Interview with an intern in the SABC Radio Archives: Akhona Quwe

SABC Radio Archives has acquired the intern services of Akhona Quwe, a qualified sound engineer.

The intern will be here for 8 months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows at SABC Radio Archives.

Questions are asked to understand the type of skills that she has to offer, but also to get a better understanding of what she is doing at SABC Radio Archives.

Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at SABC?

I grew up in family with quite a number of children; from my twin, to our brother and sister who are also twins. I was born and raised in Eastern Cape where I studied and passed my matric. Becoming an intern was quite a process to acquire in-depth knowledge about the operational workings at the SABC. I first become a learner in Port Elizabeth and after a period of internship, I was  recruited in the SABC Radio Archives.

What does your job entail here at SABC?

Ingestion of sound from backlog mini discs to Dalet, labeling of CDs and DVDs, recording on Wavelab , and editing on Dalet and Wavelab.

What have you learned already while you have been there?

How to ingest sound in the archives and how to label CDRs and DVDs. 

Tell us of any interesting anecdotes story with regards to your internship.

I am quite reserved but I do visit people to seek assistance when I get confused but as for any funny stories I have not experienced any yet.

What are you planning to do after this?

To get a job as an archivist and to further my studies.



Related posts:

- Intern in the SABC Radio Archives: Mbali Jzele - an interview 

- Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: NOKUTHULA MZELEMU

- SABC Radio Archives: interview with an intern – Thakani Ramufhufhi

- The value of internship in the SABC Radio Archives


Blog post & questions by Karen du Toit

A quick peek in the SABC Audio Restoration Section - I am holding...

Bags Farrell works as a sound engineer in the Audio Restoration Section, where they restore and re-master audio.
SABC Audio Restoration is part of the SABC Media Libraries.


At this moment he is working on…

... a collection of LP records, that needs restoring. 
I will clean the LP first, then record it into my computer, restore the audio and then I transfer the audio to a CD.

I follow this process for every LP that will be transferred to CD.


Related post:

Interview with the Audio Restoration Engineer at SABC Audio Restoration department


Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The new archivist interview: Sound Restoration

Obakeng Phiri
Archivist: Sound Restoration
SABC Radio Archives

Obakeng Phiri is a new archivist tasked with sound restoration in the SABC Radio Archives.
He has been an intern with us for a couple of months, and he started to work here on the 1st of August 2012.

The previous interview with Obakeng was about his internship at the SABC Radio Archives.

His duties are different now than before when he was an intern here.

Obakeng, please tell us about a normal day in your studio.

I am self motivated because I am very passionate about being an audio restoration archivist. 
Every snippet of audio content I work with contains interesting information. It adds to my anticipation of looking forward doing my job each day!

My job involves the separation of sound from the format it was recorded on. It also involves the “cleaning” of sound, getting rid of clicks, pops, scratches and hiss that often plague the original recordings. 
In some instances, the desired sound is so close in character to the noise, that the noise cannot be cleaned so as not to sacrifice parts of the sound that we want to keep. 

The workflow is not complicated, but it must be performed carefully to achieve the best results. 

Every experience in the studio is a learning curve. I learn different subjects from history, politics as well as listening to radio dramas. 
Depending on the mood I am in, every hour is spent on a different subject.  

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.

I work with most of SABC’s radio broadcast material, which includes radio dramas, radio features, actuality and many more. One example is a feature programme on Bertha Solomon, pioneer of women’s rights in South Africa.

Do you have an anecdote about an interesting piece of audio material that you have encountered?

The following is in our collection: ‘’I am an African’’ speech by Thabo Mbeki.
It introduces his vision on the African Renaissance, which is about empowering Africa economically and socially.

Why did you want to work here again after you have completed your internship here?

When I first came here for the first time as an intern, I already knew that I wanted to work at the SABC Radio Archives. It felt like I was home! Due to my passion for the job, I was given the chance to prove myself. It paid off in the end!
I am very grateful for it, praise God!

Related posts:

- Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

- The value of internship in the SABC Radio Archives


Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: NOKUTHULA MZELEMU

Nokuthula Mzelemu
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has acquired the services of four interns since March of this year. The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Radio Archives. They have changed the way the radio archivists work.

NOKUTHULA MZELEMU is a qualified SOUND DESIGNER.

Questions are addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing now here in the SABC Radio Archives.

­Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?

