Live, On Air Production
One of the surest tests of production ability is to pull an airshift.
An airshift usually involves announcing and running the console, although today the shift may be voice-tracked.
Live, On Air Production
During the airshift, you are using all of your skills to produce the flow of sound that marks the unique character of your station.
The primary activity in an on-air situation is mixing sound sources through console.
Live, On Air Production
Those sources go to the transmitter and over the air instead of to a sound file on a
computer hard drive – mistake cannot be avoided.
There are no retakes, and a mistake such as a commercial that doesn’t play because of an miscued audio file, is a big mistake on the air.
Live, On Air Production
For one thing, dead air is sloppy.
Reschedule commercial (make good), in some case refer to an apology to the angry
sponsor.
An over consideration of on-air production is the rapid transition from source to source.
Live, On Air Production
Tight board (fast moving format) refer to that there is hardly any space (overlap) between sound sources.
Experience on-air produces develop a rhythm, a sixth sense of timing.
Typical Airshift
On-air ion is done by 3 types of radio station employees:
The announcer who runs a board combo
The engineer who runs a board for an announcer
A board operator at a station that may have automated part of its programming.
Duties of the On-air Producer
Handles the combo operation that usually involves most of the following:
Running the console
Cueing discs and tape, if the music and commercials are not programmed into a
computer (on systems that program music and commercials, the on-air talent frequently
plays bumpers and stingers and announces live).
Duties of the On-air Producer
Riding levels on sound sources going over the air.
Selecting filler music
Announcing music, reading commercial copy, providing weather and traffic updates, and , in some case, reading news.
Taping programs coming in from networks for delayed broadcast.
Answering the telephone.
Duties of the On-air Producer
Monitoring the emergency Alert System.
Checking for important news items, monitoring the news computer, and saving
appropriate material for others in the station.
Doing general maintenance, such as filling CDs, filling commercial logs, dubbing sound files between the digital audio workstation and the playback machine, and sometimes doing a vacuuming.
Duties of the On-air Producer
Taking meter readings if this task is not automated.
Keeping the program log.
Playing back news actualities during newscasts.
Performing off-air production work (sometime done on the audition channel) when a
long program, such as a baseball game or prerecorded show, is airing.
Duties of the On-air Producer
In some cases, assembling and reading the local newscast.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
A government system established in 1994 that is designed to allow officials to warn public about the emergency situation.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Replaced Emergency Broadcast System (EBC) that linked the radio station to the federal government through a “tree” method where large stations would re-transmit it to smaller stations.
Only transmit a brief system.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Even though the system was originally designed for notification of national emergencies, broadcasters found that using smaller branches of the tree system allowed transmission of vitally needed weather emergency information.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
When the new EAS was designed, officials decided take advantage of these local
capabilities and allow radio stations to more fully customize their emergency inputs.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Now, EAS alert can trigger several different sources, including weather stations, and the radio operator can receive and rebroadcast highly localized reports.
The EBS monitor in the control room is activated by a databurst, which send a message that can be digitally stored and replayed moments after reception.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
In the recent past, most EAS alerts have involved weather emergencies and natural
disasters, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
Radio able to provide vital disaster relief information to victims while other media such as newspapers and television stations were unable to do so.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Also provide information under AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response)Plan which use the alert system to provide the information about missing children.
Interrupt programming to provide a description of the abducted child and suspected
abducted, and details of the abductions are broadcast to millions of listeners.
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
Monitoring the EAS system is an important duty for on-air producer, each station’s
equipment system is slightly different, and you will receive specific briefings from station’s management.
Typical Schedule
Broken down the duties into on-air and off-air tasks.
Both of this schedules reflect the beginning of a typical shift, though there can be infinite variations on the themes presented.
Typical Schedule
The announcer is also responsible for introducing the music and must be informative and entertaining in the bargain.
Typical Schedule
Morning Schedule
Typical Schedule
Evening schedule
Sound of the station
The primary responsibilities of the on-air producer is to provide programming that
reinforces the format and goals of the station.
