Elements Radio Master Plan

[Scaredgirl]

I have received a couple of PM's from people who want to make their own radio shows, which is great. I think that before things get out of hand, we need to come up with a plan. Most important part of this plan is the distribution of Elements Radio. The important question is:

Where do we upload the radio clips?

We really need to find one place/account under which we upload all the Elements Radio stuff. It doesn't make much sense to have everyone use their own accounts and own websites. That's not really Elements Radio, that's just random people posting random clips.

So I suggest we gather everyone in one room (aka this topic) and make a plan on how to start building Elements Radio, and then everyone follow that plan.

Most awesome system would be a service where we would have multiple accounts connected to one "master account" so that everyone can upload their stuff at their own pace without having one person to do it. Not sure if anything like that exists though.

One other thing I think is important is having programs that concentrate on different things. It doesn't make much sense to have each radio show talk about the same news, so we should delegate different areas to different shows. For example one could be community news, one could be PvP related, etc.


I have been doing some research for the last few days and I found multiple sites that offer free hosting. Most of those sites are crap but there are some gems among them. Here are the two best ones:

Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com)
+ Current Champion (although seems like it's losing position (http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/03/why-you-shouldnt-post-your-mixes-on-soundcloud/) because it deletes tracks without a warning)
+ Very nice layout and graphics layout
+ nice social site experience

- free version has annoying upload limits
- you cannot post any copyrighted stuff !!!

Mixcloud (http://www.mixcloud.com/ElementsRadio/elements-radio-01/)
+ you can post ANY songs, including copyrighted ones (major positive)

- website not as nice as Soundcloud's

I've tried both and I like Mixcloud more because it's not as limited as Soundcloud. It's a shame really because visually, Soundclound would be much nicer to use.

If anyone has any other websites that we might be able to use, please let me know.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[UTAlan]

Where do we upload the radio clips?

I agree that MixCloud's advantages outweigh Soundcloud's. That's where I'd put my vote at the present time.

One other thing I think is important is having programs that concentrate on different things. It doesn't make much sense to have each radio show talk about the same news, so we should delegate different areas to different shows. For example one could be community news, one could be PvP related, etc.

YES. I like what we have so far, but it's not quite what I had in mind when I found out about Elements Radio. I was envisioning exactly what you mentioned here: specifically themed showed with very little overlap. Obviously big news may be mentioned in multiple shows, but the overall content should be unique. Also, I am a lot less likely to listen to a show that is mostly music than I am one that is mostly discussing Elements. Just my opinion.

[Tiko]

I'm a regular SoundCloud user, though because of the circumstances, this time my vote goes to MixCloud. I tried to get familiar with it, and although it's ugly and the layout is a bit strange; still, it's simple to use and it's more than perfect for Radio streams and/or complete mixes.

Personally I prefer hearing pure music in radioshows, but that's just my personal preference probably; maybe we can make a rotation if there are enough different submissions, all of them with their specific themes, like 'news highlights, music, discussions, music, event news, and news highlights again, etc...' In Soundcloud you can make your own playlist from different uploads, maybe something like this could be made with mixcloud too (haven't uploaded there anything yet). So there's always another show streamed at the moment each time you log in.

Also, I'd be happy to partake in the creation of the Elements radio station with music block contributions (if needed). Maybe you should also determine the length of various 'shows' beforehand, just to make them unitary.

[TimerClock14]

A huuuuuuuuge downfall of using mixcloud is that you have to use the really crappy .mp3 file and you can't upload the higher-quality .wav files.

[jmizzle7]

A huuuuuuuuge downfall of using mixcloud is that you have to use the really crappy .mp3 file and you can't upload the higher-quality .wav files.

A plus for the .mp3 file format, though, is the smaller file size, which cuts loading time. The average person can't hear the difference between a .wav and a .mp3, anyway.

[Scaredgirl]

Where do we upload the radio clips?

I agree that MixCloud's advantages outweigh Soundcloud's. That's where I'd put my vote at the present time.

