Author:
kenten
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Date Posted: 03:02:51 02/06/04 Fri
oh yeah, i was going to review it but then didn't. okay here it is:
i listened to this show with a number of objectives:
1) evaluate the show as a piece of entertainment - would anyone want to be listening to this? (the music, the stories, etc)
2) evaluate mark as a DJ - voice (inflection, clarity, smoothness,...), presence, humour/interestingness, etc
3) evaluate the technical side of the show - transitions, consistent volume levels, etc
so here's my thoughts on the above.
1) what mark played was definitely not something you'd hear anywhere else. that's good only if someone would WANT to hear it. and would anyone want to hear what he played? sure, why not? old pop music and bouncy anime themes have their appeal. less points were scored on the soundtrack songs, though. the x-men theme is really sleepy, the simpsons clip was very long and wasn't a part-of-the-story song (it was marge, apu & co. singing a song from a musical, not a song that advances the plot, like futurama's "robot hell", for instance), and the pokemon theme... i forget... anyway, for the most part, it was an interesting selection, nice to have playing in the background for a surprise or two.
for mark's comments between songs, clearly he hadn't pre-planned what he was going to say, which work out for some of it, but at times he seems to be struggling to fill time. a little preparation or something on-hand might have helped.
2) overall vocal quality was good, but what was a little lacking was presence. mark didn't feel like he OWNED that show, like that was HIS hour, HIS microphone, HIS world. he seemed a little uncertain at times, maybe a little nervous at times, a little rattled by the passers-by complaining about one song, "flabberghasted" by the people making facing at him. but overall, a good showing.
3) good technical side. though, as i said, that commercial sounded really indy. bad, bad acting/announcing. i'm not saying those people shouldn't be in radio, they just have to try a little harder so they don't sound like they are disinterestedly reading a dull script. but i'm aware that wasn't mark's doing.
so, the tips!
OWN that mic, mark! it's yours! OWN that show! you gotta LOSE YOURSELF in the music, the moment you own it you better never let it go! and keep playing stuff no one else would play but that people would be interested in hearing! and write/practice some of your stories/bits before hand, until you can say them as poignently as possible. (no fluff, no filler, like finely tuned prose. like a story you've told a few times before, and it gets better each time you tell it as you polish the way you tell it.) if you can do 30 seconds on how much you hate how your old socks get baggy, it'll be great if it's quick, sharp, and funny. also, maybe get some stuff onhand (mountain man?) for when you blank, then you can just hit the button! (i suggest pre-recording bits like that)
yeah, that's a lot, but i'd like to emphasize how overall it was a solid showing, despite how much i hate the x-men theme song and "sweet home alabama"
oh yeah, another tip. mark, i think, since radio is all about voice, you should exercise your voice. make it the best it can be. expand your range. here's one way to do it:
write and record your own radio play. even just at home, on your own computer or tape recorder. something with a wide emotional range. angry, sad, depressed, frantic, joyful, quiet. write some little dialogue between two ex-lovers meeting each other again or something, or better yet, pull a page from a script or novel somewhere. better to pull something from a book or something, where you won't be imitating actors you've heard. don't try to do voices, just use your own. the different emeotions the different characters are feeling should make them sound different already.
anyway, try that. even if it's just 30 seconds. or 15 second scenes for each emotion. just practice the range, the conviction behind the lines. then listen to them. is it good acting? could it be better? did it sound like something someone would actually say, natural enough? could it be made better? then try again.
we did variations of this kind of thing in drama class, and it helped even our most banal public speaking.
that's my suggestion. anyway, that's a lot, but i hope that gives you some food for thought. i wanna see you as a professional DJ!!!!
3.5 nibs.
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