Techno Music

BBC Newscast

    Who anchored the newscast: Richard Mackintosh

    How many reporters contributed to the newscast: Four reporters

    Length of the newscast: 5 min

   

             Review

         The newscast covers wide variety of interesting international news which deals with political matters, environmental topics, scientific issues and musical themes. Some of the issues discussed are immigrants, US troops in Afghanistan, Sudan and Darfur situation, attacks in Pakistan, Russian spacecraft and the last concerto by Vivaldi.

          The newscast is interesting despite the lack of nat sounds, music and the two seconds gap between minute 3:13-3:15. The gap is a mistake as it happened in the middle of the anchor’s speech and obviously it is not required to end or begin the news. 

        On the other hand, the anchor is professional, expressive, and his voice keeps the listener paying attention to what is said. Also, the production is really good; it keeps me always interested in what is coming up. For instance, shifting between the anchor's speech and the reporters’ talk is produced in a way that does not allow one person to talk for a  long time accordingly the listener does not get bored. In the NPR News there is at least a one minute talk for either the anchor or the reporter. On the other hand in the BBC newscast almost every 30 seconds one person has to talk whether the anchor or a reporter. This style of production keeps me listening to more news and expecting new voices to come up with new subjects. Further, the diversity of the topics covering international domains makes this newscast more interesting.

            The sound quality is good, clear and strong. However, the lack of music or nat sound affects the production quality. Counting on reporters’ voices to break the dullness of listing to one voice is not enough. Applying an intro music at the beginning or the end of the newscast; as well as some nat sounds or distinctive ambiance sound for some news pieces can make the newscast more appealing. The recorded parts are really good.

         The announcer’s voice is a powerful vocal voice (not nasal), which makes it very clear. It is strong, vivid, expressive, and keeps the listener paying attention to the news. The anchor stresses on certain words from time to time, which draws the listeners attention and helps him/her to comprehend what is said. The voice speed is just right and the anchor does not rush or eat words. He may sometimes slow down to stress on a word or two then gets back to the normal speed. He reads smoothly and professionally.

               

          Though I found the British accent a bit wired; the British English might be easier to follow because they tend to pronounce all the letters in a word. On the other hand despite being familiar with the American accent;  the American English sometimes eats some letters from a word which makes it difficult to know what the anchor wants to say.

         Also, after three quarter of the newscast the anchor gives the listeners a one sec break saying “This is the BBC News”. I think they should have applied music at the background along with the anchor's voice at the foreground because it  draws more attention.

             The BBC news production is more interesting  than the NPR because it is easier to follow and comprehend. The shift between the anchor and the three reporters in the NPR sometimes took more than a minute to change the person who is talking.  On the other hand, in the BBC newscast the shift took place almost every 30 seconds with 4 reporters and an anchor to cover the news.

                The BBC newscast is just at the right length; it is not too long nor too short.

One thing I’ve encountered with the BBC newscast; it was difficult for me to access the BBC link enclosed on the AUC blackboard. I have to send the link to a friend to open it and  resend it to me.

NPR Newscast

Who anchored the newscast: Jack Spear
How many reporters contributed to the newscast: Three reporters
Length of the newscast: 4:46 min 

Review

      The newscast covers various local US topics which comprises the US war in Afghanistan, unemployment in the US, explosives in Philadelphia Airport and Haiti refugees to US etc.

 
       The newscast is a bit boring due to news content and  production technique. The content concentrates only on the US news which might not be interesting for many people. The anchor commences the newscast with a good speech rhythm and then all of a sudden he speeds up. This approach makes it a bit difficult for the audience to follow the newscast and affects the listener’s interest in hearing the upcoming news.
      By reaching two third of the newscast Jack Spear, the anchor, gives the listeners a one second break saying “This is NPR News”. Usually, this sentence coexists with an intro newscast music at the background. Unfortunately, the lack of music makes this break stiff and un relaxing for the listeners; especially after hearing a flow of news.
    Playing music is really significant as it makes the newscast less boring, gives the listeners a space to breathe after hearing a nonstop news and draws the audience attention to what is coming up. Also, the production can be more interesting by applying an intro music at the beginning and the end of the newscast. More important is to use nat sounds or distinctive ambiance sound with some news pieces. Relying on the reporters’ voices to break the monotony of listing to one voice is not enough to make the newscast motivating for the audience. Further, towards the end of the newscast (between minute 2:58 -2:59) the anchor says ‘This is NPR news’ and then two seconds of silence, this space of time on air is  long and boring.
     In addition, the use of nat sound can break the monotony of the on going newscast and makes us feel the location of the event. For instance when talking about war in Afghanistan I expected to hear gun fires and people yelling; and for the Philadelphia airport news I expected to hear the sound of airplanes engines. Such sounds help the audience to live the event and influence the listeners to hear more news. The sound quality is clear and good except for certain parts where the voice of the first reporter, Laurence, suddenly begins to faint and is barely audible, this happened between second 48  and  second 53.   Also, the sound quality of the third reporter’s voice, Paul Brown, is strong between minute 3:36- 3:37 and suddenly  the sound quality drops down or faints between minute 3:38- 4:18.  Un like the later, the sound quality of other recordings are good, clear and strong such as the one with Neguchi.
      The announcer’s voice is clear, strong and stresses on certain words which helps the listener to comprehend what is said. However, after the first minute he began to speed up and at minute 2:15 I was hardly following up on what he wanted to say. Also, I think the announcer’s voice is a ‘Nasal Voice’ (the source of the voice comes from the nose not the vocal cords), which makes it hard for me sometimes to hear the proper sound of the word he wants to say.  However, his voice is serious, clear and strong which is suitable for the type of news he is reading. All in all, the newscast is just at the right length. It is not too long nor too short. It is informative and covers various local topics.
             

