On this page, you can find weekly posts regarding my progress with "From Puppies to Predators". Each post is split into three sections.
1. Fieldwork, Progress and Preparation- I will talk about how I've organized and gone about my interviews and preparation for the show.
2. Difficulties- I can use this as a space to express my concerns and challenges.
3. The Experience- I can talk about the lessons I've learnt, what I've gained and how I can improve on the work I've done.
T- 1 Week! Pressure Is ON...
I can't believe there are only three weeks left until the end of term. I can't help but think to myself...what the hell did I do for the first three weeks?! It all happens from here. There has been a certain level of preparation, what with oral exams and proposals, but I can't, and certainly shouldn't, shake off my mind the fact that my first podcast will be released next Saturday. You could say that is the motivation for getting my ass into gear this week, because one way or another, I will have 20 minutes of entertaining audio material by Saturday. So what has come to be the fruits of my labour so far?
Fieldwork, Progress and Preparation
Fieldwork ... that was a bone of contention between me and audio production last semester. I took ages to finally do it, and then didn't have time to go back and fix it up. So this time I want to make sure I'm on the ball. But to be honest, I only have two interviews completed so far. I'm not panicking though. I'm substantially more organized than before. I know when most of my interviews are happening, I know what I want to ask, and my transport arrangements are sorted. My interviews were done in Alexandria at Woody Cape Nature Reserve. And yes, the sound quality is great. Thank goodness. I did them in a car- it really does work! My interviews however, were for the second show. I should be working more towards the first show, but I'll take whatever comes.
To make the two measly interviews look a bit better in terms of my preparation, I've also organized two guests. Just one more to find. For Saturday's show I will have Louise. She runs a weekly ‘puppy socialisation’ class. She seems very open to giving time to interviews, so I hope she will be a success! I'm also going to sit in on one of her classes on Tuesday. I'm keen to see if there is audio potential for puppies, so I'm hoping for an entertaining class with lots of badly behaved puppies running riot! Not that she knows about that though. For my second show I've organized Simone Marais, head of Rhodes Organization for Animal Rights. She will offer a student perspective to compliment the Kwantu Game Reserve and Elephants of Eden packages I will compile in the not too distant feature.
Difficulties
It goes without saying- there's always going to be difficulties, and I've no doubt there will be some interesting ones that I can talk about throughout my series of blogs. So far, touch wood, I've stayed clear of major challenges. I've finally got my car back, so transport is no longer an issue. Attempting to get hold of all the contacts for my potential stories has been a slight challenge. For instance, I was going to organize an interview with the general manager of Sibuya Game reserve, but he's not back till the 31st September, so I've had to scrap that. The Chief game ranger from Woody Cape wanted permission from the municipality to grant me an interview, but I'm hoping I can convince him otherwise. In the meantime, I've made arrangements with others who work there, hence the two interviews I have had there so far. Otherwise, it's a matter of the more you do, the more mistakes you're going to make along the way, but let's see what happens!
The Experience
So far I've been pretty pleased with my preparation and organization. I probably haven't done as much as I should have, but I've structured the forthcoming week in a way that I should get a lot done. One reason amongst quite a few for doing this project is that I get to explore the Eastern Cape properly for the first time, so travelling to Alexandria last week made for an interesting trip. I realised that for such a small town, it is actually surrounded by a remarkable landscape of hiking trails, nature reserves, game parks and the coast. This is why I've been focusing on this area for my second and third podcasts, as there is so much potential for wildlife. This week, I will be working mainly towards ensuring my first show is ready. This entails a focus group interview with a collection of digsmates who have four different animals, and two puppy socialisation classes. But what will be taking up a lot more of my time will be Alexandria. This week, I hope to visit Elephants of Eden, Woody Cape (again), and Kariega Game Reserve (closer to Kenton than Alexandria). Building towards my next two shows this week I feel will be crucial in allowing myself time later on to fully prepare for the construction of the podcast itself.
