Sidepodcast

How Hard Can It Be?

Guest writer Jon Waldock talks us through the transition from commentator to podcaster, with a quick guide to the pitfalls and the positives of talking out loud.

Earlier this year the opportunity arose to become one of the commentators at the 24 hour 2CV event at Snetterton and after recovering from what was an exhausting weekend I realised that I enjoyed doing things with audio; whether commentating on a pit stop, explaining race procedure or playing jingles, I had fun doing it all. Since I have been a long time Sidepodcast listener/commenter the next step seemed obvious - a podcast. I mentioned this idea on my blog and it got a great response and I was even pointed in the way of a podcasting kit.

"How hard can it be?" I asked myself. The answer was very.

I’d settled on the topic quite easily as there’s only one subject I know a lot about and would feel comfortable talking about knowledgably; junior formulae, and so ‘The Feeder Series’ was created. My podcasting kit arrived with mixer, microphone, headphones and various bits of software. In reality all you need is a microphone and to download Audacity, but as I knew I would need other inputs in the future, I went for the whole kit.

Once I had started playing about with the software and hardware it dawned on me what I had let myself in for. Firstly, I discovered that I don’t read out loud very well and as such the first episode, which was only 6 minutes long, took a good few hours to get right. However it does take time and you can’t expect to be producing professionally sounding recordings first time unless of course you do that kind of thing for a living.

After feedback from the comments I made some changes to the hardware settings and to how I was speaking as well. The thing I have found most hard is trying not to sound monotone and like I’m just reading from a script, but these things don’t happen quickly, and so patience is the key with such a project.

Once I’d finished my first episode I had to find a host. Currently my podcast is hosted by 2 different sites - Podbean hosts my website downloads and RSS subscriptions, whilst my iTunes downloads and subscriptions are hosted by Podcast Machine. It may seem odd to do it that way and I hadn’t planned to do it like that, but as Podcast Machine do not offer a podcast website (but do have the best free bandwidth and storage package), Podbean was the next option.

Now that I’ve got the hang of the equipment I can start to grow the listener base of the podcast; through social networking, setting up interviews with drivers and through word of mouth. Whilst still in its infancy, the podcast is growing and although I might not be on the iTunes top 20 yet, it’s something that I can say I’ve made, that serves a purpose, and that ultimately is fun to do.

Daily: 1st September 2009

A new month is upon us, and this is the month of Sidepodradio. Don't forget to keep your eye on the wiki and get involved. Some new slots have opened up on the schedule, so perhaps you'd like to come up with a show - F1 related or otherwise? They'll be some more blog posts forthcoming about Sidepodradio soon. Meanwhile, here's what we're talking about:

• Jon has been thinking and has a couple of ideas floating around his head - one of which includes jumping headfirst into podcasting. Having commentated on a 24 hour race, podcasting should be easy. We welcome newcomers to the podcasting space, and wish Jon lots of luck (if he chooses to go ahead, which I hope he will!)
• We're trying out something slightly new in terms of daily posts, in that if a big news story breaks, then it will warrant a post of it's own, so that discussion can be easily found afterwards. There was a lot of discussion in the introductory post for this idea, but I don't think it will make too much difference, at least not at first.
• To round off the Spa weekend, all our podcasts are now completed - you can listen to the edited version of the Debrief here, and catch up with all the action from the race in the Digest. Don't forget if you're looking for quick links to any of the racing coverage this year, the 2009 Season page is very useful!

That'll do it for now. It's Tuesday already, which is making my week wonky, as we had Monday off as a Bank Holiday in the UK. Back to work it is, then! I'll see you in the comments.

Vast Amounts of Duct Tape

Regular commenter turned commentator Jon Waldock told us about his preparation for the 2CV 24 Hour race at Snetterton, and after a successful stint on the airwaves, he's back to tell us how the weekend went down.

