RADIO PRODUCTION MANUAL How everything works!! See what it takes to produce a radio show! STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 1
Table of Contents Mic Positioning Pg. 3 Sound Board Operation Pg. 4-7 Mic Mixer....Pg. 8 Headphone Mixer...... Pg. 9 CD Player(s)....Pg. 9-11 Spreaker...Pg. 12-22 itunes...pg. 23-27 Automation/Radiologik DJ Pg. 28-30 Scheduler.Pg. 30-34 imac/radiologik DJ Pg. 35-36 Audition/Pre-Recording.. Pg. 37-41 Station ID & Sponsor Spots..Pg. 42-43 STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 2
Mic Positioning When talking into the mic, make sure that your mouth is a vertical hands distance away from the mic. If you need to turn your head to look at something or someone while talking, keep your mouth on the mic and turn your head slightly like the picture displayed above. This ensures that your voice will be received properly. DO NOT DO THIS! Make sure you to inform your guests about mic position. Get them to move closer to the mic. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 3
Sound Board Operation Each channel that you see controls the volume of sources hooked into the board. To adjust the volume of a source, move a slider up or down. The sources are labeled at the bottom on the board. Turn a source on and off by pressing the red button. A green light above the button will indicate that the source is live. No green light indicates that the source is off. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 4
Sound Levels The left and right stereo channel lights in the top middle of the board indicate if your source(s) volume levels are too loud or too low. Left and right channels meaning what you hear in your left and right ear If the lights are all red to the right, that means the sources are too loud and might cause audio distortion. If the lights are green to the middle and just a little into the red, there will be no distortion and the overall audio quality will sound better. Green light to the left means the sources volume is too low. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 5
Channels Channels 1-7 are the only channels that have sources feeding into them. The Only channel that is not pictured is channel 5, which is labeled BAND. Use this if you have a band with instruments come in, have them play in the recording studio. Setup the mics and adjust the levels in the recording studio. Make sure the Headphone slider is halfway up on the Recording Studio board. Then hit the Cue button in channel 5 on the live studio board to hear how it sounds. Automation slider controls the automated music and must ALWAYS be on when you re not on the air. Make sure the slider is up to the thicker When you want to go live, turn down the Automation slider all the way down. Then turn on the Host mic, and the Guest mic channel if you have guests come in. If you hear the Automation channel bleeding through even when you have turned it down or turned it off, push the MUTE button on the keyboard thats next to the Automation monitor. The mute button is at the top of the keyboard. In the picture, it is the button on the far left. Make sure to push it again to Unmute when you break for spots or are done with your show STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 6
In the Monitor channel,you can adjust the volume of the speakers by moving the slider up or down. When a mic channel is live, the speakers will mute. When you and you re guests are wearing wearing headphones, you can adjust the overall volume by moving the slider up or down in the Head Phone channel. Cue Button Hit the blue CUE button to preview a source before hitting the red live button. They are located above each channel. A green light above the button will indicate that it is on. These buttons are NOT in the HOST and GUEST mic channels. PLEASE turn it off when finished! STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 7
Mic Mixer This unit controls the individual volume of all of the guest mics. The first dial on the left controls a headset mic. If this mic is used, make sure the volume is not higher than 3 or sound. This will all depend on how loud or quiet a guest is. The second, third and fourth dials control the rest of the regular guest mics. The fifth dial controls master volume, DO NOT touch The on and off switch is on the upper right hand corner of the unit. When it is on, the VU meter will light up. This meter shows the volume level of the mics. The level should stay about a quarter of the way over, no more. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 8
Headphone Mixer You can adjust the volume of each of the headphones by turning the Level dial. Channel 1 is the host headphone. With channel 2, 3 and 4 controlling the guest headphones. CD player(s) If you have a CD(s) that you want to play, you have two that you can use. On the board they are labeled as CD 1 and CD 2. CD 1 is on the left side, and CD 2 in on the right. This comes in handy if you multiple CDs from different artist. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 9
The On and Off button is located at the bottom center of the unit, right next to the 2 eject buttons. After you are done with CD player, remove any CD that you have put into it and please turn the unit off. Here is where you control the player. To Eject the tray, push the eject button in the upper left hand corner. Once you have put in your CD, the screen will show you the length of the track and will count down once you hit play. This comes in handy when you need to know when to switch the next STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 10
The other button you need to know is the Play/Pause, Previous track/ Next track, and the SGL/CTN button. SGL/CTN stands for Single/Continuous. If you want to play just one track on the CD with it going in the next track, hit the button till it says Single on the screen above. Once the track is done, it will cue up the next track to be played. When set to Continuous, it will automatically play the next song. You will NOT see Single on the screen when it set to Continuous. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 11
Spreaker If you d like to record your show, go on the imac computer that sits on top of the rack and open up any browser (Chrome or Safari) and go to spreaker.com. Once you are there, go to the top of the page and click Create Once you click it, will bring you to THIS page. Next, click on Broadcast STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 12
