464 Stories (Fall 2012)

Beards.   Tattoos.  Radio Legends.    Personal History.   

Magicians.   Musicians.    Fracking.

Once again, we continue the 464 collection of documentaries.   This is the Fall 2012 Edition.   Students enrolled in RT464 Audio Documentary and Diversity are presented here to share their final projects, as part of their exhibition requirement.    The topics are unique, and are framed from each student's perspective based on research and interviews.    Some documentaries examined student perspectives, from campus life to life back home.  Other documentaries examined family roots and tradition.  Some topics simply tapped into the curiosities of students.  And still others took on serious issues such as "fracking."

The skill level of each student varies.  Research.  Organization.  Audio Levels.  Interviewing.  Editing.  Sound Design.   Narration.  Overall Creativity.   At times, you might have to look past some of the technical issues in a particular piece, and focus on substance.  In each documentary, there are moments of brilliance. Yet, other times, you will be thoroughly amazed at the level of excellence.  The approaches to content and technique vary as does the topics.   The audio software used primarily was Protools, and the field audio recording equipment varied, with some students having their own equipment.  For most students, this course was their first attempt at documentary.   Students were required to post their final project, but you might find that some have also included their midterm project.

A personal thank you to Honna Veercamp (MFA student) for all her help and guidance to the students (and myself) this semester.    Honna and I were pleased with this semester's work, as we continue to build upon a tradition of online exhibition for audio documentaries.

The textbook was Reality Radio - and a major inspiration to the students.

Enjoy listening....

Links to Student Blogs

in order of submission - with more to come....

Alicia Sheldon - "Tom Sheldon:  The Voice of Southern Illinois"
http://acsheldon.blogspot.com/

Dallen Detamore -  "The Magnificent Beard"
http://themagnificentbeard.blogspot.com/

Sarah Gardner - "What is Music"
http://sarahgardnerphoto.blogspot.com/

Ryan Madigan - "The Meaning Behind the Ink" (with Elliot Johnson)
http://mediaowl.tumblr.com/

Adam Fager - "Fager Military History, Part I"
http://adamfager.blogspot.com/

Nick Ischer  - "Finding the Meaning of Music:  Nick Galardy
http://meaningofmusic.blogspot.com/

Thomas Marciniak - "The Importance of Patter"
http://tmarciniak.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-importance-of-patter.html

Joel Dickerson - "Chiraq" (with Marius Burrell)
http://joeldickerson33.blogspot.com

Husnia Ashiku - "Fracking"
http://husniashiku.tumblr.com/

Blake Bledsoe - "Overeducated and Underpaid"
http://underpaid464.blogspot.com/

Trent Sapp - "We like to Party" (with Durrell Grove)
http://siuculture.blogspot.com/ [Sound Cloud link, error]

*    *    *
Special Note: 
You can also listen to the end of semester projects from Radio363, http://radio363.blogspot.com/

464 Stories (Fall 2011)

Fall 2011 Documentary Projects
The course is called 464 Documentary & Diversity - and the premise is: everyone has a story to tell, and sound is a natural for storytelling, whether you are listening on radio or through the internet.

It's been awhile since I blogged here, but I would like to welcome you to a new batch of audio documentaries by student documentarians. For most, this has been their first experience with producing a documentary, from idea to production to creating a blog about it.

You will find an interesting range of topics. So slip on your headphones and enjoy what they have prepared for you.

What makes a good documentary - the production quality (levels, use of microphones, editing and transitions), the aesthetics (use of sound elements, creating a setting through sound), the organization and content, and overall ability to communicate a story to an audience. And there are many intangible qualities to a good documentary, and those come with experience and love of a subject.

Sometimes the idea is the most difficult challenge when even considering producing a documentary. It helps to have a connection to your subject or to research a subject so well you feel connnected. That was the goal of this semester, to help students move in that direction - to find that connection with their subject. Hear for yourself.

[Some of these blog links may become inactive over time.]

LaMonica Bettes  
It Gets Better

Sharita Childs
Radio Grind  

Justine Ho

Apple of My Eye    Audio Only

Mary Hobbs
Mixed Race in America

Cassandra Pack
Dorm Life

Jared Martin
Black America 

Paul Chancey (advisory: low audio levels)
Occupy Carbondale

Joshua Anagnos (advisory: low audio levels)
Bout Time

and last, but certainly not least....

Rysan Kinsella
The Making of a Saint

*Special Thanks to Lewis Stafford for his lab assistance and guiding the students in lab.

________
The Fall 2010 Project: The Tragedy of Bataan. A documentary by award-winning producer Associate Professor Jan Thompson aired Fall 2010 on WSIU TV and WSIU-FM on "the horrors of the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese and the Bataan Death March in the spring of 1942....Kelly Caringer, a teaching assistant and graduate student in Associate Professor Phylis Johnson's Advanced Audio Production class, coordinated the five radio pieces..." Audio students were involved in the initial round of editing and creating foley, and gained valuable first-hand real world experience working with Thompson, an on-site accomplished international documentarian. See here for more information about her project and student involvement. Here's an update on Thompson's project.

Welcome Spring 464ers!

Welcome to RT464 Audio Documentary and Diversity. This Web site is designed as a supplement to your syllabus. If you cannot access your email account to retrieve your electronic syllabus, then use this class blog from any computer. This site is organized by topics, not weeks in the semester.

The Blog Index is a handy topical organizer. It is on the bottom right side of this blog. It should save you consider time....or click here...
http://sonicpoofindex.blogspot.com/

Sonic Cafe

Here's some of my favorite listening sites....

radiodiaries.org
soundprint.org
americanradioworks.org
talkinghistory.org
prx.org
wgbh.org/pages/pri/spirit
sonicmemorial.org
studsterkel.org
soundportraits.org
earthear.com
transom.org
creativecommons.org
www.thislife.org
thirdcoastfestival.org
audioblog.com
blogger.com
www.libsyn.com

and lots more...
http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/WFAE/resources/index_resources.html

be sure to listen to the student projects in the blog entries below, from last spring....

Words

Beck Lance leaves us with some parting words as she heads back to Australia. We enjoyed having her in our 464 sound doc class. Take a listen to her impressive final project.

Sonic Basketball

464's Alan Hoffman scores with this Saluki basketball soundscape. Listen for the sonic highlights from the SIUC - Iowa Game.

One Rainy Day

What goes on outside Alex McFarland's dorm? Take a listen...

Working It Out

464's Brandon Brunner records a plethora of sounds in a Saluki weight room - a place where athletes and coaches prepare for the Football season.

Little Grand Canyon

464's Dan Goldberg takes us on a sonic tour of Little Grand Canyon in the Shawnee National Forest.

The Secret Space

Carl J. Wilson documents the hidden places of Southern Illinois University. Listen to his 464 soundscape, and follow along as he ventures deep into the woods..…

Fields of Sound

464's Anna Reader walks through the fields within hearing range of traffic. An interesting and unique audio essay.