What Really Happens When You Play A Radio Contest

From KOST 103.5, Los Angeles, here's a behind-the-scenes look at what a deejay does when you try to win a "be caller #20" contest! Thanks to our winner, who gave me permission (yes, I asked!) to use her voice in this video!
The only things I edited out of the video were answering phone calls 4-16 (boring!) and getting all the winner's contact information.

[@radiogoodguy6287]

The radio studio has come a long way since audio tape when we had to sometimes cut & splice a call! Digital technology has made things easier when you're on air. Loved this video. Good job of behind the scenes.

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks, Bill. Oh yeah, I've still got reels and reels of calls that I spliced up with a razor blade and tape ages ago. Digital editing has made life so much easier!

[@jjlopez5764]

Shared this video with my Radio class students. Incredible 'behind the scenes' video - thank you for this!

[@Brucieee1]

Wow, that's really cool to know! Thanks. I wish this had been a more complicated edit on the VoxPro to show off what it can do!

[@ohkaygoplay]

This is extremely helpful for those of us interested in audio mixing, and doing it at top speed. Some top notch expert level work here. :)

[@Brucieee1]

You're very kind. I'm glad I could demonstrate this for everybody. I wish I had done a contest with a more complicated phone edit. This one was very straightforward, and often we have to cut things out and add something to it to make it sound more seamless.

[@ohkaygoplay]

@@Brucieee1 It's good work. I wanted to get into Foley, so any tips I find really help. :)

[@tim_longhurst]

Very slick edit. Like how you played the recording in and made it appear live.

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you! That's a little trick where you start and end with the caller's voice, then do a wraparound intro and outro. Makes it flow really nicely on-air.

[@BBC600]

@@Brucieee1 Seems kind of deceitful...

[@Brucieee1]

@@BBC600 Hmmm. How so?

[@radiogoodguy6287]

@@Brucieee1 I've often wondered what a caller thinks of his/her edited phone call.

[@tim_longhurst]

@@radiogoodguy6287 they’d probably not notice it. In the excitement of the moment, they won’t remember exactly what they said.

[@rnbrineg]

Those are some lightning quick editing skills

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you! Wish I could have shown something that required some more interesting edits. That one was fairly simple. I'll post another with a more complicated edit.

[@fhowland]

Very cool! Amazing how you're able to do all this in just the time of one or two songs. Talk about a job with tight deadlines!

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks! Yes, digital editing tools like VoxPro have made this process very fast.

[@RetroMaster64]

Wow, I always wondered how they edit calls to appear on the radio! lol

[@RetroMaster64]

@@augustjordan775 nah i dont care

[@miguellombana9847]

YUP that's about right... haven't touched a console in 20 or more years and a lot of digital coolness now but that brought back a lot of memories!

[@richardd.9816]

We did this in the 70s with reel to reel tape recorders. We had a guy in another studio who took the winner's info while edited the tape.

[@SavasPapasokratis]

very interesting! i think caller 21 and 22 got excited the way you said ''we have a winner''

[@Brucieee1]

Yes, I can hear that. They may have thought I was saying they were the winner.

[@ao-rb3rh]

He looks like doctor strange

[@Brucieee1]

Benedict Cumberbatch? Me? Never heard that one before, but I'll take it. And I do have some mystical powers.

[@GirlWatChOuTnow]

this reminded me when amp radio was doing harry meet and greets and literally everyone i knew was trying and all you had to be was caller #9 and I WAS CALLER 9 AND I WAS SHOOK BC I DIDNT BELIEVE IT LIKE I ACTUALLY MET HARRY STYLES AGAIN THANKS TO A RADIO STATION

[@OgDj2024]

That magic of radio

[@traceygilmore4797]

Today I was the first 25th winner and I got 4 Disneyland tickets and 6 tickets to Hollywood planet

[@thomaszapantis9429]

Enjoy

[@crissd8283]

That looks like the first time he has edited audio!!!! I'm impressed how fast he edited that audio.

[@Brucieee1]

I like your irony! Yes, I've been doing it a couple years! After a while of working with that VoxPro keyboard, it becomes second nature and you don't think about it, your hands just move around it doing what you want.

