Piece Comment

Review of Riding A Streetcar Wtih Grandma


Developing a personal story for an audio a piece can be fraught with difficulties since a producer has to determine what is of universal interest to a listener and what remains on the cutting floor. The producer here acknowledges she has little experience in putting together a piece, but has the courage to jump in and ask for constructive criticism.

The storytelling in this piece could be enhanced by recording better audio, and by making austere edits. Knowing what to cut and how to make a piece tighter takes advantage of editing. On equal footing with good audio is good writing. It should illuminate and be concise. The producer shows promise with some vivid writing, but she needs to be more consistent. And finally, there should be some good mixing; the know-how for that also comes with practice. The producer created this piece for podcasting on her site, but she would need to re-do for broadcasting. Riding a Streetcar with Grandma is a valiant first attempt.