RAP on Books for Creative Types

The readers of Radio & Production Magazine were asked in the January 2005 edition "what was the last book you read on radio creative?"

From: http://rapmag.com/ (Jerry Vigil)...

In the Blink of an Eye 2nd Edition
"In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing"

Music, The Brain, and Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain
This is a fascinating and well-written book that should be a must for any sound designer. Robert Jourdain starts with the biology of how we perceive sound; analyzes what makes melodies, harmonies, and rhythms interesting; explains why composers are driven to what they do; and concludes with why music makes us feel good. Reading it, I also leared a lot about myself and some of my colleagues, and why we hear sounds differently than the general public... our unusual perceptual skills aren't because we're particularly talented, but an accident of biochemistry.

Copywriter: A Life of Making Ads and Other Mistakes ...
For close to 20 years Ray Welch dominated New England advertising awards. He was the Woody Allen of the industry, writing self-deprecating (but hilarious and strategically spot-on) ads, and later becoming one of the area's most effective voice-over announcers. He was also one of the most well-liked personalities in the community -- I should know, I was there -- and a great story-teller. These are his stories. They're all funny. Many of them also reveal truths of ad agency life, the kinds of people attracted to that business, and the thinking that goes into a great campaign. The book reads the way I remember that life. Except Welch obviously had a lot more fun.

Ray Welch displays print portfolio, plus downloadable radio commercials: www.raywelch.com/

Amazon.com: Books: VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor
Everything Harlan Hogan writes is true: the techniques, the way the business works, the friendships that form between actors competing for the same jobs, the life. It's actually two books, interleaved. Chapters alternate between sage (and hard-earned) advice on polishing voice-acting performing and job-getting skills, and some of the things Harlan had to go through to learn these lesions. If you're an announcer, engineer, or sharp producer, you'll chuckle over the war stories. If you're trying to break into the business, you couldn't have a better teacher.
Harlan Hogan - Voice overs Narrations Commercials Promos

The Responsive Chord by Tony Schwartz: Amazon.com: Books: The Responsive Chord
Tony Schwartz was one of the first to ask "how does a sound track actually influence our behavior". Since he's also a noted sound designer specializing in radio and television advertising, he's in a good position to test his theories. Some of the examples are dated -- being the seminal work in the Resonance Theory of communication, it's about thirty years old -- but the entire book is still thought-provoking.

All of prod guy Jay Rose's recommended reading: www.dplay.com/dv/books.html

"Copywriter" - John E. Matthews
Barnes & Noble.com - Book Search: John E. Matthews

Steven Pressfield - Official Website
Seattle Times: "Yes, The War of Art is hell. But Steven Pressfield is our Clausewitz..""Read every other book about advertising creative before you read this book, because "The Book of Gossage" will spoil all those other books for you.."
AdBuzz.com
Chapter Excerpt: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

And, of course - Roy Williams: www.wizardofads.com/

For me, the articles in RAP are very motivating, but the monthly CD of promos and spots is worth the subscription price all by itself. Radio And Production - Subscribe