Notes from the Thought Police

Here are some tips from someone who’s had twenty years with the ABC as a gatekeeper: listening to program pitches, mentoring and supporting freelancers, teaching radio and deciding whether to commission programs.

During that time I also had five years on the outside where I was pitching stories back to the ABC on a freelance basis. Hopefully these few ideas will help make your contact with the ABC easier and more satisfying.

The ABC needs its freelancers and most EPs or commissioner understand the value of good freelancers. Often programs invest a lot of time and effort in developing freelancers and would prefer to establish longer-term relationships rather than have to constantly retrain them.

All programs are slightly different and their Executive Producers will have their own nuances, but I have tried to make these few suggestions general enough to be of general use to prospective freelancers hoping to make radio for Radio National.

Be a listener. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often people try and pitch (and even turn up at job interviews!) without having listened to the program. If you ARE a listener, then have some opinions about the program, don’t just say how “fabulous” the program is.

Use the ABC website to familiarise yourself with a program and network’s back catalogue. You MUST also acquaint yourself with the ABC’s editorial policies which are public documents and absolutely vital to program makers.

Don’t pitch to too many programs at once. Every program has its own program brief and may also be able to provide their own guidelines for freelancers. The “scatter gun” affect can be counterproductive and may cause confusion down the line. Most EPs or commissioning editors will try and make suggestions and redirect your proposal to a better fit for your pitch.

Establish some communication with the relevant EP or supervising producer first. Find a time to make useful contact with your potential commissioner or supervisor. Be aware that they will be a busy most of the time and may not answer emails straight away. Sometimes a few minutes to introduce yourself on the phone followed up by a more substantive email might produce better results.

Be aware of timeframes. Expecting to get a story up in the final quarter of the financial year is always hard as most programs have probably already committed their meagre freelance budgets by this time. Also your pitch may have to go to a meeting and be discussed.

Have a clear sense of the story. Give the EP a reason to choose your story over several others. Radio National is a specialist network that aspires to depth in its coverage so you’re always better off to suggest a story which aims for detail rather than survey,

Think through the layers of the story. What are its metaphors if any? Are there subplots that will enrich or enhance the main narrative?

Start to imagine how the program will sound. What perspective is it going to be coming from? Do you here music under voices? Readings or other post-production elements? What are the potential bear-traps?

Have I thought about the permissions, ethics and copyright issues implicit in the story I want to tell? Would the story be enhanced by collaboration? How much of you do you think there’ll be in the story and what’s your relationship to the material? Is your personal connection a selling point to potential commissioners or a liability?

What are your motives for doing this program? What are you doing it and why are you doing it now? Etc.

Writing down your pitch. At some point you will try and write a proposal document. I’d suggest no more than 2 double-spaced pages of A4.

Your pitch should address the following issues as much as possible:

Why you think the program you are approaching is the most appropriate outlet for the story. Provide some background.

Clearly identify the angle or line that you believe the program will follow.

As far as you can identify key locations and voices.

Incorporate some of the thinking you’ve done above in the proposal to indicate to the program you are actually thinking about these issues!

Identify the opportunities for SOUND: including location, possible archival materials or music that might be generated on location.

Anticipate realistic impact on program resources. “Is this freelancer going to be high maintenance” is one of the first questions an EP will ask. “How much hand holding will be involved in research, recording, editing and post”.

Do you think you’ll need actors, translators or other resources?

What travel costs might be involved. Be realistic.

What equipment needs do you have? Do you have your own gear or do you need to borrow. For how long? etc.

Are you going to be able to edit your own material or do you need to use an engineer? Be realistic and honest. It will all come back and bite your bum if your aren’t.

What multimedia or online content do you think the program might generate. Picture opportunities?

If you are an unknown entity to the program you will obviously need to supply a resume of some kind and samples of previous work. Suggest references if they’re appropriate and are going to say good things about you.

