There are three types of voice tracks for digital automation:
1) Generic Voice Tracks
2) Daily intros & outros
3) Title-Matched intros & outros
You'll create an event category for each type that you want to use. For example,
you could create a "VG" event (voice-tracks; general), a "TI" event (title
matched intro), "VO" (daily outros). Call the event names and codes whatever you
like... you'll use the codes to assign slots on your format clocks where the
voice tracks will play.
Generic tracks are essentially breakers to run at any time. Schedule generic voice tracks as you would any other program event including a "Source" and "Number" on the hard drive where the automation will find the tracks.
Most stations will use this type of voice track for intros or outros of music during automated periods. The announcer will use the MusicMix printed playlist for the day and record his tracks following the schedule. To create this type of voice-track-event, the specific event item must NOT include a "Bin," or "Number." MusicMix will assign numbers for each intro or outro based on the time on your playlist.
There may be variations listed in the technical specifications for your station's digital automation, but in general MusicMix would assign the following bin names to set up individual tracks for each minute of the day, each day of the week: VMO, VTU, VWE, VTH, VFR, VSA, and VSU (MO being Monday, TU Tuesday, etc.) followed by a four digit number for each track which corresponds to the time scheduled on your playlist (in military time).
Example:
A voice track scheduled at 11:04 AM on Monday would be recorded in the production bank as VMO 1104. VSA 2318 for 11:18 PM on Saturday.
This enables you to record tracks up to a week in advance. MusicMix also gives you the option of recording voice-tracks up to one month in advance by enabling "Use day-of-the-month voice-tracking" in System Options. In that case, voice track categories would be V01, V02... through V31 instead of VMO through VSU.
Title matched voice tracking is used by stations who do not wish to record fresh
intros and outros every day. You can record one (or more if you create them as
rotators in your production system) intro or outro for each title in your system
that will be announced. You schedule the voice track in your format clock, and
MusicMix finds the appropriate track based on the following (or preceding) title
for intros (or outros). To set up the title-matched voice-track-event, in
specific information, you must assign a bin of "VTM" (for Voicetrack Title
Match). If it is to be used as an intro, you must assign a source number of
"IN". For an outro, the source number must be "OUT".
You must also fill in the Voice Track Grid. On that table, you'll enter one character for each hour of the
day to represent the announcer who will record the voice tracks (probably his
first initial). MusicMix will use that character plus the final two characters
of the title's bin to create the voice track bin where the track must be
recorded. You'll record the track using the same number as the title you are
introing or outroing.
Example:
You voice track from 6pm to Midnight. Dave is on from 6-9 and Kevin is on from 9-Mid. Your voice track grid looks like this:
6p 7p 8p 9p 10 11 D D D K K K The music you are announcing is in bin "101." So Dave will record his tracks in a category you create called "D01." The intro for the title in bin "101," number "1234" would be recorded by Kevin in "K01" - number "1234."
Please notice that you must choose between intros and outros with this type of track... you can't do both.
After you have created the voice track event categories, add the appropriate event code to
your format clocks... (i.e. "VO," "TI," or "VG" in the examples above) where you
want an intro, or a generic liner not associated with a specific title. Be sure
intros immediately precede a music rotation slot on the format clock and outros
immediately follow one.
Each automation system may vary. Check the help-topic specific to your
automation to see how your system handles voice track intro & outro source
numbers.
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See Also: Events