Class 2/6: Parts of an Audio Package

In class on Monday, we went over the next assignment for the course: an audio package.

The elements of an audio package are as follows:

Research: Always research first. This could be research of a social, cultural, or political phenomenon that your story is trying to explore, research about the person you'll be interviewing or place you'll be recording in, or research on other types of a stories that have been told in this arena. If you don't know what to look for, you won't know how to recognize it when you find it!

Sound effects: Buzzing crowds, footsteps, cash registers, glasses clinking on the bar, traffic speeding by--all of these things help you create a soundscape for your listeners that you can use to paint a picture before, after, or between your segments. 

Wild track: This is the "room tone" of the sounds wherever you will be doing your interviewing.

Interviews: The BBC suggests: "Make sure you listen to the answers to your questions carefully and if you're not satisfied with the answer, make sure you follow it up with extra questions. Record your interviewees' names and how to pronounce them. Our interview masterclass video has everything you need to know to get your interviews right."

Here's an example of a radio package we listened to in class:

http://www.npr.org/2016/03/02/468045219/to-make-a-wild-comeback-cranes-need-more-than-flying-lessons