Audio Storytelling

Audio Storytelling

Transcript

1. AUDIO STORIES
2. Sound allows listeners to ʻseeʼ with the best lens of all, the mind.
3. Brief History Lesson
4. Audio can elicit strong emotions: tone, expressions, intonation, pauses
5. Orson Welles' 1938 War of the Worlds Broadcast
6. MODERN AUDIO REPORTING
7. Step-by-step: 1. Identify driving question 2. Identify experts to interview 3. Identify interview location 4. Check equipment 5. Record interviews 6. Record natural sound 7. Listen to interview 8. Cut interview clips fi 9. Write script 10. Record yourself reading script 11. Mix interview clips, natural sound & voice-over 12. Listen to your nal product 13. Upload to Soundwave 14. Create blog post & embed on your blog
8. Sample Audio Report
9. 1. Interview clips (actualities, acts) 2. Voice-overs (or trax) 3. Natural sound (or nat, ambient) 4. Sound track or music
10. VOICE OVER Narration which you record & enhanced by your interview clips, natural sound & music.
11. DOING VOICE OVERS 1. Write a script • Hook audience right away • Don’t use inverted pyramid 2. Warm up 3. Keep it conversational • Mark places to take breath
12. “NAT” NATURAL SOUND The sound that’s naturally present in a location: weather sounds, crowd sounds, machine noises, etc.
13. Narrowing your Focus
14. fi Do you have a topic or a story? “I want to report on homelessness in our city.” “We need to do a story on this new environmental policy.” Too often, the resulting audio feature remains a broad topic that never quite nds its story. The focus isn’t clear and it sounds more like a collection of quotes than a purposeful story with a beginning, middle and end.
15. • You need to imagine the sorts of “tape” you need. • Gathering audio takes time, and it’s not easy to go back and get something you need. fi • For the sake of ef ciency you’ve got to think ahead!
16. The driving question The scope should be narrow but not too narrow: • What is going on with homelessness in city? <= too broad • What does the mayor say about the <= too narrow homelessness issue? • What has been the impact so far of the city’s new initiative to reduce homelessness? It asks “why?” or “how?” • Why has homelessness increased so much in the past 5 years? You can at least begin to answer it
17. The driving question • What’s the problem? • Who is affected? • Who is doing something about it and what are they doing? • What obstacles are they hitting or what solutions are they creating? • What question do you personally really want to know the answer to? • Can you answer this question in four minutes? If not, what question could you answer? • What’s the most speci c version of the question? • What’s most important, new or different about this topic? fi • What does my audience need to understand? What is relevant to them?
18. Brainstorm the driving question (3-5 minutes) What might be the single, driving question for your story? Write everything that comes to mind, even if it seems silly. Each question could present a different pathway for the story. At the end of this step, take a moment to scan through what you wrote and identify one or two questions that seem most promising.
19. Explore where the story could lead You’re not making nal decisions, you’re testing out the concept. 1. Get into groups of two or three. 2. One participant begins by laying out the premise of their story and their chosen driving question. fi 3. The group weighs in, offering feedback and questions.
20. Questions to ask: Describe 1-2 pieces of must-have “tape.” What kind of story is this? What will you leave out? What elements do not help to answer your central question?
21. Interviewing Strategies
22. Interviewing Tips • Establish rapport • Probe for more information transitions to make connections • Use between parts of the interview often to check for • Paraphrase understanding fl • Demonstrate supportiveness • Remain exible and adaptive • Avoid simple yes/no questions
23. Listening = Key • How is that? • Tell me more! • In what ways? • How do you mean that? • What would be an example of that? • Let the informant ll in the silence encouraging nonverbal feedback • Give (verbal will end up on the recording!) fi fl • Direct the ow of conversation (redirect)
24. The Environment Carefully select where you will conduct the interview • Pick quiet place with good acoustics • If outdoors, consider potential problems: • wind, noise • Environment should put your interviewee at ease • Plan for natural sound
25. Questions to ask: Describe 1-2 pieces of must-have “tape.” What kind of story is this? What will you leave out? What elements do not help to answer your central question?
26. Audio story on “raccoon-resistant” compost bins Write down all instances of interview clips, voice-overs, natural sound, imported sound clips & music
27. How effective was the audio in making you picture this scene?
28. Work out what the story is, prepare questions, pick people to interview, select the right location and record natural sound
29. Step-by-step: 1. Identify driving question 2. Identify experts to interview 3. Identify interview location 4. Check equipment 5. Record interviews 6. Record natural sound 7. Listen to interview 8. Cut interview clips fi 9. Write script 10. Record yourself reading script 11. Mix interview clips, natural sound & voice-over 12. Listen to your nal product 13. Upload to Soundwave 14. Create blog post & embed on your blog
30. Writing a script:
31. 1. Interview clips (actualities, acts) 2. Voice-overs (or trax) 3. Natural sound (or nat, ambient) 4. Sound track or music
33. As you listen, make a note of the sounds you hear — the ones that aren’t people speaking
34. Recording Strategies
35. 7 DEADLY SINS of audio recording 1. Poor choice of location 2. Ignoring the effects of weather 3. The wrong mic in the wrong place 4. Not understanding levels 5. Blind faith in post-production 6. Failure to recognize your own limitations 7. Radio-mic abuse – poor techniques that lead to rustling and other unwanted noises
36. Tips for recording audio with your phone
37. Identify the 4 “ingredients” and include time stamps Length: 3:42
38. Identify the 4 “ingredients” and include time stamps Length: 3:03
39. Identify the 4 “ingredients” and include time stamps Length: 3:49
40. www.audacityteam.org