IAN MACRAE RADIO SCHOOL

The school offers one very comprehensive course, The Radio Broadcast Certificate, which is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge within the student's budget.

The course takes place in a real broadcast studio in Sydney's Central Business District (CBD) where students will be trained to use the latest equipment used in today's radio stations.

The Radio Broadcasting Certificate (RBC) represents the highest level of Commercial Radio Broadcasting training.

The RBC is ten (10) weeks of the most intense training and tuition with positions for only 6 students. Students will attend two (2) Monday evening classes between 7pm-10pm and ten (10) Sunday morning classes between 11am-3pm.

Students will be trained in voice production with Bob Hughes, learn how to apply for a job in radio, how to outshine other DJ's, taking telephone calls on-air, interviewing guests, using automation playback systems and voice tracking, understanding the relationship between radio & the law, outside broadcasts, recording techniques, working with teams, ratings & research, air checking, music beds, sound effects, microphone techniques, competitions, promos and liners, sounding 'live' when recording, management structure of a radio station, sales & marketing of a radio station and much more.

Upon satisfactory completion of the course, students will be awarded the 'Radio Broadcasting Certificate'.

Before seeking employment, students will produce their Demo CD guided by the Radio School's production team.This will reflect what Program Directors wish to hear on a Demo. At the end of the course, students will be taken on a private tour of radio station 2DayFM .

For a detailed outline of the curriculum see below.

Lesson 1. THE BEGINNING - 3 HOURS

Why do you want to be in radio?

GUEST LECTURER: DAVID ROGERSON

Tell us a bit about yourself and something very few people

know about you.

What skills and knowledge do I need?

What about education? Does it matter?

How do I get my foot in the door?

Ideas for getting into the business.

How do I actually apply for a job?

Where are jobs for beginners advertised?

The importance of producing and recording a professional

demo of what you can honestly achieve.

"MONEY"

What could I earn as a beginner?

What could I earn when I'm more experienced?

What's the top money I could work towards?

Do I need to join a Union?

How do radio stations make their money?

I'M ON THE AIR. NOW WHAT?

The On-Air Attitude.

Teams.

Do I need to be funny to be a success?

How can I outshine other D.J.'s?

How can I sound good on the air?

Program preparation.

What is air checking and why is it important?

What are "the Basics" I often hear mentioned?

What if I make a mistake on air?

Lesson 2 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Presenters Ian MacRae and Brian Newington

HISTORY OF RADIO

Studio orientation. What does all that Equipment Do?

Your first recording session...aaahhh!

THEORY

How do I make on-air telephone calls really work?

On- air interviews and how to do them successfully.

What do I need to know about reading commercials?

All about commercial Breaks.

THE MUSIC: Who chooses it and how?

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Introduction to all aspects of Adobe Audition.

The Edit window and the Multi-track.

Lesson 3 VOICE PRODUCTION - 3 HOURS

GUEST LECTURER: BOB HUGHES

Understanding the voice

Making the most of your voice.

Microphone techniques.

Pronunciation.

Correcting faults.

The secrets of...

(1) Reading commercials.

(2) Reading news.

(3) Bringing out your personality.

HOMEWORK! Prepare an on-air segment.

Lesson 4 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Presenters Ian MacRae and Brian Newington

Record your prepared segment.

The studio console.

Controls you must know.

Recording equipment you need to know..

RADIO AUTOMATION SYSTEMS.

THEORY

What is the difference between AM, FM, Digital, internet

and satellite radio?

How many radio station formats are there?

What's the word on "talk radio?"

How do I become a talk-radio star?

How can I become a good radio producer?

Caller requests and how they fit the format.

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Editing Projects, mixing music and sound effects, with voice

Lesson 5 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Working the phones.

Reading commercials – Training session 1.

Interviewing rehearsal.

Reading news. (commercial v ABC style) – Training session 1.

THEORY

NETWORKING:

What's the history of Networking?

The downside to networking.

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Music Editing. How to put together a Music Montage. Editing on the beat

Multi-track Recording. How to start layering music and sound effects together.

Producing effective radio commercials and station promos.

Homework! Prepare an interview for next session

Lesson 6 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Interviewing guests (in studio and on phone)

Introduction to voice tracking.

Automation.

Live assist.

Handling problems. Equipment failure.

THEORY

AUTOMATION

What is it?

What's the history of Automation?

How to make automation sound live.

Some problems of automation.

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Vinyl Record Restoration. Recovering problem audio you

thought was lost

Lesson 7 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Presentation.Reading commercials – Training session 2.

Reading news. (commercial v ABC style ) – Training session 2.

Promos , Liners and Sweepers – what are they?

Voice tracking – Training session 2.

THEORY

RADIO AND THE LAW. (Brief overview)

Ethics.

Standards.

The ACC.

Defamation.

Apologies

Copyrights.

Contempt of Court.

T.C. permits.

Get yourself out of hot water.

What are FARB ( now called Commercial Radio Australia)

& the ABA?

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Adding sound to pictures.

Homework! Source a story for next week’s interviews

Lesson 8 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Teams, working with duos, trios & studio guests

Music presentation

Reading commercials – Training session 3

THEORY

RATINGS AND RESEARCH

Ratings…can you believe them?

How are radio surveys conducted?

What do surveys tell you?

Where can surveys go wrong?

What's the future for surveys?

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Student Demo Radio Show.

Here we produce a demo CD that you can send to

potential radio stations.

Lesson 9 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Studio work involving all we’ve learnt so far.

THEORY

PROMOTIONS

What are they for?

What are Promotions?

What makes a good promotion?

Stunts.

DIGITAL AUDIO EDITING

Finish off Student Demo Radio Show.

Lesson 10 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Start of live Panneling Exercise.

This where we pull the plug on the automation equipment,

and get back to basics with playing the music and commercials off CD,

rather than a computer.

The entire 30 min radio show will be presented smoothly and without any gaps.

Standby to feel the pressure.

THEORY

OUTSIDE BROADCASTS

What are they for?

The Dangers.

Meeting the Fans.

Lesson 11 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Final reading/recording in preparation for Student Demo.

Continuation of live Panneling Exercise.

This where we pull the plug on the automation equipment,

and get back to basics with playing the music and commercials off CD,

rather than a computer.

The entire 30 min radio show will be presented smoothly and without any gaps.

Lesson 12 PRACTICAL - 4 HOURS

Unveiling Completed Student Demos

THEORY

THE WALK OF LIFE…YOUR FUTURE

Get a Life

Money and the future.

Living with Radio.

LET'S GO BACK TO WHERE WE CAME IN…AND ASK "WHY?"

At the conclusion of the course, students will be invited to attend a private tour of 2DayFM with a side visit to Triple M.