Audio Stories

A good story to me be it on the radio, or be it on film is one that builds suspense. I listened to the entire lectures by Ira Glass on what makes a good story and this is one of the main themes he kept pushing. A story that keeps the audience guessing and interested is a good story. One of my favorite things he said is that your story, as soon as it is recorded be it for radio or TV, is constantly trying to be “crap.” It is our job as storytellers to make it interesting, and to make it good. He goes on saying that we may have good taste in radio and film, but at the start our projects are not very good. It takes time to get to the point where they are good. It takes time to make something that is consistent with your taste. As I move forward with this particular assignment I want to make something that is obviously interesting, but even more than that I want to build suspense. I want the listener to really want to know what’s going to happen. I want to make it so they can’t zone out, and can’t change the station. I want it so that the audience is so involved in the story that even though it lasts no more than 5 minutes they can’t pull themselves away.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast

What I Did For Love:

This radio show is a little long, but it is good! The thing that is great is that they chose a topic that everyone can relate to. The other thing that I really like about this radio show is that Ira Glass talks with a normal voice. He doesn’t talk with an awkward “radio voice” trying to put on a show, but he makes it feel as if you were right there with him. I also love the great follow up questions he has. He asks the questions that the audience is thinking. It’s a great example of what we need to do in our interviews.