Monday, March 12, 2007

Record Time



Done. At last. My computer tells me it's eleven twenty six as I start to type this on Monday evening. I've just come in, at the end of my working day.

This evening we recorded two short morning services for BBC Radio Wales. The first will be broadcast on Easter Sunday at 8am, the second on June 17th (which happens to be Father's Day - but which has nothing to do with the subject matter of the service). Both can be accessed via the web for a week after they are broadcast on the BBC Wales site - I'll post a reminder for my faithful overseas listeners!

I opened up the church at 4pm and closed it at 11.15pm. Seven hours. They started recording at 7.10pm and finished at 10.10pm, three hours. Record time I think for two broadcasts that will come in at around twenty four minutes each.

Still, if I will involve a cast of fifteen readers and twelve musicians, and ask the moon from all participating, including children, then what can I expect?

Though would you expect any less of me?

And when you hear the broadcasts, please note this: in all those voices you will hear, mine is amongst them. But only amongst them. For we are starting to be a church here where all sorts of gifts and talents and people willing to use their gifts and talents are coming to the fore. And though these are things that take work and time - they aren't half exciting.

So tonight was time to record; and now it is time to sleep.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Of course, this makes me think of that "Vicar of Dibly" episode where they recorded a "Songs of Praise" at the church, and they kept having to retake various bits, so that she was telling the same sermon jokes over and over, getting less and less congregational reaction each time...

Did you do each service in one take?

Marcus Green said...

Far from it! This being radio, we were free to be far more creative than that...

We recorded all the music for Easter first, usually in two takes, then we recorded a scene that involved the children for the same broadcast, followed by congregational responses for both services. Next it was all the music for the other service. One or two complex arrangements led to a couple of three take wonders here. And then all the readers had to stay behind class to finish off - so by the end there was a gradually diminishing crowd, with just three or four of us left to record most of the speaking parts for the second service in an empty church.

(Not the norm here before I get anymore smart comments!)

On Sunday night we did everything in order at a rehearsal, and it was great: last night was really bitty, but at least Sunday evening gave people a sight of how it will all turn out.

And there's less than four weeks to wait to hear the finished article, so we'll all just have to contain ourselves!