Production Roles
There are
many different roles and jobs that are needed when creating a radio advert.
Firstly is
the creative producer. The role of the creative producer is to oversee the
whole process of making the radio show or advert. They can also create sound
and audio for the radio advert, such as the jingle or commercial clips. They
also have a good understanding of technical issues and can be board operator or
technical operators. The creative producer is usually placed in a separate
control room, separated from the person on air by a window so they can still
see and communicate with each other however noises don’t travel into the
studio. An example of a creative producers work can be jingles or commercial
audio clips.
A voice over
artist will be required when there is speech involved in the advert. Their job
is very simple however very key and important, they read the script for the
advert and read it out while recording. Voice actors are usually trained for
the job, as a radio advert will need a voice that is clear enough to be
understood and can portray the emotions needed for that advert. They will be
recorded prior and then the audio clip will be added during editing. Using a
well-known celebrity or familiar voice could possibly increase the popularity
of the advert, as the audience will recognize the familiar voice. A way of finding a voice over artist you would like to use is by going onto the Music Radio Creative Voices website and look through all the different voice over artists and find one that is right for your advert.
A radio
copywriter will be needed, their job is to write the scripts for the radio
commercial, they usually have intensive or good understanding of how the
audience will listen and respond to the radio commercial and how to attract the
listeners to that product. They will need to write a script that not only grabs
the audience attention, but also informs the audience of what they need to
know. Very often, copywriters will have previous experience of radio
production. Part of their job sometimes is to oversee the voice-overs when
producing the audio needed; oversee studio production and the distribution of
the radio ad.
A recording,
sound or audio engineer will also be required when making a radio advert. Their
job is not only to record the audio needed, but also to edit and mix it in a
way that makes the audio sound up to standard and best quality possible. They
will usually listen to the audio whilst its being recorded and look for ways
that will help the audio sound perfect, for example they may adjust the
equipment and the recording levels. They have the responsibility of ensuring
every piece of the studio equipment is in working condition and correctly set
up for the recording session. They need to be qualified or have a great
understanding of how to mix music, understand musical pitch, rhythm and time
and also be able to edit tracks and be able to fade in or out the audio, music
or jingles. They also need to have a very in-depth knowledge and previous
experience with all the equipment being used.