By the time I next post on this blog, my first podcast will be done, on top of plenty of fieldwork and completed packages. So watch this space for what will be another interesting blog post.
I can't believe there are only three weeks left until the end of term. I can't help but think to myself...what the hell did I do for the first three weeks?! It all happens from here. There has been a certain level of preparation, what with oral exams and proposals, but I can't, and certainly shouldn't, shake off my mind the fact that my first podcast will be released next Saturday. You could say that is the motivation for getting my ass into gear this week, because one way or another, I will have 20 minutes of entertaining audio material by Saturday. So what has come to be the fruits of my labour so far?
Fieldwork, Progress and Preparation
Fieldwork ... that was a bone of contention between me and audio production last semester. I took ages to finally do it, and then didn't have time to go back and fix it up. So this time I want to make sure I'm on the ball. But to be honest, I only have two interviews completed so far. I'm not panicking though. I'm substantially more organized than before. I know when most of my interviews are happening, I know what I want to ask, and my transport arrangements are sorted. My interviews were done in Alexandria at Woody Cape Nature Reserve. And yes, the sound quality is great. Thank goodness. I did them in a car- it really does work! My interviews however, were for the second show. I should be working more towards the first show, but I'll take whatever comes.
To make the two measly interviews look a bit better in terms of my preparation, I've also organized two guests. Just one more to find. For Saturday's show I will have Louise. She runs a weekly ‘puppy socialisation’ class. She seems very open to giving time to interviews, so I hope she will be a success! I'm also going to sit in on one of her classes on Tuesday. I'm keen to see if there is audio potential for puppies, so I'm hoping for an entertaining class with lots of badly behaved puppies running riot! Not that she knows about that though. For my second show I've organized Simone Marais, head of Rhodes Organization for Animal Rights. She will offer a student perspective to compliment the Kwantu Game Reserve and Elephants of Eden packages I will compile in the not too distant feature.
Difficulties
It goes without saying- there's always going to be difficulties, and I've no doubt there will be some interesting ones that I can talk about throughout my series of blogs. So far, touch wood, I've stayed clear of major challenges. I've finally got my car back, so transport is no longer an issue. Attempting to get hold of all the contacts for my potential stories has been a slight challenge. For instance, I was going to organize an interview with the general manager of Sibuya Game reserve, but he's not back till the 31st September, so I've had to scrap that. The Chief game ranger from Woody Cape wanted permission from the municipality to grant me an interview, but I'm hoping I can convince him otherwise. In the meantime, I've made arrangements with others who work there, hence the two interviews I have had there so far. Otherwise, it's a matter of the more you do, the more mistakes you're going to make along the way, but let's see what happens!
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| Louise explains the basic training steps to her clients. |
The Experience
So far I've been pretty pleased with my preparation and organization. I probably haven't done as much as I should have, but I've structured the forthcoming week in a way that I should get a lot done. One reason amongst quite a few for doing this project is that I get to explore the Eastern Cape properly for the first time, so travelling to Alexandria last week made for an interesting trip. I realised that for such a small town, it is actually surrounded by a remarkable landscape of hiking trails, nature reserves, game parks and the coast. This is why I've been focusing on this area for my second and third podcasts, as there is so much potential for wildlife. This week, I will be working mainly towards ensuring my first show is ready. This entails a focus group interview with a collection of digsmates who have four different animals, and two puppy socialisation classes. But what will be taking up a lot more of my time will be Alexandria. This week, I hope to visit Elephants of Eden, Woody Cape (again), and Kariega Game Reserve (closer to Kenton than Alexandria). Building towards my next two shows this week I feel will be crucial in allowing myself time later on to fully prepare for the construction of the podcast itself.
By the time I next post on this blog, my first podcast will be done, on top of plenty of fieldwork and completed packages. So watch this space for what will be another interesting blog post.
