(M2) Explain the Processes and Technologies involved in the Production of a Radio Broadcast

Nitro FM -  

The team at Nitro FM don't use as much technology as other stations, due to being a smaller more niche station, but they still have top end microphones and soundboards that they use to broadcast radio. They have these in a small room above the start of the track. It is located here to help with the live commentating, as it means they can see everything that happens on the track, and react and talk about it live, rather than having a delay from watching over screens.

Equipment - 

This equipment is needed because the quality needs to be good, and passable for a live radio show. They also need to be able to queue and play good quality music, and be able to alter their audio if needed with a soundboard quickly, as they are live on air. This helps the production as it means that people are more likely to listen, and if there is a persistent or sudden problem with the radio, it is quick and easy to fix this problem with the technology they have.

The equipment is also needed to create an enjoyable and easy to use station for the radio presenters. Having the most modern technology and software helps with this as it means that they are using the national 'normal' which means it will be easy to learn and use, and run smoothly with every other piece of equipment they have. This also means that if the team needed to hire more presenters, it would be much easier, as the equipment they use is widely known across the country, which means that more people would know how to use it.

What Radio Pre-Production must take place?

Nitro Fm will have a list of things to prepare before the show, for example, they will need to have a schedule for which car classes need to go down at each time. This is because the classes are called down via radio, so they will need to tune in at all times so they know when to go down. This is just one of the things that the radio station needs to keep track of, but will plan all of this before they start live-streaming the radio.

Most of the content on Nitro FM is streamed live, however, they play a lot of advertisement blocks and music, which count as prerecorded content. This content will be stored via hardware or cloud sorage, and will only be used when necessary. This means that they can always make sure that they are playing the correct music and advertisements at the correct time.

What will happen during the live broadcast, and how will the technology used help?

The live broadcast will include things such as live results, viewer requests, talk shows with drivers, and rewards ceremonies. All of these segments must be planned in the correct order to ensure that everything is ready to go ahead on the day. This also means that if there are any mistakes made early in the pre production for the show, they can be sorted and fixed before the show is live, meaning that it will flow nicely.  

the results are also posted to their instagram account sometimes, which means somebody will need to be in charge of this account, and make sure that the posts are correct and on time. The team have a social media manager for this, and they will post the needed updates on their social media accounts, mainly being instagram. This includes things such as results, nice photos and information about the even, or even certain drivers.

Post Production - 

Post production in radio is different to every other type of media. This is because this is live streamed, and they have very little time to complete post production as they have to do it live on air. However post production is performed occasionally, when things need to be changed live. For example, if somebodies microphone volume was too loud or too quiet, they will need to decrease or increase the microphone volume that is produced. This will be done live on a live editing software, which is why the use soundboards that are in the studio, as this allows them to change the way things are working live.

The post production in radio is done by the people on the show, the presenters who are talking. They have a room above the track where they have all the technology they need