Why Reaper?
- Reaper works on both Mac and PC, which means you can collaborate with anyone regardless of their computer. It even runs well on old machines (including my 2008 G4 Mac mini). So if my main computer ever dies or needs to be taken in the shop, I can get back up and running in no time on another machine.
- Reaper is free to download, after the demo period is up it keeps working, fully featured. It just makes you wait 5 seconds when you launch it and reminds you to pretty please buy it. So there’s basically no reason not to give it a try.
- Reaper is only $60 if/when you do buy it. Plus there’s no annoying copy protection or iLok either.
- Reaper’s learning actually curve isn’t that steep. Check you my tutorials on You Tube. I’ll have you up and running in a few hours.
- Reaper gives you plenty of room for growth if/when you decide to do more advanced production. It can do everything Pro Tools can do, but often faster/more efficiently IMO. (Routing/bussing, for example.)
- Reaper’s editing workflow is great for radio This is a biggie but but a hard one to describe. As much as I hate Pro Tools, I liked its approach to editing narrative audio. Until I tried Reaper. Now everything else feels sluggish.
- Reaper’s edits actually sound better especially for beginners, because it does automatic crossfading as you make edits. Fades are also easier to tweak than in any other program I’ve used. I taught it to a ~60 y/o producer who had been using Audacity, and his edits improved almost magically overnight.
- Reaper is incredibly customizable I have my version set up with custom key commands borrowed from both Pro Tools and Logic plus a few original ones. Customization = working faster = more time for fun/creative stuff.
A New Record
This past weekend I was hired very last-minute (Friday evening) to write music and mix YouTube’s April Fools Day video.
Now, the music isn’t particularly original; I was basically asked to re-create a stock music track that YouTube liked, add an new section to it, and arrange it so the musical changes fit better with the video edit. Check it out:
Now it’s April 2nd, and I’m already moving on to the next project. But I just looked at the final posting and saw this:
That’s a new personal record: most ears reached! It’ll be a tough one to break.
Facebook Stories Debut: Degrees of Separation
It’s been another busy month in producerland for me! I’ll have to save the detailed update for later, but in the meantime check out one of the many projects I’ve been working on–the debut podcast for www.facebookstories.com:
Produced by Jenna Weiss-Berman, Nicholas Arioli, and myself.
And please remember to subscribe to Love + Radio via iTunes (or through any other podcast/RSS platform).
BIG NEWS!
For the past several months I’ve been working on an a podcast called Love + Radio with my friend and co-producer, Nick van der Kolk. Love + Radio features intimate interviews with an eclectic range of subjects from the seedy to the sublime, permeated by music and unusual production and sound design. (Imagine an Errol Morris documentary combined with Radiolab-esque audio production–except completely different.) Last year we won the top prize at the 2011 Third Coast Festival Competition, often described as “the Sundance of public radio.”
This week we inked a deal with Chicago Public Media to license six new episodes of the show; we’re a bona-fide WBEZ podcast! (But don’t worry, NYC friends, I’m producing it remotely.) And as luck would have it, this happens to coincide with the release of our hour-long season 3 premiere, “Fix:”
A crusader for truth, or, as Karl Rove called him “a nut with internet access?” Jason Leopold always wanted to be a part of something big. We follow Jason’s labyrinthine misadventure through record industry decadence, threatening mafioso, long-distance love, and an unlikely career in investigative journalism.
When was the last time you heard about glam metal, the mafia, and Karl Rove all in the SAME radio story?
Come celebrate with us at Union Docs on Saturday, May 26th at 7:30 pm with a mind-blowing full-length audio screening of “Fix,” followed by Q+A and ample celebration. I’ll be there, along with co-producers Nick vdK and Sarah Lu via video conference from a simultaneous listening party in Chicago!
What: LOVE + RADIO SEASON 3 RELEASE PARTY
IN NEW YORK CITY
Where: Union Docs, 322 Union Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
When: Saturday May 26th, 7:30 pm – 10:30 pmIN CHICAGO
Where: High Concept Labratories, 220 E. Chicago Avenue
When: Saturday May 26th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hope to see you there! And if you can’t make it to the party, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes (or the podcast tool of your choice).
OH HEY! We’re also planning a social media blitz when the episode drops next Wednesday and would really appreciate your help spreading the word. Follow us on Twitter @loveandradio for the latest info! (And why not “like” us on Facebook while you’re at it?)
Lotsa love,
– Brendan
So this happened.
Our NSFW audio portrait, The Wisdom of Jay Thunderbolt, took the gold prize at this year’s Third Coast Filmless Festival.
Thank you to the amazing folks behind the festival and to all the inspirational producers and radio supporters in attendance for an unforgettable weekend in Chicago. I just got home to Brooklyn, and it all feels like a crazy dream.