How production used to be done

This is a great fun video introduction to an awards category at the American Mercury Radio Awards from 1995.

I have no idea why this has suddenly surfaced fifteen years after it was made but it’s great fun and a glimpse into a world that’s changed so much with digitisation.

If you’re young enough never to have used analogue tape, carts and a live mixing desk for your production then this is for you. See what hell your forefathers went through so you can sit at a Mac all day.

Tags: archive, production, the Greaseman

Can Roy Keane win in Ireland?

Whenever I’m in Ireland I always listen to Newstalk 106-108.

You might enjoy the mix too: think of the harder-edged opinionated end of LBC 97.3 crossed with some US public radio-style arts and business coverage and a bunch of sport at the weekend. With its intelligent, quirky presenter/journalists, national coverage and a strong overall sound Newstalk provides direct competition for the public broadcaster RTE.

I also like the station’s imaging producer John Davies. John’s a guy I employed some years ago at the BBC because he had the imagination and enthusiasm to make promo campaigns that delivered a direct clear message but weren’t formulaic.

Now he’s got his station nominated in Ireland’s Radio Advertising awards for this promo featuring Roy Keane and a mobile phone.

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Hear how John takes the audio entirely out of context, totally misrepresents the situation and implies a third-party endorsement which didn’t exist. All the things I told him never to do when he worked for the BBC. Good work.

This promo is up for public vote in the awards so if you want to support John just email “Best Radio Station Entry = Newstalk – Roy’s Press Conference” to radioadvertisingawards@hunterpr.ie – but hurry, the ceremony is on Friday.

Creative Review for February

Matt Lomax and Kerry McCarthy.

Here it is then… the difficult second edition of the Earshot Creative Review. It’s been wonderful to get such a positive reaction from the first programme and more than two hundred downloads is certainly many more than any of us expected.

This month we bring BBC Radio 3’s Kerry McCarthy and Matt Lomax together. As you’ll hear, they got on rather well despite reading from opposite ends of the radio production stylebook.

Speaking of books, there’s a review of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, recommended for busy but disorganised radio promotions people and we uncover the true story behind the groovy ad for Daniel’s Fish and Chips.

Play the audio here: Duration 30′00″ (see, we’re pros).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the mp3 (28.1M).

Subscribe via iTunes.

Music beds in this edition are all courtesy of radiobeds.co.uk Voice imaging is by Dan Snaith.

If you’d like the producers of the Daniel’s Fish and Chips jingle to produce something for you, call David Greenwood on 07967 655275.

Any views expressed in this feature are those of the contributors and not of the BBC or Bauer Media (or Daniel’s Fish and Chips come to that). We acknowledge all rights held by the owners, creators and performers of the recorded works which are included solely for the purpose of review.

Tags: BBC Radio 3, Kerry McCarthy, Kiss, Matt Lomax

Radio sells the internet

Some organisations are just brilliant at controlling their brand identity worldwide. Orange is one of them, so you’ll recognise instantly this ad for Orange mobile internet which I spotted last week between Kampala and Jinja in Uganda.

But mobile internet? Why on earth would you want that then?

Well, slap bang in the middle of the features and benefits cloud in big bold type is… radio.

Tags: mobile internet, orange, Uganda

Creative Review for January

Steve Martin, James Stodd and Dan Snaith

The Earshot Creative Review is a new feature in which some of radio’s finest production and imaging producers play their latest work and talk about it.

In this edition, James Stodd of PureTonic Media reveals how he promoted BBC Radio 3 with some office noises, Dan Snaith shows how he use focus groups to generate material for a BBC News campaign that aired on Radio 1 and we only just manage to resist singing along to a groovy fish and chip shop ad from Dorset’s Wessex FM.

There’s also a chance for you to choose the strapline for the Earshot Creative Review.

Play the audio here: Duration 26′04″.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the mp3 (around 24M).

Subscribe to the Earshot Creative Review as a podcast via iTunes.

Download a transcript of this programme (.rtf file)

This is all very new to all of us, so your comments, criticisms and tips and suggestions of content and guests for future editions would be very welcome.

Recorded in the Langham Hotel, London. Imaging kindly produced by Dan Snaith. Thanks to the nice lady who took the photograph and then charged us a King’s ransom for our drinks. Transcription by Good to Go transcription of Richmond. Any views expressed in this feature are solely those of the contributors and not those of the BBC. We acknowledge all rights held by the owners, creators and performers of the recorded works which are included solely for the purpose of review.

Tags: BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4, Dan Snaith, James Stodd, Wessex FM