Com Arts 155 1st Edition Lecture 14Outline of Last Lecture I. VideoII. Professor WorkIII. Side by Side Class OpinionsOutline of Current Lecture I. Assignment, Ira Glass and ResourcesII. Sound FundamentalsIII. Tascom and MicrophonesIV. Artistry and RecordingCurrent LectureAssignment, Ira Glass and Resources Campus Podcast Story “In teams of 2, use the Tascam Zoom and Adobe Audition to create a 2 to 4 minute audio story about something that happened on campus” Ira Glass from “This American Life” says… Finding the great story usually takes longer than recording, mixing, and editing the story It’s good to be thoughtful about what story you pick.  Ira Glass’ Two Building Blocks of Radio Storytelling Anecdote—a sequence of actions. Story in its purest form. Rather than speaking in big generalizations, be specific and offer details Moment of Reflection—what it all means. Don’t forget this part! Story has twists and turns, but what’s it all about.  This American Life “No Map” 2009 What makes it interesting? Music helps drag you in; sets particular tone; lets it play during gaps Space after notable event; pauses and silences to let us digest what was said Sectioned off well so that we could follow along easily Cuts between Ira Glass and the cop; feels conversational but still a tells a story  Anecdote in the beginning; detail to hook usThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Deliberate speed: slow enough to follow without letting it get boring Bigger Take Away: There are moments in life where you’re put in situations you’ve never been inbefore and you have to improvise  More Tips from Ira Glass Conflict is the essence of story. Need some kind of conflict Beware of annoying dinner party guest syndrome (i.e. only talking about yourself or another person focusing just on self.) Keep it conversational Can tell when someone is reading something off Resources for Free Music and Sound FX Free Music Archive http://freemusicarchive.org/ Free Sound http://www.freesound.org/Sound Fundamentals Key Terms Sound Wave Sound is a wave of energy. We measure the wave from the top of one crest to another Determines frequency Frequency Number of cycles per second (waves per second) described in Hertz (Hz) We interpret frequency as a sound’s pitch Range of human hearing is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz  Adobe Audition: Spectral Frequency Display- It gives a visualization of the different frequencies we’ve recorded. If something goes on in the background, you can try to bring down the pitch of that outside source to that of the conversation. Amplitude Amplitude is the loudness or volume of the sound Measured from the crest or trough to the midline of a sound wave.- You want to start the clip just before the person talks Adobe Audition’s Waveform editor displays amplitude of wave Sample Rate The number of samples per second- Takes a sound wave and then slices it into tiny sampling chunks. CD audio has 44,100 samples per second (44.1 kHz) Digital video and Tascam Zoom has 48,000 samples per second (48 kHz)- 48kHz is good to stick by Bit Depth Dynamic range of your sound In photographic terms, it’s like depth of field and number of f-stops you capture combined Audition gives you four options: 8, 16, 24, or 32 (float) bits. Bigger is better.- Tascom records at 16; stick with at least that in audition. Analog vs. Digital Analog reproduces an approximation of the sound wave Digital reproduces an approximation, then converts it into code. Significance: no degradation or generation loss during digital editingTascom and Microphones Tascam Zoom Recorder 48K: sample rate 16 bit: bit depth: keep it dB (decibel) is loudness and linearly related to amplitude Want it to be peaking at negative 12 decimals. Go any above that and you’re at the risk of losing information entirely UNI: Refers to microphone Omni vs. Uni Mic Us Omni Mics (located on front) when:- Pick up different sounds, but less controlled You have to record audio from multiple people Sound you want to capture is coming from multiple directions Use Uni Mics (located on top) when:- Crisp and clean, but doesn’t have same range Interviewing subjects in a controlled location Audio is isolated to a small location Microphones (Power Types) Shotgun: It will capture sound in key directions.  A Cardioid Mike: Captures sound coming from upward rather than downward  Omni: Capture everything in all directionsArtistry and Recording Aesthetics of Sound Sound presence—the subjective closeness a listener feels to the sound. Do we feel like we’re having a close conversation, or is it a distant conversation? Sound perspective—perception of the sound in space. Stereo and Surround Sound, such as 5.1 and Atmos, give us tools for crafting sound perspective Silence—part of sound, just like negative space is part of design Sometimes one of the most effective things you can do is withhold Ambience—background sound. (Remember to record room tone for continuity in editing.) Always record a couple minutes of just room tone in any location. It will help in editing and create in sense of atmosphere and help with audio transitions Record it Clean : Edit and mix the sounds in post-production by using multiple tracks. If interviewing cook; focus on cook Can build ambience post production If you try to record everything at once, you don’t get a lot of editing options.  “Tupperware” (1980) What We Learned: Strong sense of community with Tupperware Capture a particular moment in time We learned about the gender dynamic Aesthetic Choices Sound scape is very busy: hearing different sound bits Create an atmosphere that sounds like you’re at a party Can tell a story that is emotional: sense of starting out and rising and overcoming