End of 2nd week in RC - Posted on 2015-03-27 by John-Daniel Berg

This was a productive week. Monday, I managed to get my Adobe Audition downloaded after being passed around India a few times. I've been recording and re-recording various spots from the curriculum and my voice-over class and then listening back to them. The ability to hear myself played back is probably the best tool for practice and I have enjoyed monkeying around with the recordings. I've also tried some of the breathing exercises and I'm focusing on pushing that air through the all-important diaphragm. On Tuesday, I spent around 4 hours at the station. The first hour and 15 minutes was spent with my mentor going over the 3rd track from the audio guide and discussing it. I hope Ennio Morricone got paid for the use of his "Good, Bad, Ugly" theme music in one of the spots. He deserves it. We discussed copy and Adobe Audition. We also discussed how and when to use the various tools it offers. My mentor advised me not to rush the second assignment and to get comfortable with the ads I'll be reading. He advised me to have fun and to get creative when the copy allows for it. He explained that voicing the spots a number of different ways is good practice and exercise even if some fall short of perfection. After our discussion, I sat in while my mentor pre-recorded his weather spots that run in the evening hours. They consist of the forecast, the stations call letters and some brief advertising for local sponsors. Next, I sat in on the pre-recording of a 24-minute show that will air later in the week. The producer gave me the rundown on the board and explained what he does during pre-recorded shows. After that, I sat in with the same producer on a 2-hour live show. Watching him run the board, screen calls and communicate with the host was enlightening and a good time. It's a lot to absorb at once but I know I can do that with some practice. I will be returning weekly to sit in on that show and spoke with the producer and my mentor about other showtimes. I'm going to make some holes in my schedule so I can sit in as often as possible. I plan to practice in the evenings over this busy weekend, finalize my second assignment Monday and submit it to my mentor on Tuesday. Tune in next week. 

JDB