Summary
For this module, our goal is to produce and create a podcast. This podcast is a short-form audio story that hopes to inform the audience on a public service issue. Along with the assignment, we were to read audio-focused articles and research ways others have incorporated audio and video into their work. I faced challenges I was and wasn’t expecting, but overall enjoyed a lot of what this experience had to offer.
Reading and Writing
To go with the module, I read 7 Secrets for Getting Pro-Sounding Vocals on Home Recordings by Filippo Gaetani and Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video by Hal Robertson. In 7 Secrets for Getting Pro-Sounding on Home Recordings, Gaetani breaks down the different ways to improve your vocal recordings, but the tips can help for narration recording as well. Some are common knowledge, like adjusting sound levels to the correct position and setting up your equipment correctly, but others are more mental preparedness.
Two of the tips that stood out to me were 1. Get in the zone and 5. Do several takes. Both are focused on making sure you are in the right headspace for your recordings, and if needed to walk away and come back with a fresh head. Even with the best equipment, being in the mental space is important to get the best out of the recording.
In Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video, Robertson emphasizes the importance of audio in video production. Robertson begins with a personal anecdote about a television producer that told them that audio does not matter as much compared to video. Maybe it’s a sign of changing times, but in my video production class from the beginning, we were told how important it was to capture and edit good audio. Without that, no one will want to watch your video if the audio is so poorly done.
Robertson goes into the best ways to edit your video by focusing first on the audio. Sometimes the visuals can overtake the importance of audio. By editing first for the audio, it helps balance the edit between the audio and video. What also important is the role background music can play towards smoothing out the audio in an edit. At the same time, the background music also plays a major role in shaping the mood of the overall video.
Research to Inform
Along with the readings, I researched some examples of content that have used video and audio effectively. These examples range in tone and style, but all three represent how audio can enhance the work done by video.
This music video from The Beastie Boys, and directed by Spike Jonze, is a parody of classic police shows set to their song Sabotage. The music video works well because both the audio and video have an intensity that works well off each other. At first, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this as an introduction for one of these shows, but then it comically goes off the rails. Another nice touch is the moments where the video is edited to the beat of the music to emphasize certain moments.
Neon Genesis Evangelion In 5 Minutes (LIVE ACTION) (Sweded) – Mega64
Live-action remakes of anime properties have become quite popular in recent years, but this style takes it to another level. Created by Mega64, this is a live-action version of the influential anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, but the effects are all done in the “sweded” style. Sweded refers to remaking films by only using practical effects, made popular by the 2008 film Be Kind, Rewind.
Not only are the visual effects practical, but most of the audio effects are practical as well by recording their versions. Along with the recreated sound effects, they incorporate a lot of the original music to produce a unique effect. This style of filmmaking is really fun and creative in how a filmmaker finds new and unique ways to recreate effects that are done in a big-budget film or television series. It also allows for a different mood, as this is a more comedic take on a famously dark and dramatic series.
Return of the Obra Dinn – Lucas Pope
Video games have changed a lot since their creation, and none show that change more than Return of the Obra Dinn. Released in 2018, you play as an insurance investigator who has been sent to the newly rediscovered ship Obra Dinn that was thought to have been lost at sea. While there, you must uncover what happened to the ship and its crew.
The game is visually presented in a minimal style that harkens back to old-school computers, but the audio is reminiscent of classic radio dramas. As you dive into memory, you first listen to the moment before presented with a snapshot frozen in time. The visual effects are quite striking, but thanks to the audio and the voice acting it elevate it to another level. Also, the sound effects of a creaking ghost ship lost at sea help transport the player as if they are on the boat.
Create
For my podcast, I decided to do a PSA on the issue of affordable housing in New Haven. COVID has forced more Yale students to consider off-campus housing, and because of that, it is pricing out local New Haven residents.
I had some challenges with this assignment, both in the content and the production. I was not able to secure an interview with the group I was hoping to, so I had to rearrange the podcast around news stories from other sources. I was planning on having these, but I wanted to have them support an interview.
Another issue I had was thanks to COVID itself. I tested positive this week, so it was difficult recording through coughing fits or being unable to go out and record ambient audio. My podcast has audio I recorded from my balcony, but I would have hoped to get more direct audio around town and at construction sites.
Overall, I’m happy with how this turned out, even if it was not to the full extent that I would have liked. Hopefully, in the future where I’m not stuck in quarantine, I can go out again and capture audio stories like this in the future.
Works Cited
Bialek, J. (2020, February 26). Amid historic housing demand, preliminary housing plans for next academic year announced to undergrads. Yale Daily News. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2021/02/26/amid-historic-housing-demand-preliminary-housing-plans-for-next-academic-year-announced-to-undergrads/.
Gaetani, F. (2014, June 27). 7 secrets for Getting Pro-Sounding vocals on Home Recordings. https://blog.sonicbids.com/7-secrets-of-getting-pro-sounding-vocals-on-home-recordings.
Robertson, H. (2018, April 20). Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video. Videomaker. https://www.videomaker.com/article/c4/8862-sound-advice-editing-audio-for-video.
Soglin, T. (2020, September 11). Demand spikes for off-campus housing. Yale Daily News. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/09/11/demand-spikes-for-off-campus-housing/.
STAFF. (2021, March 27). 4 Affordable Housing Projects Get $5.4M State Boost. New Haven Independent. https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/chfa_funding/.
Bailey MeCey 
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