Lab 8 - Edit Audio Project

A COLD FREEZIN NIGHT (FOR DOOMED LOVERS)

Two Little Girls Explain The Worst Haircut Ever

One in 8 Millon - New York Times


TODAY:
In Class editing 

The final piece should be 2 to 3 minutes. The mix should use elements including the voice of the interviewee, ambient background sound, music, and other sounds as you see fit.

Music:  Beware of too much music!

• Use music as an accent or a background. 
• Control levels to keep it from competing with voice and mix it down. 
• Don't fake it! Use music and SFX to enhance what is there, not to try to instill some emotion that isn't.

Sound Effects:  Again, be careful. The best sounds are often the ones you record.

• freemusicarchive.org (royalty free music)

• sounddogs.com (commercial SFX)
• archive.org (public domain material)
• freesound.org (sound sharing)
• mobygratis.com (royalty free film music)

Remember to identify a theme that will make your piece say something special about the world, or the "human condition." A story becomes compelling when it communicates something unique that others can relate to.

If you download an MP3, it's a good idea to convert the file into an AIFF.  Here is how you can best accomplish this in Final Cut (handout by Natalie Conn)

DUE TODAY: Blog #2 (Sound Walk)

Reminder about Blog Assignment #2

Blog Assignment 2: “What I Hear”
This exercise has two parts.

Part 1. The Soundwalk
Spend an hour doing a “soundwalk” around a particular neighborhood in NYC.
“Soundwalk” is a term invented by R. Murray Shafer, a musician and professor at Simon Fraser University. Shafer noticed in working with his music students that most of them couldn't remember even five sounds they had heard earlier that day. He created the soundwalk, a kind of walking meditation, as an “ear cleaning exercise,” a way to increase sonic awareness.

In An Introduction to Acoustic Ecology, Kendall Wrightson writes, “In order to listen we must stop, or at least slow down – physically and psychologically. We need to try to be human beings, instead of “human doings.” So – during your sound walk, do not answer your phone, text, browse, read or do anything but be, and listen.
The goal of this exercise is to “open your ears”... New York offers a rich sound environment. Close your eyes and listen.


Part 2: The Blog
What is the texture of the sound? What are the specific instruments in the city symphony? What sounds are clues to a specific neighborhood? A different time of day? What are sounds that are unique or meaningful to you? Just unexpected?
Some of Shafer's terminology might be useful to you in writing about your experience on the soundwalk:

• Keynotes: background sounds
  
• Sound Signals: foreground sounds that attract attention, often intentionally..
  
• Soundmarks: sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors
  (analogous tovisual“landmarks.”)
  

Length 250 words. Due in Lab 8. 

Lab #7

Inspiration:

Just Another Fish Story

Interview Tips:

(Adopted from Natalie Conn)

1- Listen to the background noise. 
Is a fan on? Air conditioner? Can you move to a quieter location? 
Can you close a window? If outside, is there wind noise? Cars, airplanes?

2- Have the subject talk about their breakfast so that you can get the correct audio level. 
If you're just doing sound (no video) make sure the mic is about 4 to 6 inches from the subject's mouth. 
And check the audio level. It should be alittle above the middle. Around -12 db.

3-Notice your subject's speaking style and body motion. 
If they have a very dynamic way of speaking, be prepared for louder moments like laughter and move 
the recorder slightly farther away or slightly closer when they are talking softly.  
If they are alittle nervous, they might fiddle with something in their hand or chew gum. 
Try to make them feel comfortable, have them remove the gum and reduce noises in the audio.

4-Try not to ask Yes or No questions. 
If you don't want your voice in the audio, remind the subject 
to answer questions in a complete sentence, including your question in the answer.

5-Don't suggest an answer in a question or finish sentences. 
Try not to say, "mmhmm, or "right right", or make any remark as they are talking even if it 
makes both of you feel alittle uncomfortable. 
Just knod your head quietly to let the subject know you are listening.

6-Listen to their answers instead of thinking about your next question. 
Follow up with questions related to their answers if they are telling a story that warrants more 
exploration or details or clarification.

7- Ask questions that conjure a story and give the listeners a sense of being there. 
For example, a line of questioning could be: 
Tell me about the day you first came to the United States. 
What were you wearing? What was the weather? 
How did it smell? 
What were you surprised by? 
How did you feel? 

8-A good ending question is to ask the subject:
Is there is anything else they'd like to add and/or anyone else 
you should talk to for more about the story.

9-Make sure to record some room tone while no one is talking!! 
At least 1 or 2 minutes, so that you can use it for editing.

Lab 6

Take a look at StoryCorps "Great Questions": 

Types of Questions

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS (GOOD!)
*elicit more detailed responses [Can you describe what you did at your birthday party?].
*help awaken the memory of the person being interviewed so that they may tell their story in a more descriptive manner.
*open-ended questions usually start: Why? How? Can you describe?

 CLOSED QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*elicit yes or no responses, or one word answers [Do you like spinach?  . . . Yes]. 
*ask the subject of the interview to remember something specific, but don’t usually help us to get descriptive answers. 
*they usually start with: Who? When? Where? 

FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS (GOOD!)
*help you to get more information about a previous answer [Why do you like spinach?].
*help to clarify or explain an answer that isn’t clear.
*often start: Why? How? Could you explain?

LEADING QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*contain the opinion or assumption of the interviewer within the question.
*may sway the answer of the interviewee, because they think you want to hear a certain answer.
*an example of a leading question is: “So, all of your friends moved here from New York?”
*it’s better to ask WHO moved, and WHY, WHEN and HOW they moved, in order to get richer,
 more detailed information.

DOUBLE BARRELED QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*contain two questions in one.
*may confuse the interviewee, or allow them to respond to only half of your question.
*an example of a double barreled question is: “How long have you been eating spinach, and how do you like to cook it?”
*it’s better to ask two separate questions: First ask, “How long have you been eating spinach?” After that question is answered, you can ask, “How do you like to cook spinach?”

EITHER/OR QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*allow the interviewee only two options for answering a question.
*eliminate the possibility of a third answer.
*an example of an Either-Or question is: “Which is your favorite kind of fruit, oranges or apples?”
*it’s better to ask, “What is your favorite kind of fruit?” because the answer might be mangos, and not oranges or apples.

REMEMBER: DON’T INTERRUPT
*if you need to ask a clarifying question, wait until the person is done answering
*you don’t want to disrupt their flow

Other audio resources:

Transom.org – Great technical & creative resources for producers of audio/radio
Interviewers on Interviewing – A YouTube Playlist curated by Transom
PRX – Great library of public radio projects
SoundCloud – A YouTube-esque platform for audio



Next week in lab: Record project 2. Come to lab with your question list and headphones.

Lab 5 - Editing part II

Resources:  Vimeo Basic Editing 101, Setting Scratch Disk in Final Cut Express

Each time you opening your project, you must re-set your Scratch Disk!

1.  Open Final Cut Express

2.  Go up to the top tab and clink on "Final Cut Express"-->"system settings"

A window will open up that will look like this

3. Click on each of the set buttons that are highlighted below (the blue underline points out the folder you are pointing it to) and direct final cut to the folder you made called "scratch", inside your project #1 Define A Space project.

Setting the scratch disks tells Final Cut where to put all of the files that it generates as you edit.  You should set the scrach disks every time you open Final Cut!!!

Converting your Final Cut Express project into a blog post 

Once you've finished editing, place an "In" point at the very beginning of your sequence in your project, and an "Out" point at the end.  You can do this by putting your play head at the beginning of your project and hitting the "I" key to set the "In" point.  Next, you will put the play head at the end of your project and hit the "O" key to set the "Out" point.

Note: It can be a good idea to include a few secounds of black before or after your clip.

2.  Go to FILE/ EXPORT/ USING QUICKTIME CONVERSION

3.  Give your file a name, choose a destination location (should be a folder called "Output" in your project folder, then click the options.

4.  Click the Settings button on the Video Tab, and match your settings to the image below.  Then click OK. 

5.  Next, click the 'SOUND SETTINGS', and make sure they match those on the window below.

6.  Next, click 'SAVE', and wait for your project to export.

7.  Once your project has exported, Login to a Vimeo account, and click the upload button at the top of the page.

8.  On the next page, give your project a title and description.

9.  Once this is finished, click on "Go to Your Video.".  Once the video finishes encoding, you will see an icon of a paper airplane in the top right corner of your screen.  Click on this, and copy the EMBED code.

10.  In blogspot, create a new post, and choose to work in HTML

11.  Paste the embed code into your HTML window, and then publish your post.

12.  If this doesn't work, simply make a link on your blog to your vimeo window.

Lab 04 - Editing

Climate Change video

Into the Streets (People’s Climate March + Flood Wall Street) from meerkatmedia on Vimeo.


BASIC EDITING TIPS

KNOW WHEN A SHOT STARTS OR STOPS - Every shot has a beginning and an end.

ESTABLISH A RHYTHM - There is a way in which editing is like music. The shots don’t

need to be the same length, but if you have a series of shots, look at the durations.

THINK ABOUT THE SPACE that you are creating in a series of shots. Do you give your

viewers a sense of 'being somewhere.’

MATCH CUTTING - Match cuts are the bread and butter of editing. This is the illusion of

continuous action. 

AVOID EXTREMES OF FOCAL LENGTH ON CUTS - Part of the key to editing is to

establish a sense of space; this means not getting the viewer seasick. 

DON’T CUT FROM MOTION TO STATIC or STATIC TO MOTION - If you try to cut a

PAN before the camera has stopped, you will see the problem.

WHEN IN DOUBT, TAKE IT OUT – Ideally, a finished film has only necessary images in

it. If you think something is superfluous, your audience will probably agree.

Review folder Structure

Final Cut Express cheat sheet

Exporting movie handout

Understanding Codecs:


How Codecs Work - Tutorial from David Kong on Vimeo.