Practicum Week 3: Contributing with Confidence

If Week One was jumping in, and Week Two was learning how to swim…then Week Three is another water activity idiom... Sink or swim? Like a duck to water? Swimming like a fish?

Monday

was a holiday…so no work today. But it was the calm before the storm....ahem, snowstorm.

Tuesday

was a total snow-pocalypse.

(For those of you who weren't in PRES-225 or didn’t come to see our play. That was one of my iconic lines.)

Winter returned to Calgary. The drive in was slow and snowy but once I got to the station the ideas flowed. I finally cracked the 60-30-15-10 exercise. I wrote the 60-second spot for a rodeo and then the other ones fell into place. 

Then I met with Sean, the producer. Our hour long meeting turned into two. We talked about editing songs for the radio. He showed me examples and what he did to make a song more radio friendly. 

We also reviewed the ad he asked me to produce. He gave me some good feedback about tightening up the length, scooping out a frequency instead of lowering the bed too much, and ending the ad with a cold voice instead of a fade. 

He then worked on making an edit to a promo so it was better branded for the station. He showed me his work and how he did things to fix a price change in a different ad as well. 

I learned lots of great things for me to use in future production projects. 

I also met with Suzan who handles the national ad scheduling for multiple stations. Meeting with her reinforced how much coordination and communication are needed behind the scenes of radio. What sounds effortless on air takes a lot of work.

Because of the weather and road conditions we were told we could head home early and finish work there. 

Snow-pocalypse!

Wednesday

I was back to work on the 60-30-15-10 exercise. I finished up all of the Rodeo ones and then brainstormed for another client..but I didnt love what I came up with so I pivoted and then switched to working on the car dealership spots instead. 

I’d say the hardest part wasn't the writing, it was deciding what aspect of the business or event to focus on. In school projects and the other writing exercises there the goal of the ad has been clear. But with this exercise I had to choose the goal..but I liked the challenge.

Past Sarah might have avoided a challenge…

Sean asked me to record two quick lines for a dental ad I wrote. I like how those things happen in the moment. Radio is  fast moving, creative and in the moment. In my previous jobs last-minute ideas and creative things weren’t always appreciated. But in radio creative they are just a part of the vibe.

So…just maybe, creative radio work might be a good fit for me. 

In the afternoon I had finished the ads and reviewed them with Steve. He suggested a few creative tweaks to make the messaging more clear. He also gave me some direction regarding formatting. He asked me to put vocal directions in brackets and to put SFX and music directions in bold.

And he laughed at a horse joke I made in one of my ads. So that's a win in my books.

Thursday

a new exercise: write spots for a community sports complex highlighting their kickboxing classes, swimming lessons and Spring Break camps. This client typically runs a 15 and a 30. 

I did some research and looked at the example that Steve gave me. Then I wrote the 15 and 30. Somehow, I was able to include all three activities in them. (Ok not somehow…its possible that I’m just good at writing) Steve suggested one small adjustment to make it flow better and then they were sent off to production. 

That bit still feels surreal. Something I wrote is being used in real life on a real radio station. Exploding mind emoji.

Next exercise: write four 30 second vet clinic spots. But the catch was I had to start with a given sound effect. Another exercise that would stretch my creative writing muscles. And where I would write something different than if I were to have started with the concept. 

And then…a rite of passage for Calgary radio creatives. 

I was asked to make carts and schedule the spots for…

Spence Diamonds 

If you’re listening to Wild or Today in the near future and hear that Spence Diamond “Woooo”... that is kinda my doing.

So you're welcome?

No...I’m sorry.

Friday

The Canadian men's Olympic hockey game was on in the morning. Did we watch it?..yes. It added some excitement to a typically quiet morning.

“Go my favourite sports team go! Score a goal unit basket…” -Brian Regan.

I was also working on the SFX exercise. 

Once I was done brainstorming the writing flowed pretty easily. I even shifted one of my initial concepts to write something more unexpected and funny. Writing the unexpected takes a little more time, but its definitely satisfying when it works.

Sometimes being clever is worth it, but sometimes a straightforward “boring” ad is more effective. I’m learning to find that balance.

By noon I had finished the SFX exercise. Steve and I made a few refinements. He decided that the best one will be used for an exercise next week. I’ll work with Sean to get the voicing and SFX and then produce it. I’m looking forward to that. 

There’s only one week left of my practicum. That's hard to believe.