Okay here are my little tips and tricks to help with running a program on BTR.
1. RUNNING SHEET
Have a running sheet for every program and list every thing on the show on it. Doing these for future shows also helps with the planning of them.
2. UPLOADING FILES
When you upload items for your show give the items numbers ie 01 The News etc that way they will be listed in the correct order in your dashboard and not in alphabetical
order...
3. vEMOTION
If your using a VOIP get a program called vEmotion. When it runs it sits there and gives you the facility to provide special effects sounds etc.
vEmotion Home Page
I've actually started using it to record Skype conversations (you need a registered version for this) as well which is handy for interviews that can be done to suit your guest so
that they don't have to conform to your show schedule. Just save it as a file, edit it to get rid of your ummms & ahhhs and those annoying silences when you suddenly suffer
from a mind crash and then use it as a pre-recorded item in your line-up!
4. LISTENING
NEVER judge your show on what your hearing back down the headsets while its running as it tends to sound pretty awful using VOIP. Always listen to the recorded version on
BTR afterwards and then make your judgement.
5. EDITING PRERECORDED STUFF
Get a program called Audacity (mainly because its free) and edit out the blank space that seems to be at the beginning and end of a lot of files. That way the music starts
(almost) immediately you click the play button and your listeners are not left wondering if the connection has dropped.
6. VOIP USERS
VOIP users - When a file is playing click on the microphone mute button that way the listeners don't get to hear the various drinking/eating and other noises you make ;-) Don't
forget to 'unmute'.
7. HOW LONG IS A FILE?
You can find out how long an item takes to play by opening Windows Explorer, navigating to the directory you store you stuff in and putting the mouse cursor over the file in
question - the popup box displays a lot of information including the file length. Modifiy the file name so that it includes the length ie 'Dearest Daughter = 0333.mp3.
8. TIMING FILES 1
Get a stop clock/watch and put it directly in front of your monitor where you can see it - when a file starts playing, start it and you can see how much time has passed and not
get caught out by the file finishing before you realise. Its much easier than relying on your computer system clock. Use it in conjunction with the previous tip.
9. TIMING FILES 2
The stopwatch that I use to time the files on my show suddently died so I had to find a replacement quickly. Searching the internet I found this program
MultiTrack Stopwatch
MultTtrack Stopwatch has 10 counters to clock multiple elapse times parallely. it is normally used for track events at athletics meetings but it is very suitable for use during a BTR
program
Now you click on Options - Mode and you get the following window...
Next alter all the settings to the following.
Incidentally the right-hand column controls the response to the end of a file - you can set this to one of the following...
Now add the following - you can make the Limit/Initial the same length as your program if it is something other than an hour. Note that the setting here is to count up to 60
minutes if you would prefer the timer to count down from 60 minutes then just click on the tickbox.
Then add all the relevent files names and lengths for your show.....
The next thing is a talktime counter. A lot of people prefer to know how long they have to talk during the show if they want to include all their prerecorded stuff. First add
together the lengths of all your prerecorded items and then extract that time from the length of your show... in this case the result is 35minutes and 23 seconds (no real need to
be that exact normally).
Now click on the OK button and here is the main screen again...
Click on the Running Time Start Button and you will know how much time you have used/left for the show depending how you set it up.
Clicking on a prerecorded item Start Button will tell you how long you have to finish slurping your coffee!
Click on the Talktime Start Button everytime you talk will give you a good guide to how much talking time you have left.
Now the neat thing about this little program is that it remembers all the settings so when you start it again your setting are sitting there waiting to be altered to suit your next
program.
