Oops! Accidently posted this on Emily's page and not on my own. Here is my response to Emergence:
As someone who doesn't really listen to a lot of
radio news, I found this piece quite interesting. One thing that really stood
out to me is radio's capability to literally capture the voice of the interviewees.
In some ways I think that hearing the voice of a source can effectively portray
their emotion and depth of knowledge in ways that written journalism cannot.
I found that the sound effects generally
significantly contributed to setting the scene and giving the piece audible
context. However, it makes me wonder if this piece were scripted, how a writer
would choose to capture those sounds with words. There were a few instances
though, when I found the sounds to detract from the piece rather than add to
it. At times they took the attention away from the speaker or were excessively
played. (Specifically the repeated use of the word "coffee" or the
singing around minute 45.)
The main question that I took away from the piece
was, how does order assume from disorder? I think that the opening example of
the fireflies was really great and provided a nice transition into the
exploration of ants and bees. I also liked how the emergence of order from
disorder was investigated in both natural and urban settings.
Since I believe that there are other in the class more radio savvy than I, I'm curious to hear everyone else's take on this piece and
what exactly about was intriguing.
Your post made me think more deeply about the sound effects in the radio show. I wouldn't say that I am all that "radio savvy," however, I do listen to NPR a whole lot. Comparatively, this radio piece uses many more sounds and different voices than NPR's pieces. I loved it. The way the writers and radio hosts blended sound effects, new voices, and their own voices into the program transformed my experience of listening to it. It pushed my idea of news broadcasting to creative expression and played with the science of the piece (i.e. the science of emergence) to an art. The way in which the creators of this radio program used sound made me think critically about the mediums of modern media and what are most effective. It was wonderful to listen to this program, closing my eyes and taking in the blend voices, natural sounds, electronic sounds, and of music while learning about something interesting.
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