A Face For Radio

Just after New Year I decided to try and drag myself into the twenty first century and produce what I’m reliably informed is known as content for my YouTube channel. I’d already posted several videos on the platform, but these took the form of picture montages with a voiceover.

I follow several content providers who promote their own London tours or talk about the city’s history, so I already knew what sort of format I needed to follow. How difficult could it be?

The answer in short is, very difficult indeed. Possibly the more professional amongst them take other people with them to act as Director and Cameraman, but I had no such backup. There are so many things to get right and to keep in your head at one time. Try patting your head and rubbing your stomach and you’ll get the idea. Also, for me there was the embarrassment factor. I can quiet easily talk to twenty people during a guided tour without any problems, but trying to talk to just my camera phone with passers by looking at me is a different matter.

I spent an hour outside the Law Courts on the Strand trying to record a five minute piece regarding the strangely designed street lamps that sit outside on a small pedestrian island. The power to walk and talk at the same time deserted me completely, as did the cogent facts about the lamps function and design. And what was that leering, confused and slightly desperate look on my face all about as my tongue struggled to get itself around the most basic of phrases. Looking back at the footage, if I’d been a passer by and had seen myself doing this piece to camera, I would have crossed the road and given me a wide berth.

It became evident on reviewing this debacle that the camera doesn’t love me, it absolutely loathes me, so in one way it was a blessing as I didn’t need to persevere. There will definitely be no YouTube content with me as the front man. A couple of days later in the pub I was relating the incident to a mate’s unsympathetic ear. “Well I could have told you you’d look like a *$£*&%, you’ve the perfect face for radio“. Maybe a little harsh, but sage advice as it happens.

This week I’ve had to take a bit of enforced R&R (I won’t go into the gory and embarrassing details) and so resurrected a project I’d had on the back burner for a while, that of producing podcasts. Because I regularly record the commentary to the self guided audio tours, recording these small broadcasts wasn’t at all daunting and I manged to reel off five stories on the bounce. Getting them out there was a bit tricky, but I think I finally cracked it and they’re now listed with several platforms including Apple Podcasts. However, not knowing the difference between RSS feeds and my elbow, I couldn’t understand how to put a link out for people to find them. Luckily my web site host has a built in podcast player, so adding that to my pages has given me something to direct people to. Should you be in the mood to endure my dulcet tones as I relate some quiet interesting stories, you can do so by clicking the button below.

I’d just like to add, that during the recording in an effort to channel the values of the BBC to inform, educate and entertain, I was wearing full evening dress.