Everyone thinks that someone else's job is "idyllic and fun," and everyone sees themself as unprofessional. On a side note, I hope you have an iPhone or Android that you use as a backup for that sweet minidisc recorder. :-)
I have learned over the years that listening to your subject’s is key to a good photograph. Sometimes, in my opinion, you get too involved in your own pre-visualization of what you think might make for the perfect image – and not hear the subject’s wishes. The choice of place/the consideration of lighting may be easy for the photographer and yet difficult for the subject. I might have stuck with the comfort (zone) of the subject, the coffee shop (the clicking of the cups/spoons – ambient restaurant background and mumbling of patrons) this might have been just fine – for storytelling; then I would have asked for what I wanted with the seascape/’dock of the bay ‘ image. I am not sure how the subject might have looked but I suspect the comfort zone would have been revealed in the images—the real documentation might have come through—again, my opinion. Radio production is difficult … as illustrated in this really nice piece. I hear from the narrator, and can visualize more than I “see”. All that said, I believe the producer did a fine job meeting his objective and working around the photographer's objectives. I do hope I am clear in my comments.
i caught this out of the blue today and really enjoyed it. very honest and transparent. the use of the crackling messed up minidisc tape was good. all very meta.
Have you ever stood in a room with two mirrors facing each other, showing your image in an infinite series of reflections? That's a bit of the feeling I get from producer Jake Warga's piece, which documents (and reflects) on the process of being documented.
Usually that experience of documentation places us-- and the audience-- on one side of the mic. Occasionally, as a subject ourselves, it can be disconcerting to realize how our words and images are necessarily taken from us in order to share them with a larger audience.
This piece has the twist of holding up another mirror. By documenting in sound while he is being documented in image, the producer cleverly loops the one-way gaze into a Mobius strip of reflection, or at least refraction. His introduction of a microphone turns them both into subjects and documenters at the same time.
His critiques of a rather staged (though gorgeous) background raise interesting questions of authenticity. How close can the documenter-- and the audience-- get to what's real? What are our ethical responsibilities in how hard we try? And yet he's self-reflective enough to turn the analysis back onto himself, and the craft of radio, with an ending that made me smile.
This is a piece about images and how we present ourselves to the outside world, and how we're seen. It's also a piece about radio production--both the big ideas (about the ethics of editing) and the mundaine (dealing with bad tape). I learned a bit about Jake the radio producer, and through him, it made me think about the bigger issues of how we interpret what we seen and hear in the media around us. From the personal to the universal--what else can you ask for in a radio piece?
A while back, Jake mentioned he'd done this piece (we put up a lot of Jake's early work on Transom.org and this piece is tied to that fact), but I just now got around to listening to it. It has a nice curve -- movement through time and space, a full outing, with commentary and revelations along the way. It's just self-deprecating enough to keep you from feeling that unfair potshots are taken, but it does look coldly at what passes for journalism. It made me think of doing an hour at our station on backstage media stories. I bet there are some other good ones here at PRX. Now, to find them...
A freelance photographer for the New York Times poses the producer, Jake Warga, in a location that the photographer herself calls "a romantizied view of what it's like to be a radio guy." Rather than exploring the natural habitat of the producer and trying to bring out some element of truth, the photographer--who sounds more like a teeny-bopper than a professional working for one of the most influencial newspapers in the country--boasts "I think I made it look idyllic and fun." My guess is that most audio producers would use different adjectives to describe our job. "Hard work" or "tedium with occasional moments of exhilaration" spring to mind. "Welcome to my world" the photographer says. Her world, indeed--it certainly isn't her subject's world.
"Being Photographed" instructs as it entertains, and will lead listeners to look with skepticism at the photos in their magazines and newspapers--even "the newspaper of record." Good job.
The open for this piece really grabbed me -- always a good thing. The script is very nicely delivered. He's so engaging and personable. I chuckled a few times and had a good, solid laugh at the end. Nice job. Someone -- please air this!
Good stuff here. He has a strong theme: authenticity. He uses field recordings. A good one shows how seductive being inauthentic can be when the photographer explains that she is really photographing the radio producer she imagines. His commentary is thoughtful and the piece does not rely too heavily on it.
The piece, particularly the introduction, would benefit from more closely targeting the temptation to make radio pieces interesting at the expense of authenticity. The tone of the piece needs to be carefully preserved, however. The undeserved self-depreciating remarks should be excised.