Clicking it will bring you to THIS page. Type in the title of your show followed by the date. If this is the first time recording cording your show, click the gray New button. Type in the name of your show, then hit CREATE. Doing this gives a location for your recording to go, and also for you to find later. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 13
Once you ve created the name of your show, it will be already be selected. To select it next time or if you want to select an already created show, scroll down on this page and click on the circle next to your show or whatever show you want. Once you do so, it will fill in with a black dot. Once you have named and selected your show, scroll back to the top and hit the NEXT button. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 14
Once you have clicked it, it will bring you to THIS page A prompt will appear after the page has loaded When it comes up, click ALLOW. Clicking it brings you to THIS page. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 15
In the upper left corner, there are different options, Broadcast LIVE and Record and New Episode. Click on the circle by Record a New Episode. Doing so turns the section black. Hit the red record button right before you go live. Once you do this, the button will turn into a STOP button and the time counter will start. Once you have finished your show, hit the STOP to end the recording. After you have hit the stop button, THIS prompt will appear. Click Yes, Publish STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 16
After clicking it, it will bring you to THIS page. DO NOT hit Share on Facebook Next, look to the top of the page and click the arrow next to the Marengo Radio logo. A box will show up, click the My Profile tab. When you click it, a pop-up will appear wanting you to Share on Facebook. At the bottom of the box, click Nope, I ll keep it to myself. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 17
After clicking it, it will bring you to THIS page. If your show has copyrighted music, its must be set to Private If it doesn t have copyrighted music, you don t have to privatize your show and can skip this next section of steps. If you need to set your show to private, start by clicking the Episodes tab. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 18
After clicking it, it will bring you to THIS page. Your show recording should be at the top of the list. When you find it, there two buttons on the right side. Click the button that has a square with a pencil going through it. The Circle with the minus in it is the Delete button. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 19
After clicking it, you will see THIS page. Scroll down, you will see different options. The Download Enabled box will already by checked, it needs to be UNCHECKED. Click it to uncheck it. Next, click the box and CHECK the first option Private. Once you have done that, click the SAVE button. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 20
If you want a copy of your show, scroll back to the top of the page and click Audio File. Clicking it will bring you to THIS page. To download, hit the Download button. Next, look to the bottom left corner of the screen, and click the FINDER icon. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 21
This window will pop up. If it isn t selected already, click Downloads located on the left side of the window. If you have a flash drive, plug it into the imac. Once you do that, the name of the drive will come up on the side of the window. With the Downloads window still open, click and drag your show over the name of the drive (keep the mouse button pressed). Hover over the name for a few seconds while still holding onto the file and the drive window will pop up automatically. Once that happens, you can let go of the mouse and the file will now transfer onto the drive. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 22
itunes (Smart Playlist) If you want a show to be replayed on the air, look for the monitor labeled Automation. Once you find it, open itunes then click the Finder icon on. Make you have the My Music tab selected in itunes. Download your show from Spreaker, open the download window and drag it into itunes. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 23
Select the show you have loaded, it will be at the top of the list Click and select the file. Click on the name again till the area appears light blue. Once you do this, type in the title of your show (DO NOT ADD A DATE). If your show has already has a smart playlist, click on the Playlist tab. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 24
Once you see this page, make sure the Programs folder is open. Scroll down and click on your show folder. After you have clicked it, you will see that your show has been automatically added to the playlist. If you don t see it, you probably didn't type the name correctly. If you have an old show in your playlist, copy and paste the name to the new show so that it will be put into the playlist. Off to the right side you will see Date added, the day you added the show will be shown there. A section for Plays is also there, indicating how many times your show has been played and also on what date it was Last Played If you have an old show that was previously added at an earlier date, select the name and edit the name by clicking twice. You only need to omit ONE letter. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 25
If your show doesn t have a playlist, select the Programs folder then click the Plus icon on the bottom left corner. After you ve clicked it, a few options will show up. Click New Playlist Folder And name the folder after the show. After you have done that, make sure that the show folder is selected, then hit the plus icon again. This time, click New Smart Playlist STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 26
After you click it, THIS window will pop up. When you click on the first bubble to the left, large list of different things will show up. Look through it and select NAME. Next, click on the middle bubble. Look through the list and select IS. And at the end, fill in the name of your show. Once you have done that, click OK If you would like to add your own music to the itunes automation library, put your music on a flash drive and plug it into the USB pictured above. Before you do this, make sure it is appropriate for radio. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 27