[@Oocca_Truth]

So cool! We had a VoxPro in the control room when I was in college (I studied radio broadcasting at Niagara College in Welland, Canada) but we never got the chance to really utilize it. I work in radio creative now, but if I ever get an opportunity to get behind the mic again, I sincerely hope there's a VoxPro there for me to play with 🔥

[@Brucieee1]

Yes, it's an excellent tool. Doesn't have the bells and whistles that a full digital audio workstation like Pro Tools does, but that's not what it's for. When you need to edit a simple piece of audio like a phone call or sound bite, and you need to do it FAST and then play it back FAST, Vox Pro with the dedicated controller surface is perfect.

[@marywatkins9438]

At least he was nice enough to answer each call.

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks. I try to do that if there's time. Not everyone does, but I think it's nice.

[@artemkorolev2257]

Hi, I am breakfast show host for one of the station in Moscow, Russia, we do calls the similar way, we prerecord them, to present "as live" on the air. One thing that really puzzles me, is that on most aircheck videos I see, all the way from the 80s to 2000s presenter hears the caller on their monitors. In our studio we do it through the headphones, and monitors die, as they do when you record anything or turning the mic on. Which is logical. How does the monitor not interfere with the mic and recording has no echo?! I tried it in my studio, and it's a mess, the caller hears himself, the recording sound bad, How does this work on other stations?!

[@Brucieee1]

Hello! It has to do with the noise gate threshold on the studio mic processor. If the caller on the monitor is just quiet enough to not open the gate, the audio doesn't go back through the mic. So talking into the mic will open it, but the caller will not.

[@artemkorolev2257]

​@@Brucieee1 ok. but then you have find the perfect amount of the sound every time you get a call and if you miss, you'll mess up the recording, that doesn't seem to be right and what if you and the caller talk simultaneously, then the gate is open and it's a mess again((

[@mhmrules]

I would use this for all my billboards and back announces because I always mess up when I'm live.

[@Brucieee1]

Some people do that. In fact some at KOST do that, but I won't say who!!!

[@wyk]

Cool!! In Taiwan We usually talk with our audience online at that moment. We don't record, doing simply editing, and then play on the show. So It's really intersting for me. And you're a really good host, really kind and fluency.

[@Brucieee1]

Hello, and thank you! It's very interesting to hear how you do it in Taiwan. I rarely, if ever put a live caller on-air. It's different in talk radio formats, but for a quick-moving music format like this, we record them and keep them brief.

[@MatdoOfficialLV]

Thats what all radios need to do. am i right?

[@flashgord2007]

❤the video awesome muchlove from canada DJFREECAN 🇨🇦 used to play on radio in early 2001 Windsor ontario college and starting my Own radio ty for the refreshing on how to do godbless

[@jimwest6571]

Loved working with the digital editor VOX-PRO, yes much easier than the old days of splicing audio tape between songs for a contest winner.

[@paulwalker1443]

Vox Pro was a big improvement to handling phone calls for radio jocks. Very simple and quick to edit, unlike the earlier days of actual tape slicing, or worse, airing a bad phoner.

[@Brucieee1]

Yup, changed everything. Love the VoxPro and I use it on almost every break.

[@scottschell]

We have it a lot easier now all we use is Adobe (well at least my company does) and do everything from our remotes to phone calls using it.

[@davemitchell116]

I did this for years! It was so much harder in the old days (before digital recording/editing) with a reel-to-reel recorder.

[@Brucieee1]

I remember it well. You'd have a studio floor full of edited pieces of phone calls. And somebody would always steal that grease pencil!!!

[@MeanMachineRadio]

Nice! Bruce does an excellent job..people do not realize what we as DJ's/Broadcasters go through behind the scenes,..so him making it appear seamless is excellent on his part. The process has since been updated, but as you can see, we wear many hats. Rock On, Bruce!!

[@dianiskandar1270]

Alright 😊👍mister alright jumbo radio

[@AquaCarb]

So many buttons. So many things to do before the song is over.

[@ashoknayaki7776]

Gideon BIBLE APP Please Announcement in radio studio

[@stephaneouellette7943]

I will be attending college next fall.I want to work in Radio.Honestly this job looks like fun.