First Podcast...Tick!!!
Wow what a week it has been! I can say with fair assurance that I never worked this hard in my Rhodes University career. Not once did my mind stray from the lingering depths of From Puppies to Predators. I even had dreams about it. I dreamt that everyone was listening to my show, only for guest to not pitch up! And you know how dreams feel a lot worse than the actual events do in real life…so you can imagine the anguish! As coca-cola would say, I ate, slept and drank my elective project this week.
Wow what a week it has been! I can say with fair assurance that I never worked this hard in my Rhodes University career. Not once did my mind stray from the lingering depths of From Puppies to Predators. I even had dreams about it. I dreamt that everyone was listening to my show, only for guest to not pitch up! And you know how dreams feel a lot worse than the actual events do in real life…so you can imagine the anguish! As coca-cola would say, I ate, slept and drank my elective project this week.
In the worst possible sense, my dream almost came true on Friday. I learnt the day before the recording of the first show that Louise Bowker, my studio guest, lives on a farm an hour away, with no cellphone reception. At Tuesday's puppy class, we had arranged to meet on Friday at 2, to prepare for the recording. But in attempting to confirm this over several calls and sms's, it became increasingly apparent that she had no signal where she was. Because I knew she only comes to Grahamstown every Tuesday and Friday, I anxiously called her on Friday morning, and the sound that I wanted to hear finally came- a dialling tone. To my extreme relief, Louise amiably strolled into the Journalism Department, ready for the first podcast, Daunting Domestication.
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| Something catches Teddy's eyes as Annie Polak talks about her pets. |
Fieldwork, Progress and Preparation
In my last blog, I used the word "plenty" to describe the endeavours of the upcoming week’s interview work. I wish I could use that word to reflect on the extent of my endeavours this week, but in the end I could only manage what was necessary for the first podcast. I had countless plans to make the trip to Alexandria, but weather, time constraints and travel arrangements prevented me from doing so. I was just pleased that I was where I wanted to be on the day of the podcast recording. I even recorded it a day earlier than scheduled, so I'm hoping for similar preparation levels for the next two shows. I'm fairly confident that I can achieve this, but at the same time the fact that most of the interviews will be done up to an hour and a half away from here is a tad unsettling.
In my last blog, I used the word "plenty" to describe the endeavours of the upcoming week’s interview work. I wish I could use that word to reflect on the extent of my endeavours this week, but in the end I could only manage what was necessary for the first podcast. I had countless plans to make the trip to Alexandria, but weather, time constraints and travel arrangements prevented me from doing so. I was just pleased that I was where I wanted to be on the day of the podcast recording. I even recorded it a day earlier than scheduled, so I'm hoping for similar preparation levels for the next two shows. I'm fairly confident that I can achieve this, but at the same time the fact that most of the interviews will be done up to an hour and a half away from here is a tad unsettling.
In a similar fashion to last week, I did my SPCA interview in my car. This again proved to be fruitful for audio quality. It turned out to be the audio with the best quality outof the three packages. My digs focus group also went reasonably well, if a touch lacking in perfect audio quality. It took a while to get everyone together. I underestimated how difficult it would be to get the five fourth year girls together. It was an underestimation without justification though, if my assiduous fourth year schedule is anything to go by. My puppy class interview I can safely save for the difficulties section.
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| One of Louise's clients struggles to control his Alsation puupy. |
Difficulties
I hate being right all the time. Why did I have to say difficulties are inevitable? Well aren't they just bloody well so. I left the puppy class with an unwieldy smile on my face. Not only had I thought I had achieved high quality audio from the interview in cold, windy conditions, I also thought my follow up interview was even better- it was again done in the car. The idea was to create a package that could go back and forth between what she said in the class and what she said after the class. I got back to the radio labs, uploaded the files and listened to the playbacks. I felt myself go red in the face...I could feel the heat steaming from my face. I genuinely learnt that 'fuming with rage' and 'red with anger' aren't just metaphors. That really happens! Seriously though, I couldn't believe it. My ghosts of the first semester are back to haunt me. As I played them back, a loud, disturbing hum overshadowed the interview. It became a conspiracy theory even for Andre- the technician at the Journalism Department, until a day later he figured out that the problem was caused by the mic cable having made contact with the front of my recorder, causing an electronic interference of some kind. I guess that part was left out of the 'recording for dummies' session. With every interview I conduct though, I feel like I iron a mistake out. So eventually I will get it right...just you wait!