The 2009 Professional Motorsport World Expo 24 hour 2CV Enduro (which rolls off the tongue), would  more appropriately be called the 18.5 hour Enduro. It may not have been hidden away in a forest covered area of France, but this year’s race gave all who attended an amazing 24 hours.

I arrived at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk on Friday and once I’d found my feet I spent 5 hours pounding up and down the pit lane collecting information on the teams and their various drivers. As I did my work, I noticed that in garage 22 was car #60, the Crossways Academy car, with a few guys around it working feverishly and thought that it must be a car that another team were using for spares. However the closer we got to qualifying that evening it slowly dawned on me that these guys were serious, they were building a race car in a day and as we got to and then passed qualifying that evening it was clear that the car wasn’t going to make the race. I spoke to the guys that evening and they had been told that they could qualify in the warm up session the following morning.

Awaking at 5.30am on Saturday morning I opened my tent to find thick fog and as I went for a walk down by the Russell Chicane it dawned on me that if Sunday morning was going to be anywhere near as foggy then we may have some problems. However the fog cleared and the day's racing schedule got underway and as I wouldn’t be meeting my fellow commentators till later in the day I had some time to burn. I enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast in the restaurant (which was a lot nicer than the baked beans and rice concoction I’d had for dinner the previous evening) and then sat by the Revett Straight watching the cars go by.

Just before the 2CV warm up session at 9:50am I met up with Alan Hyde and Mat James who were the pair of commentators who were going to be on the other shift during the race, I then shadowed Mat for the warm up session to just get a feel for the pit lane commentary. Warm up sorted and it was back to watching the racing with regular clock watching, having over 12 hours to fill from when I woke up to when I was on was probably the hardest bit, especially since I didn’t know anyone.

However the race soon started and once I’d met up with Lewis my co-commentator I was thrown in at the deep end. Boy, was it deep! Having never done any sort of public speaking, to go from talking to myself all day to talking to the few thousand people that were at the circuit, was quite a jump and it’s not the kind of situation you want to discover that you freeze up when public speaking. Luckily for me, I loved every minute of it, even the last hour of my first stint when I’d realised I hadn’t taken the advice to ‘pace yourself’ but even once I’d finished I still wanted to carry on. My love for the race was down to the fact that in most races you don’t get stories developing because they just aren’t long enough, but even after the first hour stories emerged of teams who could change an engine in 5 minutes and other teams who were on their second or third engine even before the race had began.

The trouble began, as I had suspected, just after I’d got on shift at 3am. When I’d woken up I could see the fog was bad, but racing continued as visibility was still okay. However, within 10 minutes of my shift starting, the fog had got so much worse the safety car was thrown and the race red flagged until the fog lifted. The fog did start to lift around 6 and we all had our fingers crossed that we could get racing again but it wasn’t to be. The racing was delayed until 8.55am, almost five and a half hours after it had stopped. The 4 hour stint that I did during these hours consisted of much debating, music playing and general rambling. Luckily the lack of racing meant I was able to get some well needed sleep once my stint had finished at 7am. My third and final four hour stint took place from 11am on Sunday and it added to the great spectacle the weekend had been. With only a matter of hours left, the cars were just being willed on to get to the finish with vast amounts of duct tape and cable ties.

Somehow, after qualifying behind the safety car during Saturday's lunch break, #60 was still lapping although no-one knew how. Once my shift finished at 3pm, I made my way back to the campsite and upon realising that I wouldn’t sleep, I packed my tent away and returned to the pit lane for the end of the race. During that last 60 minutes emotions were running high, teams were still making their way up and down the standings and just praying that the cars didn’t break down on track (there is no recovery service during the last hour).

As we got within 15 minutes we were counting down the laps, everyone clapping as the broken sounding #60 went past each time. Then with 2 minutes to go we realised there would be one more lap, for some teams it was the longest lap of the weekend and as each and every car passed us on the pit wall for the last time it didn’t matter where the teams had finished, but every car had and that was what mattered. As the cars entered into the pit lane we lined up clapping them as they went past. It really was the most emotionally and physically draining 72 hours of my life, but also some of the best. As a closing comment to show the spirit of the club and how everyone is welcomed in, this picture does tell a thousand words.

