Episode #9: "Floating on Cloud Nine"

Pixar Planet Network Radio Pixar
#21

Awesome episode!!! :sunglasses:

#22

Thanks Dolly, on behalf of the RP team. :wink:

#23

Yeah, Skype would be a great way to do a live show.

#24

Thank you for the episode. I enjoyed it. I do, however, have a gripe. I’ve been trying for months now to avoid story details about “Partly Cloudy”- a task which really shouldn’t be too difficult even for an active Pixar fan, as the shorts are never hyped to the press the way the features are. I’d been entirely successful until I listened to Radio Pixar #9 and the host blabbed the premise and story set-up faster than I could reach the pause button on my iPod.

How 'bout a warning next time?

#25

Yeah, I’m with doctorossi on that though I’d forgotten about it- I had to fast-forward through certain bits because of the Up spoilers that I’ve been sort of trying to avoid (though not very successfully :laughing:) but also keeping in mind that there may be many others who don’t want to be spoiled, a warning actually within the show would be a good idea even if the outline of the show is available, just so people know when potential spoilers are coming up.

#26

Well, overall I think Radio Pixar Episode #9 can be classed as a hit. :sunglasses: Thanks for the feedback guys for this comeback episode. It’s incredibly hard to look at something with the same perspective as someone who hasn’t ever listened to the episode before. I’m glad you enjoyed the show, and thanks again to those involved, and also for the fans for listening and giving feedback.

Now to address a few specific points


I suppose that’s a personal opinion that varies from listener to listener because other listeners were saying that the news was concise. Well, the reason that news went on for so long was because there was such a long delay between the the last episode of the show and Episode 9. The Up segment was just a Wrap-Up (well, actually more like an Up-date) and we won’t be having it in future episodes, and the Up news will be read out with the other Pixar news rather than having its own segment, I think. 12 minutes for Up, WALL-E and general Pixar news isn’t really that long, is it? Especially when you’re listening to a Pixar podcast.

There’s the argument of not having any news in the show, because listeners can just go to Upcoming Pixar, but the benefits such as giving Pixar fans news using another medium, as well as the cross- promotion with Upcoming Pixar is too good to pass up. If you don’t won’t to hear news, there’s nothing stopping you from skipping that part of the show, which will always be placed after the introduction. I guess that’s the risk we’ll have to take. iTunes has a feature up the top, if you use it to listen to Radio Pixar, where it lets you know what segment you’re listening to, so if you can’t listen to the show within 45 mins -1 hour, you can easily find your place again. Giving a time stamp for every segment is one way of detailing the show notes, and I’ll talk to the other staff about doing that in the future. There’s a more detailed list of show notes on the Radio Pixar page.

Shorter, more frequent shows? I dunno, for me it would be about quality vs. quantity. Getting a show out every 3 weeks is hard enough as it is.

I think that was me that said “tuh-mah-toe” when I was talking about the Rotten Tomatoes wins that WALL-E received: “tomato, tomata, potato, potata”. :slight_smile:

Ok. I completely forgot to give a spoiler warning that time, but next time we will. Also, try to remember that if you’re going to listen to the news, there may be spoilers, just like if you were going to read Upcoming Pixar. The blog entry for Partly Cloudy didn’t have a spoiler warning, so I followed suit. But next time I’ll give one before each spoilerific segment anyway.

Things like what, exactly?

One reason I didn’t sound lively was because I was nervous, and also, to answer your question, we recorded most of our segments separately (except for the roundtable, intro and outro, and interview which was recorded live). From now on with the shows, we might try to include more banter with the host and co-host so we have more expression in our voice. Some segments sound better when they’re scripted, such as a report, but others like the news could be talked about with the co-host, then they can chip in their opinions, yeah. It is pretty hard to schedule I time where we can all record together, and it is a lot easier to record separately. I don’t think we could record the whole show live, but for the introduction and news, that’s a really good idea.

Each show is going to be between 45 - 60 mins long, so if were to include the whole roundtable (30 mins), that would be half the show dedicated to one segment, meaning there wouldn’t be room for the other segments we had planned. Everyone’s attention span is different. Some said that 1 hour was too long for a show, but you have no trouble listening to shows that are 2 hours, so we struck a medium and said 45 - 1 hour. Well, maybe our tactic of splitting the roundtable in two parts has worked, after all, it left you wanting more, didn’t it? You’ll just have to listen to Episode 10 now. :wink:

Thanks again for the critique, everyone!

#27

I competely understand that you, and I’m sure alot of others where nervous, it’s a lot of pressure doing anything like that. Also, you guys are new at this, so it’s gonna take a little while for you to get into a groove, or what have you.

Yeah, this was something I was going to say would benefit from a live recording. Forgive me if, I’m being forward, but the reason people would go to Radio Pixar for the news instead of just checking the blog, is that they are getting something extra. You mentioned this in your reply to me, and I really think that some kind of comment one the news from the hosts would be that extra thing to make people want to listen to the news, even though they can just read it. You kind of want to make people say, when they read a story, “wow, this is cool, I can’t wait to see what Radio Pixar says about it.” Now, again, I know you guys are just starting out, so all the kinks have to be worked out. Despite all my criticisim, I really do think you guys have done an amaizng job, so far, and I do look foraward to seeing the show grow.

