So this was a fun experiment. I have a new Zoom H1N recorder. I walked around recording with it for a half day before figuring out that if there is a dial that goes between 1 and 10, you probably don’t want it set at 1. You also probably want to speak into the microphone, not hold it in front of you like a dirty diaper. Also, microphones pick up a lot of random noise. Do you know who makes random noise? Apparently I do. I also have a brand new Yeti Blue that I used for a couple parts of this. I then strung it all together in Garageband. I am both incredibly proud and hate it so much I want to burn it.
This is a transcript. I am so sorry.
So I think one thing that I’m learning is, is that I move around a lot, I shuffle around a lot, I make a lot of annoying, distracting sounds. I don’t know how to hold a microphone or where to hold the microphone. I’m not particularly conscious of the things that are coming out of my mouth. And I have a lot of annoyingly long pauses even when I’m really trying not to.
So let’s say I talk like this into the microhone versus let’s say I talk by microphone. And then let’s also say I talk like this with the autolevel on.
So that was confusing, but I’m guessing that the four a little blips there are actually it counting me to start recording.
So what am I doing? I am, I’m starting to makerspace in house of learning at Thompson Rivers University. And in that makerspace is a podcasting studio. And part of what I want to be able to do is support students and faculty in using that podcast is studio. So that’s the simplest reason why I am making you listen to this right now and making myself do it. More generally, I’m interested in the idea of perhaps using this time where we build a academic makerspace to capture the process of making the makerspace and to talk with people on campus that Thompson Rivers University, and at other institutions about what has worked for them and what hasn’t worked for them, and what these spaces can be used for, and what problems arise and what good things arise. And generally document the process we go through in making a makerspace.
The project sounds interesting and I actually enjoyed listening to you experiment with the mic.
It’s great that you experimenting with the mic and working in different locations outside. The sounds are intriguing. Bells?
So I was walking around House of Learning at TRU recording just ambient sounds when there was a fire alarm (set off by some students using a fog machine for a video project, apparently). Unfortunately this was before I discovered that I had the level set really low. When its isolated you can hear a couple minutes of people talking as they evacuate, footsteps, etc. Ended up cutting some wind from when I walked outside because it turns out wind sounds *terrible*
I wonder how many techniques that we, as listeners, just understand and accept as part of recorded storytelling are found through play and experimentation like yours. I guess I thought of radio and podcasts as a really natural and unrefined medium, like really close to just talking and listening. But I’m learning it is heavily engineered and carefully designed and produced. There are still new ways of doing this yet to be discovered. I’d bet those discoveries will be made while doing stuff like what you did here.
You are being rather hard on yourself Franklin. Then again, what I like about this most is how your personality comes out so maybe you should be… I also dig the way you layer in the ambient sounds. (I think they were layered in, or you you really get around!)
Really lovely combination of audio sources here and also… strangely compelling. I want to hear more. Even more chewing. Maybe especially more chewing.
I love the layering.