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New Show:
Fake City, Real Dreams
Zak Rosen is a radio producer. Neil Greenberg is a map-maker.
They're both from Detroit, but their hearts are in a different
city, a city they think is possible--at least in the imagination
and maybe in reality.
The radio piece they made together treats this place as if it
were real. It is a creative exercise that hints at a plausible
future. Fake City, Real Dreams is unlike any "arts feature"
you've heard before.
New Tool:
HHb FlashMic DRM85
Continuing in Transom's tradition of reviewing the new digital
field gear for radio reporting, our Tools Editor Jeff Towne has
just finished testing the HHb FlashMics, in both cardioid and
omni versions. He posits, "What if you could have a good
interview mic, and not worry about cables, or phantom power, or
whether the mic is compatible with your recorder? What if you
could hold it and operate it with one hand? Well, you can." This
is a unique field recorder, albeit expensive and with a few
other downsides--but, depending on your requirements, certainly
a tool you should check out.
New Review:
Jesse Hardman
Producing in a war zone, editing in a foreign language,
circumventing censorship, collaborating with Buddhist, Muslim,
Hindu, and Catholic staff, making radio far away from here.
Jesse Hardman and his team from Sri Lanka have been on Transom
for the last month or so. They've left wonderful comments
about their work, full of an intensity about the importance of
radio journalism. Come be re-invigorated about what we do and
its possibilities, however difficult to realize, around the
world. Our downloadable issue of The Transom Review is ready.
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Other Recent Updates by Category...
Self/FLIK Call Out
Transom, in association with Art Outlet and the Flik International Movie Festival, is seeking multi-media self-portraits to be featured at the festival and on the site. We'll offer honoraria to those we put on Transom. All stories must be non-fiction, under five minutes, and include both audio and visual components. The visual can literally reflect the story, or complement it – your choice. Along with your soundtrack, you can use photo slideshows, cut up old films and videos, animation, footage of locations or related imagery, or even a series of hand drawings. Whatever works for the story.
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Deep Wireless 2008
For the third time, we sent Transom Bloggers to the Radio Without Boundaries Conference at Canada's Deep Wireless Festival. Our correspondent Justin Grotelueschen, web/podcast/audio/video man, has blogged the conference for us before and says it's the most inspiring event of its kind, full of enough art, ideas, and play to occupy both halves of your brain. This year, he'll be accompanied by Nick van der Kolk, self-described as "the main brain behind alt.NPR's Love & Radio, a freelance radio producer, documentarian, and man about town." Check out their reports from the front and ask them what's happening.
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Elizabeth Arnold
Now you can download Elizabeth's frank and useful Manifesto "On Interviewing," along with her dialog with Transom users. Elizabeth talks about interview situations from Alaska to Sri Lanka to Mongolia to Capital Hill. "I don't think being dispassionate necessarily translates into fairness or even objectivity. Often it translates into a boring story where you can actually feel the distance between the reporter and the subject and even more troubling to me, the reporter or host can often sound downright condescending. I hate that!"
Creature Comforts
We've compiled our interview (and associated videos) with the
creative team of "Creature Comforts" for this issue of the
downloadable Transom Review. "Creature Comforts" is a remarkable
claymation feature using interviews with actual people as the
guide track. Some of the interviews are done by public radio
producers and it's an edifying look at an unusual re-purposing.
And, a lot of fun.
Jim Russell
Let's say you want to do more than tell a good story on the radio… you want your own show. You want foundations to fund it, stations to carry it, and you want a good time slot. You can dream, can't you? Sure, but for a dose of reality, check out Jim Russell's downloadable issue of the Transom Review in which he reveals all sorts of obstacle-traversing tricks to producing, promoting and funding big projects in public radio, including an insider's guide to budgeting.
Other Recent Reviews:
...more reviews »
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Olympus LS-10
TOOLS Editor Jeff Towne has been living and working with another of the new little digital recorders and just added his review to our roster. Like all Jeff's reviews, it approaches the machine from the radio producer's perspective, complete with lots of photos, sound tests, and a comparision chart. The Olympus LS-10, depending on your needs, is pretty close to the mark... and it's cute, especially when it's wearing its little earmuff windscreens.
Sony PCM-D50
Transom is committed to testing new tools for public radio producers. To that end, our TOOLS editor Jeff Towne has reviewed a lot of the new small digital recorders. They're getting better. In fact, of the Sony PCM-D50, Jeff says, "Among all the small handheld flash recorders, the Sony D50 certainly is near the front of the pack. It does most things right, with only a few minor problems, and no tragic flaws." So, it's not quite perfect, but if you're in the market, you should check out this review.
Marantz 620
Jeff Towne reviews another tiny new digital audio recorder, this time the Marantz PMD620. The 620 is getting pretty close to the mark, but still has a few weird quirks that may drive you crazy, or maybe you can work around them. Check out all Jeffs thorough, radio producer-specific reviews at Transom—lots of pictures, details from field use, comparison charts, and audio samples with various microphones.
...more tools »
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