[@Brucieee1]

Good choice, Stephane. It is fun, and everyone who works in radio loves it and has passion for it. The downsides are that job security is rare, and many people have to move frequently for the next job. Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck in college!

[@stephaneouellette7943]

@@Brucieee1 Did you go to college to be in radio Bruce?Are the courses hard to learn.I can tell you're having fun doing your work.Have a great day.

[@Brucieee1]

@@stephaneouellette7943 I first went to a one-year radio/TV trade-school. We studied voice and diction, writing and the use of studio equipment, including audio and video editing. Later I went to college in my spare time. I found all the classes very interesting, and not too difficult. You could do this! Radio is a career where a college degree is not required, although many colleges offer excellent radio and TV broadcasting programs.

[@stephaneouellette7943]

@@Brucieee1 Thank you so much.Can't wait to go to college in September.

[@comingsoon2850]

Yikes we used reel to reel in the early 80s..😲

[@asciidude]

prob takes a lot of training

[@Brucieee1]

I'd say it's more experience than formal training. Like any job, you learn to use all the equipment, software, etc and it just becomes normal. Fun job!!!!

[@asciidude]

Oh, thanks for replying! I hope you get more subscribers, and that one person is very lucky, lol. :P

[@randylara9911]

CourruptRBLX actually doesnt. If you have a background in audio editing it helps, but voxpro is an easy software to learn, espcially the new version. The controller is the hardest part imo

[@TheBudgie29]

No amount of training will get to this Level. It either comes Naturally or It don't, I have been doing this for Years and can do It like this guy. I tried to train someone, they just didn't get It.

[@petep.2092]

Your first sentence is illogical… YOU were able to train your skills to a level that meets a certain standard, so was the board op in this video… hope you're not suggesting that only the two of you have the ability to board op! There's a difference between training and teaching, often they go hand in hand. Your comment "they didn't get it" suggests that you were trying to train without teaching. Also, keep in mind that DOING a job is a very different endeavor than TEACHING someone how to do that job. A demonstrated skill at doing one does not automatically infer any skill at doing the other. Find out what is involved with teaching and check that you have those skills before you pass judgement on the student.

[@HelloKittyFanMan]

Huh, cool! Now please find someone who has a stash of the old tape equipment so you can show us the editing back before it was done nonlinearly!

[@Brucieee1]

Yes, it was a much more difficult process before digital. I'd be happy to show this process too, but there aren't many of those Atari reels with editing blocks left. I do have my reel-to-reel tapes though!

[@brettcooper3893]

The Greek is one of my favorite venues. However, AXS' handling of tickets for high-demand shows is dreadful. The My Chemical Romance debacle of last fall was crazy.

[@Brucieee1]

Didn't hear about that. That's too bad. It's a nice venue.

[@trinityadam]

Hello. Whats the Playout Software Called ?

[@Brucieee1]

VoxPro recorder/editor from Wheatstone. It's very common in most radio studios. Very easy to use.

[@m4ndydelgado]

So does it ring right away when you call to be caller 20? Im trying to call but i keep calling and the line gets very busy so im curious if it doesn't ring right when I called should I retry next hour instead of waiting for them to announce the winner?

[@Brucieee1]

Great questions, Mandy. If you get a busy signal, hang up and try again. And again! If it rings...let it ring until somebody answers. You might be the winner. If a couple minutes have gone by and it's still ringing, it probably means you were just a little too late and just missed it. The deejay is talking with the winner.

[@minor5150]

Do we stay on the line with the busy signal?

[@Brucieee1]

No, if you get a busy signal, hang up and re-dial! If you get a ring hang on! You might be the winner!

[@minor5150]

Thank you!!

[@tripjet999]

First prize: One set of tickets to see Culture Club. Second prize: TWO sets of tickets to see Culture Club.

[@Brucieee1]

Funny! Thanks! Actually I went to the concert mentioned in this video, and it was significant, because it was the event at which the former Bruce Jenner came-out publicly for the first time as Caytlyn. She just walked onstage before Culture Club, introduced herself and the crowd went crazy. Lots of love from the audience. L.A. is a pretty cool place.