The identifying characteristics of the radio station are encompassed and expressed in what’s known, as the station’s sound.
Sound of the station
Are not only the music played.
Also dictating the sound are:
Pace
Content
Announcing style
Blending of the program.
Pace
In many of the more frenetic station, the program elements can come fast and furious – a jingle here, a joke there, and then a spot or commercial cluster.
Maintaining a pace means checking yourself to ensure that your on-air segments are not too long/ too short, depending on the station.
Pace
The delivery will vary according to the pace of the programming at your particular station.
Content
Is what you say and play.
For an on-air producer, continuity of content is maintained by not playing a modern rock song on an easy listening station, or by not using a rapid-fire delivery when you are host of a Saturday Night oldies program.
Content
DJs usually develop feel for matching song tempos and announcing.
Announcing Style
In combo stations, announcing and production duties are intertwined. The announcer is producer, and vice versa.
Achieving the proper style of delivery is a matter of matching the style of the station’s format.
Announcing Style
DJ may talk over the music at the beginning of a recording and talk about the artistes who performed the music being played by different style of communication (formal/informal).
To develop the skills that will help you become competent as an announcer, try to get as much practical as possible.
Announcing Style
Take every opportunity to read copy in various radio styles, constantly striving for a conversational style.
Develop your ad-lib skills, keep in mind that very few people are naturals at broadcast announcing, hard work and constant practice are necessary for everyone.
Blending the Sound Sources
Some fast-moving rock stations have almost no on-air silence; in fact, some of these
stations frequently combines as many sound sources as possible.
The weather for example is read over the instrumental lead-in to music; commercials
always have music beds; another sound sources always brought up as a pieces of music
fades.
Blending the Sound Sources
Blending technique applied still depend on the station programming strategy
AC, Country and Rock applied different concept.
Make sure your production values and techniques integrate with the sound of the station is one of the keys to successful on-air production.
Suggestion for Live, On-air Production
Console operation
Establishing a routine
Planning in advance
Being aware of false endings
Listening to the Air Monitor
Clearing Equipment
Planning for the worst
Console operation
Set the pot at appropriate level for:
Digicart
miniDics
CD players
Make sure zero the fader to avoid cueing over the air.
Console operation
Careful of the faders and selectors switches that control the network lines and telephones.
Avoid habit being left open when nothing is on line.
When a signal is fed, it can come as sth of a shock to the air person who left the channel open.
Establishing a Routine
Always checking to make sure the mic is not up on the console before you say anything.
Check the routing switches and make sure that everything that is supposed to normal does normal.
Barnish cuss word from your vocabulary the moment you get near a mic.
Planning in Advance
Planning in advance to avoid getting into position of not having a good shot.
Make sure the following:
Pre-selected music
Script/copy is ready
Plan schedule – indicate different segment and tasks
Etc.
Be Aware of False Endings
A false ending on a song is music that sound as though it’s going to wrap up, but doesn’t.
Checking the time-elapsed feature on a program computer can sometimes help you to
avoid this problem.
Avoid silence known as dead air.
Listening to the Air Monitor
Always keep the air monitor playing at a good volume.
A low volume from the air monitor won’t allow you to hear, for example, the network line leaking over the air or a CD that is skipping.
It is also important to monitor the station’s broadcast through the off-air or air monitor source.
Listening to the Air Monitor
Usually, audio console allow you to choose between program, audition, and off-air source.
Clearing Equipment
Don’t let the CDs, Discs, Tapes, pile up on the equipment; clear them as soon as possible.
If you don’t, sometime you will need a playback machine in a hurry, and there won’t be one available.
Clearing the equipment as you go along is one of the best habit for efficient on-air
production.
Planning for the Worst
Standby audio source to avoid dead air problems.
Keep the emergency materials on standby (a one minute public services announcement, an extra CD cut, and etc).