Sound of Nature
Everyday we hear a wide variety of natural sounds that we don't  pay attention to it. The following short sound clip might help us to appreciate some of these sounds. The sound clip includes calming sounds like the water sound from the AUC fountain and the sounds of birds. Other sounds are unpleasant such as the drill's sound  in a construction area at AUC, students saluting the flag at school in the morning and the sound of cars, horns, traffic and crowds in the streets of Cairo.

Fatimid Rock Crystal

Fatimid Rock Crystals

Breaking the Fast

   Feature from World Vision Reports

      

     Title of the Feature: Breaking the Fast

     Who Produces the feature: two persons the announcer and narrator or reporter

     Length of the Feature: 3. 30 min

     Link to the Feature: http://www.worldvisionreport.org/player.php?storyfile=1629

Review 

The feature is about the banquets of mercy, Mawaed Al- Rahman,  held during the month of Ramadan. The story takes the listener to one of those banquets held in Al-Sabtia area, one of the poorest and busiest areas in Cairo, to feel the atmosphere of Ramadan.

The feature production is excellent which is why I decided to write this review about it. At the beginning, the story commenced with a call for prayer, the Athan, which captured my heart and attention to listen to what is next. The announcer’s voice is clear, strong, serious, and put me in the mood of listening to the reporter’s story. The shift from the Athan to the announcer’s voice is gradual. The Athan sound was strong at the beginning then gradually began to fade away  in the background and the announcer’s voice began to appear in the foreground; none of which overlapped with the other one nor disturbed my attention. Also, the use of low natural sound in the background while the reporter is talking is a good idea. It kept me always in the mood of the story. The same thing goes for the transition from the announcer’s voice to the reporter’s voice; a link between both voices was made by using the natural sound in the background. In addition, the  use of the reporter’s description of Ramadan in the foreground and the use of natural sound in the background made me feel that I am actually at Al- Sabtia with the reporter living the event. 

The sound quality is strong and clear and the natural sound is used professionally. All the recorded parts are very clear and alive, as if I am standing in the middle of the banquet. Also, the reporter’s voice is clear and gentle matching with the peaceful atmosphere of Ramadan. However, sometimes the reporter’s voice speeded up as if she got bored, tired or uninterested in the subject.  Though the story’s length is too short, I liked the production.



Oprah : The Billionaire Everywoman

                       Feature from the National Public Radio (NPR)

      

     Title of the Feature: Oprah : The Billionaire Everywoman

     Who Produces the feature: two persons (narrator and script writer)

     Length of the Feature: 6:09 min

     Link to the Feature: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124285128

Review

The feature is about media tycoon, Oprah Winfrey, who is considered one of the most influential women in the world. The story covers various parts of her life such as her early childhood, personal life, career and success and entrepreneurship and wealth.  Winfrey is credited for creating a more confessional form of media communication, which I personally adore.

The story could have been more interesting if the producer used Oprah’s voice to narrate her own story. The narrator’s task, in this case, is to comment on what Oprah has said with a light music or proper natural sound in the background. The natural sound will break the narration monotony or tediousness and keeps the listener interested in the story.  Also, the story can be more exciting if the audience heard Oprah’s friends talking about their special moments with her.

The sound quality is good in some parts; especially those pieces narrated by the producer (narrator). However, the recorded parts are really bad and the listener can hear noises or voice echoes in the background. The natural sound is not professionally incorporated with the rest of the story. For instance, you hear the narrator’s voice and then all of a sudden you hear a natural sound or Oprah’s voice; as if the two sounds are detached. In other words, no gradual transition is detected when shifting from the narrator’s voice to the natural sound. This  disrupts the listener’s attention and gets him or her out of the mood of the story.

At the beginning, the narrator talks so fast to the extant that the listener can lose interest. I was hardly following up on what she wanted to say. I felt it is more of a commercial ad than a story about a media tycoon. After the first 28 seconds she slowed down the rhythm of her voice and I began to feel and comprehend what she wanted to say.  

The story is just at the right length; it is not too long nor too short. It is informative and covers various parts of Oprah’s life. However, in some parts the narrator talks for a long time which makes it hard for the listener to pay attention to everything said; I think they should have used a background music or natural sound more often.