Matthew Leonard

Executive Producer, ABC Radio National

Basic Notes on Recording Interviews

Below are a few elementary notes on things to remember when recording interviews in field:

ALWAYS check the equipment before venturing off to record, even if the kit has been prepared for you by Operations staff – are the batteries fully charged? are the leads free of crackle? are all the bits in good working order? Obviously ensure you feel confident using the unit and understand the response curve and power source of the microphone. Also make sure you have back-up – extra… leads, tapes/recording space, batteries etc. – as well as the power supply and maybe an extension lead.

Good levels peak between -6 and -12db: this leaves you with a minimum of 4db headroom in case the situation suddenly becomes louder. If the levels are too high and the sound distorts the material is unusable – if you record too low the sound will have an unattractive hiss when you increase the volume in post. Tip; if recording in an unpredictable situation with a single cardioid or directional mic onto a stereo track - set the channels so that one is a little lower than the other – this means that in post you can split the stereo into mono tracks and use the best one.

ALWAYS monitor levels in the headphones – and check how high the monitoring or headphone volume is – if the monitoring levels are set high then you may think you are recording good sound when you are not. If you record often, find the ‘right’ monitoring level for you and reset the unit to it every time you record – this will help train your ears.

Positioning the microphone… during an interview stay close to the sound source by default. Place the back of the microphone to the least wanted sound.

Don’t record without setting the levels and doing a sound check first. 

Turn off mobile phones – both yours and the participants. Mobile phones cause interference and usually ring right at the wrong moment.

As a matter of course, do a 'tape ID' and record the participant giving their contact and title details – while you will not use this material in the edit, it means if you lose the information you have an aural copy.

Record your questions even if you are thinking you will not use them - it gives you more options in post. Also, don't give the subject verbal affirmation of your attention and interest by like saying 'yes' and 'hmm' while they are speaking - just smile and nod.

Sounds to avoid… all forms of wind noise – natural wind, wind generated by mic movement, wind from voice (the classic ‘pop’ – when a puff of breath crosses the mic). Handling noise is also unappealing – don’t fiddle with the lead or let the participant hold the mic.

Noisy Locations… if you record in a loud and recognisable location (eg a café) do it for a good reason to do with the story/piece (not just because it’s convenient at the time) – either incorporate that location into the fabric of the piece (by verbal reference, recording atmospheres and spot sounds) or go somewhere else. Also, if you record in a space with a lot of natural reverb – know the verbal material will ‘bleed’, making it a lot more difficult to edit.

Domestic Locations… if it’s a quiet home, the closest you will get to the semblance of a ‘studio sound’ is a room with a lot of soft furnishing – like a living room or bedroom. Listen out for consistent, irritating sounds like a fan or refrigerator buzz – ask the participant to turn it off – but if it’s the fridge don’t forget to remind them to turn it back on again! Also never record an interview with music, the TV or radio on in the background - it will make the material impossible to edit.

Always record an atmos track after an interview – particularly when the space has a little bit of aural movement. For example, if recording outside and the odd car or distant train sounds during the interview – hang around to capture the same sort of sound at the end. For some reason the cut you want to make in post is always across this incidental sound, so recording a ‘clean’ version enables you to mask this transition.

Recording telephone interviews on a land-line from home is easy if you have a lapel microphone – a hardwire is best but a radio mic. will do. Make a small foam pocket for the mic and use Elastoplast or athlete tape to fix it to the ear piece – secure it well so it doesn’t move around and tape the lead down the back of the handset (you will still be able to hear clearly through it). You will need a second microphone to record your voice – and ensure you record the tracks separately rather than as a stereo mix. This technique is good if you are desperate, but obviously you will get a better sound if you record a phone interview with equipment designed to do it.

