Sound Elements of Production

There are several different techniques and processes used to create sound elements. It is important to think about how we can create sounds in media products by using different types of diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

Foley Sounds - This is the production and recording of sound effects that are used to convey the background noises or the atmosphere around them. These sound effects could include; breaking glass, walking on gravel or creaking doors. These sounds are often created by Foley artists to enhance the realism. An example of Foley sounds used is a scene where they have encapsulated a clip of a sailboat cutting water at 4:32 minutes of the video. They had used props and junk to create the sounds of the sails by using a batman cape to illustrate wind riding through it and created the sound of the boat rushing through water by hitting their hands in a tub full of water. 

Wild Tracks: This is audio that is recorded on location known as off-screen sound or extra takes on lines whilst not filming - unsynchronised sound. This is diegetic sound. In film and video production, wild sound is recorded so that it can be inserted into the video in post-production. 

The theme music used for a title sequence is called a soundtrack. Sound motifs are used to form a specific character whether it be in a radio drama or a film. This music is significant to a character that could portray a protagonist or antagonist. This is called the character's signature tune. The theme music that is also used ensures the audience knows when it is the start or ending of the film. The film score is important because it includes incidental music and all other music. Fans of the film can buy or download the soundtrack to remind them of the movie and have recognisable songs which are specifically created for the movie. An example of a composer who has made a soundtrack is Hans Zimmer who created it for Pirates of the Caribbean. 


Voice-overs - They are used in two ways in audio-visual products. The first technique is that it is used for the narrators voice who is unseen in the film,TV programme and advertisement and the second is when a characters thoughts are being expressed to themselves. Using voice-overs gives the audience more insight into the character or general information. Examples of a TV show where voice-overs were used is in Jane the Virgin. The clip conveys a recap of the previous episodes but has used a voice-over to explain the events have have happened so far. This is a narrative voice used to help the audience remember what has happened so far before they watch the new episode. 


Scripted Speech - Using scripts in media products helps the actors deliver their lines in a specific way so that the dialogue spoken creates a specific meaning. In a radio drama such as The Archers, it is important that dialect, tone and accent all need to be clear to the audience. This is the ensure they know the time, place and characterisation. In The archers they use dialect to convey where the characters are from because of their accent. The sound of their accent sounds like somewhere in England but also have a farmers accent shown at 3:09 minutes, which also gives away their occupation. This programme is recorded live with the cast members in the studio so they can say their lines together. This is to make sure they react as believable as possible. 

Investigate the Technologies for Multiplatform Radio Broadcasting

At the Radio1 Xtra studios, they have several technology to help them with the pre-production and production overall to make sure their content gets aired and is on time. An assistant producer explains how they produce the Newbeat for Radio1 Xtra. Using immense amounts of audio technology does not require them to use analogue as this lacks the sound quality compared to digital.

At 0:05 seconds they have shown a Pioneer DJ Controller with the large jog wheels which adjusts the speed of the song or sound they are playing by spinning the wheel clockwise or anti-clockwise. This smoothly mixes the song to flow from one song to another making a smooth transition. This is perfect for ends. It also makes the audio sound professional and clean. They can also use this to change the pitch, tone and sound overall. 

At 0:25 seconds, I have spot headphones around the Studio Manager's neck. This is used for listening to callers that are phoning in and also to transfer the sound back out the room and back through the headphones so that the sound does not begin to hiss and make feedback in the background. It travels out to the racks room where all the source feeds arrive before being redirected to the various studios. This happens when two people converse through a mic or phone and the sound gets too much if they are too close within the radius. His workstation is surrounded by computers and mixers as the sound is all digitally produced and broadcasted out to all radios or black box devices. Without the computers, the radio would not be able to air on DAB. 

In the video, you can faintly see, yet it is blurred out - a cartwall which is used to keep the music log of all songs and soundtracks. This can also consist of jingles, adverts or songs that are pre-recorded the night before and then aired on the radio when live. This has an entire list of thousands of songs from throughout the years and also the latest songs on the chart. These can also have music bed tracklists to play in the background whilst he is telling the daily news.
 
