I have been a long-time fan of Ira Glass since listening to NPR as a kid, but my favorite show of his has to be This American Life. The structure, pacing, and many techniques Ira and his team use to craft compelling narratives are almost as interesting to hear them in action as the content of the podcasts themselves. Anyway, I was very excited to listen to this interview with Ira to learn a little bit more about the basics of creating stories using sound from someone I can only describe as a master of the craft.
The first point that Ira touched on was the idea of the anecdote as a building block, a story in its purest form. This is a very intelligent way of breaking it down. To Ira, there is this constantly moving structure of actions, thoughts, and ideas within the anecdote, almost like you’re hearing it from a friend or an acquaintance in casual conversation. What I find most compelling about this perspective is what Ira describes as a feeling that “you are on a train that has a destination”, that the anecdote has an inherent suspense to it which propels it forward and brings the listener into the narrative. The second point Ira brings up is the importance of bringing both the anecdote and the moment of reflection to bear effectively. Ira states that often, people new to the medium will have a great anecdote but fail to capitalize on its effectiveness by not drawing any meaning from it, or there is a great meaning to a simple anecdote. Ultimately, Glass views this as a symptom of not being cutthroat enough during the creative process and admitting that both elements need to be compelling enough to complement one another, and that if one is severely lacking, the story simply can’t be meaningful.
Along those lines, Glass also advocates for creatives to take more time than they think they should, actually seeking out ideas and stories to tell, rather than spending that time in production. To Ira, killing a third or even half of the projects he starts is desirable as long as the final product is compelling. This ties back to the idea that if your story isn’t compelling on its own or if there isn’t that much meaning to it, even if it is interesting, then the project should not go forward. He really stresses the importance of being a “killer” during the creative process and being extremely intentional and active in removing parts of your stories that aren’t direct and won’t speak directly to the viewer. In other words, cut out all the fat and leave only the most compelling product.
In all, Glass’ points were very helpful, especially as I find myself in that beginning stage of idea collection. Hopefully, I can effectively incorporate some of his advice in creating my podcast for my archaeology class, my radio show, and the audio assignments for this unit! Here are the 2 videos I watched. I hope you find them useful!