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Your Last Letter

I was thinking of combining both the “Letters” and “One Question” shows for my audio essay.  I know it sounds like a lot and it has the potential to be a complete flop, letters always got me excited and I am determined to make this work.

I was thinking of asking the question “What was the last letter you’ve received?” to my family and friends and recording their responses wile interspersing them with letters I’ve received over the years. I always got so excited when the mailman came around with a letter addressed to yours truly. I mean how often do we, in this technologically advanced world we live in, still receive letters? I am excited to hear about the last letters people have received. How recent were they and who were they from? Were they professional letters or those sent from long lost friends and family?

I am unsure of who will do the talking for this project but right now I am thinking about asking my younger sister, Perie. She is a very personable 9 year old with such a captivating and mature voice for her age. I think it would be cute to hear her pronounce words that seem “big and fancy” to her as well as I’d be making her dream of being “famous,” come true.

As to the technological aspect of this Audio-Essay, I have no idea where to even begin. Although I’ve been a Mac user forever, I’ve never ventured into the world of Garageband or any editing software so I am excited to see where this journey takes me.

6 responses so far

6 Responses to “Your Last Letter”

  1. Chaya Levertonon Oct 3rd 2012 at 5:09 pm

    I think this is a really great idea. I also love the idea of letters. Some things to think about…Will your personal letters relate to any of the other letters? Or will it be random? Also, I think it would be really cool if the people who are offering the letters actually read them to the recorder themselves, if that would be possible. But, it would also be really cute to hear your 9 year old sister reading them, so I guess whatever ends up working out will be good! I think that depending on what letters you receive your affect can either by funny or nostalgic or serious etc. I don’t know if you’ve thought of a point yet, but maybe you can try to show how timeless letters are, as opposed to our new 21st century modes of communication. I can totally relate to your technological inexperience. I barely know how to use Garageband- or any editing software for that matter. Hopefully we’ll figure it out.

  2. CSmithon Oct 4th 2012 at 10:24 am

    I like Chaya’s idea about the timeless quality of letters as opposed to other communicative forms that have “taken over” in recent decades (email, text, etc). You can definitely craft a message around this quality. Maybe there’s a fleeting or “old-fashoined” quality to letter, too. Some nostalgic quality that you might make something of. I think getting different voices involved here is a great idea–the more different voices and voice qualities, the more emotive power your piece will have. So choose the voices well!

  3. ps140052on Oct 5th 2012 at 1:52 pm

    I really like this! I completely agree that letters are timeless: my best friend and I still send them when we’re away at school. I think it’s really interesting that you’re using other peoples’ stories but your own letters, it makes it both personal and universal. It might be cool if you snuck in a few of the letters of the people you’re interviewing, or just short excerpts of them. It might contrast with your sister’s voice. I think this is going to be really different and engaging, good luck with all the software! (And don’t worry, we’re all in the same boat as far as the technology goes.)

  4. Jackie Linon Oct 5th 2012 at 2:38 pm

    This is a very interesting idea. If I could describe it in one word, it would be cute. A letter as opposed to an email is so much more emotional and personal and I agree with you that it definitely makes me excited when I get one. I feel like your idea is well formed but it would definitely be even better if you could get more people to participate, though it would take more time. But I’m also interested to see the effect of having just your sister read the letters if you decide to keep it that way. She is just 9 years old and the way she reads may reflect a different perspective than those of older people; that would be interesting to hear. Maybe you could have her also try to act out vocally what she imagines the writer of the letter sounded like? I feel like that would make it even more fun. This is a very good idea and I can’t wait to hear the final product!

  5. Zara Hoffmanon Oct 9th 2012 at 7:01 pm

    I think I am going to take the advice of all of you and instead of using my little sister’s voice, having each speaker read their letter received on the show. Additionally, I decided that I will be interviewing family members of all ages (grandmother, aunts, uncles, parents, and siblings) and asking them about their last letter received. To spice it up, I think I will ask some to read the letters aloud and some to just share a sentence or two about the details of their last letter received. I think that I will choose 3 very different letters that I hope to come across while digging through some old papers and have my little sister then read those aloud.
    I am still unsure about the musical/entertainment aspect of the Audio Essay. Not sure if I should add back round music or not and if the idea is original enough.
    Thanks for your advice!

  6. jb128753on Oct 10th 2012 at 1:06 pm

    I’m also doing a similar thing. I think it sounds really cute – and the fact that you are using your sister is also really cute! I think because you are combining old-fashioned “snail-mail” with more modern technology, whatever you decide to end up doing will be very creative. You definitely have a lot of room to decide what you want to do. Good luck!

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