[@roachtoasties]

I once won some dry cleaning calling in to a radio show. The dry cleaners were nowhere near me, so I ended up never using the coupon.

[@Brucieee1]

I think that happens a lot. Many concert tickets we give away go unclaimed. Then we take them!

[@glennso47]

I once won an electric shaver after I had just bought one.

[@Vic269]

I won tickets to see Jill Scott on 4/26/19. Changed the Station & won tickets to see Cher, Nile Rodgers & Chic on 5/2/19!! Jill show is 6/28/19. Cher Show is 12/10/19!! Super Excited Winner!

[@jayjay269]

Wow!!! I have a whole new respect for radio personalities! Well done, sir!

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you! Wish I could have shown you more. This was a very simple phone contest that required almost no editing.

[@ABCEasyas--]

By the way, I miss hearing you on Bay FM.

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks! I miss being there!

[@zacharygrossman8316]

Feel bad for the people who got hung up on right away!

[@jdbrownradio]

I love giving stuff away on the air.

[@sriramulu.mayiladuthurai]

❤Thanks.❤

[@dunebasher1971]

When I worked in radio in the UK in the 90s, whenever we did a "caller #X wins" contest, we didn't really want to specifically use caller #X, we just wanted someone who sounded lively and excited. So we'd keep answering the lines until we got someone who fitted the bill, and everybody else was told "sorry, you're not caller #X". Mind you, in those days we took callers live to air, there was no pre-recording.

[@stephano8042]

They still do that. Alot of the "callers" end up being over excited women fit for radio.

[@myvoicetm4014]

There is a trick to get a caller to sound excited. All you do is tell them they need to speak loudly because they are being recorded and it helps put some excitement in their voice.

[@paulwalker1443]

True. Deception, of course. But very common in the radio biz.

[@jaidenowen1867]

I won 2 tickets to see lorde right after I won a 20 dollar gift card to jack in the box

[@bennolanswaggerdiaperteenbaby]

Very cool

[@Lady_Jay]

This makes me miss my days on the Radio we just put people on a delay when doing comps on TLR the story I could tell you.

[@cnmcphaulsr4701]

I love that audio console is that a wheatstone audioarts console

[@giarc0]

This is really cool! I find behind the scenes at a radio station to be both fascinating and also a bit of a let down! Theater of the mind I guess!

[@Brucieee1]

Hello and thank you! Me too. Even after 30+ years of doing it myself, I could still watch a jock on-air all day. Picked the right career, I guess!

[@DavidTheHypnotist]

With all those buttons and switches it looks like you are piloting the starship enterprise

[@Brucieee1]

It's a little bit like that. One of them takes us into warp-speed!

[@robsundance203]

Very slick. Truly professional outfit 👌🏻

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks. Well, this is the #1 station in Los Angeles, so they had the best studios. No expense spared at iHeart LA back then.

[@ABCEasyas--]

I bet Rosanna loves the band Toto.

[@Brucieee1]

She does. Rosanna Arquette, the actress was dating a guy in the band who wrote the song about here.

[@DarrenAltman]

A great insight. Thanks for sharing

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you!

[@Abigart69]

he looks like Mike from the gayish podcast

[@scottstrang1583]

I used a Revox pr99 and pr77. Wish I’d had cool edit.

[@Billy193]

Been casually trying to call in KOST every christmas season for radio contests. Been unsuccessful so far. The closest I ever got was "I'm caller #9". But I still have hope Ill win one of these some day

[@minor5150]

Do you stay on the lone with the busy signal?

[@jjlopez5764]

Bravo!

[@craigroberts6439]

Lousy winner….when I did this if they weren’t excited….they didn’t win.

[@vader0ne]

Man back in my day we had to use cassette tapes, then I would transfer to carts.

[@davidgrossman6892]

Joi barge and the funkular bulge?

[@larry2506]

We once had a device that would answer the calls and when the correct caller number got through it would then throw the call to the jock. I loved using the VoxPro to edit calls.

[@Brucieee1]

I've never worked with that system, but it sounds like a good idea!

[@baylinkdashyt]

@@Brucieee1 It is probably easier as radio transitions to VoIP to create an app in the PBX/hybrid that you can tell to answer as many calls as necessary "Hi, Q-105; You're caller 1, try again, and only hand you the call that you need to take -- though how you interface that with the nice manual keystrip in the desk I dunno...

