About Tintinnabulous
I am a 24-year veteran of radio, mostly non-commercial, but I’ve been bucking the trend among my colleagues and spending more time in the commercial world of late. I’ve done a little bit of everything on both sides of the mic including work as a DJ, producer, and reporter. I spent about 13 years on the business side of the industry, mostly in sales. Since 2005, I’ve been promoting and producing podcasts and new media.
The Auburn University Radio Flyer Theatre is On the Air!
Auburn University Radio Flyer Theatre "The Gift of the Magi": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Auburn University Radio Flyer Theatre "The Last Leaf": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Last summer, Dan LeRocque from Auburn University Theatre asked me if I would be interesting in helping to produce some audio drama for podcast. I jumped at the opportunity. I have fond memories of The Holy Roman Radio Company from my early days at KWMU in St. Louis and I’ve been perplexed by how little audio drama is available by podcast relative to other kinds of programming. It seems a natural fit for the medium.
Dan told me he had long wanted to produce two O. Henry stories for the holidays, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Last Leaf,” as a holiday gift for the Theatre’s patrons. He recruited a cast of faculty and BFA students to perform with an eye toward recording over two days in early December. We ran into a bit of a snag in that the Telfair Peet Theatre was already booked. Fortunately, the Auburn University Department of Music was happy to let us use their Goodwin Recital Hall. In addition, I asked Bill Schaffer if they might have some recordings of carols we could use. He rounded a group of their students and recorded selections specifically for the productions.
So, on a Friday in early December Bill took his students into Goodman and recorded music. On Saturday and Sunday, we recorded the scripts Dan had adapted. On Monday and Tuesday morning I edited and mixed the working parts and by the afternoon of December 8th, Auburn University Radio Flyer Theatre was officially “On the Air.”
In many ways, this is one of my favorite projects in which I have had a part. We enjoyed true collaboration across departments and between faculty and students. I’m also happy to say that the response has been very positive. As of this writing, I do not know the number of times each file has been accessed, but I understand we were in four figures early, which is very gratifying. Even more gratifying is feedback like this:
I forwarded the announcement to xxxxx at xxxxxx High School and she forwarded it to some of the teachers there and at xxxxx. The teachers have really loved it and are using it in the classroom. xxxxx’s folks are coming in for Christmas and we will listen to the podcasts one of the evenings while they are here.
Dan also told me that the day we went live, a local librarian phoned to thank him for making these stories available. She was playing them for the children in her school. Much as I tend to counsel against relying on anecdotal data for anything, that’s probably the most gratifying feedback I’ve received in a long time.
Largehearted Boy on WBHM’s Tapestry
Late last year, I pitched a story to WBHM’s Tanya Ott. I’ve been a long-time reader of the blog largehearted boy. A highly regarded music and literature blog based out of Birmingham seemed an excellent fit for WBHM’s monthly cultural magazine Tapestry. Happily, Tanya agreed.
In February, I drove up to Birmingham, borrowed a studio from WBHM, and interviewed David Gutowski using my own gear. I dutifully checked the recording during and after the interview and drove home to Auburn. When I sat down in my studio that evening and slipped the card into the reader I was puzzled to find the file would not open in Adobe Audition. Puzzlement turned to dismay when I discovered that the quarter-GB file on my card resisted every program I threw at it. I solicited opinions from friends and colleagues, but after a week resigned myself to the fact that the interview was lost to an unexplained equipment glitch. I contacted David, who was very understanding, yet his busy schedule and my busy schedule thwarted subsequent efforts to get together. I resigned myself to the idea that it was a good story idea that would never quite come to pass.
Then, late in the summer, a post appeared on the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) message board suggesting a solution to my problem. David Fender had taken the time to dig into the hexadecimal code of similarly corrupted file and had found a solution. He posted a detailed explanation that worked like a charm.
I’m very pleased with the final feature, which aired on Tapestry’s October edition. It also, I think, represents the best of what a professional organization like AIR has to offer. David Fender tackled a thorny problem that has been an infrequent, but frustrating issue for his colleagues and promptly and freely shared his fix far and wide. I am truly in his debt.
Credit, too, to Tanya Ott. I have wanted to work with her for a long time and the experience far surpassed my already high expectations. Her edit was clear and concise and made this a far better feature than it would have been otherwise.
The Place + Memory Project: The Rabbit Hutch
Last month, I had the good fortune to provide a small contribution to a radio feature for The Place + Memory Project. Shea Shackelford produced an excellent audio portrait of a northern Alabama restaurant, The Rabbit Hutch. I drove up to Decatur, Alabama for a phone sync at the home of the delightful Ann Venz. The story aired on Weekend Edition Saturday. A longer director’s cut is available for listening on The Place + Memory Project site.
Auburn University Theatre: The America Play Podcast
Auburn University’s Office of Communications and Marketing provided a nice write-up in the Auburn Daily for a new podcast I’m producing.
Auburn University Theatre premieres The America Play Podcast
Auburn University Theatre has announced the premiere of The America Play Podcast. The podcast is a weekly audio program featuring interviews with the faculty, students and professionals who make up the cast and production staff of Suzan-Lori Parks’ “The America Play,” which runs April 1-5 on the main stage of the Telfair B. Peet Theatre. The premiere podcast offers a short overview of the play along with suggestions for actors who may be interested in attending auditions today from 6:30-10:30 p.m. The podcast can be found on the Auburn University Theatre’s Web site.
I am working as the sound designer for The America Play, but the idea for the podcast was the director’s, Dr. Heather May. The second episode is completed and features an interview with the student serving as stage manager, Fred C. Paul. In all, I expect we will have 11 episodes total.
There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
Most days my feelings regarding Twitter are mixed to negative. I see a lot of value in it for my clients and can certainly understand the fun individuals have with it. That said, the signal to noise ratio is much too high for my personal taste and I don’t know that people’s Twitter feeds always show them at their best.
Occasionally, though, Twitter yields something really compelling.
Northwestern Alumni Association: ‘Cat Tracks
The Northwestern Alumni Association has launched a spiffy new website, and with it a new podcast series. For most of the summer, we’ve been interviewing alumni, asking them for their memories of Northwestern. We will publish those memories as ‘Cat Tracks. The first is from Bob & Kaye Hiatt. They were a delight to interview and their story is completely charming.
WTTS: David Byrne Ticket Giveaway Promo
I don’t post a lot of my work with WTTS. This is a quantity issue rather than a quality issue. I like the work, there’s just so much of it.
I really liked this promo, though. It’s not just the production, but the overall concept and execution. I never would have considered going with the concept were it not for the talents of a great voice-over artist, Ross McIntyre. I have him a script and asked him to take a swing. As usual, he knocked it out of the park.
IU Kelley School of Business Graduate Career Services Presents The Kelley Experience
IU Kelley School of Business Graduate Career Services Presents The Kelley Experience: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadOne of the final projects I worked on before leaving Bloomington, Indiana was a podcast series for the IU Kelley School of Business Graduate Career Services. Gerry Bayne and I sat down with Erik Medina and three students to talk about day to day life as a Kelley MBA. It was a real learning experience for me and in retrospect, I think I would have approached some of the production issues differently, but it was also one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in my time in Bloomington. The enthusiasm of the students was really infectious and really imbues the series with a sense of excitement and possibility.
The other three episodes are available through the Kelley School of Business MBA Program Podcasts Page.
George Carlin (1937-2008)
I join many in the broadcast community and the world as a whole who mourn the loss of George Carlin. I also owe him a word of thanks for inspiring my favorite 60-seconds of audio I’ve produced in some time.
Thanks, George!
