This week we dabbled in sound design. I was far more confindent with this project as compared to the photography project. I've mixed music with photos before, as well as added sound effects to slide shows. I chose to tell a personal story about the Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp bell tower. Have a listen if you choose. All music and sound effects are Creative Commons.
Bell Tower Sound Project
The most challenging aspect of this project was recording my own voice during an emotional story. Every time I stumbled over my words, I re recorded the entire thing! I really wanted my words to be as clear as possible.
Next time I tackle a project like this, I want to have a friend listen to it before it is completed. I knew all the the words in the story and sometimes didn't realize what sound effects were just a little bit too loud because of that.
I was thankful that I had some prior experience with mixing audio. Audacity was tough to figure out and it took many video tutorials for me to get the different audio tracks where I wanted them. Now that I know how to use Audacity, some aspects of this project would not take me as long as the first time around.
If you happen to be dabbling in sound design, don't feel pressured to get it right the first time. No one is truly 100% satisfied with their initial recordings. Also, try out Audacity or Garage Band, because the more software programs you know how to use, the more different software interfaces become transferable to other technology.
I enjoyed this project because you can share very powerful stories through audio tracks. Audio can be a very compelling medium when done well.
You should give it a try!
Very nice reflection, Jill. I'm glad you were able to use your experience in this project, even though the recording process is never easy. When was recording chapters of The Giver for some of my more "reluctant" readers, I found the most efficient thing to do when I messed up was starting recording at the Previous sentence, or wherever there was a natural break. Eventually, I just stopped re-recording and just corrected myself in the audio so students knew that even the teacher stumbles over a word or two from time-to-time :)
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