Internship Experience #7: 90.5 FM WCBE Columbus
The last topic of my internship that I want to touch on was another major project that the Capital intern team was fully responsible for. We created brand new, Day-in-the-Life interview content for two of WCBE’s biggest show hosts, Mike Foley and Maggie Brennan. The purpose behind the project was to showcase the depth behind some of the people who bring thousands across Columbus their favorite music, discussions, and news. It was quite the multimedia handful, combining scriptwriting/interview skills with camera work, lighting, audio editing, and post-production details. This project not only large in its workload, but also in the personal effect it had on me and my attitude towards the station and the people who keep it running.
Initially, Johnny DiLoretto came to the Capital intern group with the task of brainstorming an idea for an project led by us about the station. We had a lot of different ideas in our discussions at first, thinking about social media revamps or perhaps making big, new additions to their website. However, none of our first ideas really connected until we focused on the people in WCBE. We realized that starting a promotional series based off the people of 90.5 would not only leave the station looking valuable to the community and Columbus City school district, but it would showcase the behind-the-scene faces who bring Columbus residents their favorite music and news every day of the week. We formulated the plan around the usage of video, so that it could be advertised across all the different forms of WCBE online media (social media, website, YouTube, etc.). Joe G. and Will C. were the ones who came up with the Day-in-the-Life interview concept, describing how we would get video content of some DJ show hosts during their regular operations and then interviewing them to get a bit of insight into their day as a public radio show host. Joe G. had access to a lot of high-end videography equipment, including a high-resolution camera and a massive studio light. We were given an extra-large zoom recorder by Johnny to help us record high-quality audio as well. When it came down to who we would interview, we knew that we would not have enough time in our internship to interview, video, and edit all of the content for many show hosts. Additionally, we knew going into the project that some people would have a higher impact on the community because of a larger show audience. In the end, we decided to interview both Mike Foley, the host of the 6-9am Morning Mix, and Maggie Brennan, the host of the 12-4pm Global Village show.
Setting up for each interview took different requirements for each interviewee. Mike was the first show host we interviewed and we knew that he had a calm, chill demeanor, making for an easy conversation. However, since it was our first interview, we had to figure out all the essential details regarding the space we would set up in. There were several possible ones, including the studio spaces, the kitchen space, and the CD storage room. We decided on the final setting because of its background; the CDs and cassettes as a backdrop made for a great aesthetic match for a radio show host interview.
This was the space we decided on to videotape and record the Day-in-the-Life interviews in
We set up a day in which we would record Mike and Joe G. brought all his equipment in. We helped to set up the light and a reflective surface in the proper places in the room to ensure the subjects would be highlighted and clear on camera. We had a small list of questions that were pretty open, making it easy for the subjects to expand on their answers and also making it easier for us to ask follow-ups in the right circumstances. I was tasked with recording Mike’s interview on the Zoom recorder, so before the interview started, I took my place as close behind the camera as possible to ensure the audio and visual content appeared to be coming from the same direction. The interview process itself was pretty simple, and after 10-15 minutes of recording, we had all the questions answered. The days afterwards, we came into the broadcast studio during Mike’s show time and got visual b-roll so that Mike’s interview answers could be used as voiceover as well. This really allowed us to get good visual insight into how Mike runs his show while he explains his process as well, and we got some funny clips to included as well!
As for Maggie’s interview, there were some things made easier and some made more difficult. Since we already had done one interview before, the setup process was much faster. However, Maggie ended up being very busy on certain days and we ended up having to postpone a couple of schedule interview days because of her schedule. She also was very nervous about being on camera, so we had to ease their apprehension and encourage them that they would look and sound amazing. We used the same space and setup procedure as Mike’s interview, and this time, I was tasked with asking the interview questions. Maggie ended up doing fantastic, and we were able to get some b-roll right after the interview recording because her show was in the afternoon.
I was not as involved in the editing process, as Joe G. was the only one with video editing software on their personal computer. They were also the most experienced with video editing, so most of the work in post was done by him. He made sure to make our subjects look incredible on camera, perfecting the exposure and really blending together the different clips in a nice and satisfying way that connected with the audio content of the voiceover. Maggie’s interview is currently not yet fully editing and finished, but the product is coming soon!
Here’s Mike Foley’s Day-in-the-Life Interview, right from the WCBE YouTube page! You can also find it on the WCBE instagram page at this link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXHN0IyD6D5/?igsh=MWtuMjduc252Z29qdA%3D%3D
We posted Mike’s final interview product to each of WCBE’s platform, including the website. We ended up getting a lot of engagement, especially on the Instagram page and it was overwhelmingly positive, which gives us a lot of hope for Maggie’s finished interview. Overall, this project involved a lot of different multimedia specialties that the Capital interns handled as a group, and I’m quite proud of our finished products!
