Weeks Seven & Eight: No style’s free except the radio

3/5/21 – 3/19/21

For weeks 7 and 8 we will be working on producing radio shows. The shows will be broadcast on ds106radio the week after they are due.

Group Radio Show Guidelines

The radio show will be a group project. You will have two weeks to complete the project. These are the specifications:

• All group members must contribute to the final radio show. I recommend you create a Google Doc for planning and collaboration. If you invite me to be part of it, I can offer advice and input. It’s up to you. But I recommend it.
• The total show should around 20 – 30 minutes, equal at least 5-7 minutes times the number of members in your group (for example, a three person group would produce a show of about 20 minutes; five people would go about half an hour.)
• The show must include at least 3 ds106 radio bumpers (they can be specific to the show or general bumpers for ds106radio) that are produced by group members.
• The show must include at least 3 commercials that the group creates. These are opportunities to do something creative that may or may not directly tie to the narrative of the show.
• The show must connect to the course theme in some way. How you go about that is up to you. Creativity is encouraged.
• Blog about your process and progress. Every member is expected to blog at least once during the first week about progress; every member is expected to blog at least once during the second week about the completion of the project. These should be substantive blog posts in which you explain what progress/decisions the group had made, what individual work you’ve been doing, what tools/tech you’re using, what’s going well, what’s not working, etc. tag: radioshowweek1& radioshoweek2
• Each group member needs to do at least one promo poster/bumper sticker/logo etc. for their show during the first week — a little splash of design work.
• Keep the instructor apprised of your progress. You can email me, send me messages on Twitter, etc.
• Consider what a show should sound like. There needs to be an opening and a closing. You may need transitional elements. You will need to do audio production. This will include editing sections together, layering in background sounds, incorporating music, etc. It must not be just a recording of a conversation.
• On the subject of music – in the past some people had their work blocked by Soundcloud due to copyright violation. You can use CC Search to find openly licensed music and other media. You could also google open source music. You won’t find hits, but you will find things you can use.

As you found out during Intro to Audio week, audio editing is time consuming. Plan to be done early and you will probably be done on time.

Some advice on group formation:

Get into groups:

• Membership: You will have the chance to self-organize into your groups for this project.
• Theme Ideas:There are a lot of great ideas out there, so this should not be a problem. You can see everyone’s ideas at http://ds106.us/category/radioshowideas/ — at least everyone who tagged their posts correctly! If you see an idea you like, contact the originator about working together. Stick to the ones from February 2021 though – older ones are from previous semesters. If you have an idea you like, put a call out on your blog and Twitter for collaborators.
• Use Twitter:If you need to find a group, put the word out on Twitter that you’re looking for a group to join.
• Let Us Know Your Group: I created a spreadsheet to facilitate group formation. You should have received the link to it in an email. Give your group a name, put down a brief description of your show idea, and list the group members. There is also a section for people who are looking for a group.

Group sizes:

Groups should have 3 or more members. If a group grows to 8 or more people, I may decide to split it in two, unless the group can make the case that all members will be actively involved in the show’s production.

Group deadline:

You should start forming groups immediately. Everybody should be in a group by Sunday, March 7, by midnight. Your names and groups should be on the spreadsheet to make it official. If you have not joined a group by that time, you will be putting your fate in my hands. I will assign you to a group, but it will be entirely your responsibility to make the situation work.

Summary of Deadlines and Assignments for the next 2 class weeks

Due by Midnight 3/12 (Summarized, as usual, in a weekly post):

1. Radio Show Progress:A blog post on your radio show process and progress. Tag this radioshowweek1
2. Radio Show Design Project:A blog post for your radio show poster/bumper sticker/logo etc. Write this post just like you would an assignment post — with the same amount of detail we usually expect! Tag this radioshowpromo
3. Commenting: Everyone needs to be reading/commenting on other students’ work.
4. Audio Assignments:  Complete at least 2. You should use your audio assignments to develop content for your radio show (bumpers, commercials, intros/outros/transitions, etc.). We are assigning these this week so that you make progress on developing content for your shows! If you do random assignments just to make the quota you are probably wasting your time and efforts. Feel free to bend or create assignments to suit your needs.
5. Daily Creates:Complete 3 TDCs this week.

Due by Midnight 3/19 (Summarized, as usual, in a weekly post):

1. Completed radio show. Upload it to Soundcloud.
2. Radio Show Progress: Second blog post summarizing your radio show process and progress. Tag: radioshowweek2
3. Commenting: The more, the better. It may be a challenge this week though.
4. Daily Creates:Complete 2 TDCs this week.

Audio resources:

In addition to the Audio Resources page, here are a few additional items worth reviewing:

• The Convergence Center has recording equipment and facilities available for you to use. Take advantage of them! (Note: I am not sure if there are unlisted restrictions for the pandemic.)

The UMW Digital Knowledge Center is available for tutorials for audio editing. You can schedule a tutorials for assignments and the radio show here: http://dkc.umw.edu/tutoring/