 





At 0:39 seconds, we see a mic hovering beside the studio managers head which he speaks through to record his vocals. This allows us to hear his dialogue live and clear. The presenter can also use off-mic which is when they are picked up by a mic without then speaking directly into it. It has the effect of reducing the volume of their voice and also making it sound thin and hollow in order to not receive mic rattle.


A playlist is a list of songs chosen for the days programme where they will have to fit those certain amount of songs within a limited time - the duration of their programme. The playlist that Radio1 Xtra play everyday, they post on their iPlayer page where you can listen back to the playlist of listen to the single track you were looking for. This allows the listeners to find a song they missed or liked and listen to it again. It can be listened to on the computer, on the internet and the app. Young listeners can download the iPlayer app to listen back to Radio1 Xtra's posted playlists or listen to it live. As millennials are very digital and always have their devices in their fingertips, iPlayer makes it easy for them to listen to radio playlists. This is posted according to each day and always posts the recently aired playlists first. They also have an option where listeners can add the track for later to listen to it. 

The digital playout system is a system full of jingles and sounds that have been downloaded and played without the DJ being behind their desk. All these sounds can be automatically set to play on the radio. The image of the system portrays several different buttons containing sounds.

Radio1 Xtra Poster

Radio Distribution

Radio1 Xtra

 There are many distribution methods in todays generations where we use analogue, digital, satellite and internet broadcast. All these methods can be listened to anywhere and everywhere in the UK or also around the world. 

BBC Radio1 Xtra does not have an analogue frequency as they are a digital radio station. In the BBC, the radio station is the only one to not have an analogue frequency as it is newer than the other stations such as Radio 1,2,3,4 and more made for millennial who are aged 14-25 and are mostly use digital technology to gain access into radio stations. 
However, it is distributed in DAB radio which does not have crackly reception when going into tunnels or places where there is no signal. It is called Radio1Xtra.

These are the radio stations in BBC that have frequency channels. 



 
This station is available on several satellite/ Digital TV channels such as on Sky, Freeview, Freesat and Virgin Media. The channel that it airs on for Sky is 0137 in the UK, for Freeview and Freesat it is 701 and Virgin Media is found on 907. In terms on the internet, Radio1 Xtra can be listen to on the BBC website iPlayer Radio, where listeners can stream and listen live into the station. They can also listen back to the programmes as they post previous radio programmes on and can listen back to a song they liked or missed. 
 

Radio Station Report

My favourite radio station is BBC Radio 1Xtra which is a digital urban radio station. It has been on air since 2002. It is owned by of course the BBC and is the sister station of BBC Radio 1. The radio station is funded by the TV license fee which is paid by British Households in the UK. 

The audience demographics for the station is required to appeal to 15-24 year olds of a mixed gender. They are particularly, although not exclusively, ethnic minorities, however the reach is higher with black and minority ethnic (BAME) audiences. The image below from RAJAR shows the statistics from 2009/10 and compares it to more updated statistics from 2013/14. The views from 2009 compared to 2013 reveal how they have increased their views by almost half the amount and have reached 7.6% of 15-24 year olds each week, up from 4.7% from 2009. Within ethnicity, the figure shows that BAME audiences have reached 11.3% each week which is almost double the amount of white audiences. There are slightly more male listeners than female

Audience perceptions of the audience's lifestyle choices are that they listen to the radio to find new, original music content that's emerging urban music. The listeners are mostly teens that are in school or university and also lower class workers to work part time. They will mainly listen to the radio station whilst sitting at work or listening whilst getting ready for school/university, maybe even in their spare time. The figure below shows the total amount of listeners per week - just over 1 Million - and the total hours listened - 5.6 Million. These figures have been recently updated and conveys how popular the station is in the UK.

 

The days schedule begins at 6 in the morning where they have a breakfast show on air for four hours. The breakfast show is always presented by the host Dotty who starts the show of pumped and energetic to make the morning early birds feel activated and motivated to get up in the morning to start their day.

