Author Archives: Rusul

Tips for your characters

10 tipsā€¦so many different options to do. What do you have 10 tips on? You could inform me on tips when going to the movie theatre, tips to get through quarantine, tips to get through school, ds106ā€¦.hehe. Anything you want! What are you an expert in? Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/10-tips/

Alright, for this assignment, I wanted to use an AI avatar and a synthetic voice because itā€™s from my characterā€™s perspective. Iā€™ve included some of my previous assignments related to my character for anyone who isnā€™t familiar with them.

Finn Calloway

The Mind of a CEO

Finn’s Walk Home

Instead of my usual Canva workflow, I used HeyGen. I had never used it before, I found it online, but I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an alternative to Canva. They offer a free version as well as different premium plans, but for this assignment, I just used the basic features.

It was pretty easy to use, most of it was drag and drop. You can create your own AI avatar, select a voice for them or use one of the available options, then add a script. They also provide options to include elements like graphics, images, videos, audio, and more. For this project, I added text, a script, videos, and my avatar. After arranging everything, I added transitions and edited the background audio to sound more natural. I also adjusted the voice, though I wasnā€™t completely satisfied with the selection.

Avatar Selection
Script
Text
Elements
Editing Section

Overall, itā€™s a great application and I would definitely use it again.

A Collection of Moments

Create a video using some of your favorite pictures/videos that you have taken while in school this year! Add a wide variety of pictures from throughout the year. Make sure to add some music to the video before you post it! Here is a link to the assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/favorite-moments-in-college/

First things first, I really enjoyed doing this assignment! Lately, Iā€™ve been feeling a little upset about graduating next year and my college experience coming to an end, so this project gave me a chance to appreciate my time at UMW.

It was a bit challenging to include memories because I donā€™t take many photos, so my options were limited. I also didnā€™t want to include pictures of myself or others, so I intentionally kept it vague. Because of these limitations, I had to look back as far as my sophomore year. This video collage features a few memories from then until now. I have many more, but these fit my criteria for being included in a video.

I used Canva to create the video by adding each image to its own slide along with a short description. Then, I chose a fun, lighthearted audio track to keep it engaging. After that, I adjusted the frames, timing, and audio.

Overall, this was a really fun assignment! I do wish I had included more personal and playful memories, but Iā€™m happy with how it turned out. Oh, and by the way, my favorite slide is at the end, so I hope you stick around and watch till then!

Week 4 Summary

This week, we dove into audio storytelling, which was pretty exciting for me. I love using Soundtrap for audio editing! it’s super user-friendly and gets the job done well. I also set up a SoundCloud account to store and share my projects.

I watched 3 videos/audios: two by Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad and another called “Moon Graffiti.” Both were cool, but “Moon Graffiti” really grabbed my attention. On Wednesday night, I tuned into a radio show and wrote a little reflection about my experience. It was an interesting listen and gave me some new ideas.

Overall, it was a great week that deepened my appreciation for the art of audio storytelling.

Audio Reflection

Radio Reflection

Assignments

This week, we had the opportunity to choose two assignments from the audio category in the assignment bank, and we were given two additional tasks. I listed them all below. The two assignments I picked were “Audio From Hell” and “The Mind of a CEO.” The last two tasks given to us were “After Dinner,” which is a sound effect story, and a radio bumper. For the radio bumper, I asked Dr. Oblivion to recite it for me.

From Hell

The Mind of a CEO

After Dinner

Dr. Oblivions Radio Bumper

3 Daily Creates I participated in this week:

I voted! I’m not sure if we’re supposed to keep our votes anonymous, but I did vote!

Participation!!

Here are some of the post I interacted with:

Audio Assignments

Daily Creates

DS106 Radio Reflection

Another day at the office…

Here is my radio show idea:

Tech-Noir Radio Show

See you next week!!

Tech-Noir Radio Show

A radio show about a world where if you speak against the government, they replace you with a robotic clone and erase your original self. The story could follow a character, like Finn, discovering the truth behind the cloning program while interacting with people trying to escape it. Tech chips would play a big role, controlling memories and thoughts, similar to Limetown, and a secret group could be trying to hack them.

