Blair Witch on the Radio/ Inside the Recording Process
Hello blog world! Katie (writing director) here. I’m writing to tell you a little bit about our radio spots on Arizona’s Public Media, 89.1 FM. I really believe that they’re the coolest thing we’re doing right now.
Once a month, audio essays by VOICES youth are featured on Arizona Spotlight, which airs at 8:30am and 6pm Fridays and 6pm Saturdays. What’s unique about the stories that air on KUAZ is that they incorporate original sounds. This means that kids get to go out into their neighborhoods–or wherever their story takes place–and collect sounds on a fancy Marantz digital recorder. This thing isn’t like your normal little digital recorder. The Marantz can record sounds that aren’t always noticeable: the sound of your shoes on the sidewalk, branches rustling, someone near you fidgeting and breathing. Pretty neat.
This Halloween, Mark McClemore (our liaison at KUAZ who produces and airs our stories) pitched the idea of doing something outright spooky to air on the 30th and 31st. Not cute spooky, but spooky spooky. Devin, our radio teacher, pitched the idea to the Radio kids, and we got tons of good stuff back: stories about haunted bedrooms, mysteriously flushing toilets, etc. Our winner, however, ended up being Ms. Christina Lopez, who told a VERY creepy story about her encounter with La Llorona, the weeping woman who is said to haunt the rivers around Tucson.
I posted Christina’s story on my facebook account the day it was broadcast, and I actually had to warn people how creepy it is. It’s scary, folks. Because of the sound! Christina was able to record her story without notes, and as a result, it sounds like the story is happening as she tells it. To make things even creepier, Christina also gathered sounds from the actual haunted wash where she experienced the encounter with La Llorona.
A few days before Halloween, Felix, Christina and I headed out to the Ajo wash on the south side of town with the Marantz. We went at dusk. At first we were silly, recording ourselves making stupid “testing” voices (OK, that was me) and recording a lot of footsteps and traffic noises. But as it got darker, the wash got creepier, and so did our audio. Right before we left, we experimented with Christina holding the Marantz as she sprinted through the wash, just like she did the night she saw La Llorona. Check out her final story here.
Keep checking the website for more KUAZ stories! Next up is Donnamarie Miranda, on why preventative healthcare is so important.
