The Catsitter

Produced by Ochen K.

 

From Ochen K.

Months ago, while researching some audio equipment, I came across
Transom.org for the first time. I had heard the web address on This
American Life and All Things Considered, but never remembered it when I
was at the computer. I spent the rest of that night listening to as much
as I could find on the site. I love finding these little online jewels.
It reaffirms my trust and faith in the Internet. I decided that night to
create something. I didn’t know what, but I’ve wanted to try for a long
time and Transom finally gave me that push.
The next morning, with my resolution still intact, I set to writing. In
almost every creative thing I do, I start out by setting rules and
boundaries. This helps in narrowing down options and gives me new walls
to bounce against. The rules for this piece were (a) it had to be a
fairly quick production, (b) it had to be first person narrative since I
didn’t have time figure out how to do much else, (c) it had to at least
allude to a bigger theme, (d) it had to be, if not funny, at least
light, and (e) I had to be willing to submit it to Transom when I was
done. The five minutes spent making up these rules immediately helped
define and form the piece. I wrote the script in about and hour,
recorded it in about an hour, edited it in about an hour, and then sent
it of to Transom.
I had no hopes of having my piece selected, but thought that the
experience of going through the entire process would be valuable to my
education. It was.
Months passed, I started developing a few other radio pieces with actual
airplay in mind, I got a job at Minnesota Public Radio, and then I got
the email from Transom about presenting Cattsitter. Right away, I went
back and listened to the piece. I hadn’t listened to it since I had
submitted it. There are many things I’d change and many things I’d like
to spend more time on, but the purpose of the piece was to learn how it
felt to do it. It felt nice, and although I’m still in a little bit of
shock, this part feels nice too.

Technical Info

I have a music recording background, so I had no need or interest to
spend much time on the technical side. Since I also knew that this was
my very first piece, and therefore would probably never go anywhere, I
wasn’t so concerned about the quality.
I did everything on my Vaio laptop. I have a USB powered I/O (Edirol
UA-3) that I always carry with me. It’s only two-in-two-out with a
not-so-great preamp or driver, but it’s small, lightweight, and most
importantly, powered off the laptop, so I can be in the middle of the
desert and get decent audio into my computer. I plugged a Shure 57
directly into the UA-3 and recorded, edited, and mixed in Cool Edit Pro.
This is my standard ‘down and dirty’ setup when time, location, and
dependability are issues.

About Ochen K.

Ochen K. is an artist, composer, and performer living
and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His musical credits
include complete scores for Bondi Dance (Los Angeles,
California) and The Gandini Juggling Project (London,
England), soundtracks for Peapot Productions (Helsinki,
Finland), new musical theater works for Nautilus Music
Theater and Steppingstone Theatre (St. Paul, Minnesota),
and numerous soundscapes for various theater and dance
performances. Ochen has received many awards for his
commercial design work and independent artwork, and
in 2000, he received an Emerging Artist grant from the
Jerome Foundation for a commission by the Walker Art
Center. He currently works as the online producer for
American RadioWorks, the national documentary unit of
Minnesota Public Radio and NPR, and his personal work
can be viewed at http://www.ochenk.com.
When he’s not taking care of his neighbor’s cat, he
takes care of three of his own; Maggie, Buzz and Ethel,
with his partner Leslie Ball.

Related Links

Ochen K’s Website: www.ochenk.com