Nothing is better than the Third Coast Audio Festival!

It was my first year to attend the Third Coast Conference and I'll never miss it again. Radio producers came from everywhere to convene in Chicago. Folks I have admired for years; all gathered in the same room. Very highly recommended for any and all with an interest in producing public radio and/or sound art. Come! You can even stay in my hotel room.

THE HIGHLIGHT, if I had to pick just one: An amazing one-on-one feedback session with Jad Abumrad of Radiolab. I'm still reeling from the opportunity. We listened to the first five(ish) minutes of my most recent long-form piece, Sealed. The positive feedback: "You use silence in a compelling way.... your voiceover performance sounds really good; a comfortable and natural delivery... I was invested in the story from the start and was disappointed we couldn't listen to the whole thing in one shot." The could-be-better feedback: "You need to seduce listeners into the central tension at the very start... it took me a couple minutes before I realized how compelling your story is. Especially with long-form work, you need to suck people in from the start." My favorite direct quote: "I want the scent in my nostrils that something peculiar is coming." I still need to figure out how to do this. Feel free to listen to my piece and donate assistance in that regard.

As for the rest of my time there, I learned so much about my craft and felt inspired every other moment. I was scribbling down quotes, thoughts, and ideas like a mad woman. So, long after the fact, here are a few quick nuggets from the various sessions I attended. Should something pique your further interest, the audio from all sessions is available from the Third Coast Audio Library.



Opening session: Presenting the 2010 Third Coast ShortDocs: Book Odds

• Saw slug sex for the first time (!!!)
  
• Introduced to The Books (check 'em out, experimental sound/music at its best)
  
• The brain creates connection automatically. You can put two seemingly disparate things in the same piece and listeners will use their own experience to create meaning.
  
• "Good editing should disappear into the background." - Nick Zammuto of The Books
  

In the Moment Radio with Scott Carrier

• I love Scott Carrier and I love his voice. It was wonderful to meet him. I was first introduced to him and his work in an episode of This American Life called "The Friendly Man." How did Scott first get into radio? "He was listening to a story on the radio one day, thought "I can do that," and promptly hitchhiked across the country to Washington, to the headquarters of NPR." Wow, he's so much cooler than me and I've had six years of higher education in this stuff. 
  
• You have to find a way to put listeners in the moment of events that have already happened. They need to feel a sense of presence and immediacy, and even come to believe they were actually there. How? Good tape (your recording needs to be compelling) and good set-up (you need to immediately engage the listener/prep them for what they're about to hear).
  
• A snippet of tape from Scott: "The problem with the government is we can't racially profile." Ha!
  
• "I only have one question and that is 'how weird are you?' Only I don't ask that directly." and "I try to see everyone as an equal. I'm a human being, they're a human being, so that gives me license to ask intimate questions." - Scott Carrier, on interviewing subjects
  

Tales of the Tools with Jeff Towne

• of Transom.org (which is an unmatched resource for producers)... I only took notes on what applied to me, but Jeff went through all sorts of equipment. If you're looking to create your own portable recording set-up, I suggest checking out the audio from the session.
  
• Good omnidirectional mics: Electrovoice RE50 or Beyerdynamic M58 (dynamic omnidirectional, can handle loud volumes), Audiotechnica 8010 (condenser, omnidirectional [more output than dynamics and less susceptible to handling noise]) 
  
• Good cardioid: Shure SM58 (super durable, requires external phantom power)
  
• Good shotgun: Rode NTG-2 (super directional, but super susceptible to wind and handling noise) or Sennheiser K6 kit (which allows one power module for various pickup patterns)
  
• Field recorders: Jeff went through a bunch, but (thanks to my lovely sister) I already own the Tascam DR-100. It has XLR inputs, phantom power capability, and external physical input switches (as opposed to an internal menu). All this and it is still fairly compact. I love it! 
  
• Another pretty great option for audio editing: Hindenburg (I'm a Pro Tools girl, but I have putzed around with this software a bit and it's great! And... it doesn't require hardware. Bonus!). 
  

AIR's Pitch Panel with Chris Turpin, Tony Phillips, Julie Subrin, and Laura Starecheski

• Various producers pitched ideas to the pros (including a couple pitches from my friends Tali Singer and Ari Daniel Shapiro!) All the pitches were fabulous (particularly Ari's, whose was picked up ON THE SPOT! Amazing). I took notes on the constructive criticism.
  
• Always create documentaries on a particular question (this is where I got the idea for a piece on Mormons and ex-Mormons: How did you gain/lose your faith? I think if I pulled off the editing, this piece could garner just the right touch of ambiguity).
  
• Make sure pieces have a narrative and dramatic moments; a story arch: "I'm hearing issues, but I'm not hearing a story."
  
• How is your piece unique?
  
• And as for charging for your work: "Don't sell yourself too cheaply. We may be audio sluts, but there's a limit." 
  

Out of Thin Air: Sound Design for Radio with Steven Tilley

• Sound as a problem solving tool: if you have a bad edit, you can put sound under it to mask the cut
  
• "Good things take time." (Good reminder; I speed through so much of my work.)
  
• "There is a thin line between familiarity and cliche." - Steven Tilley, on choosing sound beds for radio work
  

The Sound and the Blurry with Amy O'Leary

• On making multimedia pieces / audio slideshows...
  
• 1) Respect. (respect the craft and make NEW work, don't just steal photos for your audio work)
  
• 2) Don't be literal. (if you say "dog" don't sync with a picture of a dog)
  
• 3) Details. (details smooth transitions)
  
• 4) More photos. (just like you record too much, you need to take too many photos)
  
• 5) Heed the modern attention span. (many more people will watch something that is 2:59 than 3:01)
  
• 6) Illustrate emotion.
  

Final session: The Mysterious Production with ANDREW BIRD (!) and Jay Ryan

• Andrew Bird played songs for us and spoke on the inspiration for the lyrics. Jay Ryan sketched while Andrew played; an overhead camera projected Jay's hand movement. It was quite the capstone experience.
  
• Collaboration makes work stronger (this is hard for me. I always hated team projects in school...)
  
• "When something happens twice, you should put it in a song." - Andrew Bird
  
• And a lyric I particularly liked from Andrew Bird's song Tables and Chairs: "And we were tired of being mild." I got tired of being mild fresh out of the womb, I think.

TWO BONUS TIDBITS FOR MAKING IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH:
Bonus 1: The only photographic proof I was there: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirdcoastfestival/5143717730/
Bonus 2: Julie Shapiro, Third Coast Festival Artistic Director, ran into me in the hotel foyer. After introductions, she asked if I was the Colleen Kelly who submitted Sealed to the audio festival. (YES!) She said she really loved it; that divorce is a common topic and that I successfully covered it in a new and interesting way. Praise the Lord.