AUDIO PRODUCTION

FINAL EVALUATION

Your Final Evaluation will be a radio program. Create a radio program that contains
the following format: All materials will be originally produced.

PRODUCE A RADIO SHOW

OPENING

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

SEGMENT 1: This I Believe

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

SEGMENT 2: Audio Portrait

SEGMENT 3: Radio Drama or Oral History

CLOSING

******Total Program Time: Not to exceed 19:30 minutes*******

Skills to be assessed:
-Ability to create smooth and seamless audio transitions.
-Vocal projection and articulation
-Vocal pacing
- Appropriate sound mixing
- Quality of audio commentary
RADIO SHOW TIME LIMITS & GUIDELINES

Opening
(1 minute)
Must contain original music/effects
Must introduce the hosts
Must give a preview of what to expect during the show
Must establish a tone and style of the show

Musical Interlude
(30 seconds)
Song must be ORIGINAL.
Host must identify the song title and artist afterward

SEGMENT 1
Introduction To Segment 1
Give a brief synopsis of what the listener is preparing to hear
(30 seconds)

This I Believe
(3-4 minutes)
(See Description)

Closing of Segment
(30 seconds)
Must smoothly end the prior segment and transition to next segment

PSA
Public Service Announcement
(30 seconds)
Must contain a combination of sound effects, voice-over and music.

SEGMENT 2
Introduction To Segment 2
Give a brief synopsis of what the listener is preparing to hear
(30 seconds)
 Audio Portrait
(4-5 minutes)
(See description)

Closing of Segment
(30 seconds)
Must smoothly end the prior segment and transition to next segment
________________________________________________________________________

SEGMENT 3
Introduction To Segment 3
Give a brief synopsis of what the listener is preparing to hear
(30 seconds)

Radio Drama
(3-5 minutes)
(See description)

Closing
(30 seconds)
Must contain original music/effects
Must bring the show to a conclusion and give a preview of next show.

Musical Outro
(30 seconds)
Must be ORIGINAL music
 THIS I BELIEVE
TASK:
Write and Record a Personal Essay

How long should my essay be?

Between 400 and 500 words, or about three minutes when read aloud at your natural
speaking pace.

How can I improve my essay before I submit it?

First, make sure your essay is framed in a concrete belief or conviction Then, tell us a
compelling story about how you came to hold that belief, or a time that belief was
challenged, or how that belief shapes your daily activities. Try sharing one belief instead
of composing a list of all of your beliefs.

Sometimes personal essays are actually inspired by a belief statement or quotation from
someone famous whom the writer respects. Do any quotations below ring true with what
you yourself believe?

See provided sample essays on:

dmmclass.ning.com

Hear audio essays at:

www.thisIbelieve.org
 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Write and Record a 30 second PSA for an organization that is trying to make a significant
change in peoples’ lives, behavior or awareness. Your PSA should encourage your peers
to get involved with that organization and/or take action!

What Is A Public Service Announcement?

A Public Service Announcement (PSA) is a free “commercial” for a non-profit
organization. It is aired voluntary by individual radio and/or TV stations.

What Is The Goal of a PSA?

The goal of a PSA is simple: To get someone to take a specific action. It’s not to talk
about the sponsoring organization. It’s to motivate the targeted audience to act: To drop
off the canned goods for the food drive. To make sure their children’s seat belts
are buckled. To stay in school....To stop smoking…etc.

Who Is The PSA For, Anyway?

A good public service announcement is for the good of the community. For it to do good
for the community, your PSA must:
• Attract the attention of your target audience
• Speak to the audience in their own language
• Relate to the audience’s lives
• Deliver a single core message
• Deliver the message with clarity
• Motivate the audience to act.

Identify The Organization.

The sponsoring organization must be identified within the PSA. Deliver Exactly One
“Core Message”. The “core message” is the one thing you want the audience to hear, to
understand, and to remember. Many PSAs (and many commercials) make
the mistake of trying to get the audience to do more than one thing.
A PSA can ask people to donate food. Or money. Or time. But it shouldn’t ask for
all three.

Motivate the Listener, Talk Only About The Results.

