Recording Soundbiters
Before all the fun of the podcasting wiki-bath this weekend, you might remember that I mentioned that I’d be appearing on BBC Radio Scotland’s annual topical quiz review of the year, Soundbiters. The recording was last Tuesday, and I was joining Mark Hunter of The Tartanpodcast as part of the ‘Podcasters’ Team.
The day started off pretty well. An early alarm clock meant I was up and had finished breakfast by the time the car came to pick me up. It was taking me as far as Edinburgh Waverley, to catch a train straight through to Glasgow. A big thanks go to the BBC for springing for a First Class ticket. Beyond the obligatory legroom and seats with a decent amount of packing, first class provided a seat and a space in the carriage that wasn’t full of people heading to work, there was a constant supply of complimentary tea, coffee, and shortbread.
Which came in useful almost immediately as the train stopped a few minutes out of Edinburgh. Followed by the staff coming through and asking everyone to sit on the right hand side of the train. For a brief moment, and given we were on a little bit of a curve, I was put in mind of the film Speed, just before the bus toppled over. What had happened was someone had fallen from a bridge into the path of the train. Before we could move again, the emergency services had to be satisfied with everything, and have taken all the pictures and evidence needed… Plus a replacement train driver was needed. I suspect, much like similar cases on the London Underground, that he would have had a serious case of shock.
During all this, and through an infinte number of first class tea and biscuits, I’m on the phone to Radio Scotland, letting them know that I was going to be a bit late (in the end about 90 minutes late) and working out a new schedule. So our clash with the Dinner Ladies was put aside, with Mark and I going up against a new team, who we’d find out about once we reached the studio.
For the actual recording of the show, I’ve asked Mark (www.tartanpodcast.com) to guest blog this bit of the story…
Ewan looked a little tired when he arrived at the BBC Scotland reception, on Glagow’s Queen Margaret Drive. At first I assumed this was because he’d had an early rise to catch the train to Glasgow – a train which had been delayed for a few hours due to someone jumping off a bridge at it. But as the Soundbiters quiz went underway, a quiz we’d been invited to participate in as a podcasters team, the reason for Ewan’s perceived tiredness became clear; he’d been up all night swotting at the BBC’s news archive website.
We were pitted against a charming couple from Auchterader, their team being formed under the tenuous coupling that they both live in the same village, the village that was host to the G8 summit in 2005. Clutching hastil written notes about themselves that they were going to refer to ‘on air’, they were clearly exited and a little anxious about being on the radio.
Ewan and me? We were cool as cucumbers; we’re on the fake radio all the time…
Us podcasters got off to a strong start – listen to the news soundbite (hence the name of the quiz), 1 point for identifying the news item and 2 supplementary points are available for answering additional questions on that topic correctly. I managed to answer the first one correctly. Little did I realise at that point that no only would we win the quiz by the biggest margin the BBC had ever seen, but that my answering the first question correctly would pretty much wrap up my involvement in the quiz, full stop.
No, I wasn’t stricken with a violent bowl complaint resulting in me fleeing the studio for the nearest loo. No, my buzzer didn’t break. And neither did my BBC microphone fail. Ewan was possessed with the ghost of BBC-news-past, and all the our pleasant friends from Auchterader and I could do was so sit back with slightly slack jaws as Ewan buzzed in to answer such questions as, “In June this year whic..” BUZZ “David Tennant” “..and which chemi..” BUZZ “Nitrogen”
At one point the host, David Robertson (meeting him was one of those moments you have when meeting someone from ‘off the telly’, you know their face, can’t place from where from, realise it’s from ‘off the telly’ and then spend the next 20 minutes marvelling at seeing them in 3D and without a newsreader’s suit), shot Ewan a slightly irritated glance out of the corner of his eye as he was rudely interupted by another BUZZ from the podcaster team.
The producers in the booth speak to the presenter over a closed connection, meaning that we, the guests, can’t hear what they’re saying to the presenter. Unfortunately, David’s headphones were turned up loudly and via the sound bleed we could hear such things as, “For heaven’s sake can’t you break that guy’s buzzer? David, pretend you can’t hear him! The other side are looking like a couple of hicks on their first trip to the big city! And that’s just not fair, they’re too nice!”.
Our friends and opponents from Auchterader travelled through to the BBC studios that day with one objective; not to finish last. But sadly, like the objectives of the G8 summit protesters when faced with the cycloptic capitilist greed of the world’s mightest nations, and podcaster Ewan Spence, even the best planned and well meant objectives aren’t going to come to fruition.
Would it be a suprise to know that the podcasters, thanks to Ewan and his demon possesed crow, which I suspect was whispering the answers to him, walked away with the prize of a digital radio each? Ironic, as neither of us listen to the radio. I mean, we’re podcasters after all!
I wonder how much I can get for mine on eBay?
– Mark
Thanks for that Mark. And no I hadn’t been swotting the night before, I just have a brain that is full of the most incredible amount of crap. Plus I was reading the latest copy of the Doctor Who Magazine (DWM) on the train over, not that I wouldn’t have got the Tennant question, but when the couple from Auchterader showed Mark and I the two A4 folders of notes on the G8 summit they had for revision on the train down, pulling out a copy of DWM was just too much of a comedy gold opportunity to miss.
