Audio - The Sound Connection
The next media type that we worked with was sound. We recorded radio shows, wildlife sounds, student-created music, Readers Theatre and more. Because these were items that we wanted to keep they were stored on our website. A faster and simpler solution is to use a blogging site and incorporate your audio using their interface. This works well for something like a class Christmas song that has a limited life.
What to Record With
You really need to record in a digital format. It just takes too much time to transfer recordings from a tape source. Most of our recording is done with a Marantz PMD 660 digital recorder. The xlr connections allow professional quality stereo recording and flash memory gives ease and speed when editing. Sometimes we use the sound from our video camera. We have also used the audio recording ability of a digital camera. The Canon Power Shot S3 IS can record two hours of usable sound if the recording conditions are perfect. New recording solutions are being developed all the time; the Zoom Corporation has produced a device called the H2 Handy Recorder. I talked to several of the local broadcasters who are involved in documentary production and they raved about it, and at around $200 dollars the price is right. Finally, you can record directly into your computer, but the sound isn’t very good and it is a bit awkward to lug a computer into the field.
Microphones
When recording you need a good microphone. Not all microphones are made for the same purposes.
We use the Shure SM58; it’s a relatively inexpensive quality microphone that you could hammer nails with. It is a unidirectional (cardioid) dynamic vocal microphone and forgiving to use.
Our Rode NTG-2 is a shotgun microphone that allows us to record conversations in noisy locations. It is a super cardioid which means it is more sensitive to sounds coming from directly in front of the microphone and minimizes sound from the sides.
Finally we have a Shure lavalier microphone, which is used for interviews. This is the type that clips onto clothing. Because of the extra time it takes to set up, this is the microphone that we use least.
Headphones are a must for recording, they will help you to listen to a recording to see if unwanted background noises are present or some other technical problem has occurred.
For a primer on audio recording have a look at the cutting-edge website Media Storm http://mediastorm.org and http://mediastorm.org/submissions/gathering_audio.htm.
The Folklife Center has a good series of resources for making audio recordings. http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/res_audioequip.htm
Improving Sound Quality
A device that works well and is easy to build is the portable sound room as seen at the Digital Producer emagazine.
Our Community Radio Show
The Cayoosh Kidz radio program is a popular show on Lillooet’s community radio station CHLS 100.5FM.
The show is rich in student-created content such as poetry, prose, news and live interviews. Because it is licensed under the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) students can also play any music they like. This is a real advantage compared to a podcast where the music must be royalty free, making it much harder to produce.
If you were going to make a regular broadcast you could use a podcast format which would be linked from your webpage. We created a couple of podcasts but found that without free access to popular music (due to broadcasting rules) they weren’t well subscribed. It was a lot of work and we abandoned the project to concentrate on other more popular projects. If you are curious about creating podcasts; Poducateme is a comprehensive resource http://poducateme.com/guide/. The blog host WordPress http://wordpress.com/ allows you to create short podcasts and upload them directly to your blog site. This is by far the easiest way to test the waters of podcasting. Listen to my podcast about podcasting.
Once you have some simple spoken word files on the internet you may want to expand your creative horizons. Cayoosh Kidz hosts some audio projects that we have experimented with.
Below are some free music resources on the net. You always need to be aware of your legal responsibilities when publishing someone else’s content to the web. Take the time to give credit to the artist when they have asked for it.
Free Music Links
http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/
http://www.freeplaymusic.com
http://www.compositeur-arrangeur.com
http://podsafeaudio.com/
http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/microphones/directional-characteristics.html
Ambient Sounds
We often record ambient sounds for their own value and as useful additions to both radio plays and video productions. You are welcome to use our sounds in a production, giving Cayoosh Kidz credit would be a nice touch. http://www.cayooshkidz.net/audio/cricket.MP3
Sound Effects
Creating sound effects is great fun. These are used in our various productions. We are beginning to use the Sibelius program to create audio effects and compose original music. http://www.sibelius.com/home/index_flash.html
Music
We have recorded our school choir, concerts and student created compositions. http://www.cayooshkidz.net/audio/girlsong.mp3
Radio Plays
We have written and recorded a number of radio plays. Creating your own work has an intrinsic value and it also helps to avoid the issues of copyright. http://www.cayooshkidz.net/audio/wildfire.MP3
Special Projects
A couple of our students spoke on a Kamloops’ radio station B-100. We were able to share their adventure with our community even though we don’t receive the radio station in Lillooet. http://www.cayooshkidz.net/audio/cayooshb100MS.mp3