It was fun hearing the kids enjoying the outdoors. I actually found myself wanting to hear more about their adventure, what they were doing, how they were dealing with the challenges, how they reacted to missing the amenities of their urban lifestyle. I found myself anxious to get through all of the interviews with businessmen in order to get to the story about the kids again.
I've produced a number of similar pieces, so I understand some of the problems in trying to tell this kind of story. The story may be too big to try to summarize in one piece. Your piece primarily focused on one group's efforts (The Big City Mountaineers).
If I were editing this piece for air, I would most want to more tightly edit all of the outdoor industry interviews and material about business angle. Those parts are so dry in contrast to the kids. (not that they don't present good information.)
The audio quality is generally good. Some of the interviews have quite noticeable background noise. The outdoor location stuff, though, sounds comparatively clean.
Still, It's an important and under-reported story, and I'm glad you went to the trouble to tell a piece of it.
I understand John Lennon's song a bit more after hearing this piece. But at the end of the piece, I was left with even more wonder at the enigma of this song in particular, and John Lennon's life in general. The simple production technique, fitting the commentary within the instrumental passages of the song while letting the lyrics stand, is probably a lot harder than it sounds -- but it works fabulously. Hearing this piece tempts me to provide the producer with a list of about 20 other songs I'd enjoy hearing the same treatment on!
Basic eco-friendly information for homeowners about house paint. A straight-ahead news/education piece. The information is good and concisely presented. The delivery is clean, straightforward, and no-nonsense. Given the 2:42 length of this undramatic, unemotional monolog, some variety in voices or delivery would have held my attention more completely. For example, not knowing anything about the narrator, I was waiting for a brief sound clip from an expert source to validate the credibility of this essay.
This story is about re-introducing nature into an urban/suburban setting. Rerouting a stream in a city park, and replanting trees have brought salmon back to a park that used to have them seventy years earlier. The story is concise and easy to understand. It's an "all ages" sort of story that could just as easily be used in a children's show, an environment or nature show, or even a show about home improvement or real estate. The story made we want to see pictures and maps of the park and their plans.
The commentator describes personal experiences illustrating how lack of funds for management of public recreational lands have caused those lands to become a haven for the more troublesome elements of society. This is a story which, while not totally overlooked, is probably not being told often enough.
In this music-backed monologue, we hear an adult woman speaking in the voice of herself as a child. She reminisces about a formative incident between her and her mother, and how it still touches her today.
This is a nice little slice of life. It about as soft a piece as you could imagine, in spite of the hard lesson it describes. It would be entertaining and engaging for the right audience in the right context.
This piece illustrated credibly why I find so many wildlife films and television disturbing and not credible. It makes the case that honest portrayals of the wide range of wildlife and their behavior are not sensational enough for commercial media outlets. It appeals to the idealism of listeners who might want to learn about the natural world from more balanced, accurate portrayals.
Comments by Steve Sergeant
Comment for "Getting Kids Outdoors"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on October 19, 2007 at 06:57 AM | Permalink
Review of Getting Kids Outdoors
It was fun hearing the kids enjoying the outdoors. I actually found myself wanting to hear more about their adventure, what they were doing, how they were dealing with the challenges, how they reacted to missing the amenities of their urban lifestyle. I found myself anxious to get through all of the interviews with businessmen in order to get to the story about the kids again.
I've produced a number of similar pieces, so I understand some of the problems in trying to tell this kind of story. The story may be too big to try to summarize in one piece. Your piece primarily focused on one group's efforts (The Big City Mountaineers).
If I were editing this piece for air, I would most want to more tightly edit all of the outdoor industry interviews and material about business angle. Those parts are so dry in contrast to the kids. (not that they don't present good information.)
The audio quality is generally good. Some of the interviews have quite noticeable background noise. The outdoor location stuff, though, sounds comparatively clean.
Still, It's an important and under-reported story, and I'm glad you went to the trouble to tell a piece of it.
Comment for "Norwegian Wood Deconstructed"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on October 22, 2005 at 12:03 PM | Permalink
Review of Norwegian Wood Deconstructed
I understand John Lennon's song a bit more after hearing this piece. But at the end of the piece, I was left with even more wonder at the enigma of this song in particular, and John Lennon's life in general. The simple production technique, fitting the commentary within the instrumental passages of the song while letting the lyrics stand, is probably a lot harder than it sounds -- but it works fabulously. Hearing this piece tempts me to provide the producer with a list of about 20 other songs I'd enjoy hearing the same treatment on!
Comment for "Ecofriendly Paints"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on September 29, 2005 at 04:30 PM | Permalink
Review of Ecofriendly Paints
Basic eco-friendly information for homeowners about house paint. A straight-ahead news/education piece. The information is good and concisely presented. The delivery is clean, straightforward, and no-nonsense. Given the 2:42 length of this undramatic, unemotional monolog, some variety in voices or delivery would have held my attention more completely. For example, not knowing anything about the narrator, I was waiting for a brief sound clip from an expert source to validate the credibility of this essay.
Comment for "Tales...Story 9: Fish Grow on Trees"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on October 22, 2005 at 12:01 PM | Permalink
Review of Story 9: Fish Grow on Trees
This story is about re-introducing nature into an urban/suburban setting. Rerouting a stream in a city park, and replanting trees have brought salmon back to a park that used to have them seventy years earlier. The story is concise and easy to understand. It's an "all ages" sort of story that could just as easily be used in a children's show, an environment or nature show, or even a show about home improvement or real estate. The story made we want to see pictures and maps of the park and their plans.
Comment for "Commentary: Camping Colorado's "Wild" Side"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on September 24, 2005 at 09:13 AM | Permalink
Review of Commentary: Camping Colorado's "Wild" Side
The commentator describes personal experiences illustrating how lack of funds for management of public recreational lands have caused those lands to become a haven for the more troublesome elements of society. This is a story which, while not totally overlooked, is probably not being told often enough.
Comment for "This Child"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on September 20, 2005 at 04:55 PM | Permalink
Review of This Child
In this music-backed monologue, we hear an adult woman speaking in the voice of herself as a child. She reminisces about a formative incident between her and her mother, and how it still touches her today.
This is a nice little slice of life. It about as soft a piece as you could imagine, in spite of the hard lesson it describes. It would be entertaining and engaging for the right audience in the right context.
Comment for "Nature Bites: The predatory nature of nature films"
Steve Sergeant
Posted on September 16, 2005 at 12:01 AM | Permalink
Review of Nature Bites: The predatory nature of nature films
This piece illustrated credibly why I find so many wildlife films and television disturbing and not credible. It makes the case that honest portrayals of the wide range of wildlife and their behavior are not sensational enough for commercial media outlets. It appeals to the idealism of listeners who might want to learn about the natural world from more balanced, accurate portrayals.