My name is Nokuthula Mzelemu, born and raised in Katlehong which is in the East Rand. Started my school career in 1995 at Germiston High School and matriculated in 2006 at Germiston High School. My passion for the entertainment industry led me to study film at The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance “AFDA”. I obtained my Bachelors Degree in Sound Design in 2010. Studying at a film school really helped or gave me a hint rather on what it is that is expected in a working environment. After graduating I then spent the rest of 2010 doing a bit of travelling which was a blessing because it gave me time to really research and try find the best job for me. When a friend of mine sent me an email informing me of this internship opportunity I knew that this was it. I then applied and prayed hard and as always God heard me and I got the call after the interview process that I had made it. 

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

I am a sound archivist and by that I help preserve and store material for future use. My job entails me to collect old material which has been saved on a mini disk. I then re-record the music and interview part of the radio show onto Dalet; whilst that is happening I check the levels and adjust them before saving it on the public server for my senior archivist to make use of. I also help with the airchecks (recording of radio programmes that have been identified to be archived), as well as the printing of the different radio programmes onto cd.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Having a Sound Design background has helped me, but being here has helped me realize that the programs we watch on TV, or hear on the radio are actually stored and re-used for future use. I have learned to work with different people such as my team mates and my senior archivist. I have also learnt to work on a deadline and because the shows I listen to were recorded few years back I am also learning a thing or two about our musical history.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

Moving from mini disk to cd is a good idea. I think if we had to save time because with time and technology changing cd’s will probably not be used in the future. I think if we could build a hard drive with huge space capacity then it would save a lot of time and space, as space will run out with all the cd’s being kept. If everything gets saved onto the hard drive it lessens the chances of anything bad happening to the content being stored.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

We shall call this story “OUR FIRST PAY CHEQUE”: It all started when all the interns from different departments had speculations about our pay day; we were all so exited…. Mbali, Obakeng, Thakhani and myself had already started planning what we were going to buy (this was the1^st big pay cheque for some of us) so when the day came (the day we assumed was pay day) and nothing happened we were all so disappointed. But not to worry because the actual day came and we received sms’s from our different banks. We were so EXITED; calling each other in the morning even treated ourselves to some “expensive” lunch. But sadly one of my fellow team mates didn’t get paid on the same day as us because he had got his banking details wrong. So it was funny as we laughed at him and he would get exited and u could just see the “hope” he had in his eyes with every sms he got. Hahaha “no names mentioned” but none the less he did get paid (after all of us had spent the entire last cent we had). Then at the end the joke was on us.

What are you planning to do after this?

At the end of this 10 month internship program I hope to have familiarized myself with the different sound departments of the SABC. I then plan on taking any job opportunity that may come my way.

Related posts:
SABC Radio Archives: Interview with the intern: Thakani Ramufhufhi
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

SABC Radio Archives: interview with an intern – Thakani Ramufhufhi

Thakani Ramufhufhi
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Media Libraries have acquired the services of a couple of interns. We have four interns in the SABC Radio Archives (as part of the SABC Media Libraries). They are busy us helping change our workflows for the digitization process, as well as acquiring some valuable skills along the way.

They answered a few questions as well:

Thakani, please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you come to be an intern here at the SABC?

Answer:  I was born in Thohoyandou a small town in Venda area in Limpopo Province. Growing up I was always interested in music so I came to Johannesburg in 2008 to study sound engineering which includes music production. I worked for a sound hiring company called Sound Stylists in 2009 and also worked for Univen Radio last year. A friend told me about SABC internships last year. I applied and fortunately I was amongst those who were chosen.

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

Answer: As Sound Archives Intern I record mostly SAFM audio material from mini discs into the Dalet system for cataloging. I help to print CDs for airchecks and also collect CDs from main control and does sound check on them to check if the programmes recorded correspond with the labeling on the CDs.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Answer: Before I got here I had no idea on how sound archives operate but now I have an understanding on how things are being done in the archives. Preservation and digitization of the audio collections using the equipment we have. Basically I never worked with mini disc players before.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

Answer: Regarding digitization I feel that the methods being used are quite recent and good, but I think it would be better if we start saving our audio collections on big hard drives as we will sooner or later run out of room to store CDs.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

Answer: During the first two weeks of our internship we received lunch vouchers because we were still on training and we thought we were going to get free lunch for the whole 10 months period, and when we found out that that was not going to happen it broke our hearts.

What are you planning to do after this?

Answer: After completing my internship I hope to get a job in a broadcast or production company where I will still be working with audio because I’m really passionate about sound.

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Related post:
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Restoration or destruction in the audio archives

Report about a meeting with British Library’s expert on audio and historical recordings, Will Prentice.

Marius Oosthuizen, our recent Sound Engineer in the SABC Radio Archives, had a meeting with Will Prentice, and gives his views on ten years of research and conversations and actual experience working in this field.

“We are not doing sound restoration, we are destroying historical recordings, legacy material and important radio broadcasts!”

Harsh quote! Let me explain: Experience has showed us that in the last ten years software developers around the world have written algorithms for small software programmes that run with software audio packages on windows platforms. These windows audio programmes are aimed at the consumer market, especially the garage band types, and the noise reduction and audio restoration side of it is inferior when it comes to historical recordings. 

Although these audio programmes and various plug-INS that are available as free download or as cheap as $30 a shot, and they are presented as audio restoration software, they are not!
If a person or an organization like archives or libraries is serious about preserving legacy material, they will not do audio processing on material for preservation purposes. Will Prentice, for instance, adhere to the same practice of no sound processing on audio files, and I agree with him. The audio should be recorded as good as possible at the highest bit rates and kept as is with all the good and the bad on the file.

The cleaning part of the audio only comes into play where a specific broadcaster or client wants to use the audio and needs the clicks and crackles to be taken out. Restoration is specifically driven towards a certain goal, but not for archiving purposes. Software and hardware for audio restoration are developing very fast. Algorithms for audio restoration are getting better and it would be advisable to keep a piece of audio as near to its original for later restoration with better equipment and software if the need arrives.

To all audio archivists and -librarians and would-be sound restoration engineers, do NOT do restoration! Do preservation!

What have you encountered in your audio restoration endeavors for heritage preservation?
Do you agree with this principle of keeping sound restoration to the minimum?

Post dictated to Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Related post:
The Weekly Archivist Interview: Sound Engineer in the Radio Archives

The Weekly Archivist interview: Sound Engineer in the Radio Archives

Marius Oosthuizen
Sound Engineer: SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has seven Archivists who specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. There are also Archivists who focus on requests, and we have a Sound Engineer as well that assists us with technical issues. This is part of the weekly interviews that will try to pose the same questions to each of the Archivists.

Marius Oosthuizen is the sound engineer, who also looks after our acetate collection for sound restoration. He has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 10 years, and he will be leaving us shortly.

Marius, please tell us a little bit about your life and career. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Radio Archives)

I grew up in Vanderbijlpark, not too far from the Vaal River. I still have a very soft spot for rivers and willow trees. I did some studies at The Teaching College in Potchefstroom and did my military service in the SAP where I joined the video unit and I made training videos. I learnt the craft of video making from Will Roberts, the well-known actor. From there I joined the SABC. I worked in Radio Productions for 9 years. I worked on my own as a freelancer for five years, and rejoined the Radio Archives since 2000 as an archivist in restoration. At the end of April I will be leaving the SABC to pursue a career as the Audio and Video Department Manager for the University of Monash.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What material do you give priority to?

I give priority to the legacy collection, the acetates. The careful handling, cleaning process and the dubbing of these discs and CD mastering.
A part of my day also consists of helping with requests, as well as technical assistance with sound related problems.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.

The acetate collection: the recordings go back to the 1920s. Most of these recordings were done on metal disc covered with Schalleck acetate mixtures.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us.

I have found that it is an incredible audio history on those shelves that need to be preserved for future generations.

Tell us why you enjoyed doing the work that you did.

Audio was not only a work for me, but an interest and a hobby as well. I enjoyed reading and exploring into audio and audio practices, especially pertaining to audio restoration.

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The Weekly Archivist interview: Music archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: News and Actuality
The Weekly Archivist interview: Sport archivist
The Weekly Archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in SABC Radio Archives.

Short overview of acetate discs

By Marius Oosthuizen, Sound Engineer, SABC Radio Archives

Marius Oosthuizen is responsible for the sound restoration of these old acetate discs in the Radio Archives.

Since the 1930s, most blank acetate discs have been manufactured with a base, usually aluminum ,glass was used during the war years and cardboard for inexpensive home recordings), that was coated with nitrocellulose lacquer plasticized with castor oil. Because of the lacquer's inherent properties, acetate discs are the least stable type of sound recording.

