newschool.edu
CLASS: WNSR: Radio Lab
TITLE: En Route
HOST(S): TBA (see below)
GENRE: Feature. Because this program will be based on outside submissions, the content itself will incorporate various genres (documentary, sound art, etc.)
LENGTH: 30 minutes (incorporating a handful of submissions into each individual show).
FREQUENCY: TBA, depending on the volume and quality of submissions. We imagine this more as a miniseries than a regularly scheduled program, since, again, it will be based on outside submissions.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHOWS: TBA
PITCH: En Route is an invitation for members of the New School community to share their stories of all kinds of travel and transit in New York City. The show will air semi-regularly and incorporate various submissions, which will encompass myriad radio genres, into half-hour shows. A regular host will introduce the program and provide necessary introductions to and explanations of the content.
THE SHOW (a longer explanation of the show):
ONE-SENTENCE PROMO! "Tell us how you got here."
This will appear on our campus call for submissions:
WNSR is pleased to announce its first themed call for submissions! Our newest series, EN ROUTE, wants to hear your stories of New York travel.
New Yorkers move. Our city thrives on transit—how does it move you? EN ROUTE wants to hear your take on any and all forms of transportation in New York. How do you get from point A to B? Who gets you there? What can transportation in the 5 boroughs teach us about our communities and our city at large?
New Yorkers move. Our city thrives on transit—how does it move you? EN ROUTE wants to hear your take on any and all forms of transportation in New York. How do you get from point A to B? Who gets you there? What can transportation in the 5 boroughs teach us about our communities and our city at large?
En Route wants to both explore the diverse and entertaining ways that transit factors into our lives both as New Yorkers and members of the New School community, and to promote creativity in audio work. The program will highlight both the diversity of travel within our communities and city as a whole, as well as emphasizing a variety of New School-ers’ experiences around a common theme. Our emphasis on incorporating as many radio genres as possible both increases the potential for submissions and underscores our identity as a freeform station committed to representing our university as a whole!
TIME CLOCK: The nature of the program and our inability to predict submission lengths makes it hard to lay out any sort of time clock here. We imagine a regular host tying all the pieces together and providing context for any particular show (themes being highlighted or illustrated, for example). In this sense a good analogue to imagining the sound might be This American Life, not in the sense of Ira Glass's hosting style or verbal tics, but the idea of 3 or 4 stand-alone pieces illustrating a single idea or concept, woven together by a single host.
TARGET AUDIENCE: We would love to use this series as a way to introduce a kind of microcosm of the varying genres we feature on the station. Ideally we would be able to attract listeners who enjoy more straightforward, NPR-style news and documentary, as well as those who want to hear more abstract or artistically-motivated work. The fact that we are encouraging the New School population to participate also ups our chances of increased university listenership.
STAFFING REQUIREMENTS: Jim and I are happy to get the ball rolling once we put out our call for submissions (which, again, will go out this week), but we'd LOVE help from the class! In the long term, roles to be filled are:
1. A regular host. We can't give an idea of time commitment just yet, but I imagine the show wouldn't air more frequently than every other week, 30 minutes a show. There is time before our first production gets underway to allow for people to submit their work.
2. Producers/script writer(s). This can fall under the host's purview as well, if interests dovetail; if not, division of labor it is! This would entail listening to submissions, grouping them into appropriate "themes" and arranging them in a way to accomodate a half-hour (give or take) framework, and writing appropriate introductions to and commentary on the pieces themselves, as well as general episode intros and outros.
3. Editors. Again, people are welcome to participate on all fronts, but this is another aspect of production that will need attending to--stitching together the above pieces of the show-puzzle, bouncing to disk and submitting appropriate file formats to our submission address and/or ensuring their safe transference to the class hard drive.
And, as always, any thoughts or feedback are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Cambra
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day!
ATTN WNSR Staffers:
An election night event is being held starting at 8 o'clock tonight on the 2nd floor of Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street. There will be an open mic for students who'd like to share a poem or a song, prizes, snacks and refreshments and of course large screens with news coverage.
Any interested WNSR staffers are encouraged to grab a recorder and get some tape. We will include it in our WNSR "News In Review" weekly newscast. Thanks, News Director Jeff Weiser
An election night event is being held starting at 8 o'clock tonight on the 2nd floor of Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street. There will be an open mic for students who'd like to share a poem or a song, prizes, snacks and refreshments and of course large screens with news coverage.
Any interested WNSR staffers are encouraged to grab a recorder and get some tape. We will include it in our WNSR "News In Review" weekly newscast. Thanks, News Director Jeff Weiser
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