“Sleep”
In tute last week we listened to an example of an audio essay, titled “Sleep” on Radiolab, in order to gain an understanding of what an audio essay actually is and maybe take inspiration for our own essays we’ll soon be creating.
The first thing I noticed was how many introductions there was. It opened with ‘opening credits’ per say, not that different to how a tv show or movie would open, there was then an introduction to the essay topic by the announcer followed by segments of the essay to come. This also seems similar to the introduction of a television program. During periods of conversation between the two announcers, there is always some sort of background noise it is never just two voices, probably to keep the audience interested. Just as when watching a politician giving a speech, during which there will always be some form of movement in the background to keep the audience interested, the background noise here has the same function. Similarly, the announcers use really overly animated voices, more so than what people would normally use in conversation. The whole essay moves very quickly, using a lot of sound effects to illustrate what is being discussed, and cutting between many different people answering the same question which all works to keep the audience engaged.
From listening to this, I’ve learnt that not only does a lot of work have to go into the content of the essay, but effort needs to be put in to ensure the audience stays engaged and interested.