3LCE MultiMedia TPO Class

Option 6: Tape Journal/Sound Portrait

 

STUDENTS:  There are two choices for this Option, remember?  The Tape Journal –or- the Sound Portrait.  For today’s class, you can listen to an example of one, or the other, or BOTH! 

 

Step ONE:  To begin, skim through the different links to recordings listed below and choose ONE recording from either of the two variations, Tape Journal and Sound Portrait.  If you have extra time you could always listen to a recording from the other variation.

 

Below are all the different recordings with an short explanation to help you choose one to listen to that sounds interesting to you!

 

Option Variation 1.  Tape Journal :    These are recorded diaries made by individuals.  There are three different categories of interest for you to pick from – just choose one recording, not one from each of the three categories.

 

a.  Category One- TEENAGERS:  http://www.radiodiaries.org/teenagediaries.html        

Below are four suggested diaries:   (listen to 8-10 only) 

Emily in Maplewood, Minnesota: Teenage Days
Emily gives an inside look at "sportos," "krusties," "krinkles" and how being a teenager isn't all it's cracked up to be.  "I always wanted to be older when I was little. 'Cause it was cool. You know, go to the drive-thru and order hamburgers, like on Happy Days. You know, getting in fights with your parents and getting grounded. You just thought it was the coolest thing. I mean, you need a goal when you're little. That's your goal: to grow up and be a teenager."    http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-td-emily.rm

Brina in Providence, Rhode Island: Best Four Years of Your Life
Brina keeps an audio journal of her first year at
Brown University.   "I have this weird sense that anybody I meet I might never see again, and also that somebody I meet could end up being my best friend for life. And I just don't know it yet." http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-td-brina.rm

Frankie in Mentone, Alabama: Welcome Home, Dad
Frankie always thought his family was pretty normal until the day the FBI showed up. His dad had been hiding from the law for 15 years, and Frankie had no idea.  "I was coming home from school. I got off the school bus. My Dad and Mom were in the kitchen fixing a waffle iron. And about 10 minutes after I got off the bus, all these cops pulled in our yard. And my Dad looked out the window and he looked at our family in the kitchen. And he said he loves us and he'll never forget us." http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-td-frankie1.rm

Jeff in Boston: Halfrican
More and more these days Jeff finds himself thinking about race and being forced to answer the question "What are you?"             "When I was younger - you know my father's black, my mother's white - that's the way it was supposed to be: father meant black person, mother meant white person. Race had no bearing on anything. To me, two Asian people could just have a black kid. It made perfect sense when I was younger." http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-td-jeff.rm

 

b.  Category Two - PRISONS:  http://www.radiodiaries.org/prisondiaries.html         

      Suggested diaries:   (listen to 8-10 minutes only)

 

Matthew and the Judge: Juvenile Court Diary
One year ago, Judge Jeremiah, a Rhode Island juvenile court judge, and Matthew, a 16-year-old repeat offender, were given tape recorders. During that time, Judge Jeremiah released Matthew early, for good behavior. Two weeks later, Matthew was arrested again for selling drugs. Through their diaries, Matthew and the judge tell the same story from two different sides of the bench.

http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-pd-matthew-judge.rm

 

Serving 9 to 5: Correctional Officers' Diary
Sergeant Furman Camel is retiring after 27 years. Officer Alicia Covington remembers the day her son walked through the gate as an inmate. And other diaries from officers who work behind bars at Polk Youth Institution. http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-pd-officers.rm

Going Home: Cristel's Diary
At the age of 15, Cristel viciously attacked a rival classmate with a razor blade. The crime was one of the most violent acts ever committed by a young girl in
Rhode Island. Now, after 3 1/2 years of incarceration, Cristel is getting ready to be released early. Many in the state consider her to be a poster child for rehabilitation. http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-pd-cristel.rm

 

c.   Category Three - NYC WORKERS:    http://www.radiodiaries.org/newyorkworks-home.html          Suggested diaries:  (listen to 8-10 minutes only)

 

Selma Koch, Bra Saleswoman
94-year old Selma Koch runs the Town Shop, one of New York's last old-style bra fitting shop. The Town Shop is a fourth-generation family business that emphasizes personal service and custom fitting. Selma still works every day alongside her son and grandson. Their motto: "We know your size."

http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-nyw-bra_fitter.rm

 

Pasquale Spensieri, Grinder
Pasquale Spensieri spends his days driving around Brooklyn looking for dull blades. When he rings the bell on his truck, the owners of upholstery shops, restaurants and pizza parlors come out with knives and scissors to sharpen. Pasquale's father first started sharpening knives during the Depression, with a pedal-operated grinding machine strapped to his back. At that time, there were hundreds of door-to-door grinders in New York. Today, at the age of 71, Pasquale is one of the last.

http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-nyw-grinder.rm

 

Frank Schubert, Lighthouse Keeper
Frank Schubert became a lighthouse keeper in 1937. Today at 85, Frank works at the Coney Island lighthouse. He is the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the United States.

http://media1.acs.albany.edu:8080/ramgen/gz580/thistory/rdiary/rd-nyw-lighthouse_keeper.rm

 

 

2.      Option Variation 2: Sound Portrait – these are recordings that are “sound portraits” of an individual or an audio story of a striking person or event in a person’s life. 

www.soundportraits.org/on-air/ghetto_life_101/   These recordings are kids from a Chicago ghetto recording sound portraits or their own life and other people around them.

      Choose:   Day One up to 0:00--5:45 minutes

       --or--      Day Two 5:50-11:21 minutes

 

Blak’s Story:  (Listen to the first 7 minutes)

Aspiring poet and writer living in the projects: Yanier "Blak" Moore.  Blak's life has been marked by an almost inconceivable degree of violence and death -- gang-banging and drug-dealing, the murders of his parents and countless close friends -- but through it all he has been able to transcend personal tragedy with the power of words. http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/blak's_story/

 

About "For Love"  (Listen to the first 9 ˝ minutes)
The things we do for love. As a cure for our post-Valentine's Day emotional hangover, we have these stories about the extremes people go to in the name of love. It's not pretty. Sue Mell, you will soon hear, has done some extreme things in the name of love and after being told an equally distressing story about the ends her friend goes to just to please her boyfriend, she went on a mission collecting stories.
http://www.transom.org/shows/2004/200409.invisible_ink.html

 

STEP TWO: Listen to this recording at least twice – just listen to the first 8-10 minutes.

 

STEP THREE: While listening to the recording, make any notes you need to for yourself to help you remember the important points.  What is this story about?  What are the key elements to this recording?  How could you describe the person who made the recording?

 

STEP FOUR: Be prepared to summarize/re-tell this story in no more than 2 minutes, either just to a partner or to the whole class.  Your lecteur will tell you which one to do.

 

STEP FIVE: If you have extra time, you can try experimenting with making a CreativeWave recording.  Record yourself telling your 2 minute summary.  Listen to your own recording. 

Ask your lecture to listen to your recording and give you some feedback!

 

STEP SIX:  This should give you some ideas if you are interested in doing Option #6 for your Portfolio!