[@examplewastaken]

So this is where Non-Stop Pop got his tag line from? Lmao

[@barrygeary1890]

My hospital radio station we use Adobe audition

[@MatdoOfficialLV]

Why edit the call?

[@Brucieee1]

Yup, this call needed almost no editing. We recorded it and put it online in a hurry, but I kinda wish we'd have waited for another one where there were some mistakes or big edits to make. As it was, I just cut out some of the pauses to make it flow better.

[@las-beat7637]

Which software do u use for recording

[@blueraccoon1088]

Hey not bad I'm listening to call now

[@smug8567]

Congratulations to our listener Wayne Hopper for identifying it. And by doing so, he becomes our seventh person to land the WFBB-sponsored Woody Woodpecker balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. There are only three spots left. We're going to take a little break now; when we come back, you'll have three more chances to win a spot holding a rope under Woody Woodpecker.

[@Brucieee1]

This gave me a little chuckle, but...what?????

[@smug8567]

Its from Seinfeld

[@Brucieee1]

Oh!!! I love Seinfeld, but didn't catch this. And you remembered it word-for-word! Nice!

[@shanebuckley9886]

Hi. Great video! Can I ask, what make is the board used in this vid?

[@Brucieee1]

For the life of me I cannot remember. This was a few years ago, and I am no longer at that station.

[@shanebuckley9886]

@@Brucieee1 No problem. Thanks for your reply all the same. Hope youre doing good.

[@benjaminwallace5644]

Why do you record the winning caller instead of doing it just live air with no edits?

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks for asking, and that's a good question! First, at that station, we were instructed to avoid any surprises that listeners might try to do if they were live on-air, like swearing and other stuff that could get the station fined the FCC. They do enforce that, especially if it's on a huge station like KOST. People try this a lot. Next, we can clean up the call to sound better. We'll take out unnecessary pauses, phrases and sentences that don't add anything to the content, and generally make it flow better and sound more entertaining. In this case, I barely did anything. Just took out a couple pauses and breaths to make it move a little quicker.

[@ectv]

cool

[@DavidHartigan]

That's impressive!

[@natheben6977]

What is the name of mixing controller?

[@Miguel-ei8oc]

That was cool

[@digitalporch2062]

Very slick, I need to learn how to do that.

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks! This was a pretty simple edit. I'll try and post another with a more complicated phoner edit.

[@scottstrang1583]

Love the jump in call number.

[@paulwalker1443]

You would be amazed how many dj's would cheat the system, if the designated caller wasn't a good call they would tell them they were the wrong number, if they were in a short time sequence they would indeed jump to a winner. Not right, but was impossible to detect as a listener!

[@stephenwav]

Does anyone know wich microphone this is? I really wnat to know :)

[@Brucieee1]

I believe this was a Heil PR40.

[@ShaggyDawg]

Vox Pro. Boo! Should've been using a 360 Systems Short/Cut.

[@WealthWiseNavigators]

Now, my question is, do radio station by these tickets and give them away or is it some form of payment from the promotor etc 🤔

[@Brucieee1]

Hans, radio stations get them for free from concert promoters to promote the shows.

[@wadepatton2433]

IF only more youtubers would take some EDITING LESSONS here!!! (and quit overlaying crappy music to hide bad audio). Videos on youtube could be so much better with a bit more effort. Also, that's not my sort of "radio contest" (I'm a ham).

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks, Wade. Yes, both of those things, the music and the lack of editing drive me crazy too. A lot of times the music doesn't fit the video at all.

[@craigodlin]

Does anyone happen to know the name of the Playout/Automation software being used here?

[@nofxslc]

I believe it is Prophet.

[@justbeingjazzyspodcastclip1044]

Thanks so much I never win

[@Brucieee1]

You will! Some people keep trying all day for a big prize. The key is just doing it over and over.

[@staggmovie]

But how did you make too get her permission before rolling the video?

