Posted by: sbroun on November 1, 2006 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

Sam here. Back in Woods Hole. This year, as in years past, I find myself tired out, content and inspired post-Third Coast. It’s a nice place to be.

I’m left with some miscellaneous thoughts and figured I’d share them here.

• Jonathan Mitchell. I realized that we didn’t blog about his session. Apologies, Jonathan. I sat in on Jonathan’s session the first day. Jonathan is a sound designer. A composer. For Jonathan, all radio is music. He is meticulous and exacting in his work. Every sound in a piece has a purpose. The sounds say something the words don’t say. And each sound, each word, each musical note, moves the whole piece forward. The session made me sit up, lean in, pay attention. I was reminded of the importance of the smallest details in this work. Thank you, Jonathan.

• Pulling the curtain back. I was in two sessions this year where the presenters opened up ProTools sessions and shared their process for organizing their work and how they use ProTools. In both cases, they were ProTools sessions for pieces I have heard. So seeing the sessions, and hearing the producers talk about the piece, it was as if they pulled the curtain back a bit…and let us in. More please.

• Creativity and constraints – came up several times throughout the three days. How, for example, the constraints of the 99 Ways call or the constraints of producing a non-narrated piece generate a certain type of creativity. So that what may at first appear to limit, actually becomes a muse. I get that.

What I take away this year from Third Coast is a reminder of the ‘chops’ radio requires. Writing, voicing, structuring, editing. While instincts go a long way in making a good piece, honing these skills (along with using your instincts) is what will ultimately help you make the best radio. Onward...

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