For the radio show, we could create a thriller-style narrative, with intense scenes where Finn and others are on the run or trying to expose the truth. There could be a love like Evelyn (Lynn) Calico or Veronica Malone, who might be involved with the resistance or have a hidden connection to the cloning project. The show could blend suspense and mystery

Dr. Oblivions Radio Bumper

Now that we have a #ds106 radio up and running creating a 15 to 30 second bumper for the station. What is a bumper? It is a short recording that identifies the radio station with signature music or an expression that makes sure the listeners know what they are tuned into (seeĀ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_(broadcasting)). So for ds106 it should certainly include ā€œDS106 Radioā€ and some sort of message about the station with voice over music. Link to assignment https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/create-a-ds106-radio-bumper/

For this assignment, I wrote a bumper and requested Dr. Oblivion to recite it, as I wasnā€™t comfortable using my own voice. After receiving the audio file from Dr. Oblivion, I uploaded it to Soundtrap for editing. I removed the unnecessary parts, which I found amusing, and added an upbeat song on a separate track. To enhance the listening experience, I incorporated a fade-in and fade-out effect, giving the impression that Dr. Oblivion was speaking live. Additionally, I adjusted the volume for a more polished final product. This editing process was enjoyable, and I look forward to potentially hearing it on the radio show!

Radio Reflection

I really enjoyed listening in on Wednesday night and wish I had been available to listen on Monday and Tuesday. The story was very interesting, and the sound effects helped me vividly imagine the scenes. I usually struggle to listen to podcasts, but this show kept me engaged because the sounds made it easier to follow and stay interested in what was happening.

My favorite part was when they got into the car. You could hear how their space became smaller, making it feel like they were very close together. Then, when the door opened, the space expanded again, which was really immersive. The ending was also intense, with the sounds growing louder, the banging, and people trying to get into the room. I also liked how the ticking sound stopped after going for a while, it made its absence really noticeable.

After Dinner

Tell a story using nothing but sound effects. There can be no verbal communication, only sound effects. Use at least five different sounds that you find online. The story can be no longer than 90 seconds. Another example (by a UMW student): http://ds106.us/wp-content/audio/audio_story.mp3

Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/sound-effects-story/

For this assignment, I used Soundtrap to combine different sounds and create a story. The scene follows a woman as she exits a restaurant, walks to her car, gets in, and drives home.

I really wish this assignment could have been longer than 90 seconds because I wanted to extend the story and include more sound clips, but I kept it within the time limit. I sourced all the audio from Freesound, and it was great to explore the variety of options available.

After selecting the sounds I wanted, I imported them into Soundtrap and applied fade-in and fade-out effects to ensure a smooth and natural flow. Once I was satisfied with the final result, I exported and uploaded the project to Soundtrap.

I hope you enjoy this very short story!

The Mind of a CEO

Craft a playlist on any music listening platform with more than 10 songs that represent or have played a significant role within your life.

Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/soundtrack-to-your-life/

The playlist I created reflects what I think Finn Calloway, my character, would listen to. It was a bit challenging since our music tastes are different, but I focused on songs that match his personality driven, introspective, and a little detached. In the end, I think it turned out well. I used Apple Music to create the playlist by finding each song and adding it to the playlist I created.

From Hell

Create YOUR worst sound ever. Take audio clips of every single sound that you hate and put them all together to make The Worst Noise Ever. Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/auditory-hell/

I chose this assignment because I enjoy mixing different sounds to create something new. For this project, I had to combine all of my most hated sounds into a single track. Luckily for me, I have plenty to choose from!

I used Soundtrap and SoundCloud for this assignment. Soundtrap made it easy to layer the tracks together, and I ended up using: nails crackling, styrofoam, cardboard box stacking, and metal squeaking. When I combined them, the result was truly a sound from hell. I could only listen to it for about 10 seconds before my ears begged me to stop.

Soundtrap is a beginner-friendly audio editing software that made it easy to arrange and layer the sounds. Once I finished, I uploaded my track to SoundCloud, and I was surprised by how simple the process was. It was actually pretty cool!

Sorry if this hurts your ears!

Audio Reflection

Listening to Moon Graffiti was such an immersive experience. The audio was done so well that I could picture everything happening, almost like I was right there. It wasnā€™t just about hearing the story, it was about feeling it. The way sound effects and shifts in audio were used made the whole thing come alive.

Iā€™ve always found it interesting how our senses connect to memory. A certain smell or song can instantly take us back to a specific moment in our lives. I think that plays a big role in audio storytelling too. Sound taps into something deeper, linking memory and imagination. In Moon Graffiti, little details like the crackling radio, the odd silence of space, and even the astronautsā€™ breathing made the story feel real. Those sounds didnā€™t just tell me what was happening they made me feel the isolation, the tension, and the weight of the moment.

Abumrad talks about how sound isnā€™t just something we hear, it’s something we experience. He mentions this idea of ā€œco-Authorization,ā€ where the listener actively builds the story in their mind based on sound. Moon Graffiti does exactly that. it lets the sounds guide us, so we create the picture ourselves.

This technique isnā€™t just in audio storytelling we see it in movies and TV shows. A horror scene wouldnā€™t be as scary without creaky floors or distant whispers, and a dramatic moment wouldnā€™t hit as hard without the right music in the background. Sound shapes mood, builds atmosphere, and pulls us in.