But as a sound engineer for WNYC’s RadioLab, how much would you be laughing when you have to produce some of their sonic acrobatics?
After laughing on the inside with the piece Contagious Laughter, I felt as though I was on location with that hideous laughing push button thingy which resembled Satin’s Pokemon. The participant was laughing at that crazy demonic maniacal toy and we the listener were laughing at the participant.
The use of the phonograph temporarily placed us into a period, the footsteps segued us to the next scene. The timpani served as both, a representation of the closing of the school (in the narrative) as well as, a sharp metaphoric allow in our side to wake us up. And just to be absolutely goddamn sure that you were awake, they repeated the timpani explosion again!
The reading of the journal was recorded in a sonically clean studio setting and allowed the score to permeate deliciously.
As an avid podcaster, I am always sure that I am listening to RadioLab when the pseudo scripted narration pingpongs from one reader to the next, bouncing from left to right in the sound field and I just wonder, how much time and effort do they put into these gimmicky titbits… and how much is the chief sound engineer really laughing?