#28

I’m glad someone else said something, because while the show was well done, and everything ran smoothly, things just seemed a little tentative, but I’m willing to chalk that up to just nerves, the same with all the “um, uh” during the roundtable.

I have to admit that the roundtable dragged on a bit, though the topics were interesting. Also, I think the score section is rather unnecessary. The podcast is already topping out at over an hour, and I mean, if everyone else loves it, I’ll just fast-forward through it.

On the whole, though, it was a good episode.

One more thing is that, like when I watch the New Zealand series “Welcome to Paradise,” I’ll probably end up sporting an Aussie accent for the rest of the day. Nothing against the Aussies, it’s sort of my mutant superpower. Some superheroes can freeze the water in the air or turn invisible, I soak up accents like a sponge. :wink:

#29

I agree with many of the previous suggestions. I would also like to add a request for more consistency in the audio quality. The segments were obviously recorded with different mics, but maybe it would be worth the investment to get some nice mics and keep them back a bit from your mouths to avoid the blowout on your "s"es and "d"s. Hope that’s not being too picky. I just think it might help our dear Pixar Planet gain a little credibility if it was a bit more professional sounding.

#30

Gave this a listen an after-school treat yesterday night (No more school for a week! Hurray!)
 I’ll take Mitch’s cue and review by sections too:

Introduction:
Nice intro with AUTO and the Incredibles theme! Ohmygawsh, has Radio Pixar gone Aussie? :open_mouth: :stuck_out_tongue: Ooh
 competition! I didn’t hear Hal on the first round last night
 but in listening again to write this review, I found him! Mwahahah!

News:
I agree with other reviewers that this section’s a little ‘stiff’. Rachel’s voice is soothing, but not ‘dynamic’ enough to grab people’s attention (though I understand she may be feeling nervous). Thomas fared better by varying his pitch and cadence throughout, but there’s still room for improvement. As Dockenobi wrote, the news could be presented in a more livelier and ‘conversational’ style rather than sounding like it’s been read from a script. Maybe a little banter and opinions can be exchanged (even newsreaders do that occasionally if a piece of news is particularly interesting or amusing) like “I think this is gonna be awesome” or “That was terrible, wasn’t it?”. Just a couple of short asides to break up the monotony.
10:44 - 11:14 - Was that a track from the Up soundtrack? :smiley: If not, how did you manage to isolate the score from the trailer?

Trivia Question and Answer:
“Yoyoyoguys, wassup?” Laugh out loud! Nice intro, TSS. :laughing: You might want to try for a harder question next time, that quiz was a cinch for me.

Round Table Discussion (Part 1):
Oh noes
 there I go
 cringes :blush: My mike hisses badly (I just use the built-in cam on my MB Pro), my voice croaks like a frog (I need to drink more water) and I keep taking deep breaths through my nose (sounding like I’m hyperventilating
 or having a really bad cold :stuck_out_tongue:). I’ll try purchasing a mike (when I’ve got time and money) and cut down on the ‘sniffles.’
There’s also a slight noise on Rachel’s end, but the audio quality for Thomas and Hannahmation is great, like they’re talking in a room. Hannahmation sounds the most relaxed and natural, I guess.
Lots of great points tossed around, I’d say it was a fruitful and entertaining discussion!
I’ll sit tight for Part 2 next episode!

Pixarian Birthdays & Pixar Events:
Happy bday to all Pixarians! I’m interested to read “My Name is Dug” and “The Wilderness Explorer’s Guidebook”. Oh and “The Art of Up” too!

Academy Awards round-up:
Laugh out loud! Sad 2815 AD music plays during bit on missed chance at Best Pic and other awards Great quote from Jack Black!
Aaahh
 Define Dancing to cap it all off. Can’t get enough of it!

Song Request:
I knew you’d do an Incredibles track, TSS! You got cut off a little when the song started (which happens all the time on commercial radio anyway). I’d love to give a request!

Up Video Game Report - I don’t think Mitch really sounds boring, the inflections and change in pace in her voice are pretty engaging. I wonder where are the sound effects and soundtrack playing in the background are from
 are they from the game?

Pixar Planet News:
I must say, TSS has a very ‘audiogenic’ radio voice (he sounds like an announcer from the 50s from some reason). I think he mispronounced “Deviant” as “Dee-vai-unt” (as in “vine”) instead of Dee-vee-unt" (as in “deviate” Great updates, and happy birthday to PPlaneteers.

Vox Pops:
Hannahmation - I’m “super excited” too!
Mitch - A bit of static
 but yeah, Pixar films give you that warm and fuzzy feeling in your guts doesn’t it? “Nostalgic”
 I agree!
Me - Aw
 man
 shouldn’t have drunk Red Bull. ;-p My footnote “yeah” was cut off a bit, though
 ugh! This is so embarassing (though I’m glad that most of you found my speed-ramble funny!)

