Writing like it's a television drama complete with instructions for a camera operator. That's an unusual maneuver for a podcast. One I'd never heard before. Neither had Susan Burton until she wrote that way herself in the latest season of The Retrievals, a production from Serial and The New York Times.
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Fill Your Pockets With Endings
NPR's Robert Smith says when he's writing and gets to the end of a story he has empty pockets. He's used all the good stuff and left nothing for the end. To combat that problem, Robert studied endings from some of his favorite reporters and put together a list of categories that broadly describe memorable story endings.
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Sound Design - Don't Say Rabbit, See Rabbit
"Don't say rabbit, see rabbit." Write it on a sticky note and post it where you can see it at all times. It's a mantra that will save you from cheesy sound design.
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Revisiting: Interviewing Shy People
A constant piece of advice for producers is "Find a good talker." But what about shy people? Given their reticence, they may not be great talkers but they may have a good story to tell. The question is "How do you help shy people open up?" Erika Lantz and her sister Elin Lantz-Lesser of The Turning podcast have answers. Good ones.
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Asking Dad Dicey Questions
Zach Mack really put it to his father. For "Alternate Realities," a series from NPR's "Embedded" podcast, Zach asked his dad pointed questions about the conspiracy theories he believes in that are driving a wedge into the family. On this episode of Sound School, Zach talks to Sally Herships of Radio Boot Camp about the challenges of asking dicey questions.