media – Page 5 – Christa Avampato

I was hypnotized by Marc Maron’s recent WTF podcast episode in which he interviews James Taylor, one of my favorite musicians. Taylor’s life has been a winding road that was often dark, twisted, and lonely. To hear his smooth and comforting voice, the voice I first heard as a young teenager and can never get enough of, that harrowing journey isn’t always apparent.

This interview, the most raw and honest I’ve ever heard Taylor give (and as a huge fan I’ve heard many!), often left me teary-eyed and profoundly grateful that he is still with us and still making music. Now 32 years sober, Taylor is in love and making us fall in love with his music all over again via his new album, Before This World. His music and the people in his life, including friends and family, helped him make that climb out of the depths and into the light. Taylor and Maron reminded us that change, growth, and healing are difficult, but possible.

With his trademark familiarity and humility, Maron makes guests comfortable enough to share the stuff that hurts. I felt like I was in that garage in Los Angeles where Maron conducts most of his interviews, and that after we’d all go out and get a coffee. This is the gift of listening to podcasts and personal interviews. It’s an intense exercise in attention, connection, and awareness that’s so personal that it transports us. It’s a meditation of sorts, an opportunity to leave our own cares and worries behind, that helps us to better understand and appreciate another person’s experience and journey. And for this gift, I’m tremendously grateful to Taylor and Maron.

Listen to this interview at http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_648_-_james_taylor.

creativity

This just in: My first audio storytelling class

October 8, 2015October 7, 2015 Christa Avampato

Last night I took the first in a series of three audio storytelling classes. I’ve been kicking around the idea of a podcast and this is my chance to learn some of the basics before diving in. The first class was about the art of the audio interview and this is what I learned:

When putting together audio, think about what you have and you need from your interviewee. For example, they may be able to do a perfectly fine introduction of who they are without you having to introduce them to your listeners.
As a follow-on to point one, don’t ask an interviewee his or her name. Instead, ask him or her to introduce themselves. You’ll learn a lot more from that kind of answer and it’s more interesting to your listeners.
Do a pre-interview to identify one or two burning questions that will get the main interview started.
With audio interviews, you want to start out with a broad set of details and then zero in on one of those specific details to go deep into a story. You actually want to go down the rabbit hole – that’s where all of the good stories are and take full advantage of surprise twists and turns.
Do whatever you need to do to make your interviewees comfortable so that they feel they can be open and honest with you. To that end, let them know you’re going to ask a lot of questions and they have every right to tell you that they don’t want to answer anything you ask. It’s your job to ask questions; it’s their job to decide what to reveal.
Silence is golden. Don’t try to fill dead time. Let it lie and you’ll see that they will fill it.
Don’t verbally agree with an interviewee as it mucks up the audio recording. Instead, shake your head, smile, etc. to encourage him or her.
Some technical points: PCM Recorder is a fantastic app to use for audio recording and it’s free; our smartphones have great audio recording capabilities so use them; the mic of a mobile phone is at the bottom so when you hold it up to an interviewee make sure the bottom of the phone faces him or her; have the mic about a fist away from the interviewee’s mouth to get the best sound quality; always make sure to check your audio quality before conducting an interview.

I can’t wait to continue to share what I learn in the next two classes! Got questions? Send ’em on over and I’ll do my best to get the answers for you.

creativity

This just in: Thinking about a new podcast

October 4, 2015October 3, 2015 Christa Avampato

This week I’m going to start a 3-week audio storytelling class and I’ve been thinking about different ideas for a podcast project.

I’ve been getting to know the many sides and faces of the D.C. cultural scene in all of its beautiful forms. Though D.C. is largely known for government and politics, there is a very rich creative scene that exists here and it’s constantly growing. I’m thinking about some ways to be a part of this community and to promote its many talents.

I’m excited to see where this leads.

creativity

This just in: Hidden Brain podcast coming 9/22

September 17, 2015September 22, 2015 Christa Avampato

Last night my friend, Josh, and I attended the fabulous launch party for the Hidden Brain podcast at NPR’s headquarters. Hidden Brain starts on 9/22 and is hosted by Shankar Vedantam. It’s mission: to have a conversation about life’s unseen patterns. It’s grounded in science and based on the desire to better understand our own behaviors and the behaviors of others.

I’m loving Shankar’s book The Hidden Brain and am excited to tune in for his take on what really happens between our ears. There will be plenty of games and entertainment, lots of discovery, and an incredible amount of inquiry. He’s got an incredible slate of special guests lined up for his listeners! For some fun pics from the event, check out my Twitter and Instagram feeds! Here are a few of my favorites: