Audio 2 Part 1: Instructions

The Audio 2 assignment has two parts:

  1. Unedited interview file, and at least two different natural sound files, also unedited
  2. Edited MP3 file (below is an example of an EDITED file)

Follow these instructions for gathering audio for Part 1 of this assignment:

Recorder set-up

  1. Follow all instructions from Module 2: "Getting to Know Your Audio Recorder" to set up your recorder correctly.
  2. Make sure the date and YEAR are set correctly.
  3. If you have the Zoom H2, record this file in WAV format.
  4. For cheaper recorders, use the highest quality settings. The WMA or MP3 format is okay for you.

If your audio for the Audio 1 assignments was TOO QUIET, or had too much background NOISE, you need to correct those problems NOW.

HEADPHONES (or earbuds) are a MUST for gathering natural sound. WEAR THEM. Otherwise, you're likely to lose points for poor sound quality.

Choose a suitable story

This audio story can be a follow-up to a story you did previously for Reporting, or it may be one that's coming up in the future. It may be the one you're working on for Reporting this week, but it doesn't have to be. It does NOT need to be hard news!

The most important thing is that the story should have some good opportunities for use of natural sound. The nat sound should help the listener feel involved in the story. The nat sound MUST be part of the story. It must NOT be random sound that just happens to be going on near your interview!

People doing work (indoors or outdoors) are often in environments with interesting nat sound. Someone pursuing a hobby (such as carpentry or sailing) might do so in surroundings that produce evocative nat sound.

Ideally you should do your interview in a quiet place, AWAY from the noise of an event or a workplace.

Do NOT use a lot of music!

  1. You may use short segments (20 seconds or less, each) of music in your story IF THE MUSIC IS PART OF THE STORY.
  2. Any music heard in your story MUST be performed live, and NOT pre-recorded. No radios. No iPods. No tapes. Etc.

Music is VERY problematic because of copyright law. There is no "30-second rule" allowing you to use recorded music in your work. That is a myth!

"The distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission."

-- U.S. Copyright Office

You must NEVER add any recorded music to a journalism story -- that's turning it into drama, fiction, and it's probably violating copyright law as well.

If there is ANY music as part of your story, you must be CAREFUL to use very little of it in the finished, edited story. Again, the reason is copyright. Even a live performance at a local street fair carries copyright hazards: The songs performed are almost certainly owned and therefore restricted under copyright law.

News organizations are forced to pay huge sums of money when one of their reporters accidentally includes copyrighted music in a video or audio story. THIS IS NO JOKE.

When you hear music in stories on NPR, you can bet your last dollar that every note of it has been cleared through legal channels in advance. If you don't have the time or resources to do the legal legwork -- then it's better to be safe than sorry!

It's not likely that the copyright owner will sue a student -- but you need to be producing this assignment exactly like real journalism. That way, you can use this story when you are applying for an internship or a job, and the hiring editor will not be horrified at your violation of copyright law.

The interview

Interview someone you DO NOT know. This is the only way to improve at interviewing: Do it for real. That means you have to talk to complete strangers. You may interview more than one person, but one is fine.

  1. You must interview the person face to face.
  2. You must use your audio recorder as shown in the Module 2 video "Audio Interviews."
  3. This must be a proper journalistic interview. It must not be rehearsed. No one should be reading (neither questions nor answers).
  4. The topic of the interview can be anything, so long as you can make an interesting journalistic story out of it. If you're not sure a topic is suitable, post a question in the Course Questions discussion!
  5. Get the person's ID at the end of the interview. How to do it correctly is shown in the Module 2 video "Audio Interviews."
  6. After the ID, record about 10 seconds of "room tone" (or, if the interview is outside, the ambient sound of the location). You should get about 10 seconds.

The sound quality and interestingness of the interview are part of your grade.

The natural sound

Record natural sound from the same location before or after the interview (or before and after). Your interview subject should be at (or quite near) the scene of the action.

For example, if you attend a public meeting, you could record the noise of the audience and the chairman calling the meeting to order (that would be one sound). If you were interviewing a NASCAR driver, you could record the roar of the engines during a race. MAKE SURE the sound has a clear connection to the CONTENT of the interview (e.g., street noise is usually NOT acceptable!).

You may gather as much natural sound as you like. You may use ANY of it in the edited file for Part 2 of this project.

However, exactly two (2) nat sound files will be turned in for grading for Part 1. NO MORE than two will be turned in. So choose your best two.

The two that are turned in must be different sounds. Two files of applause are NOT different. Two files of racecar engines are NOT different.

Nat sound must be clear. An average listener should be able to figure out what he or she is hearing.

The sound quality, connection to your story and differentness of the nat sound files are part of your grade.

How long should the interview be?

The length of the interview is NOT part of your grade. However, if your interview is too long, it will be a lot more work for you to edit it (for Part 2).

You need to get enough from your interview subject to craft an interesting story. Some people will talk a lot and say nothing much of interest. Others speak very little, but you can use almost everything they said.

Your questions, of course, play a huge part in this.

You would be wise to use the "questions after" method explained in the lecture.

Naming your files

The filenames for this assignment must match this style:

Your last name, your first initial, an underscore, and audio2p1_int (for the interview file); audio2p1_nat1 (for one nat sound file); audio2p1_nat2 (for the other nat sound file).

For example, if your name is Maria Jones, and your files happen to be in WAV format, then the names would be:

jonesm_audio2p1_int.wav
jonesm_audio2p1_nat1.wav
jonesm_audio2p1_nat2.wav

If your files are a different audio file format, then the file extension will be different. For example:

jonesm_audio2p1_int.wma
jonesm_audio2p1_nat1.wma
jonesm_audio2p1_nat2.wma

PLEASE NOTE that it is VERY IMPORTANT in this course that you name files EXACTLY as instructed for every assignment. Failure to do so will result in zero points for assignments, because a misnamed file is a file that will be LOST.

Questions?

If you have questions about any part of this assignment, post them in the Course Questions discussion in Sakai.