460 Syllabus – five days

Will Yurman
why1@psu.edu
814-863-8908 (office)
814-470-5895 (cell)

Grading: I will grade each assignment and give those numbers to your professor

Your results will factor into your overall grade for COMM 460W.

In addition, you may be producing an audio piece as part of future assignments, so it is important that you learn these skills (as well as for your future career of course)

Class 1

  • Overview of convergence journalism
    Gathering sound
    Using the recorders

 

link(s) to work viewed in class:

 

Assignment 1:  DUE Class 2

  • Find someone who is a good storyteller and has a story to tell that we wouldn’t expect.
    • NOT A FRIEND OR RELATIVE.
    • Interview them – get them to tell their story in rich detail. Remember that details and reflection are the keys.
    • Your interview should be 10-20 minutes long.

    Objectives:

    1. Good, clean, rich audio quality
    2. Compelling story
    3. A finished piece told ONLY in the voice of your subject. I DON’T want to hear your voice at all in the finished audio

Record roughly 10-20 minutes of audio with the goal of producing a 30 second audio story (NOT 31). Keep the recorded audio short, so you’ll have time to edit.

**Bring the raw audio to class**

Use the skills we discussed in class:

  • look for a quiet place
  • wear headphones
  • keep the mic pretty close
  • ask open-ended questions
  • Don’t focus on process – try to get how they feel
  • For Every Project:

Create Project Folder:

Date_YourName_Story
(20130123_Jane_Doe_secretagent, for example)
Store ALL your assets in this folder – raw audio, Audacity project, etc.
Email an exported mp3 file with the same name as your project:
To: Will.Yurman@gmail.com
Subject: 460 Audio 1
Body: Your name. Subject’s name. Attach mp3 file

Class 2

  • Learn Audacity
    Edit and submit interview – Final audio should be 30 seconds or less (NOT 31)
    Review natural sound
  • Bring edited audio to Class 3. You’ll have 15 minutes to finish editing in class.
link(s) to work viewed in class:
Kohn
Touch the Sound

Assignment 2: DUE Class 4
Interview and Natural Sound

  • Connect an interview with a sound –
    for example, interview a blacksmith and talk about the hitting of the anvil. NO MUSIC stories.
  • Record the interview and sound separately.
  • Produce a 45 second story(NOT 46).
  • You will have 15 minutes in class to finish, but most of your editing should be done in advance
  • For Every Project:

Create Project Folder:

Date_Your_Name_Story
(20130125_Ansel_Adams_NatSound, for example)
Store ALL your assets in this folder – raw audio, Audacity project, etc.
Email an exported mp3 file with the same name as your project
To: Will.Yurman@gmail.com
Subject: 460 Audio 2
Body: Your name. Subject’s name. Attach mp3file

Class 3

Finish editing and submit assignment (15 minutes)
Critique assignment

Links to work looked at in class:

Ira Glass on Storytelling 3

Growing up with Tourette’s

Class 4

Finish editing and Critique Nat Sound
Music rights
fair use

Link(s) to work viewed in class:

Why is it so hard to talk out loud

 

 

Assignment 3: DUE Class 5
Music Review
Produce a one-minute music review(60 seconds NOT 61) (15-30 seconds of music, 30-45 seconds of your voiceover talking about the song).
Pick a song you love or hate. Get an mp3 version of the music file. You can grab it off a CD.

* If you use iTunes, your files may be mp3 (good) or AAC (bad).  AAC files won’t work in Audacity. If the file in the iTunes library has an .mp4a extension, try these instructions to create a .wav or .aif file (both will work in Audacity):

To convert a song’s file format:
Choose iTunes > Preferences, click General, and click Import Settings.
In the Import Using pop-up menu, choose the format you want to convert songs to, and click OK to save the settings.
Select one or more songs in your library and choose Advanced > Create [Format] Version.
The song in its original format and the newly converted song appear in your library.

or

Burn a CD of the song – then copy that file off the CD – it should be an mp3

or

**Worst case, if you can’t get an mp3, play your song and use your recorder close to the speakers to record it.**

Record yourself reviewing the music. Think about what you want to say, and how you’ll put the pieces together. Will you review a particular lyric or phrase? Then you’ll want that phrase in your  final piece. Use your writing skills and what we discussed in class.

Plan to edit most of this before class. You’ll have 15 minutes in class to finish up and ask me questions if you are stuck.

  • For Every Project:

Create Project Folder:

Date_Name_Story
(20110315_Buddy_Holly_music, for example)
Store ALL your assets in this folder – raw audio, Audacity project, etc.
Email an exported mp3 file with the same name as your project
To: Will.Yurman@gmail.com  Subject: 460 Audio 3
Body: Your name. Subject’s name. Attach mp3file

 Class 5

Finish Editing and submit music review
Critique reviews
Talk about Multimedia
Links to work viewed in class:
Hungry Hungry Hungry
Peter Pan
Not ForgottenNext steps in getting involved with convergence journalism
Keystone Multimedia Workshop
NPPA Immersion Workshop