Maker Sessions

Dive into scores of talks, workshops, and audio manifestos offering wisdom on everything from production skills to journalistic ethics from the best audio producers and makers on the planet.

2008 Perfect Pitch (Day 2)

Perfect your pitching skills and present your ideas to program producers and editors — or just listen in — as AIR (Association for Independents in Radio) pulls back the curtain to let us in on how stories make it to the airwaves.

  • 2008
  • 01:27:24

In Praise of the Sandbox

What inspires those who inspire us? Seasoned producer Jay Allison shares work that inspired him a long time ago and inspires him today, work that contains a healthy measure of invention and play -- key ingredients of creativity, even in a serious world.

  • 2007
  • 01:21:59

Documenter and Documentee -- Part One

Documenting somebody else's life is one of the hardest challenges producers face in their work. Over an extended period of time relationships intensify, stories often change drastically, and the line between personal and too personal blurs easily.

  • 2007
  • 01:24:59

Documenter and Documentee -- Part Two

Documenting somebody else's life is one of the hardest challenges producers face in their work. Over an extended period of time relationships intensify, stories often change drastically, and the line between personal and too personal blurs easily.

  • 2007
  • 01:26:45

Emancipation of Sound

The established elements of Feature productions have been words, music, actualities, and effects.

  • 2007
  • 01:15:37

With a Bird's Eye

Flying across the last 50 years of international feature production is like looking out of an aircraft at night. Looking down you see the illuminated cities, the many shining villages, but far more than everything else you see the sparkling spots of individual talent.

  • 2007
  • 01:25:14

2007 Getting to Yes: Perfecting Your Pitch (Day 1)

In collaboration with the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), this session addresses how to successfully pitch radio stories and series ideas to stations, networks, and other acquirers of independent work.

  • 2007
  • 01:32:57

Greenberger and Greenberg: On Story and Music

Beyond being atmospheric and scene setting, music can play an active role in audio pieces. David Greenberger has worked with a wide range of musicians and composers for his radio monologues, which are adapted from conversations he has with the elderly.

  • 2007
  • 01:29:10

Ask Away

Susan Stamberg, who figures she's conducted some 30,000 interviews in her brief career, plays examples of smart, dumb, informed, innocent, and baggage-laden questions, and discusses how to decide when each is appropriate.

  • 2005
  • 01:10:30

The Future of Radio Is Now

Teenagers are making some of the most engaging radio out there! Their refreshing perspectives and creative techniques are lighting up the radio and signaling good things for the future sound of the airwaves.

  • 2005
  • 01:12:50

The Script Disappears

You've pitched your story; you've collected tape; you've gone through your edits; you're ready to track.

  • 2010
  • 01:28:06

Ear to Ear

David Isay and Dan Collison play excerpts of their radio documentary work and discuss specific challenges, triumphs, and surprises encountered while producing various stories.

  • 2001
  • 59:50

Trespassing

Jay Allison leads a discussion about the ways in which documentarians must be skilled in the art of trespassing...

  • 2002
  • 01:24:10

Rocks, Riptides, and Buoys: Radio in the Play of the Airwaves

Longtime proponent of radio as a fluid and flexible medium, Gregory Whitehead plays a variety of work from around the world and gives a philosophical and pragmatic talk on the role of imaginative radio in an increasingly congested media landscape.

  • 2002
  • 01:19:09

These Are a Few of Ira Glass's Favorite Things

Ira Glass plays and talks about radio and print journalism that has inspired him, including some surprising 1970s-era NPR documentaries which may be long forgotten by most.

  • 2002
  • 01:24:13

Music

Music and sound bring layers of meaning to your work. Incorporating them most effectively starts with looking for the movement and metaphor in your materials. Using examples from her own features, Sherre DeLys presents different approaches to integrated sound design.

  • 2002
  • 01:12:12

Interview

With a little savvy and practice, magic can happen between two people and a microphone. Taki Telonidis and Hal Cannon outline the basic elements of conducting an interview, both in technical and human terms, by playing great examples and bringing in the wisdom of master interviewers on public radio.

  • 2002
  • 01:24:40

Voice

The three legs of the tripod of radio —- voice, text, and sound -— are interdependent, and all contribute to the "voice" of any radio piece. Independent producer Karen Michel presents work that demonstrates different styles of voice and discusses what makes each one unique.

  • 2002
  • 01:21:07

Airtime

What does it take to get your work on the national airwaves? Representatives from NPR, PRI, and the Public Radio Exchange, with the assistance of moderator Julia McEvoy, explain how to get work on national programs and how to distribute stand-alone specials and series.

  • 2002
  • 01:06:51

Talking Story

The Kitchen Sisters skillfully lead this panel about creative and unusual approaches and techniques for producing compelling radio stories, including what can be learned from other media, like television and film.

  • 2001
  • 01:00:09

Taking Risks in Radio

Producing "outside the box" is a challenge to the formulaic landscape of public radio, whether you're producing a sound art parody or poetic essay or a show bent on surprising its listeners.

  • 2001
  • 01:27:40

Pushing the Boundaries of Daily Radio

Diamonds are made under pressure! For this session, Priya Ramu and Steve Wadhams from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation present their advice on how to make daily radio that shines and delights.

  • 2002
  • 01:26:42