Most people who write PSAs do so from the point-of-view of the sponsoring
organization:

Poor Example:
“The Smallville Homeless Shelter is holding its annual food drive from
Monday, November 1 until Friday, November 26. If you would like to
participate, please bring your canned goods to one of several drop-off points
which are located at....”

Whom is that PSA about? ______________________

What is about? ______________________
 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT, cont.
Excellent Example:
“A can of food probably doesn’t mean that much to you. You probably have a
cupboard full of them. But just a few of those cans will keep a Smallville family
from going hungry tonight....”

How Do I Start?
You start with the goal of the PSA: What do you want it to accomplish? Once
you know the goal, then you can figure out how the PSA can achieve it.

****You must submit a written draft of your script.

 AUDIO PORTRAIT
- Create an audio portrait of an African-American musician or African
American music genre that existed primarily between the years 1940-1990.
Your goal is to fully cover the person’s lifelong accomplishments in 5 minutes
of audio!! Give us insight about who they really were

- You must use at least 4 different audio clips from their music and 2-4 audio
interview clips. You must paint the picture of the time and incorporate sound
effects wherever necessary as you tell the story.

- Your voice-over must cover the political and social climate of the time period.

- Your project must contain the following:

o Original introduction of yourself and your topic with ORIGINAL

instrumental background music.

- Your commentary must answer the following:

o What were the major issues and events going on in society at the time?
o How did your artist make an impact/breakthrough in society and the
world?
o Why do you believe this artist/group is unique and important?
o In your opinion, does your artist’s impact still have a lasting
impression on the world today? How? Why? Or why not?

Total Running Time: 4 minutes

Skills to be assessed: -Ability to create smooth and seamless audio transitions.
-Vocal projection and articulation
-Vocal pacing
- Appropriate sound mixing
- Quality of audio commentary

Format: A sample format is as follows:

-Introduction
-Soundbyte
-Commentary
-Soundbyte
-Commentary
-Soundbyte
-Commentary
-Soundbyte
-Conclusion
 ORAL HISTORY
Oral history is the systematic collection of living people’s testimony about their own
experiences. Oral history is not folklore, gossip, hearsay, or rumor. Oral historians
attempt to verify their findings, analyze them, and place them in an accurate historical
context. Oral historians are also concerned with storage of their findings for use by later
scholars.

In oral history projects, an interviewee recalls an event for an interviewer who records the
recollections and creates a historical record.

Oral history, well done, gives one a sense of accomplishment. Collecting oral histpry, we
have a sense of catching and holding something valuable from the receding tide of the
past.
Task:

Interview 2 people who are older than 40 years old. Ask them the following question:

1. “As the time grows near for me to leave home, what is the most important
message or belief that you hope I will take with me and remember throughout my
entire life?”

2. Have you applied this advice to your own life? How?

• Listen carefully and audio record what this adult says, just like a reporter
investigating a news story. Use a cell phone, Ipod, camera, voice recorder, etc. to record
the audio. Do a test for sound quality first

• Ask probing questions in this interview so that you will understand

exactly why the adult has chosen this specific message and how the adult has tried to
follow this personal advice in his or her own life.

Create a 3-4 minute audio recording that includes music (for dramatic effect), sound
effects (if necessary)

Write a commentary that compares and contrasts the two responses from the people
you interviewed. Answer the following questions in your commentary.

- Briefly describe these people and their background.

- Were there any similarities in their responses?
- Were there any differences?
- What did you learn about life from their responses?

Hint: Follow the format of the Audio Portrait

 Radio Drama
The Past, The Present, The Future

TASK:

Imagine that the Past YOU, the Present YOU and the Future YOU somehow meet up.

Create a 3-5 minute Radio Drama that illustrates how this moment happens and also
answers the following questions. You radio drama must maintain a serious tone even if it
is humorous.

What has the FUTURE YOU learned that the PRESENT YOU has not?
What does the PAST YOU know that the FUTURE YOU forgot?
What does the PRESENT YOU learn from THE FUTURE and PAST YOU?

- Your Radio Drama must be creative and well recorded.

- You must use audio effectively to communicate the setting and tone of the
surroundings.
- Your Radio drama must use sound effects, music, special effects and contain
high quality audio.

*******You must submit a written draft of your script.