For my audio story, I decided I wanted to tell the story of a program at work in which I have a ton of respect for. I decided I wanted to tell the story of the Fort Drum CenteringPregnancy program. You can get a bit of an idea as to what the program is through my draft audio story.
As I already knew quite a bit about the program and had regular interactions with the program’s manager, much research wasn’t required to know what direction I wanted my story to take. I did do a little bit of research on typical prenatal doctor visits, of which I could compare with the Centering program.
Normally, I would wait until after I’ve captured all my interviews before working on a script for my narration. However, because of what I already knew about the program, I was able to draft a narration script before recording any interviews. I knew I wanted to talk about three aspects of the program; 1 – what the program is, 2 – what the benefits of the program are, and 3 – why the Army has become so invested in the program. I used this to determine which questions I would ask.
Next, I contacted the program’s manager, Maj. Laurey Tyson, at the Fort Drum OB/GYN clinic to arrange for the interview. Seeing as how I was already in the Maternity ward with my wife after having our sixth son on Tuesday, going across the medical campus to the OB/GYN department wasn’t a problem. I had to record the interview on my cell phone as I didn’t have my audio recorder with me.
After completing what turned out to be a relatively long interview with Maj. Tyson, I went to work on recording my narration based on the script I had drafted earlier. This time, I did have my audio recorder with me. However, after comparing the two recordings, I realize I should have used the same source for both recordings. Now that I had all of my recordings complete, I began working on developing my draft audio story.
I began by creating a new multi-track session in Adobe Audition in 16-bit at 44100Hz stereo. I then copied all of my audio files to the Files tab. I then double-clicked on my narration track, opening the track in editor. I could then select specific parts of my audio using the “i” key and “o” keys to create ins and outs which I could then insert into the multi-track.
Once I had my first clip added to the track, I began cutting down on some of the portions which sounded awkward and used Fade In and Fade Out to make my track sound more smooth.
Then, I did the same thing with the portion of Maj. Tyson’s audio I wanted to include next. She had a few “ums” in her interview, so I cut those out and smoothed out the cut areas. I also used some of the background noise to help transition the ins and outs of the clip.
I then repeated the process with the rest of my narrations and interviews. I then realized I forgot to introduce Maj. Tyson when I recorded my initial narration, so I went back and recorded that part and inserted it into the multi-track.
Next, I wanted to make sure my audio gain matched as close as possible between the narration and the interview, so I played around with the audio gain on all tracks to make the bulk of the voice hit between -12 and -6 dB in the levels. After moving tracks around a bit to make them sound natural, and adjusting some of the fades, I finally had a final draft complete.
I then exported the file by going to File – Export – Multitrack Mix Down – Entire Session… Then, I uploaded the track to my Soundcloud account and embedded the track to my WordPress blog using the same methods as during last week’s tutorials assignment.
I believe you have a great narration, clear voice, and great audio recording overall. I suggest adding a short music clip to the beginning and end of your recording. You could also play with fading in your voice.
In the beginning you provided facts of woman, have you explored using an example story of a woman. I feel like that might provide listeners a deeper emotional connection if they can associate with one person’s story.
You were able to eliminate any unwanted noise in your recording. I was wondering if for the interviewee’s recording you could play with some tools offered online to eliminate the echoes.
I would also record silence and add in more breaks and pauses between your question/statement and her answer. That will allow some time even for the reader to process the information.
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Thank you for sharing this information with us. I felt like it started without an introduction. I think there are a few ways to do this. Having some sound before it starts is one way I have seen work well. I also think it could end with some fading sounds or something to make it start and end the same. There could be more of an introduction to what you are going to present as another option. The information was great and I really liked it.
I really also liked that you had another person presenting information, it kept it interesting. The information that is given and presented was done in an organized fashion. I learned a lot from listening to this and found it to be very informational. The way you cut from the different people talking was well executed. I think you used the razor tool well and it flowed good. Thank you for sharing.
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Hi Warren,
Great job on your draft audio. I really enjoyed how you set up the audio with a question and answer format. It was very informative, and you engage the listener well. I think the sound volume and clarity was good. You combined your audio clips seamlessly. Overall, your audio sounded professional! It would be interesting if you incorporated some sound effects or background music in the intro and outro pieces. You could use fade in and fade out to blend the sounds into the composition. I think adding a few seconds of just introduction music would also be helpful to que the listener that the speaking will begin soon. I look forward to hearing your final product!
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Hi Warren,
Another great addition to the class. You really have a knack for bringing forth quality assignments. The format and introduction with a news feel was really professional and informative. The insights into the military and innovations within grab my attention consistently. It was really nice to learn of this program and its effectiveness in delivering desirable results for families. It was also nice that you were able to interview a professional and after your lead in providing background information, it felt really natural. There were a couple places where it seemed the audio picked up unwanted noise almost like a pop in your introduction. It wasn’t really a hindrance, just something that might be an easy fix. A sound effect or an intro tune might liven it up a bit but overall very well done and thank for giving us a really compelling subject.
Thank you,
Evan
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I definitely had a lot more fun with this assignment than the previous two. While I am glad I was able to learn a lot about vector graphics when creating my logo and expanded my Photoshop skills with the graphic design project, this project allowed me to work with a critical element of one of my favorite things to create, and that’s the sound in video. Many people may not realize the power sound plays in video. Just take a look at a great movie, for example. Take away the music and the entire thing becomes dull.
I think it’s important to master the art of sound before mastering the art of videography. For this assignment, I was able to use what I already knew of video design and Premiere to use Audition to really focus in on my sound.
I had a lot of fun playing around with the fade-ins and outs and cutting up the audio to make interviews one seamless product. Now that I have my critique, I’m going to work on adding in some music to help fill some of the background noise and help the audience feel more connected to the piece.
Here’s to ironing out a solid product for the final story.
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