Editing

October 2011

As I have mentioned in a previous post,  Helen had briefly discussed that she wanted me to assume responsibility for editing the Up For Arts audio on a weekly basis.  She explained that every Sunday during Maureen Walsh's morning show, an Up For Arts bulletin is featured.  The bulletin consists of a pre-recorded interview with a local arts and craft group who are usually promoting their group or seeking new members. 

Helen explained that the bulletin shoud last no longer than two and a half minutes and should be be edited so that only the interviewee's voice can be heard and should sound as though it is one flowing dialogue. Also, there is Up For Arts music that is played alongside the dialogue and a set outro which advises listeners of the relevant contact details should they require further information.  As well as editing the audio, it would also be  my responsibility to source the proposed interviewees and complete the interview with them.  Therefore it was necessary for me to have an understanding of how to use the studio equipment as well as the audio editing software.

Helen took me into one of the 3 studios and showed me how to set up the software and the systems so that they were ready for recording.   She also explained important issues such as ensuring that the interviewee was the the correct distance from the microphone and to ensure that the correct recording levels were set. The process of setting up the studio for the interview was relatively straightforward, however I intitially found the process of editing the audio to be very challenging.  I had never used the BBC's editing software and had only a basic understanding of other audio editing software.  It was necessary for me to have few practices, and the whole process was a bit daunting at first.  However as I became more familiar with the software I began to feel more at ease.

I understand that the process of creating a short bulletin such as this is not as straightforward as it may sound when hearing the completed bulletin on air.   There are a lot of different elements that go into the finished bulletin.and also a variety of problems that can occur.   I commence completing my own interviews next week and whilst I anticipate that I will encounter new problems, I am looking forward to the challenge of completing my first bulletin.