Cow Dust Time for BBC Radio 3

Cow Dust Time  was an "Between The Ears" programme for BBC Radio 3 that I worked on with producer Clare Jenkins just before Christmas and was transmitted on 14th January 2012.  

Dust rises from the hooves of cattle returning to a village at sunset. Smoke from open fires wreathes in ribbons across the fields. As the evening shadows begin to lengthen, people, animals and birds all return to their homes to rest. This time of day is known in India as "godhuli bela", or "cowdust time". It is the sacred time when Lord Krishna brought his own cattle safely home. In paintings, he is often seen meeting his beloved Radha in the evening, as peacocks call, bright green parakeets chatter loudly in the neem trees, temple bells and muezzins call people of different faiths to prayer. There are many devotional songs and poems devoted to this twilight hour. It is seen throughout India as an auspicious time for engagements, weddings, even business ventures. But it's also the time when mothers call their children home, to avoid evil spirits. And when those same children are told not to whistle, for fear of inviting evil in. In this hypnotic sound tapestry - recorded in Gujarat, the Kumaon hills and Madhya Pradesh - we hear cows and other animals being brought back to their village, the loud clamour of birds, the eerie noise of crickets. "It is that fantastic time of day," says writer and academic Rajendrasingh Jadeja, "when the cowdust raised transforms the scene from stark, sharp light to a fantasy world." That fantasy world has been captured in art, music and literature. Painter and art critic Amit Ambalal, poets Jayant Parmar and Mahek Tankarvi, and musician Sugna Shah, are among those who talk about the religious and cultural significance of twilight. We also hear the poetry, prayers, lullabies and ragas depicting this magical time "when the earth does yoga".

We were able to interweave the atmospheric sounds of the cows coming back home with conversations and descriptions of this special time of the day as well as poetry & music written for cow dust time. It was an really enjoyable programme to work on.   Clare wrote.....  

“Some years ago, we bought a reproduction of a painting of Krishna, Radha (his beloved) and the cows from the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay. It’s called Cowdust Time, and on the back it tells the story of this time, when cowherds bring their cattle back home and the dust they raise blends with the smoke of the cooking fires to create a smoky effect in the villages. It’s a particularly lovely time of day.  It’s also seen as a particularly auspicious time, good for engagements, marriages and business deals. And a good time for reflection, prayer and meditation. Various people talked about how – at the same time that people are going to the temple or mosque to pray – birds like parakeets all flock back to their trees, and their loud chattering is like another form of prayer of thanksgiving to God,” she adds. “And one writer and academic, Dr Rajendrasinh Jadeja, likened it to a time when the earth does yoga.”

The programme has been well received and here are some comments that have come in...

What a lovely programme! We were both entranced by it. Thank you so much.

Seductive and richly other.  It drew me in. Lovely. Beautifully put together

Really lovely programme. We listened to it in the dark, sitting on an Indian rug, and it was like a meditation.

It was wonderful. I do not overstate when I say there were tears in our eyes, I can't remember when I saw my husband so visibly moved.

I've just listened to it and found it both beautiful and enlightening, and a wonderful counterbalance to the way I was feeling today. I've made some notes from it towards what might become a poem - not difficult, of course, because the programme is pretty much a poem in itself

I'm writing to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed the Between the Ears feature 'Cowdust Time'.  I always make a point of tuning in to Between The Ears because of the eclectic content.  While I'm listening, I'm usually doing something else - tonight I was preparing tomorrow's dinner - but, I stopped chopping carrots and just listened.  A really beautiful programme - congratulations!

The Bishop and The Prisoner for BBC Radio 4

I have enjoyed working on this series of three half-hour programmes with Rosie Dawson for BBC Radio 4.  It was an excellent series that really got behind the issues and talked to real people both victims and criminals on how the system fails so many people.

In the three-part series, he talks to prison staff, politicians and inmates, who share their ideas about effective punishment both within prison and in Community Payback schemes. In an article in the Liverpool Echo he wrote...

“In The Forgiveness Project (piloted in High Down prison) a woman who was repeatedly raped, and who was only saved from death because her attacker’s knife broke, said forgiveness is fluid, which I thought was a fascinating phrase.
“She said ‘Sometimes I can forgive, sometimes I can’t forgive, sometimes I have to will myself to forgive’.

and we hear from some inmates about how sex offenders are probably the only group of offenders that cannot be re-habilitated and forgiven.

Bishop James put himself in the shoes of a prisoner being admitted to Liverpool Prison: 

“This included the clanging of the gates, the shutting of the cell door, measuring out the cell (12 paces by nine) and listening to the noise of the prison. Although I’ve been going into prisons for years it gave me a deeper experience of what it was like. And it is punishment.”

In this second programme, the Bishop visits training schemes which offer inmates a chance to gain new skills and may even guarantee them a job. The shoe manufacturer Timpsons has training workshops in Liverpool and Forest Bank; High Down is home to the infamous Clink restaurant where prisoners cook and serve Michelin-style food to members of the public.

