Kudos to reporter Julie Caine and World editor Margo Melnicove for today’s Global Hit!! It’s a fun profile of Toshio Hirano. Hirano is a teacher by day, but at night he sings the songs of country legend Jimmie Rodgers at a club in San Francisco. Julie and Margo worked hard on this story. The result will bring a smile to your face! http://theworld.org/taxonomy_by_date/2/20080612
Check out the audio slideshow too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNtsclaZt8
As a listener I like hearing pinwheels, but as a producer they’re a challenge to pull together. Essentially a pinwheel is getting a few guests to identify who they are then having them make one or two comments. The producer then strings them together into one seamless piece.
For this piece I had A LOT help from one of our show editors, George Lewinski. He actually did all the hard work, which was finding the guests, scheduling a recording time, then asking them to comment. I just dialed the numbers and cut each piece to an appropriate length.
The subject was President Bush’s farewell tour of Europe. George lined up reporters from four of the five countries Bush was going to. We aired them in order of Bush’s trip: Slovenia, Germany, France, and Great Britian. They told us who Bush was meeting, what was on the agenda, and how the President is perceived in their country.
I was originally given 6 1/2 minutes for the piece, but came in way short. The total piece was 3:15!! I felt after 3 minutes they all said the same thing and it was best to keep it tight.
The trickiest part of this piece was in the taping. We were 15 minutes into the interview when we had to leave the studio. Unbeknownst to me there was another scheduled taping, so we had to pick up and leave. How embarrassing! But, Sharifi was very understanding. We settled into another studio and then pieced the two raw interviews together. In the end, the part that made it to air was pulled from the second taping.
For the final product I decided to use only the bit where Lisa Mullins and Jamshied Sharifi talk about the song “One”. Listening back I thought it was the strongest part and all credit goes to Lisa for the idea of playing the song and talking over it.
The song is 5:21minutes and their conversation went well over that. So, I had to cut the piece very carefully. Everything had to be timed just right and timed to the music. I was constantly going back and forth between conversation and song. A good example of this is when Abdoulaye Diabate starts singing. Lisa asks, “Who’s this were hearing now?” It was natural and I liked that, but obviously I had to hit the post where Diabate starts singing.
I also wanted to end the song cold and have Lisa read the credits during the fade out. I felt it gave the piece a strong end – the song’s over and so is today’s show.
Today’s Global Hit is a self-narrated piece with Indian slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya. I stripped the piece down to his impressions of Calcutta — I think of it as a Global Hit postcard. Bhattacharya’s from Calcutta and he still lives there. His passion for the city came through as I was speaking with him and halfway through the interview I knew that would be the narrative.
His new CD is called “Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey.” The song I chose to hold the piece together is the first track - Sufi Bhakti.
The interview lasted around 40 minutes. The piece that airs is only 3:30! You can listen here: http://www.theworld.org/taxonomy_by_date/2/20080529
My colleague Clark Boyd had a story air on Frontline/World last night. The program airs around the country on PBS.
Here’s the story:
More than 200,000 people died and went missing during Guatemala’s 36 year civil war. While the army was responsible for atrocities against indigenous people in the countryside, many have wondered about the targeted campaigns against dissidents and activists in the cities. It’s long been thought that the country’s National Police were responsible. Three years ago, the archives of the National Police were discovered by chance in a derelict police building in the middle of Guatemala City. Now, with the help of a Silicon Valley non-profit called Benetech, some 80 million documents are being cleaned, scanned, and analyzed for potential human rights abuses.
If you missed it, you can watch the video on-line: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/
I first heard of Svang at the 2007 WOMEX World Expo in Spain held back in October. I spoke to the group backstage after their music showcase. I was curious to hear what a harmonica quartet from Finland sounded like and I thought they put on an entertaining show. They didn’t say much, but the passion for their music really came through — both on and off stage. I really think they won over skeptics or critics who thought they might just be a novelty act from Finland. But then again, WOMEX is known for booking talented, up-and-coming artists from around the globe. One thing WOMEX is NOT is a global amatuer talent show.
Listening back to the tape I remember I spoke to them as another band was on stage. So throughout most of the interview you can hear a thumping, pulsating sound. Therefore, I really had to limit my use of actualities. I ended up using only two.
I had Lisa Mullins voice the tracks. I had her in mind for two reasons. One, is I thought this Glo would be best short. I found there wasn’t a whole lot to say after around 2 minutes. The second reason is the pronouncers! I could get through Svang all right, but just you try pronouncing Jouko Kyhala and Jarruta!
Listen to Lisa’s flawless pronunciation here: http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/18032
Alex in our London office first alerted me to Chinese musician Sa Dingding. He mentioned she was in town collecting a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award and could stop by our studios there. Sa Dingding was generating a huge amount of press because of the award. It also happened to coincide with the weekend of the Olympic torch relay and Sa was under criticism for her country’s policy toward Tibet.
I listened to Sa Dingding’s music and dug it. Music critics compare her to Bjork, but I hear comparisions to Kate Bush. And I LOVE Kate Bush (I like Bjork too, don’t get me wrong).