Thank you to Martin Harrold and Alan Hyde for giving me the opportunity, Chris Yates (who impressively drove his car up to second whilst the hand brake was still on) and the rest of the club as a whole for welcoming me. I have the date pencilled into my diary to come back next year.

_{Photograph by Martin Pettitt.}

Daily: 8th August 2009

According to Wikipedia, it is Andy Priaulx's birthday today. What's he up to these days? I mean, probably he'll be celebrating today, but in racing terms? Anyway, here are some of the things we're discussing at the moment:

• Mr C has been hard at work, well, I say work but what he's done is create a playground. Doesn't sound particularly taxing, does it? Actually, it is awesome, because it's a place for all those things in development to be displayed, without fear of them not working (expect the unexpected!) At the moment we have a groovy search and some subtitle fun. More to be added soon.
• I know I plugged this yesterday but it's worth mentioning again that Jon is out and about putting on his commentator's hat. You can read more about what he's up to here, but we'll be able to see updates throughout the race which starts later in the day, I believe.
• Finally, it wouldn't be a daily post without a plug for Sidepodradio of some sort, and today I'm just going to say - visit the wiki, have a look at some of the subpages, and get your questions in. Our hosts want to interact with you as much as they can, so share your thoughts on the topics at hand.

That'll do it for now. The last word must be congratulations to Andy and LPG who are celebrating a new arrival. Everyone at Sidepodcast sends their best wishes. I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 7th August 2009

It's Friday at last, and that means we're heading into another weekend. We know that Jon is busy this weekend, and will most likely return sans voice, but what are you up to? Let us know. Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:

• Peter Sauber is not at all happy with BMW and their decision to essentially stop him buying the team. We've covered this in F1 Minute, and F1 Big Picture as well, but Sauber says this is the worst time in his entire motorsport career history. That is pretty bad!
• Mr Brawn has admitted that he can totally see Schumacher winning at some point in this season, if not at Valencia. The Ferrari appears to be on the way up, and Ross knows how the man works, I guess.
• Yesterday, Whitmarsh has said they aren't giving up on this year's car. Having won their first victory of the year, McLaren are going to keep on developing, and are hoping that this car will be the basis of next year's as well. It better had be, or they'll just repeat this year again, won't they?

That'll do it for now, I reckon. Don't forget to let us know if you have exciting plans for the weekend, and equally if you're not. I'll see you in the comments.

The Next David Croft

Sidepodcast regular Jon Waldock is leaving behind the comments for the weekend to turn his attention to commentating. Not just a simple race, either, Jon is stepping right up to take on a 24 hour challenge. I'll let him tell you more about it.

Think of the big endurance races of all time; Le Mans, Petit Le Mans, Autosport 1000km. Now take these famous events and cross them with a car that was designed in the 1930s to safely transport a basket of eggs across a ploughed field and you have the Classic 2CV Racing Club’s 24 hour race.  Now don’t jump to any conclusions, just because the cars aren’t doing 204mph down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans doesn’t mean that this event won’t feature some amazingly close racing. The Classic 2CV Racing Club prides itself on its racing. 27 Citroens making their way up to the first of many corners in its annual 24 hour race is a sight to be seen.

During the event, I will be working with the commentary team in the pits as the “roving mic man" for some of the time. I’ll arrive on Friday, at the Motorsport Vision-owned Snetterton circuit in Norfolk, spending most of the day getting used to the cars and finishing any research of the drivers and teams that I haven’t collected by then. The race starts on Saturday at 17:30 (BST) with the build up starting at 17:00 (BST), but before it does there is a full day of racing, including multiple Caterham classes, the MG owners club and the Max5 series also.

Working with BTCC circuit commentator Alan Hyde, Mat James (racing editor of Motorsport News) and Lewis Beales (local motoring journalist), as well as Ainslie Bousefield, who is a stalwart of the Classic 2CV Racing Club, I’ve had to do a lot of prep so that I can hit the ground running when I get there on Friday.

