Making a Scene: The Use of Verite to Show, Not Tell, Your Story

A well-crafted scene, heard on the radio, opens a window onto a new world and allows the listener to fly right in. Claire Schoen explores the process of creating scenes -- showing real people living their lives -- for an audio documentary.

Recording a single scene may require spending days with a subject. Back in the studio, bits and pieces of audio are layered in multiple tracks to reconstruct a place and time. The result is an experience that relays information on a visceral and emotional level.