Assignment+2.4+-+Commentary

Commentary on the process

This task has been an enjoyable and interesting project. I enjoyed learning about how to use garage band, as I have always wanted to know how to edit sound and create music. This is my first stepping stone in doing so. Garage Band is a great program and I now feel confident in using it in my future classroom. I learnt a lot about the technical side of sound, and how difficult it is to create the mood you want with music and effects; I mean you can put any sound in a project, but it doesn’t mean that it is good quality, it matches the other sounds and overall blends. Recording sound is also a challenge, especially getting a clean sound with no reverb, background noise and distractions.

I began with my idea of interviewing my friend who has always told me very interesting and emotional stories. I wanted to interview him about his disorder so I create a list of questions (click here for the questions) I might need if the interview did not happen as naturally as I was expecting. Luckily it ran very smooth and the interviewee didn’t need much prompting. I then researched how to create a clean sound with voice recording (click here for the ideas behind this) and set up the room accordingly. I recorded my interview indoors at nighttime to help lower the interference of external sounds. I used a Samson USB microphone, which had a fairly good quality, but I feel recorded a lot of base. I did some test recordings before the date, to make sure that it sounded clear. Even though I used a pop screen filter, there was a bit of cracking and hissing on some sounds. Before I do my next recording I will need to research this to improve it, but believe talking above the microphone and little further away would fix this. I made sure to make my interviewee relaxed, and told him not to speak to fast, but naturally.
 * The planning **

Before I started to edit the file, I listened to the interview and created a transcription (click here to view the transcription). I then went through this and made bold the parts that I thought would make a logical and interesting story. I used Garage band to edit my recording. I ended up with over 50 different sound bites, which I moved around and edited. I had to remove some background noises and in some parts, I needed to change the story, as sections of the interview were not clear enough. I placed room tones throughout the podcast to create a more even tone. Once I complete the first draft, I played around with volume of the interviewer to make it constant throughout. I also added a low volume piano tune in the background, which helped hide any in-discrepancies in the interview, and also created the mood I was after. Once this was finished, I felt that the podcast lacked emphasis and interest. I decided to put in a few sound effects. I found no problem with publishing the final podcast and uploading it to wikispaces.
 * Editing / publishing process **

I am very please with the final product. I feel that the sound that I recorded was of good quality. Not just because I had a quality microphone, but because I took the time to research how to make a good recording, and prepare the room. The only thing that I felt was lacking was sound effects. I found it hard, as I wanted to have some extra sounds to emphasise the point or to add interest and variability in the podcast, but the content of the interview didn’t allow for much. Once I did decide on the sound effect I found it hard to find it. Also I didn’t want the podcast to seem tacky or silly, as this was not the mood that I was trying for. I feel that the sounds I used were appropriate, but I am a little unsure of the effect they create, especially the airplane sound in the beginning.
 * The final product **

Regarding the storyline, I feel that it flowed well and was interesting, but I think that it ended a little abruptly. Even though I planned the questions I would ask, I didn’t think about the story in terms of beginning, middle and end. Next time I would make sure to include this as part of question forming in the planning.

Overall I am very pleased with my podcast and feel that I have learnt a lot about sound, recording, interviewing and garage band. Garage band is a great program that was easy to learn and use. I would be comfortable in creating a lesson for this in my future classes.

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