In the final programme, James Jones meets ex-offenders taking part in a variety of probation initiatives in Merseyside designed to cut re-offending and "pay back" the community for crimes committed. Three men on the Persistent Priority Offender scheme commend the programme for providing the supervision they found lacking on earlier probation orders. In a moving interview a mentor with the service, Lynsey, says probation saved her from prison, crime and alcoholism and her children from life in care. There are some incredibly moving stories across the three programmes in this seriesand I can thoroughly recommend listening to the series. Bishop James proved to be an excellent and caring interviewer too.


 Listen to programme 1 on iPlayer

 Listen to programme 2 on iPlayer

 Listen to programme 3 on iPlayer

"I am done with the Freemium Model" says Tyler Nichols

Tyler goes onto say....

"I am done with “free”. I have come to the realization that most people who want something for free will never, ever think of paying you, no matter how valuable they find your service. I found this cold hard fact out over this Christmas holiday with my free Letter From Santa site. The site uses a freemium model allowing people to create personalized printable santa letters for their children for free. In addition to the free version, I also offered a paid version that includes a higher resolution letter, a personalized envelope and door hanger for a nominal cost."

He goes on to explain that free customers where higher maintenance than the paying customers with free customers not reading the FAQ and then going on to mark his thank you letter as spam.

So let me get this straight, you just used my service to make something for your kid for free and then you nail me with a spam complaint?

Even though they had agreed in the privacy policy to the occasional email. Where as the paying customers didn't spam his letter and only 20 of them asked for help.

You can read his full post here and all the comments people have made. 

My only comment is that the whole point of the fermium model is that there has to be enough income from the paying customers to pay for the free service and still make a profit. So the business model has to meet this criteria or it isn't a viable business. Maybe he shouldn't have offered support to the free customers? Would that have made the difference?

Olympus announce new multi-track handheld recorder LS-100

Just a couple of days ago Olympus announced the latest addition to the Olympus PCM handheld recorder range. I have been supplying their LS 5 to many of my broadcast clients for a while now and it has proved very reliable out in the field. This new LS-100 looks as if it will become my replacement handheld recorder of choice. Lets see what Olympus have to say about it...

Size it up
The LS-100 is the first and currently only model in the Olympus LS range to boast dual XLR/Phone combo jacks (with 48/24V Phantom Power Supply). These enable instruments and professional external microphones to be plugged directly into the unit. The interface is equipped with an independent instrumentation amplifier, ensuring that low noise, high signal/noise (S/N) ratio recordings can confidently be made – even when using long leads. Levels for the left and right channels can be independently adjusted according to the requirements of the attached instruments thanks to the integrated recording level dial.

On cue for multi-track recording
Whether wanting to record in just one take or wishing to take advantage of the versatility multi-track recording offers, the LS-100 provides the power and flexibility to meet all demands. Up to eight tracks are at users’ disposal. Each can be separately volume adjusted and panned, then mixed down to create the complete composition.

More intelligent functions to bring music to your ears
Overdubs are also in the repertoire of the LS-100, allowing sound recording to take place over the original sound while simultaneously monitoring it. Meanwhile, the Playback Synchro Recording feature enables recording of an additional track while listening to another.

The first vital sounds of a recording will never be missed either thanks to the innovative Pre-Recording function, which lets the two seconds prior to hitting the record button to be captured. Additionally, with Voice Sync, users can set the LS-100 to automatically commence recording to file once sound hits a certain level. Index marks can also be placed at specific points on a track letting particular sections to be located more easily later on. And various repeat modes, including A-B Repeat, allow users to listen to precise track sequences at will.

Digital metronome and tuner features ensure that the timing of tracks is nothing less than perfect and instruments are always in tune. Users can also invoke the Lissajous function, which detects and displays the phase difference between the left and right external microphones from the sound source on the 5.1cm (2.0”) backlight LCD. Files are saved to the internal 4GB memory or on SD (up to 2GB) / SDHC (up to 32GB) / SDXC (up to 64GB) cards.

The durable and compact Olympus LS-100 Multi-Track Linear PCM recorder bestows musicians and broadcasters a high performance, mobile multi-track recording studio to fulfil all their needs – from a single track to a complete composition – boasting highest possible audio qualities. Jam-packed with cutting-edge technology and ready-to-use hands-on features, this metal-bodied masterpiece will hit stores at a recommended price of €449 in February 2012.

LS-100 Multi-Track Linear PCM Recorder – Main Features:• Linear PCM (up to 96kHz/24bit) and MP3 file formats
• Multi-track recording (8 tracks)
• Overdubbing capabilities
• Playback Synchro
• Voice Sync recording
• Dual XLR/Phone combo jacks with Phantom Power Supply (48V/24V)
• Directional stereo microphones with 90° layout
• High quality, low noise amplifier circuitry with separate circuit boards for audio and system – each with independent power supply
• Up to 140dBspl sound pressure
• 20-20,000Hz frequency characteristics with built-in microphones
• High signal/noise (S/N) ratio
• Low-cut filter (300/100Hz)
• Pre-Record buffer
• Metronome, tuner and lissajous functions
• Indexing function
• File editing
• File transfer and copying
• MP3 convert
• CD Writing function to burn composition to external CD drive
• 4GB internal memory and SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
• 159 x 70 x 33.5mm, 280g (incl. battery)
• Includes: USB cable, USB/mini USB converter connector, strap, AC adapter, LI-50B rechargeable battery, case

Its just a shame we will have to wait until February 2012 to get our hands on one.

