First In-Class Assignment “The Bad Newscaster”

You will be given a short news segment with several problems. Edit it to a complete story, paying attention to pacing and audio levels.

First Audio Project “Storycorps”

The Storycorps project is an online site that archives short stories from people’s lives. In this exercise you are helping someone tell a brief story. I recommend picking someone who you are not that familiar with as it may help you be more objective. The process is more than simply turning the recorder on and capturing the session. It is an interview which will need to be edited and culled to create a narrative that others can enjoy.

After completing this iteration, I want you to revisit your project, hone it more and add background music (or perhaps simple, non-obtrusive sound effects). How does this change the final result?

You are required to listen to two stories (of your choosing) on storycorps.com and briefly write about them as part of this assignment. Analyze the pacing and scope, consider the sound quality of the recording itself. Your goal for your own project is to create something which is of the same level of quality, and could be part of this collection.

Second In Class Project “Ode to Oswald”

A simple audio exercise exploring tight editing and layered audio using found audio sources.

Second Audio Project – “10 Second Radio Blitz”

Radio is ruled by the clock. Everything is timed so that there is no “dead air”. This project requires you to create three separate pieces that fit into specific time constraints. The first is a station identification (5 seconds). The second and third segments are 10  – 15 seconds apiece. One should be a commercial tie-in with background audio, and the other should be pastiche that gives the listener an idea about the station (background music, sound effects, quick editing). To get an idea of how this works, I recommend listening to a bit of commercial radio, and see how they handle these segments.

Third Audio Project – “Oswald Revisited”

You will be given a folder or CD (your choice) with random pieces of audio to be combined into a short segment. Explore layering, mixing and synchronicity of audio in this project. Is it music? Consolidated noise?

Fourth Audio Project “The Construct”

You are to build a space or place in time, imaginary or real that is described through audio. This is not through narration, but through captured sound that you then manipulate to build your construct. As with the Storyteller project, you will be required to do more than just turn a recorder on. You should experiment with different ways of recording and combining them using multitrack production. The focus should be on high fidelity of sound to create an immersive experience. Inside of this, you may end up using a combination of found sounds, things recorded with field recorders and other sources. The end result should be no more than 90 seconds in length.

Third In Class Assignment “Radio Edit”

Often there is an regular, edited and “extended mix” of a song. The edited version used to be called the “single” version (after the 45 single – a type of record long gone). It was typically around 3 minutes in length – perfect for radio. Included are several pieces of music which are longer than 3 minutes in length. Edit one of them down – as close as you can to 3 minutes – it may end up being a little longer or possibly shorter.

Fifth Audio Project “The Missing Soundtrack”

Imagine watching a movie with no picture. Television used to be described as Radio with Moving Pictures, and to some extent that is still true with some programming, but it shares with film the necessity of audio. Even silent movies were intended to be accompanied by music. Through a combination of background sound, speaking and music we set a definite mood for a scene. Create such a thing; the sound for a movie scene of your choosing. This will include sound effects, dialog and other audio. Your Final project should be no more than 2 minutes in length, with the sound synchronized with the video.

One suggested source for video footage to work with is archive.org, which has many Public Domain movies already in digital form.

Sixth Audio Project “Live!”

Using a combination of live recording and other audio sources, build a musical piece. You will be required to capture live performers as part of this work. These could be musicians, vocal performers and whatever else you might need. It could be something traditional with new elements, such as live music and singing combined with some studio wizardry, or it could be a spoken word piece with found sounds. The point here is similar to some of our projects; good recording techniques, editing, post production – in all being able to create an experience that is memorable using tools that you should be by now comfortable with.