Producing the Random Access Thought: The 5 Stages!

The creation and completion of a typical Random Access Thought, sometimes also known as a Random Access File, for This Week in Amateur Radio is essentially a process laid out in five stages which if carefully crafted, will produce a viable result. Here are those stages:

1) THIMK:
Before production can embark in earnest, a subject is required. Although the focus will be lodged somewhere deep within the expansive electromagnetic domain, the very nature of this feature will be a random selection. Therefore, topics can range from amateur radio repeater IDs and long wave non-directional aircraft radio beacons to business band radio bootleggers and onward to the history of the Internet Tubes.

At this point, thought will also given into what sort of environment the episode is to be presented. Thus, if the subject is Stratovision - an experiment in the 1950s for wide range distribution of television programs by high flying airplanes, then the setting will be on board a post WW2 commercial Douglas DC-6, which brings us to stage 2:

2) SOURCING SOUND:
Prior to writing the script, voice clips, primary sound effects and environmental backtracks or music will be sourced from the N2FNH Sound Effects Library. For a recent feature on Business Band Radio Pirates, I recorded individual voice and radio sound clips direct to harddrive from a Uniden BCD-396T scanning receiver. These recordings have been preserved and may show again in extremely modified form in future releases.

For the same episode, I decided to go with an indoor radio room environment, which in this instance resulted from a merge of two previously designed tracks. The first was a background consisting of radio scanners in a room mixed with the sound of birds coming through an open window. The other was made up of additional scanners with distant muted city traffic. The two separate tracks were carefully balanced to provide the right environmental flavor. On many
occasions, a custom mini-library of specialty effects will also be designed. When the subject was the infamous Network of Internet Tubes, audio was composed to simulate what it might actually sound like being inside one of these alleged tubular worlds.

Likewise, a voice must be assigned. For a number of years, I hosted each week's performance but as weekly production became increasing more complex, other actors were recruited. My Number One And Only Son Zachary was drafted into service at the age of ten to handle announcing chores in the RAT and RAF promos that proceed the feature. Bill Continelli W2XOY has on occasion hosted a Random Access Thought with material he has written that falls beyond the realm of his popular Ancient Amateur Archives, also heard on This Week in Amateur Radio. Recent entries from Bill included "CQ MARS!" and "The Story of Reggie".

Some of the characters who appear in the RAT, BLOG and QSL promos have also been employed as hosts. Mother Radio, Cigman, Marilyn and Boleslav Krasnov have appeared as RAT emcees. During this phase, certain sounds and music components may be processed (compressed, equalized or filtered) to work better against the primary voices.

3) WRITING:

This is the hardest part. My procedure is to first research the topic either through text literature currently on hand or by trolling via the Internet. Using my trusty text editor, the Norton Commander, significant facts, keywords, and phrases are collected and digitally jotted down. Then, copy is composed and arranged around these core elements. From keyword insertion to final draft, the copy may be rewritten five times or more over a three day period, while at the same time assembling the voice clips, the effects tracks and anything else I need.

I can sometimes escape extensive writing if the content is taped in the field using my cheap, inexpensive, forty nine dollar RadioShack cassette analog tape recorder. In covering the local Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association Field Day this past June, most of the RAT consisted of field recordings of club members with commentary scripted around each clip.

4) RECORDING:

Recording the final document is easy if one of the virtual characters reads. Very little clean up is needed plus the virtual voices read exactly as I tell them. "Clean up" is defined here as unwanted, extraneous noise that detracts from the quality of the presentation. When analog voices are used, there may be more "tone" and incidental noise. Likewise, breaths and other peculiar artifacts are also deleted.

5) FINAL MIX:

At this time, the TWIARi RAT, BLOG and QSL promos are mixed down to two tracks while the Random Access Thought is configured as a single track. I say "two track" because they are not stereo or binaural recordings but the result is a stereo effect. Voices and primary sounds will be assigned a "position in space". For example, Zach may be positioned 38 per cent left of center while Mother Radio is located 63 per cent right of center. This is sometimes referred to as ping-ponging but the payoff is that Zach is to your left and closer to center while MR is stage right but somewhat farther away. In some cases, environmental backtracks and ambiances may have actually been recorded in full stereo which further enhances the "two track as stereo" effect.

In the end, it's a labor of love. It's just a part of my amateur radio hobby that keeps me out of trouble.