Freelance/Student £140
Members £115
*Tickets include lunch
A day long workshop that covers some of the basic production skills that can help you create high quality original content for your podcast that will make you stand out in the crowd. Deborah Dudgeon and David Prest, of award winning audio producers, Whistledown, will dissect what makes a successful podcast, how to plan it and put it together, and explain some of the simple marketing tools that can ensure your podcast reaches its audience.
Over the course of the day you will:
– listen to some great podcasts and work out what makes them successful, as well as what doesn’t work so well
– script an introduction to your own podcast
– learn how to plan your podcast, work out a format and running order
– get advice on selecting the right presenter(s) and guests
– experiment with microphone use and how to capture good quality sound
– understand rights issues and financing
– learn how to reach your audience
– and ultimately make your own 5-minute podcast to take home.
About the trainers:
David Prest and Deborah Dudgeon of Whistledown Productions will teach the course. Whistledown is the largest provider of speech programmes to BBC Radio, providing landmark series such as Radio 4’s The Reunion, and Feedback, as well as a wide range of features and documentaries. Whistledown also works with universities and commercial clients to make podcasts and audio guides.
Image: via Shutterstock / MAFord
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Radio and other audio platforms offer a large and varied market for aspiring dramatists – from character drama to thrillers, comedy, sci-fi and historical stories. And in the age of the box-set, when TV drama is all about long-running series, audio is now the home of the single drama. This creates a huge opportunity for new drama writers to pursue unusual and ambitious projects with a realistic hope that they will be produced.
Are you interested in learning how to write audio drama for the BBC and elsewhere? This one-day workshop focuses on the special demands of writing drama for the ear. It aims to equip participants with the skills necessary both to write their own new projects and to pursue the possibility of working on existing radio drama series. The workshop will demonstrate how to use sound to grab the audience’s attention from the very beginning of a story. You will learn devices that help to differentiate between characters, and to establish their relationship to each other – hugely important in audio drama where the audience only have voices and effects to go on. And you will explore ways to create an atmosphere of suspense, where the test of each scene is – does the audience care what happens next? The workshop will also tell you how to structure and present your radio drama scripts, and how to go about pitching stories to commissioners and producers, both at the BBC and in newer markets such as Audible.
The workshop is led by Hugh Costello, who has written more than two dozen dramas for BBC Radio, and has twice been a judge in the drama category of the Audio Production Awards. Hugh is also a screenwriter whose HBO film Bernard and Doris was nominated for ten Emmy awards, including best screenplay. He also writes journalism and produces factual radio programmes.
]]>Freelance/Student £125
Members £100
This one-day technical workshop is designed for anyone wanting to create, enhance or edit audio content for media projects.
Discussing sound for narration, interviews, field recordings, ambiances and performance, the workshop will focus on general principles of sound production and will be relevant to users of most recording or editing systems.
The workshop would suit self-shooters, podcasters, video editors, producers of any media content who have not previously focused on sound or others entirely new to audio.
Topics covered include:
- Recording environment considerations
- Terminology and technical standards
- Equipment: Cables, connectors, software, recorders, signal processors and more
- Monitoring: Evaluation of sound by listening and use of meters
- Microphone types, techniques and placement (a selection will be available on the day to try)
- Frequently used production tools
- Commonly encountered sound issues and how to avoid them
- Selecting a recording or editing system to suit your project.
Here’s what participants had to say about Robin’s recent workshop at the club:
“This is was an incredibly useful workshop – a great starting point in terms of terminology and technology.”
“The topic was all new for me but surprisingly accessible. Robin is an excellent and approachable instructor.”
“An extremely informative workshop. It was very useful and a great help to my work.”
“Thank you so much for the very informative course, I found it incredibly useful.”
“It was great to hear from someone so experienced. I really felt like a lot of it has now ‘stuck’ which is testament to Robin’s patience and delivery.”
No previous knowledge of audio production is necessary but some familiarity with any recording or editing systems may be of advantage.
Audio demonstrations will be made on Avid’s Pro Tools software, but the same principles will apply to the following systems, many of which are available for free download, and more: Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, GarageBand, Audacity, Logic Pro, iMovie, Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro, Cubase, PreSonus Studio One and TwistedWave.