Response from BVE North freelancer seminar

The seminar was full!  Photo: Alex Beaton

The response was amazing, the seating area was full with folks standing round the edge to pick up some tips. At the end some people waiting over 20 minutes to talk to me as well as folk coming up to me throughout the two days to continue the discussion.

Apparently there were over 2400 visitors across the two days and the event organisers are already planning for BVE North 2012. Event director Charlotte Wheeler said: “Exhibitors have already begun taking options on stands for next year, and we will be revealing plans for BVE North 2012 very shortly.”

The union BECTU who hosted the seminar on How to be a successful Freelancer have also reported on the success of the event....

The Panel  - Photo: Alex Beaton

John Crumpton, BAFTA-awarding winning freelance and union official, delivered the session with excellent contributions from Christine Pyke, an experienced programme-maker who now runs her own company, Puma Training; Mike Thornton, Pro-Tools genius and award winning audiomeister (our words not his!) with a string of credits across genres, formats and platforms; and Faisal A Qureshi, established writer and editor, associate producer of the award-winning feature Four Lions, producer of Khalil the Great for FACT Liverpool and a visiting lecturer at the Northern Film School in Leeds.
Reviewing the seminar, John said: “These days being a freelance means considering oneself an ‘owner/manager’ who effectively is running their own small business. As such I felt that after the audience had learnt what the panelist did and why they worked freelance, they’d want to know about the practicalities of freelancing.

Key questions
"How frequently did they do their accounts to keep an eye on cash flow? How did they decide their rates for work? What did they feel were the benefits of social media and how much time did they spend on ‘cultivating’ their online presence?

John & Mike  Photo: Alex Beaton

"Mike Thornton told how in the space of two years and through training opportunities provided by the union, he’d learnt how to blog, and later delivered training to FEU members on uploading audio-podcasts. In the process he developed the skills to launch two successful blogs, one of which has just secured commercial sponsorship.
"These types of success stories were contrasted with accounts from all the panelists of having their fingers financially ‘burned’ by bad and non-paying clients early in their careers.
"Such tales of woe certainly hit a chord with the crowd. A number of new entrants told me later that when they’d been on the receiving end of similar bad treatment they’d felt foolish, humiliated and alone. They felt a bit better that it had also happened to others who’d learnt the lesson the hard way but gone on to create thriving careers."

I certainly felt we struck a chord with our honesty and openness and the genuine advise we gave.

5 Live Children In Need special well received

The 5 Live special I blogged about last week has been well received in The Guardian by Elisabeth Mahoney.

Pudsey was everywhere on Friday. Away from the fundraising japes and fun, 5 Live once again ran a documentary (as part of Shelagh Fogarty's show) about a project helped by the charity and the work it did. Last year, it was work to prevent young women being lured into sex trafficking and abuse in Derby; this year, an organisation called Positive Futures (posfutures.org.uk) in Liverpool. If you need any further convincing to donate to Children in Need, do listen to the programme.
Even if you think you know about the sort of lives that lead children into gang culture, there were some gobsmacking details in Helen Skelton's report. Children as young as eight spoke casually about endemic violence in their areas. "I've actually seen someone getting battered," said one girl. "I was 10 or 11."
Ben, who left a gang with the charity's help, said: "You hear about stabbings and shootings every day". A youth worker recalled talking to a boy dealing drugs on the street to feed his younger siblings, when a man came up and begged. "That was my dad," the boy said, as the man walked away. The staff didn't gloss over the challenges or odds against them. But, as one said, in the next 20 years, if he changes just one child's life, "it'll be worth it".

As I said it is well worth a listen as it explores the youth culture in Liverpool and how two organisations are helping young people break the gang culture cycle. It includes some very powerful interviews with young people of Liverpool and the youth workers who are helping them change their way of life.

5 Live Children In Need Special I worked on

With Angela Robson at Pearlworks I edited and mixed a documentary feature presented by Blue Peter's Helen Skelton for BBC 5 Live's Children in Need coverage.  It is in the lunchtime show tomorrow....

Tony Livesey sits in for Shelagh Fogarty as Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton joins him live in the studio to present a special report on Children in Need day.
Helen has been in North Liverpool, spending time with 2 projects funded by money raised by Children in Need. The projects reach out to teenagers who may otherwise get caught up in the area's drugs and gang culture problems.

It is well worth a listen as it explores the youth culture in Liverpool and how two organisations are helping young people break the gang culture cycle. It includes some very powerful interviews with young people of Liverpool and the youth workers who are heling them change their way of life.