Lecture 5 Sound

Initially I thought this lecture of 'Sound' will be something Bruce pre-record and talk about this topic. Turned out it is an interview of Richard and Steve. Didn't really enjoy it because I find it not easy to stay attentive. But there's a few take offs.

I agreed with Richard's point that radio is a more intimate media in our life. Growing up, I get most of my information from the radio as I will on it and let it play in the air while I do something else.

Tracing back the history, radio is inseparable to someone's life. Tell you a story of mine.
My grandma told me about her life with radio. When she was in her mid 30s, which was 70 years ago, she was struggling with everyday living. As my grandpa passed away early, she has to take care of 12 kids and raise them up by her own. Before the sun breaks the dawn, she had to get up to work in the rubber tree plantation and work until the sun sets. After she went home, she dealt with alot of housework and she didn't really had time to sit down and update herself with news. She got this second hand radio from one of her relative.  The first thing she did when she reached home is turn on the radio and like everyone else, let it play in the air. It pretty much eased up her little bit. She said without it, she'll not be able to know what's going on in this world.

Richard mentioned that because there's no visual, the host need to make sure his listener feel connected to him. Whatever he says has to, in some way, effectively pass on the message and emotion.

The host has to be very alert during interview because the subject may take a long pause during conversation and he has to fill in these empty spaces with words to make the interview lively and interesting. Yet, there's advantage of conducting interview with voice. Because the interview is not visualize, subject tends to feel more comfortable and open up to the host.

Voice expression is extremely important. If the host is feeling empathy, he can lower and soften the tone. If he is excited, he can talk faster and louder! By this way, your audience will feel more connected.

Overall this lecture is quite informative, even though I already have knowledge about it. Although now I didn't listen to radio (refer to my media use diary), I still love to listen to radio.