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From the Engineer's Chair

Neil Kesterson

The Golden Years of the Podcast

In the humble beginnings of radio, there were no rules, only groundbreakers. Independent broadcasters would fire up the transmitter at will, talk about whatever they wanted, and play whatever music they wanted, all without any outside restrictions. Of course they had self-imposed restrictions like decency, but it was mostly a free-flowing medium for amateurs and hobbyists.

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Why Your Listeners Might Be Sleeping Through Your Every Word

Writing for spoken word is one of the least understood arts. The confusion starts with how the writer constructs the message – by writing. In school, most of our communication education was the written word. Very few of us had a speech or drama class. So, when a novice sits down to write narration, it’s natural to write in a style that we have been using our whole life for essays, letters, emails, notes, etc. When that text is actually spoken, it’s sometimes like we’re back in English class.

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Why Are Those @#$%&*! Commercials So Loud?

Why are commercials so loud? I think another question needs to be answered before that one: why are television programs so soft? Once you start thinking about that one, you may be starting to see where I’m going. Most of the answer lies in dynamics. Read More...

I Might Not Can Say That Word

Sitting in front of my studio speakers can sometimes bring loads of laughter. Nobody said this had to be a serious business, so I try to find humor whenever possible. But a lot of times, it happens all by itself. It's not easy for an announcer to sit in a vocal booth with a microphone stuck in his face, all ears and eyes on him, and have every word scrutinized. Read More...

Turn the Ignition On, Baby

Music: it can add a whole new dimension to a soundtrack. It creates emotion, adds drama, and sometimes takes the place of dialog to tell the story. Without it, a soundtrack can be lifeless, dull, uninspiring, and flat. It’s also one of the most misunderstood legal (or illegal) aspects of production. To the uninitiated or less experienced, the quest to understand the rules can be one of the most frustrating, bewildering, and sometimes neglected processes. Read More...

What Did You Expect?

Welcome to the first edition of an informal look at the world from the view of an audio engineer. Now I know what you’re thinking - all that engineers are interested in are the latest electronic toys and model numbers, we say cryptic things to each other like “that A-I-F-F needs to be minus twenty D-B before you set your levels to zero,” and we can’t possibly have a grasp on the “real world” going on outside our padded walls that we call the studio. Read More...
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