Automation (Radiologik DJ) This program that you see is called Radiologik. It is in charge of playing all of our music and programing. The application for it is pictured above. THIS section on the right side shows the Length of the audio track, what time it will start, when it finishes and the Ramp time. Ramp time means the amount of time you have in the beginning of a song before the sung lyrics come in. Not all songs have Ramp Time. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 28
When a track is being played, it will count down in time. It will also show the artist name and song title. If a song is playing, the block that it is in turns green. The song cued At the top left corner, you will see the Auto On button. When the circle is blue, automation is running. If the button ever says Auto Off, click the button till is says Auto On. Otherwise DO NOT TOUCH THIS BUTTON. Every 25-28 mins and 55 mins or so into every hour, spots will show up in the list in automation. Each live segment that you do must be around 27 mins long. You break whenever spots show up. As a little reminder to yourself, find the song that plays before the spots start playing and watch the countdown of that song so you can time it better. ALSO Keep an eye out when the spots stop playing, a song will sneak in if you don t watch. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 29
At the top of Radiologik, you can see what song or track is currently playing, what song was just heard before that, and also the song before that. Scheduler To pull up Scheduler, click on the icon that is pictured above. Once you have done that, THIS page will appear. Scheduler is responsible for loading all of the music and shows into Radiologik DJ. All of the music loaded is based off of year and is picked randomly from smart playlists created in itunes. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 30
If you click on a show on the list, it will tell you how long the show is, what time it is played, and what days the show plays To the right (when the Program Properties & Times tab is selected) are the settings, where you can change the name, the length of show, what days it plays, and what time it plays. Click the button next to Length and it will give you a list of different lengths. Changing the name, simply click on the box next to Program Name. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 31
To add a time, click the plus button that located towards the bottom. Click on the Start Time button to give you a list of times. Make sure to select a day as well. To Delete a time, have the time selected then hit the minus button. With the Script tab selected, you can see how a show is programed. When a smart playlist for a show is created in itunes and selected into the script, Scheduler will play it. Spots are also scripted in as well. The picture above shows the script of a show that is close to 30 mins long. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 32
If you want to add a show, select a different show that has the length you want. Then click the plus button in the bottom left corner. This will duplicate the show. This saves you the hassle of putting in the script manually. Once the show is duplicated, change the name to the title of your show. Then change the date and time, they will conflict with something else if you don t. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 33
Click the script tab of your show, then find the name of the old show and select it. Next, look to the bottom and click itunes Playlist and select the smart playlist you created for your show. This picture shows the script for an hour long show using just one file from the selected playlist. You can also click and change the music decades by following the same steps. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 34
imac (Radiologik) If you d like to play your music through the imac, you can plug in a flash drive to the USB that is on the right side of the imac. Right click and make a new folder on the desktop, this is where you will drag your music too. Double-click on the folder you have create. Look for your drive name/icon and double click it. A window for your drive will appear. Click and drag your music into the folder you created. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 35
Open Radiologik. PUSH the AUTO ON button to switch it to AUTO OFF. Click and drag your music into Radiologik. Once you ve added your music, you can click and drag the songs to be in any order Push the play button when you re ready! The first track will be on the left side ALL of these steps can be applied when using the recording studio imac as well. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 36
Audition Pre-Recording If you won t be able to do a live show during your slot, you can record it beforehand and have it play during your slot. Click the icon pictured above. Then you will see THIS window STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 37
Next, go to the left of the screen and click FILE. Click NEW. Then click AUDIO FILE. THIS window will show up. Name your show, then click OK. This page will appear. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 38
In the bottom left corner is the red record button Hit the button when you are ready to record your show Once you have hit record, you will see the audio waves moving across the screen and the time will start. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 39
When you are done recording, hit the space bar and it will stop the recording. After it is stop, the whole file is highlight and selected. If you need to adjust the overall volume of the audio, look to the middle till you find what is pictured above. Click on the +0 and drag to the right to increase the volume. The audio waves will rise, so make sure they don t go past the highlighted window. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 40
Once you are done with that, go to FILE. Then click on EXPORT. Click on FILE. This window will appear. Type in the final name for you show/recording Make sure LOCATION is set to the name of your flash drive. Click OK when you are done! From here, you can transfer the file to itunes in the Live studio to be played at a designated time. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 41
