0:53 Rob and Alex did a great job introducing the show and it’s guests.
1:00 ASMR Example was a little sudden.
1:30 Package was a little quiet compared to other levels.
3:10 My package moves a little slower than the rest of the piece, in retrospect.
4:50 Package a little aimless.
5:20 Conversation good, takes some warming up.
5:55 Some gaps in the exposition for Amy.
7:00 Interview with Amy going very well.
9:55 Amy interview and examples sound great.
15:00 Good work plugging the events.
17:10 Good transition
17:30 Again, slight level issues, not as bad.
19:38 I could listen to Don Hill talk all day.
20:24 Maybe not the smoothest transition.
21:03 Levels were more of an issue than I first thought.
22:30 I’m not sure if this went too long or just right. It is about atmosphere’s after all. I think it works, I just don’t know what listeners would think.
23:36 Banter is much better this time around.
24:16 A dail-up modem is not a nice sound.
24:30 Maybe dropping my name before the package would work better if we didn’t have vox pops from the girls. It makes sense once we get past them, but it’s still raises an eyebrow.
26:46 Next time I record my voice, I am not using a Zoom.
28:30 Zoom doesn’t work well for Luke’s voice either.
31:30 I think Rob and Alex have found their stride.
33:22 This interview is going very well.
35:37 Chris made some really great points.
37:45 Great interview, went very smoothly.
39:48 The science behind sound associations (as generalized as it may be) is endlessly fascinating to me, and I’m really glad that this part made it into the final cut.
42:07 Great job integrating Facebook and Twitter!
43:44 Levels! I helped edit them, but those vox pops had some horrible wind that we had to remove. The idea got across though.
44:20 The ASMR package sounds pretty good.
46:38 ASMR seemed interesting, but I think it requires a certain degree from the listener.
47:55 Take us home, Don.
48:20 I remember listening to this live, the bit about being a North American was pretty funny to me.
49:09 Don Hill was such an excellent guest, and I’m thrilled that we fit in as much as we did into the show.
51:14 Great wrap up! (Come on, rob!)
THOUGHTS
That show did go very well. It took some time to get into the swing of it, but I think what really helped was the quality of the guests. The standout is Don Hill, who is a fascinating individual, and someone I’m going to be keeping an eye on going forward. Chris and Amy also were wonderful, and both provided some excellent points that made me think. The transitions were tough, but around the halfway point the team really got it down. The only problem was levels between the the in studio audio and the package audio. I’ll take some of the blame for this, since I tried to get everything as loud as I could. The problem was I didn’t use a loudness meter, I was measuring decibels as a voltage. As a result, things got a bit herky jerky going in and out of those. That said, all the content was there, and even though I knew everything that was going to happen, I found the show to be really entertaining.
I think the group itself operated very well together. After working with a couple groups on projects that could only be described as “down to the wire”, it was refreshing to work with people who saw an advantage to having things done early so we could get into the studio and run through the show several times. We made sure to time it out, and make changes to the script as need be. At no point did I feel like I was being excluded from the group. We all got input on everything, which I appreciated. Everyone was able to recommend a song to play during the show, every segment heard the opinion of everyone else, and we were constantly keeping each other updated in a Facebook chat window during the weeks preceding the show. I do think a fair bit of the motivation came from the last few Headspace shows not being up to par, and the instructors expressing their disappointment in that fact. So perhaps it was a nerve-racking experience for everyone, but as the professors are (I’m sure) aware nothing produces results quite like pressure.
PRODUCTION PLANNING
That said, all of my work was in the pre-production stage. Editing and recording being my forte, I contributed what I could when I could. I was in a class with Christ Hainstock, so when we were looking for people to interview, I suggested him because I knew he had a lot to contribute to our topic. During the show I had a seminar so I was only able to sit in on the first half of the production. I wouldn’t be much help live. I had a superficial knowledge of the equipment, and didn’t have anything to contribute vocally either.
All in all, it was a great experience! I learned a whole lot, and it was really cool to share this with friends and family back home, and show them (live!) what I’ve been up to.
REFLECTIONS ON INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK
The feedback I received helped in a number of ways. For me, the feedback served as a way to ground myself a bit. All of this was rather new to me, and when you start anything new, you don’t have a metric for anything. What is good, what is bad, etc. The feedback gave me an idea of how well we did, which helped me gauge other programs. It also served as a great source to refer back to when I went through and evaluated the show myself (above). I knew what to look for, and agreed with points that were made.