By; Ken Boone It's been a great week! In fact, it's been better than any I've had in years. Work-wise, I'm back at full capacity. Just this week, I:
In the past, if I could list just two to three things, I'd consider the week a success. But hey, that's before I started counting the little miracles that occur all the time. I've been able to produce my weekly podcast for six consecutive weeks. I've also published at least that many blog posts during the same time span. A just think, I wasn't sure how I spelled my name a mere three months ago. (Ok, that's an exaggeration). But things were pretty bad. When I was tasked with the job of producing those six podcast episodes I mentioned above, I was given two MP4 audio/video files totaling over seven hours of content. The only instructions I got was to just make it interesting. No problem. The files were from the client's fall conference. I usually record the event myself, but I was just getting out of the hospital and could barely make it up a flight of steps in my house. So driving and recording over seven hours of speeches, panel discussions, and sales pitches was totally out of the question. Reviewing and rough editing the files, I came up with ten distinct sections. Each one could have made it on it's own as a podcast episode. Oh yeah, and the client wanted tp do a studio-recorded solo episode, meaning I was down to five episodes I could select from the segments. One of the segments was that of a group of disabled college students in a panel discussion about inclusion in the job market. Several months ago, I was pitched the idea of recording this very same group. Based on the pitch, it seemed like it would be chaotic, so I proposed a much more manageable format. They declined my counteroffer and I walked away. I've got about three years of experience documenting various stories in this space, so know my way around getting a good show out of just about anything. I'll admit that I was a little miffed by their pushback. Especially since I was going to wave my usual fee. I just knew that what they were proposing was going to be a unruly and would leave me with very little that I could use. Before I could submit my recommendations for the segments we should turn into episodes, the client gave my wife Celia a list of segments that didn't make her cut. First among them were the college students! After some semi-private chants of vindication, I felt bad for them. As I listened to the MP4 with their segment, I found that I could relate to their feelings of exclusion they experienced throughout their young lives. I remember being left out of things many times growing up. And, like them, I was expected to feel grateful for the crumbs that I got. In all honesty, the client and I were on the same page regarding the segments that made the cut. But I had to do something for those students. I made a promise to myself years ago that I would do whatever I could to be inclusive. In addition to the five things I articulated above that produced a great week for me, having my mental faculties return should have been number one on that list. I recalled that I have a podcast show titled "Descant Pop-Up Podcast" just for occasions like this. The plan was to have a place for people to do limited-run podcasts on any number of topics. To date, I only have one episode out in streaming land. So, whether it takes me two days or two months, I will turn their segment into a podcast episode. In fact, Item 4 on my list is the theme song for this very episode! And as I offered when I was first approached to record them, I will waive my usual fee. I'll let you know when the episode is published. Hope you'll give it a listen. One more thing. I just saw a story on the local news complete with footage of tree down, damaging cars and houses nearby. So I went outside to check my things. Except for a lawn chair that was upended, I got away unscathed. I guess this makes it official. This week qualifies as one of my best weeks EVER! But wait... there's more!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About the AuthorAs owner of the Descant Music & Media Group, Ken is a creator and producer of several podcast shows. He is also a music producer, as well as a writer and an accountant for small businesses and nonprofits. Archives
June 2020
Categories |