So, Sa Dingding came to our London studios. Most of the interview was in English even though she had a translator with her. I realize now I should have had her speak in Chinese. It would have put her more at ease. We talked about music and a bit about her personal background. I reserved most of my questions regarding Tibet toward the end. I did that because I didn’t want her to think I was playing a game of “gotch ya.” Plus, I was genuinely interested in her music and background. Sa Dingding’s answers regarding Tibet were pat and polite — China is a culturally diverse country and Tibet’s contribution adds to its diversity.
Sa Dingding’s star has risen very quickly and she seemed a bit tired during our interview. She heads back to the UK in July for a gig at Royal Albert Hall and a performance at WOMAD. And the whole world may watch if she’s back in Beijing for the Olympic Games. If THAT happens, then you can say you heard about her first on The World. Her latest CD is called Alive.
Thanks to Alex in London for the story idea!!
Audio Link: http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/17874
After a story airs, I undoubtedly wish I could change or tweak it just a little. I’m rarely satisfied with the final result. Sometimes I wish I left something in from the raw tape. Other times I question if the music was brought in at the right time. I constantly have these battles inside my brain. But while I pondered the music for this piece on Steve Reid, I’m very pleased with the end result. Honestly, I don’t know how I could have made it sound any better. If you disagree, please let me know!
When I received material on Steve Reid, I thought it would be great to have him tell me his story. I wanted to produce it as a self-narrated piece. The music from various points in his career would become the link. As soon as I sat down in the booth and heard him speak (I had no idea what his voice sounded like) I knew instantly the piece would work. After I explained to him how I envisioned the piece, Reid ran with it and he told me key points in his life.
Once our talk was over, I then had to find and choose the music. I downloaded songs, made use of the music library at WGBH, and selected my favorite tunes from Reid’s new CD, “Daxaar.” Since Steve Reid’s a drummer, I needed rimshots, drum rolls, or solos. You’ll notice when each song is in the clear, it’s the drum you’re hearing. Take for example the beginning of the 1964 song “Dancing in the Street.” Yes, Steve Reid plays drums and it begins with a very quick drum roll. Believe me, it was hard not to play the WHOLE song, but for this purpose, just the drum would do.
Toward the last third of the piece is where I really opened up the music. After all, I wanted to showcase his new CD. What’s interesting hearing the new tunes is that all the music that came before clearly influenced his music today. You’ll hear the Motown, Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, and Sun Ra influences.
It was a great pleasure speaking with Steve Reid. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet him face to face. I was in Boston and he was in New York. This was a really fun piece to produce and thanks to Steve Reid for sharing his story!
Hear Steve Reid’s story: http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/16320
Some stories are easy to pull together, while others can take months (in one case it took 16 months!! But that’s another story.) Working out the logistics for this piece took a couple of months.
I first watched this documentary (then called Boys from Baghdad High) back in January. For this 90 minute doc I think I spent 4 hours watching it. That’s because I was watching it online and it took forever to download. I knew Lisa wouldn’t have time to watch the doc this way, so we had to wait for a copy. Long story short, we finally ended up with an American cut, HBO version of the movie that was compatible with our machines!
So now, with copy in hand I could book the guests. I wanted to book Laura Winter, the co-director and one of the boys, Ali. Ali’s now living in the states and his English was passable. The big trick was to figure out a time that worked for everyone. Also, it’s important to air the piece at an appropriate time, i.e. when audiences can see the film!! So, we waited for the film’s showing at the Tribeca Film Festival. Both Laura and Ali were in New York for the festival, so I was finally able to get them into the same studio and we aired the piece later that day!
In retrospect I wish I had another day to edit and mix this piece. The end product was fine and I’m happy I was able to turnaround a 40 minute interview (with film clips) into a listenable 8 minute piece. But Lisa Mullins and I both know what was left on the cutting room floor and even with just a couple more hours I could have made it even better.
One more note: We had a fire drill at WGBH just as the interview was ending! Alarms were going off all around us!!
You can listen to the final product here: http://www.theworld.org/taxonomy_by_date/2/20080430
I just want to let everyone know about a few podcasts created here at The World.
1. I’ll toot my own horn and say our Global Hits are available as a podcast M-F. This segment was started by my colleague Marco Werman when the show started over ten years ago. These days I help Marco pull them together.
2. David Leveille is a great armchair traveller AND producer. He produces the daily Geo Quiz segment.
3. Clark Boyd and I share a master’s degree in Theological studies and he has a great, dry sense of humor. Clark produces the weekly Technology Podcast.
These 3 podcasts can be found at: http://www.theworld.org/?q=podcasts_and_rss/the_worlds_podcasts
I should also say that our ENTIRE show is now available as a podcast. You can either find it by using the link above or it’s available on iTunes.
4. Reporter Matthew Bell and producer Carol Hills are creating podcasts about this year’s Presidential election.
5. Finally, this week Patrick Cox debuts his podcast on language. His podcast is called The World in Words. I haven’t listened to it yet as it just debuted today!! Here’s the RSS feed: http://www.theworld.org/rss/twiw.xml
