Download - The Performance Studio
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Actuality
- Live or recorded audio as it happens. It could be an event, or interview audio from a location.
Aircheck
- A copy of a broadcast.
AGC (Automatic Gain Control)
- Normalising audio by automatically boosting or reducing sound so that the output remains at the same volume.
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AM (Amplitude Modulation)
- A range of frequencies used to transmit programmes to listeners. Lower quality than FM.
Atmos
- Background noise or the ambient sound from a location.
Audio
- Any piece of sound whether recorded or live.
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Back-anno (Back-annoucement)
- Words spoken by a presenter after playing a song or report. The words relate to the previous audio. Can be scripted or ad lib.
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Back-time
- A presenter/producer calculates the duration of audio to get to a specific junction such as the news or an ad-break on time.
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Bed - Music for talking over. Break - Advertisements/Commercials Bumper - A piece of production played next to a
commercial break or feature. Bus - A way of routing multiple audio channels
through a mixer enabling the channels to be controlled by one fader (instead of four separate ones).
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Cans
- Another name for headphones.
Channel
- A single stream of audio. In stereo broadcasts there are two channels of audio left and right. In mono broadcasts there is one channel of audio.
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Clock-start
- An item or programme that starts at a precise moment, such as the news or opting into networked output.
Compression
- A system to keep the levels constant by automatically reducing the volume of a recording or broadcast if it goes beyond a certain level.
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Copy
1) A script which is to be read by a presenter or voiceover.
2) A piece of advertising audio.
Cue
1) To prepare a piece of audio ready to start (to cue up).
2) A script read by a presenter to talk into an item.
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Daypart
- A section of a radio stations output during the day. For example, breakfast, mid-mornings, afternoon, drive, evenings, late nights and overnights.
DB (Decibel)
- A measurement of the level of sound.
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Demo - A short collection of either links,
packages or pieces of audio to showcase your talents to a potential employer.
Drive / Drivetime - The programme usually broadcast
between 4pm and 7pm the time when listeners are normally driving home.
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Drop-ins - Soundbites from TV programmes, films
etc. Drone - A long sustained note, usually to add
tension to competitions.
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EQ (Equalization)
- The process of adjusting various audio frequencies. Used to enhance audio.
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Fader
- Sliding control on a mixing desk to control how loud audio is.
Feedback
- Also known as howl-round. The ear-piercing noise created when the sound from a microphone is picked up by a loudspeaker, which in turn amplifies the sound.
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Format
- The type of programming a radio station offers. There are many radio formats including AC (Adult Contemporary), Hot AC, CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) and news.
FM (Frequency Modulation)
- A range of frequencies used to transmit programmes to listeners. Higher quality than AM
FX
- Short for effects. They create atmospheres for radio programmes and IDs.
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Gain
- Another word for volume.
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Heads/Headlines
- The main news reduced to a short summary. Usually heard at half-past the hour.
Hook
- The most memorable part of a song, usually the chorus.
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ID
A piece of production or announcement by the presenter to identify the station.
Imager
- A piece of production used to brand the station.
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Jingle
- A catch-all term to describe station branding. Its commonly used to describe sung pieces of music to identify a station.
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Levels - The strength of audio. Low level =
quiet volume, high level = loud volume. Link - An item of speech to connect two
items, such as a presenter speaking between two songs.
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Mixdown - Where multiple channels of audio are
mixed down to one stream, ready for broadcast.
Music Positioner - An imager to demonstrate the type of
music played on a radio station. Normally two or three songs hooks, ending with the station name and positioning statement.
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OB (Outside broadcast)
- A programme which is broadcast from a location away from the studio.
Outcue
- The final words in a recording. The words are added to a script so that a presenter or journalist can tell how a recording will end.
Output
- The audio heard by the listener.
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Package
- A news story told in a creative way using various tools including soundbites, voiceover and possibly fx and music.
Playlist
- A set list of songs that a radio station will play during the week.
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Popping
- The loud distorted sound created when a voice is too close to the microphone.
Positioning Statement
- A phrase a radio station uses to sell itself to the listener.
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Presenter
- The host of a radio programme
Producer
- Radio producers have a responsibility for the content of radio programmes or station sound.
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Reverb (Reverberation)
- An audio effect. The reflection of sound as if its bouncing of walls.
Rotation
- The repeating of a playlist over a given time.
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Royalties
- A sum of money to remunerate composers, artists and publishers for using their copyrighted material.
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Segue
- Where a presenter plays two songs back to back with either nothing in-between or a station ident.
Sibilance
- The harsh hissing sound sometimes caused by the s or sh sound.
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Soundbite
- A short piece of audio.
Stereo
- Two channels of audio, left and right.
Stopset
- A break for commercials.
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Talk-up
- A piece voiced by a presenter to showcase or promote something connected to a radio station. It could be a for a programme or station-led event.
Teaser/Tease Forward
- A short piece of audio or script aimed to keep the audience listening to the station.
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Traffic
a) the department that schedules commercials on a radio station.
b) Important information on roads, rail and other forms of transport.
Two-way
- A talk between a presenter and reporter on a news story. An illustrated two-way includes audio clips, such as soundbites or voxes.
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VP (Voice piece)
- A summary of a news item voiced by a reporter.
Voiceover or V/O
- Recorded voice piece used in idents, commercials, drama or news pieces.
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Voxpop / Voxes
- From the Latin Vox Populi, which means The voice of the people. The voices are edited together to form a short piece.
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Wrap
- A voice piece or report where the announcer or news reporter wraps their voice around a news clip.