Creating an Audio Podcast Episode

Creating an Audio Podcast This handout may be downloaded from: http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu Click on Workshop Resources/Creating an Audio Podcast iTech LabCollege @Sierra Outcomes: 1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the human voice in conveying social presence in online learning environments, and meeting learning styles and supporting the needs of students with learning disabilities. 2.Download Audacity 3.Download LAME Encoder (allows for export of Audacity projects to .mp3, a condensed audio format) 4.Record an Audacity project using a script. 5.Edit the Audacity project. 6.Export the Audacity project to an .mp3 file. 7.Upload the .mp3 file and the transcript to Blackboard. Getting Started: • You will need a one-page script that you will read for your first audio recording experience. • You also need a USB microphone...be sure it has a USB connection for high quality audio recording. There are many options when purchasing a microphone. Look for deals and expect to pay between $30-50 (many people pay much less during a sale!). http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 1 of 15 I. Microphone Set Up PC INSTRUCTIONS • • • • • plug mic into a USB port go to Control Panel select “Sounds and Audio Devices” select “Voice” tab Under “Voice Playback” select “USB mic” or appropriate device name to be able to hear your audio playback through your headset • • click on volume and adjust to 75% range Under “Voice Recording” select “USB mic” or appropriate device name • • • • • • • click on volume and adjust to 75% range MAC INSTRUCTIONS plug mic into a USB port go to Apple Menu/System Preferences click on “Sound” select “Input” tab Select USB mic • • adjust volume to 75% range select volume and adjust to 75% range Select “Output” tab http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 2 of 15 II. Download Audacity • • • Go to: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download Select Beta 1.3.7 for either Mac or Windows Download the version that is appropriate for your operating system III. Download the LAME .mp3 Encoder • • • • The LAME MP3 Encoder will give you the ability to turn Audacity project files (.aup) into condensed mp3 files which are required for podcasting Download LAME using the links provided on the iTech Lab website: http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu, click on Workshop Resources, then click on Creating an Audio Podcast Your goal is to SAVE one single file (PC file ends in .dll and the Mac file ends in .dylib) to your hard drive, preferably in your Audacity application/program folder. After you record your Audacity project and attempt to Export it as an .mp3 you will be prompted by Audacity to locate the .dll or .dylib file -- this will only need to be done one time. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 3 of 15 IV. Open Audacity • • • Locate the Audacity application on your computer and open it. You may be greeted with this screen. If so, click “OK.” Now you should see the main Audacity recording panel: V. Adjust Audacity Preferences • Open the Audacity Preferences panel: • PC Users: Click on Edit and select Preferences • Mac Users: Click on Audacity and select Preferences Click on “Audio I/O” to adjust the Input/Output preferences. Set your preferences according to this illustration: • • 1. Be sure your Playback and Recording Device is set to your USB microphone. 2. If “Overdub” is selected, unclick it. 3. Change “Channels” to mono to reduce your file size. 4. Click OK. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 4 of 15 VI. Get Acquainted with Audacity Control Toolbar Tools Toolbar Edit Toolbar Adjust Input Volume Track Panel -- each time you click Record after clicking Stop, a new Track will be generated. Tracks can be moved, split and merged. This illustration shows a single track, recorded in mono. Additional tracks would load below this one. Control Toolbar Detail skip to start record play stop (spacebar) (spacebar) pause (p) skip to end When recording, you may click pause to interrupt a recording and then when you are ready, click pause again to seamlessly resume the recording. You always need to click stop after you’ve completed a recording. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 5 of 15 Selection: Select this tool when you are selecting areas of your project. Zoom In/Out: See more or fewer details of your project for a better view. Tools Toolbar Detail Time Shift: Select this tool when you want to move areas of your project to new locations. VII. Record your first Audacity Project! • • • • Have your script nearby in print or open in a small window on your screen. Open the Audacity panel. Go to File and select Save As and save your project to your hard drive (please save in MyDocuments on the PC computer or in Documents on the Macs). It’s important to understand that saving an Audacity project actually generates two items: a single file that ends in .aup and a “data” folder. Both the file and the folder need to stay together at all times for your project to be edited!! • • • • Click to begin recording. and then click . again to If you need to pause, you may click resume recording. When you are done recording, click Go to File and select Save to save your recorded Audacity project. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 6 of 15 VIII. Edit your Audacity Project Editing allows you the option to adjust many aspects of your recording. The following steps will provide you with a good overview of some of the most important editing features in Audacity (but by no means all of them!). a. Remove Background Noise This is a super quick editing tool that makes your audio recording sound cleaner and sharper in an instant! 1. Depress the selection tool, and with your mouse select about 1-2 seconds of your “background noise.” This means a second when there is NO voice at all. 2. Go to Effect in the very top toolbar on your screen and select “Noise Removal” 3. Click on “Get Noise Profile” (Audacity analyzes your selection) 4. Now that Audacity has analyzed your “background noise,” you need to select the entire track that you want to apply the noise reduction tool to. Just double click on the track to select all of it. 5. Go back to Effect (at the top), select Noise Removal, click OK. 6. It may take a moment for Audacity to apply the Noise Removal filter to your project. After the process is finished, take a listen! If you don’t like it, you can always “Undo!” http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 7 of 15 b. Amplify - increase your volume after you’ve recorded (for those “oops” moments!) • • • • • Select the portion of the track to be amplified (this can come in handy if you were further away from your mic for only part of your recording). Go to “Effect,” select “Amplify.” Adjust “Amplification (db)” somewhere between 3.0-5.0 (good starting point) Do not select “Allow Clipping” (clipping occurs when your volume is too high) Click “preview” or “ok” (remember, you can always “undo” your effect) c. Adding Silence to a Track • • • • Using “selection tool,” insert cursor where silence is desired Identify desired length of silence Go to “Generate,” select “Silence” Specify time, click “ok” http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 8 of 15 d. Splitting a Track - Splitting a track allows you to turn a seamless track into independent “chunks” that can be moved around or deleted entirely. This has many uses! 1. Click on the “selection tool” 2. Click on the audio track exactly where you want the track to be split. 3. Go to the top toolbar and select EDIT then SPLIT. 4. Now you have two separate “chunks” that can be slid into a new location or deleted. 5. Try this! Click on the Time Shift tool. 6. Now use your mouse to slide one of your “chunks” into a new location. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 9 of 15 IX. Adding a Musical Intro/Outro You may want to consider “branding” your audio files with a specific song that plays for a few seconds at the beginning and end of your audio recordings. This is a great way to “brand” a podcast (like a “theme song”)! However, when using existing music recordings you must be certain not to violate copyright law. Fortunately, we have options today thanks to Creative Commons licenses -- 21st century copyright that extends flexibility of use when the creator has deemed it’s ok! Step 1: Locate a podsafe .mp3 file! Search for “podsafe music” - this is a term that describes music that has been created by musicians that have granted permission for the songs to be used in podcasts, as long as they’re given credit and the podcast is not used for commercial purposes. • • Go to: http://www.podsafeaudio.com In the right toolbar, look for the search area and click on advanced search. • • • In the advanced search box, change the search area to Artist Genre. In search string enter a key word to describe the song you are looking for. Click Search • • • • • • In the advanced search box, change the search area to Artist Genre. In search string enter a key word to describe the song you are looking for. Click Search You will now see a list of artists who fall into your music category. Click on the Arrow next to an artist’s name. This will take you to the artist’s music page. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 10 of 15 •You may be given options to select from albums by the artist or you may simply view a series of songs. Each time a song is listed, it is accompanied by a list of listening and downloading options that look like this. •To listen to a song, click on “play hi-bitrate.” A portion of the song will download and you can hear it. •To download an .mp3 of the song (the file you need in order to import it into Audacity), click on “download hi-bitrate.” If you are given an option, choose to SAVE THE FILE to My Documents (rather than OPEN the file). Step 2: Open your Audacity project. The image below illustrates what your project will look like after you’ve imported the music file, deleted the middle of the song, and applied fade in/ fade out to both the intro and outro portion of the music. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu voice track in mono music track in stereo 11 of 15 Step 3: Import your music. • • • Go to File/Import Audio Locate and select your music file in mp3 format The entire mp3 file will import into a new track in stereo Step 3: Create the Intro and Outro • • Click on the Selection tool Place your cursor where you want the “intro” portion of your music to stop playing (aim for no more than 10 seconds of music and remember your voice can overlap the last second or two as it fades) Go to Edit and select SPLIT Place your cursor where you want to “outro” portion of your music to begin playing (again, aim for no more than 10 seconds at the end) Go to Edit and select SPLIT Outro - split here • • • Intro - split here • • • • Step 3: Create the Intro and Outro Step 4: Delete Extra Music • • • • All the music between your intro and outro splits is not needed Double click on this “chunk” of the music track Click delete on your keyboard or go to Edit and select Cut. Here is what you should now see - your intro and outro are there, but they are now adjoining each other. That’s easy to fix! http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 12 of 15 Step 5: Shift Outro Into Place • • Select the time shift tool Click on the outro “chunk” of your music and slide it until it aligns with the end of your voice track Step 6: Apply Fade In and Fade Out to Intro and Outro • Decide where you want to apply fade in and fade out. Many songs naturally begin with a “fade in” and end with a “fade out” so you may not need to alter the beginning of your intro or the end of your outro. But you definitely want to create a nice, soft fade between the music and your voice and between your voice and the music. Ideally, try to allow the music to play fade out quietly as you begin to speak and have the music fade in quietly as you are finishing your voice presentation. • • • • Select the Selection tool With your cursor, highlight only the portion of your intro that you want to apply the FADE OUT tool to. Go to Effect and select FADE OUT. You’ll see the difference take effect immediately. Listen to the effect. You can apply it again for a more dramatic fade out. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 13 of 15 • • • With your cursor, highlight only the portion of your outro that you want to apply the FADE IN tool to. Go to Effect and select FADE IN. You’ll see the difference take effect immediately. Listen to the effect. You can apply it again for a more dramatic fade out. Step 6: Finalize the Position of your Intro and Outro • • • Select the Time Shift tool. Click on your Voice track to drag it into position so that it aligns with the fade out portion of your intro. Click on your outro and drag it into position so that the fade in aligns with the end of your voice track. X. Save your project You’ve worked hard! Be sure to save frequently to avoid losing your work! XI. Export to an .mp3 File Audacity is an awesome program but there isn’t much you can do with an Audacity project file. That’s why you want to export your file into another audio format. The .mp3 audio format is a terrific, condensed format that works great for file sharing and is also formatted to play on an iPod or other .mp3 device. http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 14 of 15 • As you already know, you must download an additional encoder called the LAME mp3 Encoder in order to facilitate the process of exporting your Audacity project into an .mp3 file. • You should already have LAME downloaded on your computer at this point. If not, you can find the download links on the iTech Lab website (itechlab.sierracollege.edu - click on Workshop Resources/Audio Podcast). • To export your file, just go to FILE and select EXPORT. • You will first see an Edit Metadata box. This box will either appear blank (if you’ve only recorded your own voice) or it may autopopulate with content if you’ve imported another artist’s music. • Change the Artist Name to your name. In the Comments field, note “Music by” and the name of the musician of the song you imported. You also need to include the website you downloaded the song from. • Click OK • Select a name for your mp3 file and a location for saving it. • Be certain the Format is set to MP3 Files • Click Save **Audacity may need you to locate the LAME file you saved to your computer. If this occurs, you will only need to complete this step one time. You can upload your .mp3 file into Blackboard or you can use it as an individual episode of a podcast hosted on Sierra College’s iTunes U site! To learn all the essentials of becoming a podcaster, be sure to complete the What’s a Podcast? and Using iTunes U for Podcasting workshops in the iTech Lab! http://itechlab.sierracollege.edu 15 of 15