[@Brucieee1]

Great question! Before a caller gets through to us, they hear a recording, which states that their voice will be recorded and played back on air and online. I think it says "by continuing this call, you consent to having your voice recorded and broadcast..." etc. If you ever hear one of those "prank calls" where it sounds like a deejay is "calling" someone, but the person doesn't know it (like on Brooke and Jubal, or "War of the Roses" or any other prank call bits) those are ALL fake. We can not record anyone or broadcast their voice without permission.

[@superradiojay]

Radio stations legally have implied permission when callers call in. If they were calling out, then you would want to confirm.

[@Brucieee1]

@@superradiojay I'm not so sure about that, especially in California, which has a state law requiring consent of both parties. Anyway, to play it safe, major companies like iHeart require the explicit notification. We actually had to sign something saying we understood this and agreed to it.

[@denisemiller6896]

I am gonig to have a radio station on the east coast of Virgina.

[@rxgtv]

hey! what station do you have?

[@blueraccoon1088]

Were you an intern?

[@Brucieee1]

No, I never worked as an intern. However, I know many people in radio who did get their start as interns.

[@garcia1214]

Question: when we call and hear the busy tone, do we wait or call again?

[@Brucieee1]

If you get a busy signal, hang up and call again!

[@benf2682]

Anyone know what that program on the left screen is???

[@Brucieee1]

Ben, what's on the screen on the far left that I'm editing on is called VoxPro. Many, if not most radio stations use this software in studio to record and playback callers.

[@nataliestahulak4266]

I just won a contest today lol

[@justbeingjazzyspodcastclip1044]

I call line is busyyyyy

[@Brucieee1]

If you get a busy signal, hang up and call again. Keep trying that for a minute or two. Good luck!

[@phlexo]

claps.... claps with all my body

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you and...wait, how is that even possible?

[@phlexo]

@@Brucieee1 I could say the same thing about what I saw you doing

Culture Club!? HOW OLD IS THIS?

[@bernhardingebrigtsen877]

Top this next time with onair audio!

[@Brucieee1]

Yes, we wanted to do that, but it would have been technically more difficult. We did this in a hurry, recorded it and put it online in just a couple minutes. If you turn the volume way up, you can hear the caller through my headphones. Next time we'll do it!!!!

[@jpolar394]

Does anyone know what year this is approximately ?

[@Brucieee1]

Right now? It is 2020. (See what I did? I'm a deejay. Can't help myself.) This video is from 2015.

[@eire-yi5bw]

Why did you edit the winners recording and then play it because it sounded fine to me

[@Brucieee1]

Good ear! Yes, this call was nearly perfect as-is. Usually, there's a lot of stuff to cut out, but I barely had to do anything to make this one work. I just cut out the pauses, which made it sound a little better on playback. Newer versions of Vox-pro will cut out all the pauses with a single command.

[@marcopoggioli8202]

ciao marco poggioli

[@annekedebruyn7797]

Does anyone know the mic? It sounds really good.

[@Brucieee1]

Hi! The audio in this video is direct from the internal mic on my Canon Vixia video camera. The mic you see in the video (A Heil PR40) is not the source of the audio, but is briefly heard when I play back the call when I am editing it. A big reason the audio sounds good is probably the room itself, which has high-quality acoustic panels everywhere.

[@justbeingjazzyspodcastclip1044]

I give up

[@Brucieee1]

Don't give up yet! Another trick is some people use two phones at the same time. Doubles your chance of getting through!

[@huckfinn9225]

Very cool indeed..ROCK ON

[@bethhh4able]

oh my goodness I'm trying to win tickets with them for Mickey's Halloween party ahhhhh its soo hard!!

[@CaptainNigh]

Taken the easy route there Bruce. Often you get the best stuff after the call ends, so personally I keep rolling and then take the time to do more than a hello / you win call. Seize the sizzle mate, that's the beauty of Voxpro. Tell me though, are you playing out in 2 track Left n Right, or does your system compensate for mono output on-air?

[@Brucieee1]

Hello, and thanks for the feedback. Trust me, most of the calls I put on-air are more interesting than this. Just used this one for demonstration. This VoxPro setup, and others I've used record in 2-track, and then play back in mono. We can switch it to stereo playback on the control board if we want, but I think it sounds strange to have the caller and the host split on stereo channels.