2. Audio story formats

There are many ways to tell an audio story.  You can make your story as simple as one person talking into a microphone, or two people having a conversation.  You can interview many people and splice and dice their comments into a piece which contains multiple points of view in many voices.  You can bring your listeners into the environment where your story is set by the addition of “wild sound” recorded on location.

This summary explains some of the ways that you can tell audio stories and compose them into sound works which not only informs your listeners, but also uses the audio medium in creative ways which bring the story to life.

INTERVIEW

One journalist, one or several guests sit down and have a conversation. This is a favourite format because it is friendly, open and inexpensive to produce in both time and money. Interviews can be conducted by phone or internet, but the best interviews are always held in a studio. Don't let the informal sound fool you, though. Intelligent interviews still require research, and may also require editing afterwards.

Playwright Britta Johnson sat down with Mia Johnson of CJTM in Toronto to talk about her play Life After.

Interview

Mia Johnson

PACK

Similar to a feature story in a magazine – developed around a theme, contains quotes/audio clips from several different people, background sound and music – lively, engaging format. Packs are usually under 10 minutes in length, and require a lot of postproduction including script writing and mixing.

Ian Gregg reports on the bizarre underworld of antique train whistle thievery for CFUR in Prince George. 

Train whistle theft in Prince George

Ian Gregg

DOCUMENTARY

Documentaries are the radio/tv equivalent of a cover story in a magazine. Documentaries often run 30 or 60 minutes or even longer. The documentary is one of the highest audio art forms – the way the story is told is just as important as the facts and information in the piece. Similar to a pack but often much more research intensive because it’s a deep dive into a subject. It is usually longer than a pack and incorporates more voices, music, sounds which support the premise of the documentary (eg. a story about farming is enhanced when listeners can hear the farmers in their environment).

An award winning documentary by CKUT’s Jules Bugiel (Montreal) on urban agriculture in Montreal. Commissioned by Viewpoints podcast.

Urban agriculture

Jules Bugiel

NEWS REPORT

Short format report often broadcast as part of a newscast - usually less than 2:00 long, often shorter. Can be script only, voiced by the journalist but the most impactful contain a clip of individual voices speaking about the subject of the report. To get the story out quickly these are likely to be recorded by phone or internet.

Cobourg police budget

Dan Jones

VOX POP

Also known as a streeter, person on the street or question of the day, these consist of several very short interview answers (often as little as a single sentence each) edited together in a lively presentation.

Christena Lawrie of CFRC in Kingston spoke to Queen's University students what they thought about this year's "faux" homecoming celebrations.

Queen’s ‘Foco’ Celebrations to Take Place This Weekend

Christina Lawrie

TAPE TALK

This is a format where a journalist goes out to cover a story and explains it to the host of the program (the morning show, for example). The journalist is the expert in the subject being discussed, and communicates with a host who is acting as an interviewer. The journalist often prepares clips to reinforce what s/he/they are saying. It sounds like a casual conversation but it is well planned in advance. Here, NCRA National Editor Victoria Fenner chats with reporter Ian Gregg about the potentially dangerous phenomena of the "Spring Dip". 

Spring Dip

Victoria Fenner / Ian Gregg