P5: Record an extract of the planned radio programme
Recording Day:
Today I will be recording and producing the planned radio programme. When I arrived in the studio I logged on to the computer, opened up audacity and ensured all of the microphones were plugged in to the sound mixing board.
I also had my Macbook plugged into the mixer with an aux cable, which allowed me to record sound directly from my macbook to the broadcast, while being able to adjust sound levels of this sound using the mixer. This was used to play music during the session. This setup was handy as it allowed me as the presenter and producer to sit near the mixing desk, so that I could adjust levels, mute microphones and fade music in and out as needed whilst still presenting the show.
I also needed to have the audio coming through headphones for both me and the contributors so that we could hear each other and how we would sound in the broadcast clearly. This meant that I could precisely control what was heard in the broadcast, and if something was wrong (e.g. microphones too loud, microphones muted, music not faded in, etc.) I would know and could adjust it immediately. To achieve this, I used a headphone amp that was plugged into the audio mixer, and plugged all of our headphones into this. Here is what this setup looked like:
Having prepared my studio setup, I brought in my contributors, briefed them on the topics that we would be discussing and sat them down at the table in a seat next to their microphones. I also briefed them on the fact that this was a production to be broadcast on air and in compliance with OfCom guidelines they should take care of the language that they used and detail that they went in to. Each contributor was given a copy of the risk assessment guideline as well to ensure that they were aware of the risks and how they would avoid them.
With everything prepared and my contributors ready, I began recording of the production. I recorded all of the audio into audacity, using the mixer to edit live during the "Broadcast." I spoke to my contributors about topics and spurred their debate and conversation. At certain intervals I would mute the microphones and fade in some music, as you would hear on a typical radio show.
After recording I thanked my guests for their contribution and sent them on their way. I then exported the track as a .WAV file and uploaded it to google drive. I then uploaded the finished broadcast to Soundcloud.com as stated in the project brief.
After recording I thanked my guests for their contribution and sent them on their way. I then exported the track as a .WAV file and uploaded it to google drive. I then uploaded the finished broadcast to Soundcloud.com as stated in the project brief.
Here is my final radio broadcast: