Backtiming
The casual radio listener will hardly be aware of it. Those who pay closer attention to production values may wonder about it. To the disc-jockey it’s a routine technique which adds an air of slick professionalism. What is it? In the trade it’s called “backtiming.” So what’s backtiming? It’s the technique which brings a piece of music to a close precisely at the right instant before a newscast at the top of the hour or a network feed or some other production segment which starts at a specific time.
It’s remarkably easy to achieve. Meet Sharon, a disc-jockey at a local radio station. As she selects the piece of music she wants to use to close the program which ends at six o’clock, she notes its length. Let’s say it’s exactly three minutes long. Regardless of what else is happening, at exactly 5:57 (three minutes to six) she hits the button to start the music playing, but with the volume level at zero. As she finishes talking she introduces the music and fades the volume up so that as she finishes speaking, the music is playing at full volume. While it’s playing, she gets out of the way. The newscaster comes in and takes his place before the microphone. Then, at exactly 6:00 the music ends and the newscaster flips the microphone on and starts to talk.
Broadcasters have been using this technique for years. It allows programs to end with a musical flourish instead of fading out. But to do it, you have to be purposeful, to plan ahead and then to implement the plan. You have to start the last piece of music at precisely the right time, or it won’t end on time.
There is a life lesson here. The apostle Paul serves as a good example. At the end of his life he wasn’t scrambling to get his house in order, or lamenting misplaced priorities, or unfinished projects. He wrote to his younger protégé Timothy: “I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Few of us have the burden of knowing even approximately when the end is scheduled for us. So if we are going to end with a flourish rather than simply fade out, we have to live with a day-by-day commitment to keeping our house in order, maintaining our priorities and finishing up projects so that things aren’t constantly dangling, waiting to be dealt with “sometime” when we can get around to them.
An exercise I’ve done several times when I’ve run seminars involves people writing their own epitaph. This forces them to think about what really matters to them and what they want to be remembered for. It’s like spiritual backtiming. It makes us take the end into consideration so we can do what needs to be done to finish well.
Living with purpose according to a God-directed plan implemented with diligence will make a difference all along the way, as well as when we draw near to the end. It gives hope that, like Paul, we’ll end life positively, with few, if any, regrets.
Ron Hughes
© July 2007
