Production Log #2 - Studio Scouting
- mlispodcasting
- Sep 22, 2016
- 3 min read
(AKA The Importance of Building Partnerships)
This week's been mostly running around campus (and downtown London), trying to find suitable places to use for recording. And by "suitable places", I mean locations that already have built in recording equipment.
Of course this doesn't mean that podcasting requires any of the high-end studio recording systems - in fact, there's quite a number of how-to guides online and in print that discuss the simplicity of setup your own podcast on a very low budget; and a lot of the conversations I've had with people working in the audio industry also reflect that notion. But as a self-proclaimed audiophile, the difference in sound quality between built-in laptop mics versus condenser microphones paired with a sound mixer is enough to warant the use of a recording booth.
I've been rather fortunate enough to know people who have connections, and are aware of local initiatives around London that would be of use. Doubly so, given the fact that there's happens to be two different recording facilities on campus as well; one being the recording studios for the Journalism students at FIMS, and the other within the walls of Western's 94.9 FM CHRW.
(On a side note: Part of the reason why I felt somewhat confident in starting this project also rose from my time spent as a volunteer at CHRW. A lot of the staff and student volunteers there are a great bunch to work with - and the long-term members really know their stuff when it comes to audio production and on-air hosting; in fact, I was luck enough to get some training on audio editing through their volunteer program.)
While having access to both the MMJC studio and CHRW this term is all fine and dandy, there is a bit of an issue with relying on these two facilities only. In the hopeful event of this project happens to grow into something much larger than the span of a term, it's likely that future hosts may run into some problems with finding alternative recording space.
Short of purchasing the necessary equipment or mandating specific academic/volunteering expectations for potential successors, one could possibly look into using local grassroots initiatives external to Western.
One of my supervisors had forwarded a link to me the other day, talking about booking a tour with the UnLondon Digital Media Association around their 121 Studios in the downtown core of London. It's actually a really cool space; members get to use multimedia equipment and software, in additon to using the space of cilent meetings and whatnot. 121 Studios specifically is situated in an old historic building near Citiplaza/Galleria Mall, and the people working there seem very friendly and knowledgeable too.
(To be honest, I neglected to take any pictures of the place when I went there last week; definitely regretting it now.)
The main downside (and the primary reason why recording sessions won't be happening there) is the associated membership cost with using the space. Which is unfortunate because - from an extrapolating perspective, I think it'd be great to develop an ongoing partnership with a local multimedia organization in which future LIS students could have the opportunity to interact with the London community on a personal level, as well as becoming more cognizant and experienced with multimedia technology. But I digress,...
In the meantime, both MMJC and CHRW studios more or less have comparable technologies. So, it'll be easy to work on files at either locations, and it gives greater flexibility in scheduling recording sessions on my part - which is nice.
Of course, my concerns about the longevity of this podcast after this term - and after I depart from the program, are still nagging at me but ... I'll have to give it a bit little more thought.
-V.
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