Comments for "Being Photographed"
Produced by Jake Warga
Other pieces by Jake Warga
Rating Summary
9 comments
Ray Hollister
Posted on January 28, 2013 at 03:49 PM | Permalink
Idyllic and fun
Everyone thinks that someone else's job is "idyllic and fun," and everyone sees themself as unprofessional. On a side note, I hope you have an iPhone or Android that you use as a backup for that sweet minidisc recorder. :-)
i kellogg
Posted on January 24, 2013 at 12:21 PM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photograhed"--Storytelling
I have learned over the years that listening to your subject’s is key to a good photograph. Sometimes, in my opinion, you get too involved in your own pre-visualization of what you think might make for the perfect image – and not hear the subject’s wishes. The choice of place/the consideration of lighting may be easy for the photographer and yet difficult for the subject. I might have stuck with the comfort (zone) of the subject, the coffee shop (the clicking of the cups/spoons – ambient restaurant background and mumbling of patrons) this might have been just fine – for storytelling; then I would have asked for what I wanted with the seascape/’dock of the bay ‘ image. I am not sure how the subject might have looked but I suspect the comfort zone would have been revealed in the images—the real documentation might have come through—again, my opinion. Radio production is difficult … as illustrated in this really nice piece. I hear from the narrator, and can visualize more than I “see”. All that said, I believe the producer did a fine job meeting his objective and working around the photographer's objectives. I do hope I am clear in my comments.
Rene Gutel
Posted on August 07, 2005 at 02:51 PM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
i caught this out of the blue today and really enjoyed it. very honest and transparent. the use of the crackling messed up minidisc tape was good. all very meta.
Elizabeth Chur
Posted on August 05, 2005 at 10:00 AM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
Have you ever stood in a room with two mirrors facing each other, showing your image in an infinite series of reflections? That's a bit of the feeling I get from producer Jake Warga's piece, which documents (and reflects) on the process of being documented.
Usually that experience of documentation places us-- and the audience-- on one side of the mic. Occasionally, as a subject ourselves, it can be disconcerting to realize how our words and images are necessarily taken from us in order to share them with a larger audience.
This piece has the twist of holding up another mirror. By documenting in sound while he is being documented in image, the producer cleverly loops the one-way gaze into a Mobius strip of reflection, or at least refraction. His introduction of a microphone turns them both into subjects and documenters at the same time.
His critiques of a rather staged (though gorgeous) background raise interesting questions of authenticity. How close can the documenter-- and the audience-- get to what's real? What are our ethical responsibilities in how hard we try? And yet he's self-reflective enough to turn the analysis back onto himself, and the craft of radio, with an ending that made me smile.
Sarah Elzas
Posted on July 29, 2005 at 05:51 AM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
This is a piece about images and how we present ourselves to the outside world, and how we're seen. It's also a piece about radio production--both the big ideas (about the ethics of editing) and the mundaine (dealing with bad tape). I learned a bit about Jake the radio producer, and through him, it made me think about the bigger issues of how we interpret what we seen and hear in the media around us. From the personal to the universal--what else can you ask for in a radio piece?
Jay Allison
Posted on February 10, 2004 at 05:41 AM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
A while back, Jake mentioned he'd done this piece (we put up a lot of Jake's early work on Transom.org and this piece is tied to that fact), but I just now got around to listening to it. It has a nice curve -- movement through time and space, a full outing, with commentary and revelations along the way. It's just self-deprecating enough to keep you from feeling that unfair potshots are taken, but it does look coldly at what passes for journalism. It made me think of doing an hour at our station on backstage media stories. I bet there are some other good ones here at PRX. Now, to find them...
Adam Schwartz
Posted on January 26, 2004 at 07:27 AM | Permalink
Welcome to Whose World?
A freelance photographer for the New York Times poses the producer, Jake Warga, in a location that the photographer herself calls "a romantizied view of what it's like to be a radio guy." Rather than exploring the natural habitat of the producer and trying to bring out some element of truth, the photographer--who sounds more like a teeny-bopper than a professional working for one of the most influencial newspapers in the country--boasts "I think I made it look idyllic and fun." My guess is that most audio producers would use different adjectives to describe our job. "Hard work" or "tedium with occasional moments of exhilaration" spring to mind. "Welcome to my world" the photographer says. Her world, indeed--it certainly isn't her subject's world.
"Being Photographed" instructs as it entertains, and will lead listeners to look with skepticism at the photos in their magazines and newspapers--even "the newspaper of record." Good job.
Richard Paul
Posted on January 02, 2004 at 10:52 AM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
The open for this piece really grabbed me -- always a good thing. The script is very nicely delivered. He's so engaging and personable. I chuckled a few times and had a good, solid laugh at the end. Nice job. Someone -- please air this!
Mark Nicholson
Posted on January 01, 2004 at 07:38 PM | Permalink
Review of "Being Photographed"
Good stuff here. He has a strong theme: authenticity. He uses field recordings. A good one shows how seductive being inauthentic can be when the photographer explains that she is really photographing the radio producer she imagines. His commentary is thoughtful and the piece does not rely too heavily on it.
The piece, particularly the introduction, would benefit from more closely targeting the temptation to make radio pieces interesting at the expense of authenticity. The tone of the piece needs to be carefully preserved, however. The undeserved self-depreciating remarks should be excised.
"On the Media" listeners might like this.