Introduction
This week we are starting our unit on sound and audio background. We were introduced to Ira Glass who is the host of This American Life, which is a weekly radio show. For this assignment we were asked to watch his videos where he explains his take on storytelling. I chose two of the four videos to talk about below. These two videos caught my attention due to the subject matter they are on. Part 2 touches on being able to find great stories for your work. Part 3 touches on what being aware of your great taste can do to your work and passion. I decided to summarize some of the key points from each of the two parts that stood out to me. I did find this whole series captivating even though I don’t wish to go in a similar field as Ira Glass. If you are looking for some tips on radio production, broadcasting, journalism etc I would recommend watching these videos and reading the key points below.
Key points from part 2
- Sometimes the interviews you conduct don’t go as planned, the interviewee may be more nervous or ‘boring’ in a recorded setting than during a 1 on 1.
- If you’re looking to work in a field where you do creative work (journalism, news anchor, reporter etc.) you have to set time solely for looking for stories you want to report on.
- Abandoning crap is crucial.
- get rid of boring parts and only include parts that pull on your heart (positive or negative)
- Being ruthless and tough can equate to good stories.
- Broadcasting is mainly pure luck, you have to go through many stories before you strike gold.
- Failure is a big part of your success.
- You have to want to make something memorable in order to produce good stories.
- “By killing you will make something else even better live” -Ira Glass
Key points from part 3
- When you first start off, you won’t produce good work (but don’t quit, most people do before they get close to their full potential!).
- It’s normal to take a long time to create work you know you’re capable of creating.
- Try to push out as much work as you can when you start off, it helps if someone is expecting your work by certain deadlines.
- even if you don’t get paid it is good practice and gets you closer to closing the gap between bad work and what your ambitions are
- When (or if) recoding a story and/or report try not to emphasize words in a pattern or give excessive dynamism
- talk as you normally would (it’s more natural)
- Push through your worst stories and hardships as everyone has a rough start at first
- “You will be fierce, you will be a warrior” -Ira Glass
Conclusion
Ira Glass is clearly an expert in his field. I did find his take on storytelling more interesting because he was constantly relating back to his own experiences. He too struggled during his first few years of creating stories. However, this didn’t deter him away and he also hopes the same for those who want to work in a creative field. I did find this a good gateway to audio background and I expect to learn a lot more as we go through the unit.