Although not a requirement, participants are welcome to bring a laptop to the workshop to try any techniques discussed. Please ensure that you are reasonably familiar with the basic audio operations of your software beforehand. The trainer has familiarity with several common editing systems (Pro Tools, GarageBand and Audacity in particular) but specific operating knowledge for others may be limited.
Please bring a pair of headphones.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound recording and post-production engineer. He has worked on numerous documentary, drama, factual and animation productions for broadcast and film distribution. He has worked on productions for the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, National Geographic, Discovery, The History Channel, PBS and 20th Century Fox.
Freelance/Student £125
Members £100
This is one-day technical workshop is designed for anyone wanting to create, enhance or edit audio content for media projects.
Discussing sound for narration, interviews, field recordings, ambiances and performance, the workshop will focus on general principles of sound production and will be relevant to users of most recording or editing systems.
The workshop would suit self-shooters, podcasters, video editors, producers of any media content who have not previously focused on sound or others entirely new to audio.
Topics covered include:
- Recording environment considerations
- Terminology and technical standards
- Equipment: Cables, connectors, software, recorders, signal processors and more
- Monitoring: Evaluation of sound by listening and use of meters
- Microphone types, techniques and placement (a selection will be available on the day to try)
- Frequently used production tools
- Commonly encountered sound issues and how to avoid them
- Selecting a recording or editing system to suit your project.
Here’s what participants had to say about Robin’s recent workshop at the club:
“This is was an incredibly useful workshop – a great starting point in terms of terminology and technology.”
“The topic was all new for me but surprisingly accessible. Robin is an excellent and approachable instructor.”
“An extremely informative workshop. It was very useful and a great help to my work.”
“Thank you so much for the very informative course, I found it incredibly useful.”
“It was great to hear from someone so experienced. I really felt like a lot of it has now ‘stuck’ which is testament to Robin’s patience and delivery.”
No previous knowledge of audio production is necessary but some familiarity with any recording or editing systems may be of advantage.
Audio demonstrations will be made on Avid’s Pro Tools software, but the same principles will apply to the following systems, many of which are available for free download, and more: Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, GarageBand, Audacity, Logic Pro, iMovie, Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro, Cubase, PreSonus Studio One and TwistedWave.
Although not a requirement, participants are welcome to bring a laptop to the workshop to try any techniques discussed. Please ensure that you are reasonably familiar with the basic audio operations of your software beforehand. The trainer has familiarity with several common editing systems (Pro Tools, GarageBand and Audacity in particular) but specific operating knowledge for others may be limited.
Please bring a pair of headphones.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound recording and post-production engineer. He has worked on numerous documentary, drama, factual and animation productions for broadcast and film distribution. He has worked on productions for the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, National Geographic, Discovery, The History Channel, PBS and 20th Century Fox.
If you are interested specifically in audio and radio recordings, you may be interested in our How to Make a Radio Documentary workshop, running the day before this one. On Friday 19 February, David Prest and Deborah Dudgeon of Whistledown Productions will be leading a one-day workshop, covering the editorial essentials such as spotting an idea, building a narrative structure, finding the right contributors, as well as how to use sound creatively to grab the listener’s attention.
]]>Freelance/Student £125.00
Members £100
Improve your audio for video, film and other audio media with this one-day workshop.
We will be discussing how understanding different factors can help improve the sound quality of narration, interviews, natural ambiences and performance as well as demonstrating recording and audio production methods that can be applied across many sound editing systems and recorders.
This workshop would suit self-shooters, those currently producing media content who have not previously specialised in sound and others new to sound production.
Workshop topics will cover:
- Recording environment considerations and acoustics
- Microphone types, techniques and placement
- Equipment, cables and connectors
- Technical standards and terminology
- Understanding commonly used production tools
- Tips when editing sound
- Common errors and how to avoid them
- Dealing with some instances of problematic sound.
During the workshop, there will opportunities to practice recording using various different types of microphones (these will be made available on the day) and to look at how to correct / improve different types of problematic recordings.
The workshop will be relevant to those wishing to use various audio and video editing systems. Some practical aspects and demonstrations during the day will use Apple’s GarageBand software (included within the general Mac operating system).