I hate being right all the time. Why did I have to say difficulties are inevitable? Well aren't they just bloody well so. I left the puppy class with an unwieldy smile on my face. Not only had I thought I had achieved high quality audio from the interview in cold, windy conditions, I also thought my follow up interview was even better- it was again done in the car. The idea was to create a package that could go back and forth between what she said in the class and what she said after the class. I got back to the radio labs, uploaded the files and listened to the playbacks. I felt myself go red in the face...I could feel the heat steaming from my face. I genuinely learnt that 'fuming with rage' and 'red with anger' aren't just metaphors. That really happens! Seriously though, I couldn't believe it. My ghosts of the first semester are back to haunt me. As I played them back, a loud, disturbing hum overshadowed the interview. It became a conspiracy theory even for Andre- the technician at the Journalism Department, until a day later he figured out that the problem was caused by the mic cable having made contact with the front of my recorder, causing an electronic interference of some kind. I guess that part was left out of the 'recording for dummies' session. With every interview I conduct though, I feel like I iron a mistake out. So eventually I will get it right...just you wait!
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| Teddy is up to his ususal playful tricks. |
The Experience
I feel that the biggest experience is yet to come. The first podcast was for the most part, a local, and fairly familiar experience. I really learnt this week just how much of an individual experience this is though. Creating the jingle, setting up the website, anchoring and scripting the show- this is all my work. I enjoy the responsibility that comes with it. I don't have anyone to blame but myself if it goes wrong. Hence the sense of pride I will feel once the project is complete.
On the whole, I'm just really pleased that my first podcast is out the way, and now I can build on the next two shows. My self-esteem has obviously been somewhat trampled from the Upstart project I did last semester. So many plans and prospects of completing a series of shows for RMR, only for a substantial bulk of the work to not follow through. In that respect, it was refreshingly rewarding to complete a show that I felt came together nicely, made sense for my target audience, and most of all, has been a project I have thoroughly enjoyed so far.
I feel that the biggest experience is yet to come. The first podcast was for the most part, a local, and fairly familiar experience. I really learnt this week just how much of an individual experience this is though. Creating the jingle, setting up the website, anchoring and scripting the show- this is all my work. I enjoy the responsibility that comes with it. I don't have anyone to blame but myself if it goes wrong. Hence the sense of pride I will feel once the project is complete.
On the whole, I'm just really pleased that my first podcast is out the way, and now I can build on the next two shows. My self-esteem has obviously been somewhat trampled from the Upstart project I did last semester. So many plans and prospects of completing a series of shows for RMR, only for a substantial bulk of the work to not follow through. In that respect, it was refreshingly rewarding to complete a show that I felt came together nicely, made sense for my target audience, and most of all, has been a project I have thoroughly enjoyed so far.
This week will be all about elephants and lions (for the latter I hope). My journey to Alexandria will certainly be one to follow ardently in my next blog.
Elephant Extravaganza
So I’m writing this post at midnight on Sunday evening. You may think that’s it’s because I’ve been procrastinating. But I genuinely haven’t. Thank goodness there weren’t any 21sts, football matches, or anything else that may usually have taken up my time this weekend, because it’s been all about radio. Heck, as you can see on my other blog page sizers2011.blogspot.com, I have two other projects this term, namely my drama script and audio book, and finding the time to even consider working on them has been few and far between. But today, I finally completed the editing of my second podcast, ‘Conservation Central’. It wasn’t a bad effort if I say so myself. Well polished packages, interesting discussion and cleanly presented. Yes this one was a good’un, if a little long at 35 minutes.