 Throughout the daytime, between 10-12:45 where the presenter Ace plays slow throwback RnB songs for all the people working to vibe to relaxed music. This is also followed by interviews with music artists and the latest news before everyones lunch break. Yasmin Evans also leads the daytime schedule through 1pm-4pm who answers calls to the audience to hear what the listeners think about the song they have chosen to play. This appeals to the audience as they can hear what other listeners have to say and will also be encouraged to text in and reach out to the show where they can speak live on the radio to the radio hosts.  

After 6pm-midnight, the music tends to be more mixed genre of music such as playing reggae, grime, RnB and the latest songs on the top of the chart. This is the type of music that the listeners on Radio 1Xtra like to hear and listen to during their day. Compared to the time of day it is the hosts change their mode of address. For example; Mistajams is more relaxed when he talks to his listeners and talks quite informal, whereas Charlie Sloth is more loud and energetic and speaks very informal which builds up the listeners energy and mood, making the audience very enthusiastic.   

 

The name of the programme I have chosen is MistaJam who is scheduled between 4-7pm. This is scheduled for listeners on their way home from work and plays Traffic Jam mixes to entertain the audience whilst they sit in traffic. the audience can access the programme from their radio station systems in their cars, mobiles or on the web for computers. The type of of music he plays is Urban and Electronic music and plays new music from a broad spectrum. 
The structure of the programme is that at the beginning the presenter begins with a special traffic jam mix that he has created which is quite calming and plays a lot of RnB Soul music and then changes into grime which is a lot more upbeat. He dedicates his playlist to specific artists and in this programme he has chosen to play all of Stormzy's songs. This plays for the last quarter of the programme. When playing the mixes he likes to commentate between songs with other radio presenter which reveal their personalities more and and entertains the listeners as he is quite humourous. An example of MistaJam creating humour is at 28:32 minutes where he begins to sing Happy Birthday to a person in a purposefully off-key pitch. 
The purpose of the programme is to entertain the listeners because the whole impression of the jam session is informal, engages young listeners by using their same dialect and plays contemporary black music with supporting new UK artists. There is not much dialogue, mostly music but MistaJam interrupts the music as he allows talks about what song he will play next. At the beginning of the programme, the radio station has advertised the TV show Stranger Things where a celebrity from Foo Fighters discusses how he wishes he met Millie Bobbie Brown, the main character Eleven. 
They then follow this with a quick news update from Newsbeat at 0:30 seconds where they update the listeners on an interview with the famous music artist Kendrick Lamar and tells them what time the interview will start which is 8PM. The purpose of interviews and telling the audience before hand is so that the listeners can be increased that time and there will be a lot of people listening in who would what to hear what Kendrick Lamar has to say on air. A presenter uses the term 'exclusive' to convey that the interview will only be heard on this one source. This affects a mass audience to listen in as they won't have a chance to hear it again from any other source. 
After a song has played, the presenter tells to the listeners what the song was called followed by a discussion with their co-presenter.
 An example of where this has happened, is between 1:23:11 - 1:27:08 where a song plays and then once it has finished, MistaJams announces the song name which is called 'Trigger Bang by Lily Allen and Giggs' and then begins to talk to Daisy, his assistant producer who would create the music playlists for MistaJam and run the social media to look at tweets or phoneins that are coming in for the show. They also mention their radio stations twitter @name to tweet into the show where he can read out the tweet. He asks her to do a Jamaican translation from a voiceover that they added into the show of two people in a conversation speaking in Jamaican where Daisy then has to translate what the two people are saying in English. While she repeats the conversation , it creates humour as the two presenter start to laugh. Adding in this conversation portrays their colloquial language and how to appeal to thir young audience. As we have seen from Radio1 Xtra's figures, majority of the listeners come from a BAME background, therefore can relate to what they are saying and this would entertain them.
 MistaJam's programme is split into two half as it is interrupted by a 15 minute Newsbeat update part of his whole programme. This is an epitome that conveys informing and educating their listeners for those that may not have had the chance to listen to the daily news. In the NewsBeat they have jingles at the beginning of the broadcast that introduce it. This is heard at 0:35 seconds and only lasts for 5 seconds long.
He then continues his programme followed by music and entertainment.