GarageBand uses software and features common to Apple’s more sophisticated audio production tool, Logic, and their video production suite, Final Cut Pro. Often thought of as a music production tool, GarageBand is also used as a general audio production tool.
No previous knowledge of sound production is necessary but any previous editing experience and / or general familiarity with GarageBand prior to the day may be of some advantage.
The popular audio production software, Pro Tools, will also be used during the day however those attending will not require any knowledge of this system as it will be used as a demonstration tool only.
Participants are invited to bring laptops, software and headphones to this workshop to take advantage of some of its practical aspects. Please make sure that you have installed any software specific to your system beforehand. Tips about installing other useful software recommended for use will be distributed after booking.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound recording and post-production engineer. He has worked on numerous documentary, drama, entertainment and animation productions for broadcast and film distribution. He has worked on productions for the BBC, Channel4, National Geographic, Discovery, PBS and Twentieth Century Fox.
Freelance/Student £125.00
Members £100
Improve presenting audio for video, film and other audio media with this one-day workshop.
We will be discussing how understanding different factors can help improve the sound quality of narration, interviews, natural ambiences and performance as well as demonstrating recording and audio production methods that can be applied across many sound editing systems and recorders.
This workshop would suit self-shooters, those currently producing media content but who have not previously specialised in sound or others new to sound production.
Workshop topics will cover:
- Recording environment considerations and acoustics
- Microphone types, techniques and placement
- Equipment, cables and connectors
- Technical standards and terminology
- Understanding commonly used production tools
- Tips when editing sound
- Common errors and how to avoid them
- Dealing with some instances of problematic sound.
During the workshop, there will opportunities to practice recording using various different types of microphones (these will be made available on the day) and to look at how to correct / improve different types of problematic recordings.
The workshop will be relevant to those wishing to use various audio and video editing systems. Some practical aspects and demonstrations during the day will use Apple’s GarageBand software (included within the general Mac operating system).
GarageBand uses software and features common to Apple’s more sophisticated audio production tool, Logic, and their video production suite, Final Cut Pro. Often thought of as a music production tool, GarageBand is also used as a general audio production tool.
No previous knowledge of sound production is necessary but any previous editing experience and / or general familiarity with GarageBand prior to the day may be of some advantage.
The popular audio production software, Pro Tools, will also be used during the day however those attending will not require any knowledge of this system as it will be used as a demonstration tool only.
Participants are invited to bring laptops to this workshop to take advantage of some of its practical aspects. Please make sure if this is the case that you have installed any software specific to your system beforehand. Tips about installing other useful software recommended for use will be distributed after booking.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound recording and post-production engineer. He has worked on numerous documentary, drama, entertainment and animation productions for broadcast and film distribution. He has worked on productions for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, Discovery, PBS and Twentieth Century Fox.
Freelance/Student £125.00
Improve your audio for podcast, film and video productions. This one-day workshop will teach you about recording, editing and filtering methods, as well as audio principles that can be applied across nearly all sound editing systems and recorders.
This workshop is ideal for self-shooters, those who are new to audio production and for those currently producing media content but who have not previously specialised in sound.
We will discuss how different methods can help when recording narration, interviews, natural ambiences and performance, as well as how general recording principles can be used when recording audio to PCs, Macs, video cameras, dictaphones or any other recording devices.
The workshop will involve listening to different types of recordings in order to:
- Highlight faults (to correct them or avoid their re-occurrence)
- Become familiar with the quality of audio that is likely to be captured using different types of equipment in different settings
- Demonstrate limitations of recording equipment in certain situations
- Hear the effects of applying different types of filters
- Assess the suitability of certain recordings for use in a production.
The editing and filtering principles that we’ll cover can be applied to many different software applications such as Final Cut, Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas etc. but will be demonstrated using Audacity – an open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.
During the workshop, you can practice using Audacity to correct / improve upon different types of problematic recordings and find out how to increase the overall consistency and clarity of edited audio. We will also be using Pro Tools for some of the demonstrations.
