Astronomy on the airwaves

UNAWE : 25 Feb 2008

Laura Durnford

Kinds of sound

! Voice

! Music

! Sound effects

! Wildtrack

Limitations of radio

! No pictures

! Can’t ‘re-read’

! Ephemeral

Strengths of radio

! No pictures / Mental images

! Can’t ‘re-read’ / Repeat, re-phrase

! Ephemeral / Culture of story-telling

! The human voice

Why radio for kids?

! Basic rules and more so

! Sound before sight (voice)

! Used to hearing stories

Clip 1

‘Eclipse journal’ - Radio Netherlands

documentary ‘diary’ of 1999 solar eclipse

Why radio for astronomy?

! Everyday experience / unusal

! Not limited by pictures - scale

- invisible (X-ray)

Clip 2

‘Portrait of the sun’ - Radio Netherlands

special edition science show

Radio ‘formats’

! Sound-bite

! Interview

! Crafted feature

! 1st person report

! Eavesdrop

! Phone-in

! Montage

Clip 3

‘Eclipse journal’

A family evening

Radio basics

! Write for radio

! Appropriate level for your audience

! Talk, don’t read

! Talk to one person (usually)

! KISS (keep it short and simple)

What you need

! Recording gear

! Access to music / sounds (?)

! Editing software (Audacity)

! Broadcast / distribution

…but that’s another story!

Clip 4

! ‘Eclipse journal’

Live coverage of the event - 1st person

End of the show

Remember…

Have fun!

Thanks for listening.

Phone-ins

! Brief speakers

! Advertise topics

! Pre-record callers

! Backup q’s & points prepared

! Line up callers

! Interactive comment