Despite being nearly 3 months away from this Summer’s Corinium Radio broadcast, I have already started recording material.
Since our November 2007 broadcast, we have been broadcasting around the clock, using a sustaining service overnight. Up until now, the overnight service has been 100% music, perhaps with a few jingles.
However, as of this year, there will be actual programmes on the service!
At this stage, I’m not entirely sure of the final schedule – currently we’ve only scheduled a couple of programmes towards the start and end of the overnight service. However, it is likely that the remaining time will be taken up by repeating some programmes broadcast in the past.
What I can say though, is that one of the programmes going on the automated overnight service is a series of 3 Early Breakfast shows, hosted by myself! The programmes will be music mixed with short clips of interviews and musical performances featured in previous broadcasts.
Today, I finished recording the first programme, which will be broadcast on our first full day of broadcasting – Friday 2. July – between 0500 and 0715.
The programme will feature music from Tinkerscuss, Mark Hill’s Pure Talent show and the Siddington Folk Group as well as interviews with Jonathan (our resident reptile expert) and some of the staff at the New Brewery Arts – all taken from the recordings of Corinium Radio broadcasts involving these groups over the last few years.
You might be wondering why I am recording so far in advance. The answer to this is that there are a total of 6.5 hours I need to record before July (just over 2 hours on each day). I have chosen that instead of recording the whole lot within 1 week of the broadcast, I will record a little bit each week.
I have worked out that, by recording about half an hour each Saturday, that I will get the whole lot completed by June 19. Half an hour a week is enough to make sure that I get the programmes recorded on time, but also its a small enough amount that it won’t interfere with my exams, which will all be in the last 2 weeks of May.
By having the programmes complete by the middle of June, I can spend the weeks running up to the broadast helping other programme makers, who by that time will be recording themselves, with their editing – which will be much more time consuming. In addition, at the end of the month, there will also be the usual mad rush to get all the studio equipment set up and working in time for the broadcast.
I started work on the first edition of the programme on March 13, when I chose the music, chose & edited the local items and wrote a running order. I have recorded half an hour of new material a week for the last 4 weeks (except today, when I did an extra 15 minutes – as the show is 2hr 15min long).
I will continue working at the same pace until it is all complete. Next week, I will start work on the second programme, to be broadcast between 0500 and 0715 on Saturday 3. July. I will be (yet again) choosing music, choosing & editing the local items and putting everything into a provisional running order.
After that, I’ll spend the next 4 Saturdays recording half an hour of new material a week – with an extra 15 minutes in the last week, as the show is 2hr 15 min long – before I will be able to start planning the final show in the middle of May.
The final show will be broadcast on Sunday 4. July, between 0600 and 0800.
I’ll write more about the progress of the recordings in a few weeks time.
