What makes a Spark story?
Spark is a show about ideas. Ideas that make you say: hmm, I’ve never thought of it that way before. There’s a “yeah, but” factor to these ideas; they inspire discussion, or push back from another point of view. This is what gives a Spark story its internal energy.
Sometimes, those ideas can be funny, or silly, but they always connect to something larger about the culture; even a goofy idea can teach us about contemporary life. Spark is a show about trendspotting, so a Spark story has to be able to answer the “why are you telling me this?” question. The answer should be – because it can tell us something about how the culture is changing.
How do I pitch a freelance story?
Email a brief outline to Senior Producer Michelle Parise. We have story meetings once a week, so it may be a few days before you get an answer. But you will hear from us, no worries!
What should be in my email pitch?
- A clear focus statement – what the piece is and why it should be on Spark (think about what makes this story “new” or “fresh” – a Spark story)
- Why you? What will you bring to this story?
- What role will you play? Will you do a talk-tape (script & clip interactive) with Nora? Or is it a mixed piece, a personal essay?
- Who are the voices we will hear? Even if you don’t know yet, who would you like to have in there?
- How will you use sound to create a textured experience?
Listen to these examples
- Listen to Jon Kalish’s talk-tape on DIY Living for a perfect example of how you can use sound creatively in a traditional presentation format (MP3)
- Here is Dan Misener being extremely creative with sound and storytelling in his talk-tape on the Return of the Unitasker (MP3)
- Another creative talk-tape, this time Sterling Eyford on Cave Tweets (MP3)
- Here’s a personal essay that’s rich with sound and voices, Cesil Ferandes on Camping & Technology (MP3)
- And another personal essay with good use of sound, go in to 11:34 for Meryl’s story about her mom
What Happens If My Pitch Is Approved?
- You will hear from Michelle that your pitch is approved, along with notes to keep in mind as you go forward.
- When you have a first draft written, you will email it to Michelle. She will vet it, and send it back to you. Usually she writes the vet notes right into the script. Sometimes she’ll call you and you will talk it through or do the vet over the phone. It really depends.
- When we’ve got a final script, if it is a contained item that you are mixing, then you will go ahead and mix it. It is always a good idea to keep a “project” version of your piece in case we get your final mix and still have changes (hey, you never know right?).
- If it is a contained piece we are mixing for you, or if it is a talk-tape you will need to send all the audio – clips, sfx, whatever – ahead of the date we are set to record with you.
Sending Audio
The ways we prefer to receive your audio files:
- In an email to Michelle (small files)
- You Send It, or similar file sharing service
- DropBox (if you have an account)
