Comments by Aviva Hirsch

Comment for "The Cow Gas Effect"

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Interesting Topic

The producers chooses a relevant and interesting subject for their story. The combination of sound effects and information creates a well balanced piece. However, the script could have jumped from very playful to serious more smoothly. While professor Tim Griffin is knowledgeable regarding the question at hand(vegetarianism v. being a vegan or simply being a conscious consumer), it would be a good idea to include another interview to vary the voicing and provide additional backing.
Overall, this story is informative, interesting and cute.

Good work~

Comment for "Hustlers, Street Vendors, and Farmers "

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Awesome- all around

This is an inspiring piece! The voicing is authentic and interesting to listen to and the sound bites are tastefully chosen. The single critique I can offer is that the beginning is difficult to hear due to background sound effects. Generally though, the sound effects make the piece more sound intricate and adds another dimension.

The other successful aspect of this story is how well it paints a picture for the listener. This is a great topic and I hope more communities follow take the initiative to bring fresh food to the stomachs of locals.

Comment for "One School District's Unlikely Solution to Budget Woes...Crayfish"

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Do it Yourself!~

This story is an ode to the-do-it yourself mentality that people will need to employ in order to move towards a more sustainable economy and world.
I am also inspired by the dedicated teachers in this story who care about their students enough to give them a fulfilling experience.
Great production job and voicing~

Comment for "Food for Thought"

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It's all in the details

This piece is successful at sucking the listener into the plot. This is achieved through the use of sound effects, dialogue and description.

The main critique I can offer for this piece is to work with the script and strive to sound a bit more spontainious and relaxed while recording.
While the storyline is cute and interesting,the overall the focus is somewhat scattered and the emphasis on sustainable food is introduced very late into the story.

I really enjoyed hearing the overlapping sound near the end although sometimes it is good to make sure what is being said is showing rather than telling about what happened and not repeated the same ideas.

Beautiful music, great sound effects, and interesting use of outside materials(like the cuts to previous interviews).

Comment for "DIY Radio How-To: How To Get Interviews With Bands"

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Informative

This piece is encouraging. Youth who have a desire to interview bands are able to see that it is very possible and most questions someone would have about interviewing bands are answered within this piece.

Comment for "Green Jobs for Greenhorns"

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Great Story

This piece is interesting and flows nicely. It takes on a newsy tone- compact and informative. I like David's voicing which is clear and soothing. The sound bites pertain to the topic and the background noise pulls the listener into the story. Nice work.

Comment for "A day in the Life: Kids in America and Europe fight for the environment"

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Dynamic youth produced story

This piece is dynamic and informative. The voicing is enthusiastic and interesting because there is such a variety in voices and accents. My only critique is thinking about being authentic when scripting and voicing radio stories. This piece sounds like it is geared towards children. To widen the audience, the readers would simply need to talk in a more conversational tone. I enjoyed the sound bites of music and the topic of the story.

Comment for "Everybody's Green"

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Supurb Narration

This piece is inspiring. The format chosen for this story is appropriate and the narration is interesting and conversational(what a great radio voice!), which I believe to be the producer's greatest strength. The topic seems important to Ahmina and in turn, the listener is able to understand her concern. I also appreciated the examples used of the powerful black environmentalist.
While tying the story together with the cliche phrase, "green is the new black" and hoping black can be the new green is somewhat catchy, I often prefer to stay clear of overused sayings.
Great job

Comment for "High Fructose Corn Syrup in the Environment"

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Great narritive

What a great introduction. I love the sound of the soda can popping open
and your casual and honest narrative. However, as the story progresses,
I think the enthusiasm and expertise from the beginning is lost. I would
have loved to hear more sound effects later on in the story. The “whatever”
is perfect in the beginning and gives the listener a window into your
personality, however, I think once is enough. In essence, be careful about
repeating words.

This is a great topic because teens- you specifically- have an intimate
connection with high fructose corn syrup. This aids in connecting you to
your listener. You have a clear and interesting voice so keep up the good
work!

Comment for "It's Not Easy Being Green"

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Constructive Criticism

The voicing and diction of this piece is great.

However, while I can clearly understand A's concerns with the American marketing schemes taking advantage of the green movement (and her annoyance of color mix-ups), this piece is hardly grounded in fact. A repeatedly spouts statistics such as saying that biking, shorter showers and composting "do 10 times more for the planet". I think this story would hold much more merit if these facts could be linked to research or if A included the voices of experts into her piece. In addition, I believe some listeners may take offense when their "green" intentions and actions are diminished- which I don't believe is A's goal in creating this piece. Because in essence, people are taking baby steps towards reducing climate change and bringing a reusable bag to the grocery store is something people can do without dramatically changing their lifestyles. When constructing a piece such as this, I believe it is necessary to dig in a little deeper than an initial feeling of disgust towards someone with a blue shopping bag.
I applause A on her ending which is an excellent culmination and addresses the listeners kindly.