OK, I'm from Washington, DC and as you hear in this story, people in Washington just don't "get it" about balloon hats. There's a small stretch of this piece that has the balloon guy walking around Georgetown offering balloon hats. Everyone say "no thanks." So maybe that explains why this story left me empty. I never quite connected with what the big deal was and the narrator of the piece didn't tell me either. He merely assumed that I would be as taken with these balloon hat-making guys as he was and would instantly understand what the big deal was.
That's also my problem with the ending of the piece, which to me seems a bit of a leap. I certainly have not learned anywhere near enough about this person to care about his relationships with women or whether or not he'll ever have kids. And by the way, I also don't get why; if he spends all his time making kids happy, that would lead him to never want kids. That seem incongruous.
But I think the things I see as problems with this piece can be solved by restructuring. There's a very nice section in the middle that I think ought to go first. After the balloon hat maker is rebuffed in Georgetown, he goes to a poor section of town where people DO appreciate the balloon hats. If it were me, I'd put these two segments first, to show that while YOU may not appreciate balloon hats, some people do and then use that example to lead the listener to understand that while some people are jaded about this practice, these guys have gone all over the world using balloon hats to connect with all different kinds of people.
That would also solve the problem of there being no natural sound in the piece until the middle – something which, to my ears, adds to the piece's empty feeling. Let me hear some joy. Let me hear some acceptance. Let me hear something that gives me a sense of what it is about the balloon hat that (as the piece says) "expresses a level of positivity" that no one had ever experienced before.
As it stands, this is a moderately interesting story about a quirky guy. While it is by no means engrossing, I believe it could be with some work.
Add some whimsy to your listeners' day by airing this piece about an imaginative guy named Addi and his friend, Charlie, who travel the world making balloon hats and spreading smiles. The listener will hear the squeaks of balloons being twisted and the smiles in the voices of the balloon hat recipients. (The balloon hat website should definitely be mentioned so listeners can actually see the photographs or make it a web extra like on the NPR newsmagazine shows. Gurian does a great job of describing the balloon hats, but it's fun to actually see colorful examples.) Balloons - a non-threatening entry into diverse cultures - who knew? Great concept and a day brightener.
A tightly produced and enjoyable story about the effect that a balloon hat maker has on people of a variety of cultures. Well told and engaging, the piece talks about how balloons have an amazing ability to connect with people in ways that cross cultural barriers. Through interviews with a variety of people on the street, we find how much fun the art of making balloon hats is, and how much the balloon maker wants to pass along this knowledge to others. It’s a very imaginative and whimsical piece, and would fit in well with a magazine format.
A very nice piece to listen to. We hear stories about people with unique abilities all the time; but Addi's story goes the extra mile, remarking on the cultural ramifications of his craft. The piece raises some intriguing questions about the nuances of human joy and happiness without providing heavy handed answers to said questions. Scott has an excellent narrative presence: engaged, interested, etc. He lets us in on some surprising side-affects to Addi's having pursued balloon hat-making so vigorously. Like most will, I really enjoyed Addi's observation about his making the rich and the poor laugh at the same thing.
That's a fantastic piece--thoughtful interviews and a nice audio adventure on the streets of DC. I've been a following Addi and Charlie's website for several years, and I thought Scott captured them really well.
The interviews are good, giving good background about how these two partnered to travel the world making these unbelievable baloon hats. Addi's story his story about realizing that the hats were making rich and poor laugh and smile in the same way is really nice. The ambient adventure on the streets of DC gives great mental images--affluent georgetown residents get nervous and 'inner-city' Southeast DC residents really connect with these guys.
By the time you hear the sounds of balloons being twisted and folks really reacting, you're ears are longing for it, and they're not disappointed.
It's maybe still hard to imagine these fantastic hats, but that's okay because these guys have hundreds of the amazing colorful photographs that your station could likely use on its website when curious listeners come looking. It's an outdoorsy piece that could be a really nice Summer feature.
Comments for The Balloon Hat Experience
Produced by Scott Gurian (sgurian@earthlink.net)
Other pieces by Scott Gurian
Rating Summary
5 comments
Richard Paul
Posted on July 23, 2005 at 07:22 AM | Permalink
Review of The Balloon Hat Experience
OK, I'm from Washington, DC and as you hear in this story, people in Washington just don't "get it" about balloon hats. There's a small stretch of this piece that has the balloon guy walking around Georgetown offering balloon hats. Everyone say "no thanks." So maybe that explains why this story left me empty. I never quite connected with what the big deal was and the narrator of the piece didn't tell me either. He merely assumed that I would be as taken with these balloon hat-making guys as he was and would instantly understand what the big deal was.