This year’s event is a very important one in the 2CV Racing Club’s history, with the Silverstone 24 hour’s taking a year off, it is the only 24 hour motor race in Britain this year,  but more importantly it is the first year that the circuit commentary will be broadcast via live webcast.

The coverage will start around 17:00 (BST) and last for over 24 hours. You can follow along at the 2CV Racing site, or via Twitter for more information during the race.

_{Photograph by MaisieHexagon.}

Anthony Davidson Tries Commentating

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

Takuma Sato says he is actively looking for a role in Formula 1 next season, and the rumours continue unabated regarding the different teams he has links with. The latest discussion is that he might have a test with Toro Rosso for a race drive.

Anthony Davidson, meanwhile, has been keeping a relatively low profile, but has suddenly resurfaced in the F1 public eye. He's been commentating for BBC radio, and doing a very good job of it.

It's no secret that commentating partnerships work very well when there is a mixture of broadcast experience and racing knowledge. On ITV in the UK, we have Martin Brundle (ex-driver) partnered with James Allen (journalist), and there we should have the best of both worlds.

Murray Walker started this trend being partnered with James Hunt for many years. The pair didn't always get on, it's fair to say, but when they did, it was a team that worked like magic. With Walker's enthusiasm and Hunt's inside knowledge, fans were in for a real commentating treat.

Having been in the car so recently, Anthony Davidson knows exactly what's going on with those drivers down there, and can share some very valuable insight into the race weekend. As a fan, I enjoy listening to his commentary and think it's something he could do in the future.

But what about his driving? Davidson says he's not ready to hang up his helmet just yet, and is looking to return to the paddock in 2009. Whilst Sato is keeping generally quiet when it comes to the media, but actively talking to teams behind the scenes, Davidson is getting the best of both worlds.

Presumably he is in talks with some teams for an opportunity next season, but at the same time, he's earning a living, keeping his name in the public's mind, and getting some useful experience for the future - beyond racing. I hope he does manage to get a seat for next year, because that's what he really wants, but at the same time, I can't wait until he is signed up as a commentator full time.

F1 People - Murray Walker

• Length: 4:24 
• Size: 4.1 MB 
• File: people10.mp3 
• Transcript: people10.pdf 
• Torrent: people10.torrent 

Welcome to F1 People, a mini series of short shows chronicling the lives of important people in the world of Formula 1. Today we’re going to look at Murray Walker, not a traditional F1 People subject, but an important one nonetheless.

Graeme Murray Walker was born on the 10th October 1923 in Birmingham, England. His father raced motorcycles professionally before the war, and was pretty good at it. Murray’s father also became a commentator for the BBC, working with them for 31 years. Walker decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, trying out the motorcycling route but realising he was never going to be as good as he wanted to be. At a particular race in 1949, his father was preparing to do the commentary, but had to step down at the last minute. Walker stepped in, and was overheard by a BBC producer in the crowd. He was invited for a commentating audition ahead of a Goodwood meeting, and got the job instantly.

Walker also took over his father’s role as motorcycle commentating when he died in 1962.
Whilst commentating on the race weekends here and there, Walker made ends meet by starting a career in marketing. His creative flair saw him promoted through an advertising agency, and this double life suited him. He worked on occasional F1 commentaries until the late 1970s, and in 1978 he was given the job full time.

In 1980, Walker was teamed up with James Hunt, who had recently retired from Formula 1. Initially, the pairing was awkward, with Hunt being somewhat of a playboy and Walker perhaps slightly disapproving of that. But as the years went by, they became an incredible partnership, the first to really bond a commentator’s art of conversation with a driver’s expertise of the sport.

