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Behind the Scenes with Matt Thompson, producer of The Most Beautiful Sound in the World Interview conducted by Julie Shapiro
> The Most Beautiful Sound in the World is a quite unique program in
tone and sound, in its abstractness. How did you pitch this to the powers that
be at the BBC?
All commissioning of radio (and TV) is about risk management. The commissioning
editors have to persuade their bosses that they are exciting tastemakers who
can take a risk. Unfortunately, they are rarely rewarded for successes.
However, failures are punished, so they have to reduce risk (whilst appearing
edgy) to survive. So when we pitch a program we have to make it sound risk
free.... Unfortunately, it is very difficult to describe a potentially poetical
or vague program in a proposal. There are no "vagueness" boxes to tick on the
spreadsheets. So we talk of specifics. We are not lying when we write those
things, we believe that's how we're going to do it.
> How did you know how many characters to involve in the telling of this
story?
Too many people in a program means there is not enough time for the characters
to be developed and not enough time to breathe. With too many people, listeners
are on a mad touristic rush, there's no enjoyment of the journey, or the
scenery along the way. Often radio programs seem almost embarrassed of sound,
and are just keen to rush on to their proper destination—more words. In this
respect, Piers and I were bad influences on each other, as we were both so
fearful of being literal we were in danger of slowing down to the point of
disappearing inside our proverbial metaphor.
> Rather than offering concrete information and hard facts, as most
radio stories do, you've made a program that presents conceptual, meandering
contemplations. How do listeners react to this? Do you worry that many won't
have the patience, or interest, to listen all the way through?
I don't ever worry about what the listeners want - (note proviso at end of
this). Because they don't know what they want themselves. I don't believe in
focus groups and programs by committee. The result of finding out what our
customers want leads to TV. I do know however, that certain listeners have been
deeply influenced by my programs. As producers we shoot programs into the air
in the hope they will lodge in listeners' minds. Meandering ... Another way of
looking at this is 'surprising'. Programs must take surprising turns. On pacing
... The pace is set by the storyteller. This has to do with confidence. My
early programs are much faster. Now I reel 'em in so they can't wriggle off the
hook. But I never forget we are in the entertainment business. I personally
find a lot of European programs unnecessarily slow and really more about the
producer than the subjects. Who cares what the producer thinks?
> In one of the "Making of" segments, you mention being disinclined
toward ending programs with distinct conclusions. TMBSIW supports this claim,
by ending with Piers Plowright's very soft suggestion, "Shall I row us back?"
Can you talk more about this preference?
I remember when we wrote history essays at school we were always told to end
with a conclusion. I always thought them a waste of time after all everything
you have said has already been said. So I'm dead against conclusions. I suppose
what I like is an end that points the listener to the life beyond the
program—what the characters did next. After all, they go on living. It's funny
how instinctive this "knowing the end" is. It jumps out at you when you're
editing or even recording the interviews. For instance, my son, who is five,
gets up and leaves Scooby Doo videos when the villain is unmasked, he never
waits to see the tying up of loose ends after the real ending. We all know the
kids meddled in the affairs of grown-ups....
> What did you take/learn from this program, as a producer? Do you have
any regrets about how it turned out?
I learned to really listen more. I am more aware of sounds being doorways into
other worlds. In fact I had an experience of this just the other day at the
coastal village where I live. I was staring at a puddle reflecting a tree and
suddenly heard how at exactly this spot the cheerful chirping of the land birds
gives in to the plaintive wail of the sea birds. I wondered what could be
happening beneath the ground I stood on. I would have not realized this if I
hadn't made the program. I also learnt to go with the flow. Recently I recorded
an author next to a fireplace that was making odd noises in the wind. In the
past I would have moved the interviewee. I also am more attuned to the sacred
nature of the interview and I respect the silence and ritualistic aspects of
the happening. It is very important when interviewing people to listen and not
worry about what your next question is going to be. I rarely regret programs,
that's partly because I quickly move onto the next one. Radio producers are
like butterflies in that respect....
> Can't resist: So ... what is the most beautiful sound in the world, to
your ear?
Children's laughter, particularly my children.
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