Station ID Time and station ID We are required by FCC regulations to identify our station at the top of each hour. This can either be done live or through the recordings placed in Radiologik Scheduler. If you want to do it live, you must follow these rules: Make the announcement as close to top of the hour as possible. This is the script: You are listening to WXMR Marengo Where the three dots are, you may insert the following information if you like: Our frequency: 94.3 LP Marengo Community Radio You must give the information in that order: Call letters first, city last. The other stuff can go in as you like, BUT YOU MAY NOT SAY ANYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN THE CALL LETTERS AND THE CITY NAME. You can say other stuff after the city name. Examples: You are listening to WXMR, 94.3LP, Marengo, Illinois You are listening to WXMR, 94.3LP, Marengo Community Radio, Marengo, Illinois You are listening to WXMR, Marengo Community Radio, Marengo, Illinois You are listening to WXMR, 94.3LP, Marengo, Illinois. EX-cellent Marengo Radio. You are listening to WXMR, Marengo Community Radio, Marengo, Illinois. The cultural center of the surrounding region. We usually give the station ID at the bottom of each hour as well, but you don t have to. We also usually give the time along with the station ID. Try to do this at the top of the hour as well, but it isn t required by law. It is a good idea to give the time & IDs at both the top and bottom of each hour, just as a service to our listeners. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 42
Sponsor Spots **THESE ARE NOT OPTIONAL** We wouldn t be on the air if it weren t for our sponsors. They keep the music coming and the equipment in working order. We have promised them, in exchange for their sponsorship dollars, a certain amount of acknowledgement. There is a laminated sheet on the broadcast table in the live studio that lists our sponsors and the rules of doing spots. The wording is as required by the FCC. Please familiarize yourself with these spots and their timing. In an effort to see that all sponsors are getting the time they paid for, please use the checklists provided in the live studio. You can either do a spot live, or let a recorded one run. Whichever it is, please check off the name of the sponsor(s) whose spot is broadcast during your show. Once all sponsors have been checked off, start a new sheet. Please date these sheets and put them on the office desk when they are full. Underwriting announcements may not include: Qualitative language. (e.g., award-winning, leading, etc.) Comparative language. (e.g., better, best, oldest etc.) A call to action ("Visit our store..." come on down ). An inducement to buy, sell, rent or lease. Personal pronouns, unless as part of a slogan. (As in you. You re going to love this you should try ) References to price or value. If you are announcing a public event that has an entrance fee (say, the county fair) you may state the fee. That s all. Do not talk about available discounts, days where kids are free, etc. Tell them to visit the event website for more information. You may give fees or prices, if you are announcing an event being run by a nonprofit. However, try to be brief. Direct people to websites as much as possible. Remember: no spot, under any circumstances, can run longer than 30 seconds. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 43
Phone calls If the phone rings while you re in the studio, feel free to answer it. If it s someone calling to ask about sponsorships, try to answer their questions. (You should familiarize yourself with the document titled Sponsor packet on the Volunteers page of of our website.) If they have questions you can t answer, direct them to our website wxmr.org. We have a page called Sponsor information. Try to get their contact information: Name Business name Phone number or email If they give it to you, forward it to Delia or Ted. If they don t want to give it, that s ok. Tell them to visit the website. Requests are not permitted: Copyright Law for Internet Radio Broadcasting imposes limitations on playing song requests and scheduling playlists. (For more details see our Broadcast Affiliates' T.O.S.) The following non-exhaustive list of activities is prohibited: Playing a specific song within one hour of a request by a listener or at a time specifically designated or requested by the listener. Publishing any advance program guides or using the chat/discussion function or any other means to pre-announce when a particular song will be played or the order in which songs will be played. http://www.streamlicensing.com/directory/index.cgi?action=page&page=faq For any other calls or questions from listeners, get their contact information and forward it to Jayme, Pam, or Mike. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 44
In-Studio Guests Talk to your guests before you go on the air (the best time would be when you first schedule the interview), and review the following items with them: 1) We do not recommend that they bring children under the age of 12 into the studio. If there is no way they can come without their children, then consider checking out the Zoom and interviewing them at their home. Children yelling, crying, or otherwise distracting the guest make for a lousy interview. 2) Everyone knows about the 7 Words You Can t Say on Television. They are also the words you can t say here. Be sure your guests understand this. If anyone uses unacceptable language, and a listener complains to the FCC, we can be fined. We can be fined a lot. Watching your language isn t optional, and it isn t cute if someone says Oopsie! or I shouldn t have said that! It s not a matter of shouldn t. It s a matter of can t. 3) There is absolutely, positively no smoking on campus. That doesn t mean just the studio, or the building. It includes the sidewalks, the grass outside, and the parking lot. There are video cameras everywhere. You will be seen. We could potentially lose our lease. 4) No littering either. Again, cameras including outside the building. Put your trash in trash cans. 5) No food or drink within 10 feet of our equipment in the studio. STUDIO EQUIPMENT MANUAL 45