Walker retired from the advertising industry in 1982, making commentating his full time concern. He began to get a name for himself as having the “commentators curse”. He would discuss the action out on track and often say how well a certain driver was doing, and then moments later, the driver would crash or suffer a mechanical failure and have to retire. It became such a common theme that some drivers actually asked Walker specifically not to mention them during a race, so their luck would hold out.

James Hunt died in 1993, but Walker continued to commentate. The next year saw the death of Ayrton Senna, an event which Walker himself describes as the blackest moment of his career. He found it very tough to talk about the accident during the race, as he didn’t know the outcome, and the pressure of having so many fans awaiting news was incredible. However, Walker got through these and other similar tricky events with aplomb and was therefore top of the list when ITV won the rights to F1 coverage in 1997. He and all the fans switched channels with ease, and Walker was teamed up with the newly retired Martin Brundle. This pairing mimicked the James Hunt success with Brundle providing the insight.

Murray Walker retired from F1 commentating in 2001, at the United States Grand Prix. He was presented with an original brick from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in recognition of his work. This is a rare honour and something Walker treasures to this very day. Despite his retirement, Walker remained a public figure within motor racing. He became the voice of the Grand Prix Masters series in 2006, he commentated on Supercar races, and filled in for a couple of F1 commentators when they weren’t available – in both the UK and Australia. In 2006, Honda signed Walker up as their team ambassador for half of the season, meaning he was a corporate front for the team, welcoming and entertaining VIP guests.

When the announcement came this year that the BBC had won the rights to F1 back from ITV, Murray Walker was the first name that sprung to everyone’s lips when talking about who would fill the commentators role. He’s done plenty of work for Radio 5live since retiring and commentated on the odd race. Whilst Walker said he doesn’t want to return and do a full season, he would be more than happy to do the odd Formula 1 feature.

Walker has been married to the very private Elizabeth for almost 50 years, and himself turns 85 this year. Whilst admitting that he is slowing things down gradually, he’s also very open about the fact that he loves the limelight and the attention.

Finally, if there’s any doubt that Murray Walker is a legend in F1, you just need to know this. When the upcoming Hollywood film about Michael Schumacher was announced, there were rumours that Murray would be played by Bruce Willis. You don’t get a better compliment than that.

That’s all for today’s episode of F1 People. I hope you enjoyed the show and will join me again tomorrow when we look at another VIP in the world of Formula 1.

Theme music: Natives of the New Dawn, People.

Talking Is the Next Best Thing

Super Aguri have been gone only 24 hours, and already the drivers are looking for the next step. I imagine it will be difficult for them to get a decent drive mid-way through the season, but you never know what’s going to happen, or who’s going to get the boot.

Davidson, in particular, has been very vocal about his desire to continue in the sport.

“I really feel it’s unfinished business for me in formula one. I feel it’s where I belong. You only begin to realise just how much you love it when it’s taken away from you.”

And also:

“I definitely feel I've done enough to show people that I'm quick, can race, give excellent feedback, always do a solid and professional job, and when it's under my control, bring the car home.”

I suppose the big worry for Ant at the moment, besides finding a job, is that he might end up another Alex Wurz - always testing. Now, it’s different for Wurz because he had his chance at racing and found that he didn’t like it so much. Davidson, meanwhile, is desperate to keep racing, but he just seems to be a much better test driver.

If testing doesn’t suit him so much, I have another idea. I’ve been thinking about it and have come up with another job prospect, still on the fringes of the sport. Commentator.

He was brilliant covering the Hungarian GP for ITV, and the BBC could surely find space in the box for him. He certainly has all the inside knowledge and is capable of sharing it with us (unlike another ex-driver who I won’t mention but who’s name rhymes with Ramon Bill). I guess Davidson will feel like commentating is a step down from being a driver, but I reckon it’s one of the most important jobs going. Think of how much respect Murray Walker commandeers – and Brundle is rapidly approaching a revered status.

Giving fans an insight into a very mysterious and well-shielded sport is a worthwhile and valued career path, and I think Davidson would be a welcome addition to our ears.

Sato, meanwhile, is going to take a lot more thought.