This workshop will cover the following topics:
- Common audio terminology
- Recording & listening: monitoring environment considerations when selecting a setting in which to record
- Simple recording signal paths
- Considering general principles of audio production and applying them to different recording hardware or software systems
- Microphone types, techniques, selection and placement for use in different settings (a selection of microphones will be available for comparison)
- General guidelines to improve audio clarity and consistency within a production
- General guidelines for ensuring suitably loud programme material
- Common technical standards discussed
- An introduction to some of the most frequently used audio production tools (found in nearly all editing systems). The tools that will be focused on specifically will include:
Dynamic processors (compressors, limiters etc.) and Equalization - Diagnosing common audio errors (with suggestions as to what may have caused them and how to work around them).
Participants are invited to bring their Mac or PC laptops to this workshop to take advantage of in its practical aspects. Please make sure that you have installed Audacity beforehand. Please bring a pair of headphones. Tips about installation will be distributed after booking.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound engineer with experience working at all stages of the post production and recording process. He specialises in audio editing, and has worked at several leading London sound studios for the past 15 years.
Camera skills, interview techniques and essential safety tips – this one day workshop will cover what you need to know before setting off as a one-man- or one-woman-band video journalist.
The session will focus on cross-platform camera skills to help you get the best picture and sound quality for your story, and to make sure you get the most out of your equipment.
Setting off on assignment can leave you with a daunting to do list and there will invariable be challenges and obstacles once you are in the field. This workshop will help you to plan ahead, think about what you’ll need to take with you, and teach you to create time for your story rather than your logistics.
Find out all that you need in your video journalist’s toolkit from veteran freelance cameraman and Frontline Club founder, Vaughan Smith.
What you’ll learn:
- Getting to grips with your video camera: setting, composition and framing
- Shooting sequences: how to tell stories and follow the action
- Lighting, audio and interview techniques
- What to pack
- Finding the stories
- Safety and digital security tips
Watch Smith’s report Blood and Dust, documenting 10 days of life and death on a US Medevac helicopter in Afghanistan, for which he won the 2011 Prix Bayeux in the grand format television category.
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Improve your audio for podcast, film and video productions. This one-day workshop will teach you about recording, editing and filtering methods, as well as audio principles that can be applied across nearly all sound editing systems and recorders.
This workshop is ideal for self-shooters, those who are new to audio production and for those currently producing media content but who have not previously specialised in sound.
We will discuss how different methods can help when recording narration, interviews, natural ambiences and performance, as well as how general recording principles can be used when recording audio to PCs, Macs, video cameras, dictaphones or any other recording devices.
The workshop will involve listening to different types of recordings in order to:
- Highlight faults (to correct them or avoid their re-occurrence)
- Become familiar with the quality of audio that is likely to be captured using different types of equipment in different settings
- Demonstrate limitations of recording equipment in certain situations
- Hear the effects of applying different types of filters
- Assess the suitability of certain recordings for use in a production.
The editing and filtering principles that we’ll cover can be applied to many different software applications such as Final Cut, Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas etc. but will be demonstrated using Audacity – an open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.
During the workshop, you can practice using Audacity to correct / improve upon different types of problematic recordings and find out how to increase the overall consistency and clarity of edited audio. We will also be using Pro Tools for some of the demonstrations.
This workshop will cover the following topics:
- Common audio terminology
- Recording & listening: monitoring environment considerations when selecting a setting in which to record
- Simple recording signal paths
- Considering general principles of audio production and applying them to different recording hardware or software systems
- Microphone types, techniques, selection and placement for use in different settings (a selection of microphones will be available for comparison)
- General guidelines to improve audio clarity and consistency within a production
- General guidelines for ensuring suitably loud programme material
- Common technical standards discussed
- An introduction to some of the most frequently used audio production tools (found in nearly all editing systems). The tools that will be focused on specifically will include:
Dynamic processors (compressors, limiters etc.) and Equalization - Diagnosing common audio errors (with suggestions as to what may have caused them and how to work around them).
Participants are invited to bring their Mac or PC laptops to this workshop to take advantage of in its practical aspects. Please make sure that you have installed Audacity beforehand. Tips about installation will be distributed after booking.
About the trainer
Robin Green is a sound engineer with experience working at all stages of the post production and recording process. He specialises in audio editing, and has worked at several leading London sound studios for the past 15 years.