Real-Life Communication
You are a broadcast technician working in the production control
room. A reporter who is unfamiliar with the production control room is sitting
next to you, putting together a story for the news.
To do the story,
the reporter gathered quotes on tape. She also recorded her own voice to add
to the story. Now the quotes and her voice have to be mixed together so that
they are recorded onto one tape.
"Communication skills are a primary
necessity," says broadcast engineer Jessica Rye. "I don't think I would have
gotten the job had I not emphasized the fact that I am quick to learn and
that I can always work well with others."
The reporter must use the
mixing board, an electronic device that records and mixes sound, to put her
sounds on tape. The reporter stares at the rows of buttons and dials. "What
do I do to record the tape?" she asks. You tell her the basic procedure:
- Flatten the board.
- Adjust the trim, while observing the peak light.
- Bring up the master faders to seven.
- Bring up the channel fader to achieve desired reading.
- Bring up the monitor level.
She stares at you blankly. "But I don't understand what you mean,"
she says. Using the vocabulary below, explain in everyday language how to
use the mixing board.
Vocabulary
Bring
up -- Push the switch higher on the board.
Bring down -- Push
the switches down
Flatten the board -- Push all the switches and
dials down before using the board. This will reduce the chances of having
a technical problem, because you won't have switches and dials set to levels
used by someone else.
Trim -- This control is used to adjust the
input level while observing the peak light.
Peak light -- This
light warns you of excessive input levels. It lights up just below the point
at which distortion will occur. If it's producing a bright flash or a steady
glow, you should lower the input level.
Master fader -- This controls
the output level of the mixed signals from the channel faders.
Channel
fader -- This permits you to control the channels being input.
Monitor
level -- This adjusts the level of the signal going to the speakers.