Acetates are records, usually recorded at 78 RPM, usually 10 inches in size recorders, which were on the market during the 1940's. They have an aluminum metal base, coated with black lacquer, which the recording stylus etches (cuts) the groove into while recording. Most recorders had a constant-pitch feed screw which moved the arm containing the recording-stylus across the record at a constant rate.

Acetate records for recording have blank labels, which are there  to mark the title, artist (or "recorder"), date, speed, and whether the disc plays "outside in" or "inside out". "Outside In" means you put the needle on the outside like most records (and the needle works its way to the center while it plays -- the groove moves the needle along). "Inside Out", or "Center-Start", means you must put the needle on the innermost groove, and the groove will push the needle toward the outside while it plays. "Inside Out" records are quite rare.

Transcription discs recorded by radio stations, however, particularly the 16-inch variety, usually have the second side recorded inside out; it is so the equalization changes are less noticeable....equalization (that is, treble and bass) changes, particularly with diminishing treble response, as the needle makes its way toward the center, and was particularly noticeable on these early records (but not noticeable to the human ear on modern stereo LPs).

Interview with an Audio Restoration Engineer at SABC Audio Restoration Department

Bags Farrell

This is part of a series of blog posts to gain a better understanding of the SABC Audio Restoration, as well as part of a series of blog posts about the SABC Media Libraries. It is a way of generating a better understanding of what we do in the different sections that we belong to.

The interview this week is with Bags Farrell, an Audio Restoration Engineer.

The Audio Restoration Section is responsible for converting the internally recorded collection of records (Transcriptions) to CD and re-distributing the music to all SABC media libraries in the country.  With a constantly changing technology and the switch to digital sound, the Sound Restoration Unit has had to keep up with the changes.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Audio Restoration Section)

I have always been interested in sound. I used to do my own cassette to cassette editing before I even joined the SABC. I started work at the SABC in Main Control, where we would link up Regions and Studios for recordings or for discussions. One program I recall that we had to link up was “Test the Team”, where the quizmaster was in Cape Town, one team member was in Durban, another in Johannesburg and the third in Pretoria. Things didn’t always run as smoothly as they sounded when the program was broadcast!  From Main Control I moved to what was the called “Productions”, where we recorded programs for later broadcast.
Today, almost everything that is broadcast is “live”. In the past, it was all pre-recorded!! Whilst in Productions, I completed a Drama course and moved into the Drama studios. When Drama closed, I moved into Audio Restoration.

2. Please tell us about a normal day in your Studio. What audio do you give priority to?

My normal day starts with the collecting of a pile of records (Transcriptions) from Maryna’s office and then transferring them into the computer. As they go into the computer, they go through a set of machines that remove most of the surface noise, e.g. crackles, clicks and excessive hiss. Any noises that get through the first set of machines are removed using computer software. The tracks are then numbered, as per the information provided and the Restored Audio is transferred to CD.
No specific priority is given to any audio, but if a request comes in for a record to be transferred to CD for imminent broadcast, it is then given priority!

3. Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the Audio Restoration Section.

The Transcription Department was established to give up-and-coming artists a chance to record their music professionally, at no cost to themselves, and have it on a record for their private use. It also became a repository of local artists and local music for the SABC to promote local talent. In later years, it became a means of recording and preserving our local music.

  4. Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?  

The biggest technical difficulty I had was switching from PC to Apple Mac computers. Everything I do with audio is done on an Apple and when I first started using the machine, it was very difficult switching to a new computer. My technical training for studio work was very good, so the biggest technical difficulty I have is to get styli for my turntable!

5. If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio, please share it with us.

The most interesting piece I did was not necessarily the audio that I restored, but rather the circumstances.
I was approached by a presenter and asked if I could help him. He presented me with four pieces of a Bakelite record, that he had knocked and broken that morning! I started the restoration process by sticking the record together with masking tape. I then had to record the record into the computer. Although the music was only about ten minutes long, it took about five hours to record. The stylus wouldn’t track the grooves properly, so every time the stylus jumped a groove, I would have to go back and re-record! Eventually it was ready for processing. I started by taking out all the thumps, then the crackles and clicks and lastly the hiss. It was then transferred to CD. The original record was recorded in 1933. The CD today sounds as if it was recorded yesterday in the studio!! 

5. Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

Everyday brings new challenges!

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.