That's also my problem with the ending of the piece, which to me seems a bit of a leap. I certainly have not learned anywhere near enough about this person to care about his relationships with women or whether or not he'll ever have kids. And by the way, I also don't get why; if he spends all his time making kids happy, that would lead him to never want kids. That seem incongruous.
But I think the things I see as problems with this piece can be solved by restructuring. There's a very nice section in the middle that I think ought to go first. After the balloon hat maker is rebuffed in Georgetown, he goes to a poor section of town where people DO appreciate the balloon hats. If it were me, I'd put these two segments first, to show that while YOU may not appreciate balloon hats, some people do and then use that example to lead the listener to understand that while some people are jaded about this practice, these guys have gone all over the world using balloon hats to connect with all different kinds of people.
That would also solve the problem of there being no natural sound in the piece until the middle – something which, to my ears, adds to the piece's empty feeling. Let me hear some joy. Let me hear some acceptance. Let me hear something that gives me a sense of what it is about the balloon hat that (as the piece says) "expresses a level of positivity" that no one had ever experienced before.
As it stands, this is a moderately interesting story about a quirky guy. While it is by no means engrossing, I believe it could be with some work.
Deborah Astley
Posted on June 15, 2005 at 11:21 AM | Permalink
Review of The Balloon Hat Experience
Add some whimsy to your listeners' day by airing this piece about an imaginative guy named Addi and his friend, Charlie, who travel the world making balloon hats and spreading smiles. The listener will hear the squeaks of balloons being twisted and the smiles in the voices of the balloon hat recipients. (The balloon hat website should definitely be mentioned so listeners can actually see the photographs or make it a web extra like on the NPR newsmagazine shows. Gurian does a great job of describing the balloon hats, but it's fun to actually see colorful examples.) Balloons - a non-threatening entry into diverse cultures - who knew? Great concept and a day brightener.
Phil Corriveau
Posted on June 12, 2005 at 04:49 PM | Permalink
Review of The Balloon Hat Experience
A tightly produced and enjoyable story about the effect that a balloon hat maker has on people of a variety of cultures. Well told and engaging, the piece talks about how balloons have an amazing ability to connect with people in ways that cross cultural barriers. Through interviews with a variety of people on the street, we find how much fun the art of making balloon hats is, and how much the balloon maker wants to pass along this knowledge to others. It’s a very imaginative and whimsical piece, and would fit in well with a magazine format.
Richie Duchon
Posted on June 06, 2005 at 07:58 AM | Permalink
Review of The Balloon Hat Experience
A very nice piece to listen to. We hear stories about people with unique abilities all the time; but Addi's story goes the extra mile, remarking on the cultural ramifications of his craft. The piece raises some intriguing questions about the nuances of human joy and happiness without providing heavy handed answers to said questions. Scott has an excellent narrative presence: engaged, interested, etc. He lets us in on some surprising side-affects to Addi's having pursued balloon hat-making so vigorously. Like most will, I really enjoyed Addi's observation about his making the rich and the poor laugh at the same thing.
Shea Shackelford
Posted on May 31, 2005 at 08:14 PM | Permalink
Review of The Balloon Hat Experience
That's a fantastic piece--thoughtful interviews and a nice audio adventure on the streets of DC. I've been a following Addi and Charlie's website for several years, and I thought Scott captured them really well.
The interviews are good, giving good background about how these two partnered to travel the world making these unbelievable baloon hats. Addi's story his story about realizing that the hats were making rich and poor laugh and smile in the same way is really nice. The ambient adventure on the streets of DC gives great mental images--affluent georgetown residents get nervous and 'inner-city' Southeast DC residents really connect with these guys.
By the time you hear the sounds of balloons being twisted and folks really reacting, you're ears are longing for it, and they're not disappointed.
It's maybe still hard to imagine these fantastic hats, but that's okay because these guys have hundreds of the amazing colorful photographs that your station could likely use on its website when curious listeners come looking. It's an outdoorsy piece that could be a really nice Summer feature.