One other thing I think is important is having programs that concentrate on different things. It doesn't make much sense to have each radio show talk about the same news, so we should delegate different areas to different shows. For example one could be community news, one could be PvP related, etc.

YES. I like what we have so far, but it's not quite what I had in mind when I found out about Elements Radio. I was envisioning exactly what you mentioned here: specifically themed showed with very little overlap. Obviously big news may be mentioned in multiple shows, but the overall content should be unique. Also, I am a lot less likely to listen to a show that is mostly music than I am one that is mostly discussing Elements. Just my opinion.

I agree that programs that focus more to Elements, with music added as flavor, are probably more useful. There are already a million online radio stations that play music, but there is zero that talk about Elements.

If we have programs that are only about music, I think that the music should be related to Elements somehow. This can mean a person picking an Element and choosing songs that fit to that Element, or maybe play some user generated music that could be used in Elements, like that great AI3 music by Tiko.

Least appealing Elements Radio to me would be where people just post random songs that they personally like, without any real Elements content or common thread between the music and the game.

I'm a regular SoundCloud user, though because of the circumstances, this time my vote goes to MixCloud. I tried to get familiar with it, and although it's ugly and the layout is a bit strange; still, it's simple to use and it's more than perfect for Radio streams and/or complete mixes.

Personally I prefer hearing pure music in radioshows, but that's just my personal preference probably; maybe we can make a rotation if there are enough different submissions, all of them with their specific themes, like 'news highlights, music, discussions, music, event news, and news highlights again, etc...' In Soundcloud you can make your own playlist from different uploads, maybe something like this could be made with mixcloud too (haven't uploaded there anything yet). So there's always another show streamed at the moment each time you log in.

Also, I'd be happy to partake in the creation of the Elements radio station with music block contributions (if needed). Maybe you should also determine the length of various 'shows' beforehand, just to make them unitary.

I like the idea of rotating talk radio and music radio. Talk radio is a huge pain in the butt to produce, and by uploading music programs as a kind of filler, we can push out new programs every week.

We should probably start to come up with a plan for different kinds of programs. I was thinking about doing a "Community News" type of program that tells a bit about what is happening, and more importantly what will happen, with the community. Here are some other program ideas we could use:

Cards and Deckbuilding
PvP Events
Newbie Hour
Card Design Workshop and News
etc.

A huuuuuuuuge downfall of using mixcloud is that you have to use the really crappy .mp3 file and you can't upload the higher-quality .wav files.

.wav is a terrible format for the web because of its file size, and like jmizzle7 said, you won't even hear the difference unless you are a super human.

Also, Soundcloud uses 128kbps MP3 for streaming. This means that no matter what format you upload, users will hear that "really crappy" 128kbps MP3. It's only when you download the file that you get the original format, but that can be done with Mixcloud as well.

[Tiko]

I agree that programs that focus more to Elements, with music added as flavor, are probably more useful. There are already a million online radio stations that play music, but there is zero that talk about Elements.

If we have programs that are only about music, I think that the music should be related to Elements somehow. This can mean a person picking an Element and choosing songs that fit to that Element, or maybe play some user generated music that could be used in Elements, like that great AI3 music by Tiko.

Least appealing Elements Radio to me would be where people just post random songs that they personally like, without any real Elements content or common thread between the music and the game.

Agreed.

I would think that a music show that is streamed on Elements Radio has to be related to Elements itself somehow. Like the first show you made, is somewhat dedicated to Aether: each music compilation should follow a theme of an element (or more) in a recognizable manner. Also, thank you very much.

For the 'talk shows' or news programs we would probably need someone with native English language/clear pronunciation (radios mostly prefer female voices for this, but that's just a fact), as it may be better in the long run than the robot vocalization. If someone was willing to give his/her voice for the radio, he or she would only need to record the readings - like on a weekly basis - and then it's not much of a work to put it on a pre-made background, or just paste it into any submitted show. But it's a volunteer's job. Also, talk shows could be made of interviews, (deck/ai/quanta/whatever) analysises, or anything that players are willing to voice their thoughts for.

Just ideas.