Oscar-Nominated Animated Feature Symposium:
Mr Stanton really had a ‘humble beginning’ at the studio, hurr hurr. Nice details on Ben Burrt’s approach to sound design
 I’m glad most Pixar films don’t have “too many cooks in their soup”. “Blew up in their face!” Nice one, Mr Stanton.

Interview:
Great job on being interviewer, Rachel, and interviewee, Mitch!
They showed “Escape Pod” so many times on the previews already, I agree they should have gone with “Def Dancing”. Hahah, “Very Special Person at the event”. Who else? I’m surprised you went for the handshake instead of the sig! I’m pretty sure if he frequents this forum that he would have seen your art at one point or another anyway. You certainly have made me “green with envy”!

Closing outro:
I don’t know the tracks for the Incredibles; but was that “Life’s Incredible Again?” Very neat tie-in to the beginning of the episode.

Overall, a pretty good episode, this being the first one I’ve listened to. I think one hour’s fine, although the news section can be cut down and perhaps more song requests can fill that space instead (maybe two-three songs spaced evenly throughout the episode as ‘music breaks’). But good job juggling all the various sections and timing people’s responses in the Roundtable Discussion!

Kudos to Rachel on her most spectacular debut as host, and Thomas for being a most excellent co-host.

I like it. This is good. Lookin’ forward to Episode 10 (oh, and I’m always up for participating again)!

#31

Once again, thanks for the critique to anyone that gave it. I’m already working on Episode 10 to address whatever was brought up in this thread, so hopefully Episode 10 will be twice as good as Episode 9. Thanks so much for giving a very detailed review, Mitch and thedriveintheatre. That was really nice of you, and it helps us figure out exactly what segments were a hit, and what ones we need to work on.

Yep, we’ve finally taken over. :smiling_imp: Cool! A few others didn’t find him on the first listen either. Feel free to enter the contest and good luck if you do.

Even though that sort of critique is hard to read, I will try my best to be more dynamic. I suppose that comes with time and confidence.

Yeah
 really good point. We’ll try this format with the next episode.

That’s taken from the intro of the Up website.

Ha-ha. I wrote and edited that segment, so thanks. :slight_smile: My sister and Mitch also pointed out the sad music as WALL-E’s non-wins were being explained. It wasn’t intentional, but that was a cool end-result anyway, so I decided to leave it in.

Actually, that was me who organised for “Marital Rescue” to be played (it’s probably my favourite song on the soundtrack), but all of us who worked on the show liked The Increds soundtrack, which is why it was used throughout the show. Sure, send in your song request.

Yep, from the first level of the game, I think.

Cool! You’re very reliable so we’d love to have you on the show again. =)

#32

Cool. I’'ll have to give it a listen when I’m through JCS-ing. :slight_smile:

#33

I see. Both you and Thomas have Aussie accents (at least, I think Thomas is Australian
), so I forgot exactly who pronounced it that way. In any case, it was funny. Heheh. :wink:

Aha-ha. Well, thanks! I appreciate it. Still, I’m going to do my best to sound more relaxed in a future show.

I’m unsure as to why it was so static – I think that my microphone goes into “soda pop fizz” mode or something after I’ve used it for a certain period of time. I think I’ve figured out how to resolve the issue of extra static (i.e., the “mouth-being-too-close-to-microphone” syndrome), however.

Oh, yes. Warm and fuzzy, indeed. Can’t get enough of that feeling. :wink:

Puh-ha!! “Red Bull”
 You were hilarious, though. Seriously, you should drink more of that stuff. :laughing:

Yeah, my sister and I have this weird perspective in that we hate to bug well-known entities for their autographs. He still seemed pretty stoked to just have us ask for a handshake, though. (snigger)

Duuude, I never thought of that! Ha! Well, he does frequent Upcoming Pixar, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he also visits this forum board as well. I don’t think he’d have glanced at my drawings, but if he did then that would explain the, “I hope you get to where you’re going” tip-off that he gave to my sister and I.

I definitely agree with this idea of yours involving “music breaks”, and am highly in favor of it. Perhaps it’s just me, but I do love intervals such as this
 as I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to film soundtracks/scores.

Not to sound cocky or anything, but thank you for the feedback on my segments, thedriveintheatre! Any tips on how I might improve are greatly appreciated. :smiley: :wink:

Concerning Hal, I “spotted”/heard him the first time around, but I ain’t going to submit any private messages to the Radio Pixar crew saying where he’s located. Other people besides me deserve a chance to win stuff. Heheh.

– Mitch

#34

Dang! I forgot there was a new episode up! I’m gonna have to write it down so I remember to listen to it.

#35

Less than 24 hours left to enter the contest! Listen to Episode 9 for details. :slight_smile:

#36

The winner of The Art of Pixar Short Films book has been chosen at random. You’ll have to listen out next week on Episode 10 of Radio Pixar to find out who won! Thanks to all who entered. :smiley:

#37

Sigh So I finally remembered that I stil havent listened to this yet, only now I cant because it’s reached its bandwidth for the month
Oh well. Thems the breaks