Kyla Brettle

Independent Producer & Lecturer in Radio at RMIT University

Contacting Radio National

Post

Send items to GPO Box 9994 (in the capital city/postcode of the person you are sending to)

Email

ABC emails follow the formula of surname.firstname@abc.net.au (but firstname.surname@abc.net.au will get there too)

When sending attachments ensure you put the correct file extension at the end. It's easy to forget to do this if you are a mac user, but remember that ABC is PC based and not all staff are used to re-naming files so they can read them.

Telephone

If calling within Australia but from interstate - save on STD call costs by dialing your local ABC switchboard and asking to be put through to the staff member you wish to speak with.

Electronic File Transfer

If sending large files it's possible to upload directly onto the ABC RN server from anywhere in the world - seek details from your supervising producer or RN operations staff.

The Book Show

ABC Radio National

Weekdays 10am, repeated midnight
Executive Producer, Elizabeth Gray. Presenter Ramona Koval

The Book Show is ABC Radio National's home for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. This daily program will explore the many worlds in which we find readers and writers, publishers and booksellers, playwrights and lyricists, bloggers and journalists, book illustrators and type designers -- all working with words and the medium of language.

Post-Production Facilities and the Final Mix

ABC RN often likes to ensure that post-production occurs at ABC studios – especially when the EP is one to get their hands dirty with a program… at any rate, your show will be packaged and delivered from RN so it needs to get there somehow. How much post-production work you will need to do at ABC depends on your level of experience, the editing software you use and other factors such as the length of the program and the show you are working for.

If you don’t edit your own work then you will be assigned an audio engineer and studio time to put the show together. You need to come in highly organised, with a clear sense of how the piece will be edited and preferably a paper edit. You should also know exactly where all the sound and material you want to use is – so you don’t waste valuable time looking for some lost grab. While you don’t get much time to ‘play’ with the material when you work with a sound engineer – you do get to draw on and learn from their long experience of working with sound. In the edit, you engineer is your greatest resource.

If you do edit and pre-mix your programs from another location – and it’s a major feature – you will still probably be required to come into the ABC for the final mix. Transferring the material form your studio to the ABC can sometimes be tricky. First, find out if RN uses the same editing software you created the project on – the chances are it wont. If it doesn’t, you will need to ‘bounce down’ the individual tracks of the edit session or montage and transfer them to DVD or a portable hard drive. Transferring individual tracks and reconstituting them in a new system is preferable to transferring a pre-mixed stereo track.

Kyla Brettle

Independent Producer & Lecturer in Radio at RMIT University

Airplay

ABC Radio National

Sundays 3pm, repeated Fridays 9pm
Presenter Jane Ulman

Airplay is Radio National's weekly program of new Australian radio writing and performance. Airplay's half-hour dramatic fictions experiment with form and explore a wide range of subjects, genres and styles, aiming to offer programs which are innovative and engaging. It involves collaboration with both established and emerging writers, performers and composers.

The Contract between Independent Producer and ABC RN

Contracts across ABC RN vary depending on function and each program has their own way of dealing with freelancers.

For a standard commission of a feature program, the total fee will be divied up between ‘labour’ and ‘broadcast rights’ at a ratio of about 7:3. The ABC is obliged to pay superannuation to freelancers on ‘labour’ – but it isn’t on ‘broadcast rights’. Unless the ABC has bought the program outright, then they will pay you re-broadcast fees, at a diminishing rate. This is just a broad outline – for detailed information you need to speak with your EP.

There are a few other things to take note of that are usually in a standard contract:

• The EP has the right to audition and adivse on all aspects of the program and has ultimate editorial control
  
• The ABC is under no obligation to broadcast the finished program
  
• Intellectual and artistic copyright remains with you as the artist. The ABC, as a consequence of the commission, retains rights in the master sound recording in terms of exercising options on further publication and any further licencing arrangements

Around the time you sign the contract there will be other forms to fill out as well including the superannuation form. You will need an ABN and have to provide bank account details.

Kyla Brettle

Independent Producer & Lecturer in Radio at RMIT University