[TimerClock14]

So if I'm reading this thread correctly, the ideal radio show would be something like:
-50% Elements stuff
-25% Musics
-25% Theme

Or something?

[Scaredgirl]

For the 'talk shows' or news programs we would probably need someone with native English language/clear pronunciation (radios mostly prefer female voices for this, but that's just a fact), as it may be better in the long run than the robot vocalization. If someone was willing to give his/her voice for the radio, he or she would only need to record the readings - like on a weekly basis - and then it's not much of a work to put it on a pre-made background, or just paste it into any submitted show. But it's a volunteer's job. Also, talk shows could be made of interviews, (deck/ai/quanta/whatever) analysises, or anything that players are willing to voice their thoughts for.

Just ideas.

Native speaker would be nice but it's easier said than done. There are three major challenges:

1. Where to find someone who is willing to do the voice overs (this means grinding it for months/years, not just 1-2 shows and quit)
2. Quality of the microphone (bad mic = bad radio = less listeners)
3. Voice that fits radio (no need to be a professional, but shouldn't be a helium either)

I like robots because they are dependable and ready to work 24/7. But if someone wants to step up and do the voice-overs, then great.

So if I'm reading this thread correctly, the ideal radio show would be something like:
-50% Elements stuff
-25% Musics
-25% Theme

Or something?

I think that the most logical and probably most commonly used system would be where there are different segments (where there is talking), and between each segment, there is one song. What the actual percentages are, depends on the songs and the talk content, but it would probably be something like:

60% music
40% talking

[zombie0]

clicked on elements radio.  i think i expected a couple recorded audio conversations from a podcast with developer/tutorial/etc, or maybe some element related music (like metal or from the and flames or nature sounds of / etc)

found just one 22 minute music track

i agree with scaredgirls vision of it 100% (so much its scary!)  after following other podcasters/youtube video and watching james rolfe's walkthrough of a typical AVGN episode...my respect for those who have the means and effort skyrocketed.  as much as i believe i could add to the community in a skype or casual context (and delusional dream world where i push out "A" material broadcasting with no UMMMM or UHHHHs), semi professional contribution is beyond my ability.

would only suggest that if such a huge project ever comes to fruition, make a real effort to attract players from the GAME screen.  something like "choose your elemental music  ", and it launches into the content.  only just today happened across the elementscommunity screen (which looks amazing tbqh).  had the game login screen bookmarked so long i didnt even realize community screen existence

-edit-  by game screen i mean in-game battle screen

[Scaredgirl]

would only suggest that if such a huge project ever comes to fruition, make a real effort to attract players from the GAME screen.  something like "choose your elemental music  ", and it launches into the content.  only just today happened across the elementscommunity screen (which looks amazing tbqh).  had the game login screen bookmarked so long i didnt even realize community screen existence

-edit-  by game screen i mean in-game battle screen

Something like that would indeed be cool, and who knows, it might even happen at some point. But we will start very small. Quality should be pretty high before we can make it bigger.

I've done some more research and haven't found any free alternatives that could beat Mixcloud so I think we can now make it official. If someone disagrees, now is the time to speak.

Here are the different uploading systems we can use:

1. Everyone has their own account
If we want to make this professional, I think we can forget #1. Having multiple accounts wouldn't really be Elements Radio, it would be random people with random clips.

2. One account with multiple users and passwords
This would be hands down the best solution but I don't think it is possible. I will have to check it though.

3. One account with one user and password that everyone shares
A pretty good solution because it lets everyone upload their own stuff. However it does have some potential security issues, like a DJ going nuts and deleting everything.

4. One account and one person who uploads all the shows
Better security than the previous one but means more work for the updater and less control to DJ's.


I think I like #3 the most, despite the potential security risk.

Credit
Because we will most likely be using only one account, that means you cannot post stuff with a particular username. All shows will be labeled as being posted by "ElementsRadio".

In order to give DJ's more credit, I propose the credit will be included in both the show description and image. Latter means that all shows gave their own unque image where they can be recognized. Oh yeah, and there's also the show name of course

There was some ideas. I'll post more later.

[TimerClock14]

Sounds awesome.