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| The elephants are rounded up for their supper. |
Fieldwork, Progress and Preparation
At first, I felt that my fieldwork wasn’t quite up to scratch, but I realized that I was being quite harsh on myself. Early on in the week, I spent the whole day at Elephants of Eden, and I got so much listening material (two and a half hours worth- no jokes!) - that I figured that would be enough for the show. It turned out it was, but I did panic towards the end of the week, feeling that I didn’t have enough variety. In the end though, I drew three very different and very appropriate stories out of my experience from Eden. The recording quality was also fairly good too, just to put the cherry on top. In preparation for next weeks show, ‘Wildlife Wonders’, I went to Temba Nature Reserve, where I also retrieved a solid two hours worth of material. Editing it down to plus-minus five minutes will be an interesting experience for me next week. My choices of guests turned out to be reasonably successful this week. Despite lacking in variety, seeing as they are both from the Rhodes Organisation for Animal Rights (ROAR), they nonetheless had a lot to say, and furthermore they have different approaches to their roles associated with ROAR, which allowed for healthy discussion. What also turned out to be quite successful was the incorporation of two very different sides to conservation. I created links between the two, but at the end of the day, ROAR haven’t worked with Elephants of Eden, so I just had to accept that they weren’t going to be interlink particularly well. This actually worked out really well though, because they each played their own individual role in the show. The girls obviously had a lot to say on ROAR and the projects that they have been implementing, but I was very interested to hear about them. I was particularly interested in the animal dissection protests, as zoology practical’s occur in classes involving animal dissection occur all the time, and it’s normally something that people get grossed out by when they hear about it, but not really something one thinks about in regard to cruelty to animals. I feel comfortably prepared for next weeks show, as I have already organized the owner of Temba game reserve to come onto the show. I will get more anxious throughout the week though as I find a second guest to partner him.
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| Sias Vrooyen feeds one of the elephants. |
Difficulties
I steered clear of any major difficulties this week. As I said earlier I was a tad worried about the lack of variety on the show, but the fact that I established three different perspectives on conservation within Eden, made up for it. Also, ROAR became an independently discussed aspect of conservation to discuss on the show, and furthermore it brought in the student perspective which is ideal for the target audience for my show. I was also worried about my second guest. I couldn’t find an appropriate second guest at first, because I asked Sias from Elephants of Eden and he said he would, but transport understandably became an issue. Luckily Caitlyn was able to talk confidently and with assurance, and she also gave a fresh approach to ROAR, as she is the prospective vice chair.
Experience
The day I spent at Elephants of Eden was extremely rewarding, not just because of the success with my recording, but also because of the extent to which I gained a new insight into how elephants need to be kept in order to be rehabilitated. I learnt that you actually really need to spend a lot of time, and really indulge oneself into the situation, in order to really grasp an understanding of the issue. It was all good and well talking to Ian and Gert, who on my podcast discuss the founding of the park, and anti-poaching respectively, but it was only when I spent a solid 6 hours with Sias did I come to understand what Eden was all about. He showed me where the elephants spend the bulk of their day, from where the students stay when they volunteer. At the end of the day, I was privileged enough to go into the pens where the elephants walked in for the night. I even got to feed one. That, in my opinion, is real journalism. That’s really what it’s all about. You’ve got to have a genuine interest in the stories you produce, and if you’re not submerged in the story, then what are you really gaining as an individual? Similarly, I was lucky enough to have a free half an hour game drive with Peter, the owner of Temba. I was given the chance to really see what tourists can expect to get out of staying there, rather than just having to hear it from him. Although there wasn’t any potential for audio out of going on the drive, at least I can surely now discuss the place as a far more credible source than the me that pitched up hoping for a 20 minute interview with him?
