Category Archives: AudioAssignments

Cyber 75 The Vibe Radio Show Radio Bumper

Create a ds106 radio bumper was one of the audio assignments that I chose. I had a lot of fun creating the DS106 radio bumper and wanted to take another shot at it for this radio show project.

For this bumper, I kept it simple and used only two soundtracks that I found on FreeSounds.org. I used these two soundtracks as background music behind my own scripted audio recording.

I created a script for myself that I recorded for my Fearless Femmes group radio show. I used an intro line like “Alright, listen up. This is Sapphria Mae with the Fearless Femmes.” to be very direct and edgy to fit the fatale aspect of my archetype. But then I also used lines like “Hard times? They come and go, but you? You’re built for this.” to also mask the sassy and evil parts of my character. This is to fit the other aspect of my character archetype to be gracious, likeable, and try to gain some trust with our listeners.

This bumper is intended to be used during a section of the radio show that reminds people who the Fearless Femmes are, what we do, why, and how they can be a part of it. I also tried to make it a bit more personal between one character and the audience, sometimes it may seem more personal talking to the audience like that than the whole group saying something.

I posted the link/bumper below. Hope you guys like it.

Stream Sapphria Mae Fearless Femme Bumper by Burkemacie | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Fatal Fems Intro

I decided to make the intro for our podcast because I was inspired by the other powerful women in tech noir. I think TechNoir’s genre was most popular in the 1980s-1990s therefore I feel that although the women characters are strong, they are overlooked. To make the intro, I used free sounds from Freesounds and BBC’s audio library. I also used Feminomenon by Chappell Roan and lines from iconic female TechNoir characters such as Jessica Rabbit, from Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, Rachael from Blade Runner, and Quorra from Tron: Legacy. I wanted to include sound effects where it sounded like a phone was being dialed, rung, and picked up, because we are a lifestyle podcast where listeners can call in and ask for advice. I also included the line from Feminomenon where Chappell says, “It’s a Fem” because our podcast is called Fatal Fems. Making the intro was relatively easy but it ended up taking me a long time to finish because it didn’t sound “right” to me. I used Adobe Audition to compile the sounds and I mixed and matched to figure out what sounds best where. The ending didn’t sound right to me at first, because it comes at a part in the song where the music is building up, so it sounded weird as an ending. I think what ended up helping the most for me, was that I tweaked the timing to slow it down. I’m not sure on why that ended up fixing it, but I did. Other things I did was deleting instrumentals and fading in/out of the music to transition clips.

Radio Show Intro

Radio Intro – Assignment Bank

This is a short intro I made with the help of the good Dr. He offered sass and as unwanted opinion, but I knew he would. For this I used the Audacity software to make it and used sounds from Freesoung.org

Despite this being a game show, I leaned into the tech noir and cyber theme more than some cheerful game show vibe. With a bit of altering and addition of that rude sarcastic voice it came out well! Had to try to adjust the pace at which he was talking which was harder than I shall admit still I managed to do it. Gonna try a smooth transfer into the background music next! Using splicing and the tempo changer again should work!

Marketing for Aquaphor

For my first audio assignment of the week, I chose the Create a Commercial assignment, using the opportunity to make something to incorporate into the upcoming radio show project. I chose to do aquaphor because it is something that I frequently use as chap stick and for personal hygiene. I put this together in a soothing way, in order to eventually create some contrast between our radio show and the commercial iself, and also because it fits the them of the product.

Radio Show Commercial – Lil’ Bot Helper

For the last assignment of the week, I decided to make a commercial for our radio show. When our group, the Fearless Femmes, met up, we split up the work by who will do some commercials and who will do some radio bumpers. I decided to do a commercial, because I thought it would be fun to think of some ad’s that would be played in a futuristic, tech-noir world. My first thought was to do a robot helper that would help with everyday tasks. Firstly, I made a quick script, one that would grab the audience’s attention. I then used the another text-to-speech voiceover that makes it more robotic to add a voice to the Lil’ Bot Helper. Next, I found some background music that fit the vibe on Pixabay.com. Lastly, I put it all together on SoundTrap to make it sound cohesive. Out of the two assignments, this was definitely my favorite as I had a lot more creative freedom.

Radio Show Bumper

I knew for an audio assignment I would want to make a radio bumper. In my group, the Fearless Femmes, we are doing a lifestyle type radio show, where people can call in and ask questions. It will still have a futuristic vibe, as well as addressing topics that would be important in a tech-noir era. So, I knew I wanted the radio bumper to match that. First, I used a text-to-speech software called Narakeet that made the robotic voice you hear in the middle of the bumper saying, “You are listening to Cyber 75 The Vibe”. As we can see now, AI and technology are being used more and more for simple tasks 9for example in the Taco Bell drive-thru, you sometimes talk to AI to tell them your order), so I thought it would be fitting. I found the background music on Pixabay.com, with a track called Cyber Music. I then put it all together on an audio editing software called SoundTrap. It might not be used in our actual radio show, but I thought I would create one just in case we needed an extra one, as well as spark some inspiration for myself throughout the radio show project!

“This Feels like a Movie”

I had a grand ole time getting this playlist together. I think it not only fits with who I envision my course character, Bethany, to be, but it also brings out some interesting parts of her character.

  1. Marlene on the Wall: This song reminds of her of her deceased partner, and the bond that she’ll have with him no matter what actually happened.
  2. You Send Me: Their song- it just feels so warm.
  3. Christine: She sometimes feels like Christine, disintegrating, someone with multiple faces.
  4. A Means to an End: Besides just liking Joy Devision, Bethany likes the particular brand of melancholy that this song is.
  5. I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You: In her line of work, it stands to be a good reminder that she doesn’t want to be like those around her. This song is an after-work palate cleanser.
  6. Good News: One of the more modern songs on her playlist, it serves to knock her out of her funks and remind her that there is a world outside of everything in her head.
  7. Over and Over: She likes to turn up this song while she’s cleaning. She just enjoys singing along and pretending she’s on stage.
  8. Don’t Renegade on Our Love: The title is perhaps too indicative- she loves this song but hates that it makes her feel like she betrayed everyone around her.
  9. Fallingwater: This song is either a “cry alone at night” song or a “scream in the car on the way to work” song.
  10. Sabotage: Her guilty pleasure is Beastie Boys!

I’m Someone, and You’re Listening to Something…

Now presenting, my ds106 radio bumper! I used an AI text-to-speech generator to get the “you’re listening to ds106 radio” audio clip, and then used the tools within audacity to cut that up and make it more interesting. I had some difficulties finding an online program that would let me download the audio clip for free. I’m sure there were ways around this (free trials, screen recording), but since I didn’t need that much precision from the TTS tool, I opted to just keep looking for one that would let me download it with no hassle. Following that, I sourced a variety of weird, eerie music and sounds from Freesound and continued to chop these up and distort them. I was a big fan of the “distort” tool and changing the pitch.

Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out! I used to listen to the radio all the time as a kid (and still do now), so I tried to emulate what I heard there. However, I think ds106 is a little bit more retro/techno/weird than Elliot in the Morning, which led to the decisions to make the bumper a little unsettling.

Lunch with Evelyn

This assignment is the All the Relaxation assignment. Truth be told I had an idea for what I wanted to create with my character. I just needed to find an assignment that fit what I wanted to create!

For this much needed relaxing break from work you join Evelyn for lunch. So you sit in a park with a beautiful view and start to take our your lunch to enjoy. Its been a busy day at the office and you both just need some quiet time. Evelyn brings out her lunch and Stephen Kings You Like it Darker book as you both enjoy the sounds of the park and sit in peace. Even if it is only for an hour.

I once again used Audacity and Freesound for this assignment. I knew that I wanted to incorporate my character by doing a day in the life of the sounds around her. So I created just a simple lunch with her. I started with park sounds. I wanted to convey the steps of eating lunch at work. Taking your sandwich out of its ziploc bag, so thats exactly what I did. I found a ziploc bag opening and a soft crunch of food being eaten. I then wanted Lynn to be reading a book since that is something she enjoys doing when she needs a peace of mind so I had a sound of a bag being opened and closed for her to get her book and then flipping through pages to find where she left off. She finds her page with a final flip and starts to read. I then repeat the ziploc bag, the soft crunch, and another page flip and the rest of the park sounds.

I personally feel like these park sounds and the comfort of reading in the company of others is very relaxing. Especially the page turning!