Talking The Talk
I have never been good at public speaking, in fact it was something that I have dreaded doing for the past number of years. As a child, I was generally shy and quiet and never did anything in big groups.
However, over the past few years – I have been invited to various Radio and Production Conferences across the world as a guest speaker. This also includes countless Podcast and Online Radio Station Interviews. It began in 2015 being asked to speak at the Annual NSRC in Galway with NUIG University.
The thoughts of talking in front of 40+ people about Radio Imaging was daunting and it was all I could think about.
Since moving to RTÉ 2fm and now FM104, it has become so much easier to speak about my trade, my writing, composing and work in the Radio Industry. Why? I am the stage in my career with I am becoming happier with the work I am producing. I am proud of the work I’m creating.
Now, about 5-10 talks later, I have just finished the 2017 NSRC Talk on Radio Imaging in Galway. I took to the stage for 60 minutes of insight, education and live jingle-making on stage in front of a packed room.
What did I cover?
- What is Radio Imaging?
- What is a Sweeper, Promo, Jingle, S&P, Branded Intro, Jingle
- Are Jingles still relevant?
- The evolvement of FM104’s Jingles in 27 years
- The Importance of Sonic Branding for Big Brands and Radio Stations
- Protools Session: Basic Promo
- Protools Session: Branded Intro
- Protools Session: Creating a song
- Live: Creating a jingle for NSRC Live!
- Q&A
- Q1: Are Jingles still as relevant?
- Q2: Do stations use Top of Hours as much?
- Q3: Is it not a monopoly having two massive Jingle Companies?
- Q4: What Autotune plugin are you using?
- Q5: Is it typical to add more high-end [EQ] into your work?
- Resources
- TRIP (The Radio Imaging Podcast, with Chris Nicoll)
- The Producer’s Podcast (Ryan Drean)
- Benztown Branding’s Blog (Andreas Sannemann)
- Denzil Lacey’s Soundcloud
- denzillacey [at] fm104 [dot] ie
The response was great and it really opened up options for a lot of people who had attended the talk. A number of people knew what [Imaging] was but they weren’t sure who made it, how it was made or how much thought and detail is put into it.
I personally feel it’s important to show people the thought processes, workflows and people behind the work. Yes, Radio Imaging is a niche but what stems out of it are not so much. The possibilities of other work though Radio Imaging are endless and I have listed some below
- Audio Producer
- Commercial Producer
- Sound Mixer
- Producer / Re-Recording Mixer
- Foley Artist
- Sound Designer
- Music Producer
They are just a select few out of several hundreds of different industries and titles you could work in with Radio Imaging.
Anyway, the whole point of the article was how bad and nervous I was about public speaking. This talk, by far was the easiest and most engaging I have ever done. It’s down to one reason. I am proud of my work.
Until the next conference or talk – that’s been NSRC ’17!
