Completely in the voices of the "quiet kids", this piece shows a sensitivity that is compelling. The individuals speak about how they see themselves, why they are so quiet and how they feel they are percieved amid the bustling chaos of the school halls. Nicely woven together, concise and moving.
As a radio producer, I'm attracted to people who are outgoing, talkative and opinionated. The reason is simple: When I place my microphone nearby, they don't flinch. Which bring us to the topic of this delicate story by Hillary Frank. Produced for Chicago Public Radio's "Chicago Matters" series on education, Frank stalks the crowded, noisy school hallways and finds the shy kids. And then she succeeds in getting them to talk about themselves. "Some people don't realize I'm there until I leave," says one girl, very gently and slowly. And then there's this from a boy: "They call me the stupid, quiet kid." These teenagers worry about how their shyness will affect their ability to get dates, talk in front of a class and all kinds of stuff. It's easy to forget the struggles some people face when you're naturally outgoing.
Engaging with her subject, Hillary Frank recognizes the nameless quiet kids who always stuck close to lockers in crowded middle school hallways, shrunk into their seats when questioned in class, and sank onto cafeteria benches alone with paper bag lunches.
Instead of forcing a narrator into the piece or bombarding shy teenagers with questions, Frank places us back in high school through monologues, ambient sound, and, of course, silence. The unidentified voices of the teens, hushed and tentative, settle into the sound-scape, providing simultaneous sanctuary and discomfort in the position of the quiet kid. As listeners, we feel the appeal of the bubble when the noise of the hallway erupts, yet we sympathize with the confessions of fear of exiting the safety zone provided by this veil of silence.
In using collage, Frank doesn’t even try to provide answers regarding how to make quiet kids interact with other kids or how to fix their silence. Those questions aren’t even posed. The sensitive and astute format allows a more effective entrance into their bubble, creating a surprising understanding in the listener.
Those kids in the halls who don't talk, who are withdrawn into themselves - silently sitting through class, silently walking the halls, silently eating lunches - open up to producer Hillary Frank in this simple, thought provoking feature.
Program Directors will love this fresh way of looking at the daily challenges of high school. Frank steps outside of the news format ususally used to focus on the issues of young people, bringing a vulnerable, first person collage of rarely used voices to the air.
Emotion- provoking pieces also tend to appeal to me -- especially ones like this, where you hear from people who you know (or who are at least familiar), but whose voices you've never heard.
This piece seems particularly timely as I write this now (3/25/05) with the school shootings in Red Lake.
In this piece, shy/quiet h.s. students open up and let you into their "bubbles" ... The producer uses sound from the school hallway so that you're not just in the kids' minds, but you're at school seeing things through their eyes.
The montage is well ordered and the piece well-mixed.
Comments for In a Bubble
Produced by Hillary Frank
Other pieces by Hillary Frank
Rating Summary
5 comments
Laura Rolfe
Posted on December 15, 2006 at 11:06 AM | Permalink
Review of In a Bubble
Completely in the voices of the "quiet kids", this piece shows a sensitivity that is compelling. The individuals speak about how they see themselves, why they are so quiet and how they feel they are percieved amid the bustling chaos of the school halls. Nicely woven together, concise and moving.
Todd Melby
Posted on July 12, 2006 at 07:49 AM | Permalink
Review of In a Bubble
As a radio producer, I'm attracted to people who are outgoing, talkative and opinionated. The reason is simple: When I place my microphone nearby, they don't flinch. Which bring us to the topic of this delicate story by Hillary Frank. Produced for Chicago Public Radio's "Chicago Matters" series on education, Frank stalks the crowded, noisy school hallways and finds the shy kids. And then she succeeds in getting them to talk about themselves. "Some people don't realize I'm there until I leave," says one girl, very gently and slowly. And then there's this from a boy: "They call me the stupid, quiet kid." These teenagers worry about how their shyness will affect their ability to get dates, talk in front of a class and all kinds of stuff. It's easy to forget the struggles some people face when you're naturally outgoing.
Kathleen Ross
Posted on April 11, 2005 at 09:26 AM | Permalink
Review of In a Bubble
Engaging with her subject, Hillary Frank recognizes the nameless quiet kids who always stuck close to lockers in crowded middle school hallways, shrunk into their seats when questioned in class, and sank onto cafeteria benches alone with paper bag lunches.
Instead of forcing a narrator into the piece or bombarding shy teenagers with questions, Frank places us back in high school through monologues, ambient sound, and, of course, silence. The unidentified voices of the teens, hushed and tentative, settle into the sound-scape, providing simultaneous sanctuary and discomfort in the position of the quiet kid. As listeners, we feel the appeal of the bubble when the noise of the hallway erupts, yet we sympathize with the confessions of fear of exiting the safety zone provided by this veil of silence.
In using collage, Frank doesn’t even try to provide answers regarding how to make quiet kids interact with other kids or how to fix their silence. Those questions aren’t even posed. The sensitive and astute format allows a more effective entrance into their bubble, creating a surprising understanding in the listener.
Kerry Seed
Posted on March 25, 2005 at 06:14 AM | Permalink
Review of In a Bubble
Those kids in the halls who don't talk, who are withdrawn into themselves - silently sitting through class, silently walking the halls, silently eating lunches - open up to producer Hillary Frank in this simple, thought provoking feature.
Program Directors will love this fresh way of looking at the daily challenges of high school. Frank steps outside of the news format ususally used to focus on the issues of young people, bringing a vulnerable, first person collage of rarely used voices to the air.
[redacted]
Posted on March 25, 2005 at 02:25 AM | Permalink
Review of In a Bubble
Emotion- provoking pieces also tend to appeal to me -- especially ones like this, where you hear from people who you know (or who are at least familiar), but whose voices you've never heard.
This piece seems particularly timely as I write this now (3/25/05) with the school shootings in Red Lake.
In this piece, shy/quiet h.s. students open up and let you into their "bubbles" ... The producer uses sound from the school hallway so that you're not just in the kids' minds, but you're at school seeing things through their eyes.
The montage is well ordered and the piece well-mixed.