COEM 175 Radio Spot Project

Promotional Radio Spot Information Sheet

FROM THE SYLLABUS:
Promotional radio spot – Students will create a 30 second radio commercial that promotes his/her silent movie project. The purpose of the spot is to promote the opening of the video/film either through DVD sales, attendance to a theater, or TV world premiere. Students will use Adobe Audition for this project. Two different voices must be used. Also, music and sound efx are required. Turn this project in on CD-R using MP3 compression at best quality (192 kps or better).

Each student is to have his/her own radio spot on CD. You can use your movie partner for the other voice, if you like.

Overview
1. You should first decide on the type of movie you will be producing. Listen to the music selections, choose one, then discuss with your movie partner what the movie will be about. You might also think of a title at this point.
2. The radio spot is an individual project. You work on this alone - not with your movie partner. Therefore, for each movie, two spots will be created that promote the movie, but were produced by each person separately.
3. Determine the purpose of the spot. Is it to get people to come to the theater? Will it be on TV? Do you want them to buy the VHS or DVD?
4. The structure of the radio spot should be as follows:
     a. Start with something that gets the attention of the audience.
     b. Talk about the movie - describe it - tell about a scene or the main conflict.
     c. Discuss what you want the audience to do - see the movie at the theater on the opening day, watch it on TV
         at a certain time, or buy the VHS and DVD on the first day available.
5. Find a way to include two different voices. Have two narrators or announcers. Have someone talk about the film and someone else to talk about what you want the audience to do. Have a dramatic radio play that works into the promotion - something like two women at the grocery store talking about the movie that is coming out.
6. Write a script that helps you keep it all organized.
7. Using sound effects helps to bring attention to words and phrases, helps create an environment for a dramatic spot, or helps add excitement to the spot. The sound effects don't have to be natural - they can be synthetic. Avoid using mouth sound effects for this - they are cheesy and I can tell what you did. They will not help your grade.
8. The music you use should be background music, not music with lyrics. You may use the music from the movie itself or something else that will fit your promotion. You do not have to have music during the entire spot. In fact, if you do a dramatic spot, the music might be used near the end when the announcer talks.
9. Edit these sounds in Audition at KECC or in the TV Studio. You can combine sounds easily in Acid or Audition. Do not use Adobe Premiere for this project.
10. The spot is to be 30 seconds long. It actually can be 29 to 31 seconds in length without penalty to the grade.
11. When finished, export the audio file project as a stereo MP3 file. Name your file as follows: yourname_radioproject.mp3. Where it says yourname, put your own first and last name. Use 192 kbps data rate or higher for better quality. Burn the sound file on to a CD-R data disc. (Note: .ses files are not audio files - you must use the export function to make your Mp3.)
12. Use the CD burning software installed on the computer or use Windows XP built in software. Make sure you are creating a data CD, not an audio CD. In other words, the CD-R will be a CD-ROM not an audio CD with audio tracks. If you CD says "audio track 1" as the file name after you have burned it, it was incorrectly burned. It should show the file name just the way it was on the hard drive,
13. On the day due, the radio spots will be played in class. If you are not ready to play the CD in class, it is considered late and may have a penalty.
14. Late projects will receive a 10% reduction in grade the first day, 20% for two days late. Try to get this one in on time.

This project will be evaluated for the following:
1. The project meets all the requirements listed on this sheet and syllabus.
2. The project clearly is promotional in purpose.
3. The project gets the attention of the audience and maintains interest.
4. The project has acceptable sound quality standards.
5. Announcers/actors spoke clearly and were credible.

Any questions - contact me by email. Have fun! Want to know what a radio script looks like?
If you were unable to open the "save the audio file project" link, you need to turn off pop-up blocking first in your browser, then click on it again.