So as Sunday evening has now turned into Monday morning, I feel content about the way things have gone thus far. I met some interesting people, some interesting animals, and I created a rather interesting show. It was difficult not to have a serious aura about the show, as conservation isn’t exactly a laughing matter as you will find out from listening to the show, but I’m hoping for a laugh or two as I create my third and final podcast next week.
So there it is. With the end of a term that barely felt like it ever really began, came the end of From Puppies to Predators. Never have I, or would I have expected to produce so much journalism in such a short space of time. Alas, Wildlife Wonders, the third and final show of the series, has finally been recorded. Albeit without guests, I felt that this show, really made my series come to life. I believe that from a journalistic perspective, I can feel more pride from this show than any piece of audio work I’ve ever created before.
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| I discuss with Wilfried the reasons for keeping Bengal tigers in the park. |
Fieldwork, Preparation and Progress
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the Temba interview was already secured, so I had my plans set on Kwantu Lion Park
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| The lions await the food that catches their eyes in the distance. |
My last trip with a recorder in hand as a radio student was at Shamwari. By this stage I had become used to, or spoilt rather, to free stuff. Free game drives here, three course lunches there; at Shamwari I was expecting a spa treatment or a red carpet entrance. Not to be though of course! I did get a tour of the lodge though, and with this came a fairly useful interview. The aim of Wildlife Wonders had a different approach to the previous two, as in order to give a people a taste of what to expect at these reserves, I wanted to use an observational and explanatory approach. I felt this process went well for me. I allowed my interviewees to take me around their respective places and just chat to me, which allowed for some engaging and dynamic audio material. By this I mean the listeners get to feel like they are part of the show, and can feel that they are with the people who are talking. I am pleased to have finally achieved this, as this was one of the primary aims that I discussed earlier in the term in my oral exam.
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| The rare white lion. |
Difficulties
Last week didn’t come without its problems. As said above, Shakir was extremely difficult to get hold of. When I did get hold of him, that being the only time, he was very friendly, and allowed me to come to Kwantu. He also agreed to be a guest on my show. But after my visit to Kwantu, he didn’t answer his phone. One guest down. My other guest, the owner of Temba, Peter Repinz, was scheduled to come in on Friday afternoon. To my disappointment, he phoned me on Thursday, saying that he was heading to Cape Town
Fortunately though, success overshadowed the difficulties, and as I’ve shown, the lack of guests didn’t result in any major problems.
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| The Bengal Tiger |
The Experience
I think I learnt the most from this show. Instead of doing what I’ve normally done for the past couple of years in my radio course, which involved one on one interviews in a quiet, enclosed space, I put myself out there, and got involved with my interviewees. It’s easy to believe that broadcasting game drives and walk about tours is only suitable for television, but I believe that the way in which I edited my audio material allowed for an audience to feel part of the process by just listening. Audio elements such as a lion’s roar, and the moving game drive vehicle really allowed this. I thought it was quite risky, because there was always the potential for it to be quite boring and uneventful, but by spending up to a few hours at each place gave me the opportunity to find a lot of audio potential. This is going to be a really important aspect to have grasped for next year, because a lot of the reporting I will inevitably do will require me to get involved in the action. For instance, if I report on a football match, I’m not going to just comment on the score and the goal scorers, I’m going to sit with the crowd, find out their reactions, and walk around the stadium after the game looking for the players and the managers for post match reactions. That’s how I see a good report going anyway.
As a whole, the series of shows have been enjoyable, as I was allowed to do exactly what I wanted to do, in my own time and at my own peril. My reporting, interviewing and presenting skills have without a doubt strengthened, as I have tried new approaches, and gained invaluable experience through constant practice. Most of all, I now have a website that combines photography and podcasts, and I can’t wait to send this website link to prospective institutions as a way of showcasing my portfolio.
