In-class production day! That means working on whatever part of your project needs your attention today, whether that means audio mixing, recording narration in the sound booth, going over scripts. Wednesday will also be a production day. But first…
Recording Narration: A Tutorial
Studio
For a good quality audio recording, I highly recommend taking advantage of the new studio we have in room 174 off the Dollars and Sense suite. If for some reason it is unavailable to you, you can improvise a recording studio by covering the walls of your closet with blankets or towels, or simply pulling a blanket over your head. It sounds silly, but it works in a pinch.
The important thing is to be in an environment that absorbs sound. The absolute worst place you could go to record your narration would be something like an empty stairwell, full of echoes and hard surfaces.
Microphone
Use a Zoom!
Remember that generally, you’re going to want to hold the mic 1-2 feet from your mouth while you’re recording. Too close and your breath will create a popping sound; too far and we won’t be able to hear you.
Script
Here’s where we get into the art of it all. You may be reading from a script, but you don’t want to sound like you’re reading. Good audio is conversational. Pretend you’re telling a friend about this really interesting thing that just happened to you. Speak clearly but don’t over-enunciate, either.
Trends in narration: A lot of people on the radio these days seem to be doing a straight-up imitation of Ira Glass.
It helps to print out your script or read it from your phone; this serves two purposes. First, you can hold it up in front of you so you don’t have to hunch over a screen, which will make your voice sound weaker. Second, sometimes having serious electronics too close to your mic can create feedback and ruin your recording.
Voice
Stand up straight and speak from your stomach, not your throat. Bear in mind that your voice will sound better if you’re hydrated, and phlegmy if you’ve just had dairy products. Professional radio reporters and hosts will sometimes do tongue twisters and literally stretch their jaws before recording. Again, it sounds silly and looks silly, but it makes a difference.
Headphones
Use them! Without them, you can’t monitor your levels. You don’t want to spend twenty minutes creating the perfect narration only to realize the mic was unplugged the whole time.
Audio Editing Workshop
Audio download here.
AMBI2: Hammering at full volume for several seconds, then fade under track, then fade into AMBI1 to loop under the scene.
TRACK: I’m with safety coordinator Brian Reavis on the Vaughan-Bassett factory floor, where workers are constructing nightstands on a long assembly line.
ACT: BRIAN REAVIS: “When we put chairs together… the proof is in the product itself.”
TRACK: Those forces of globalization have a lot to do with the fact that Vaughan-Bassett is the last wooden furniture factory standing here in Galax, which used to be home to five more of them.
ACT: “Oh yeah we had… unfortunately they’re gone, and they’ll probably not be back.”
TRACK: The loss of those factories devastated many people in the town. When John Bassett III waged his fight against illegal Chinese imports rather than shut down his factories and outsource the jobs, it was because of families like Reavis’s.
ACT: BRIAN REAVIS: “We have a lot of family members… it’s a vital part of our mainstay, our life.”
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Reminder: Due date for audio project is Monday, Oct. 30.