For my second assignment of choice, I decided to do Breaking News! The objective was to create a fake news story by using an AI text to speech software. I used the site that was recommended, Colossyan and some free sound from Freesound to create my audio video news story. I also used the 123RF image generator to get some hilarious pictures for the backgrounds. Below is the result of my strange brain and having free access to these tools.
The AI mispronounced a few words but that’s ok, I think you get the gist. I really liked this assignment because I got to make up an insane news story and use a few more neat tools. I will definitely b using them again on future assignments.
I found these videos to be very interesting in the sense of the way he is describing audio as a way of storytelling. I feel that he was very well-spoken about the topics and a really fascinating guy to listen to! I also went in and asked Dr. Oblivion about what he thought about radio and his thoughts on what Abumrad means about making meaning and connection, and as a modern incarnation of an ancient art. He actually was the most helpful tool with learning more about radio and having a sense of connection! Here is what he had to say about the topic as well. I thought about how some sound can have a potential to give form to life there are many type of sound that are also forming by the help of echolocation and vibration. Sound can be like light speed sound, bubble sound, sound of being punch, smashing ,heat, air, etc.
It was hard to capture useful information in two minutes because I was really interested until it cut off and I wanted to ask Dr. Oblivion for more!
For one of my assignments, I chose to do Consult with your Doctor. I felt that I haven’t been using Dr. Oblivion as much as I could be, especially since all of his answers could be downloaded as audio files. That only makes this one of the best decisions for this week. So, for this assignment I had to have a conversation with Dr. oblivion asking questions and getting answers. I decided to do a job interview for essentially his current position. The results were hilarious as always and I really had a blast doing it. He gets a little wild there for a sec but then he reels it back in for the win. I hope you enjoy my Dr. Oblivion interview.
An assignment everyone had to do this week was a Sound Effects Story. I wanted the story to tell a lot about the atmosphere which meant that I needed a lot of different sounds. So I decided on creating the story that most people experience during their day, the walk to work.
The process was fairly simple, just searching for sounds on Freesound and compiling them in a semi-organized way on my desktop. Then I uploaded each sound as it would come in on the final piece. This part wasn’t necessarily hard but just slow and annoying when things didn’t sound right together or some tracks were too loud in the scene. The worst though was when I realized I misread the instructions and it had to be under 90 seconds. This was of course when I had finished the original 2-minute and 28-second version that will forever sit on my laptop as just a memory now. But the cutting process was fairly simple just sad and then I exported the version you will all hear. I promise this one is under the time limit.
Today, I listened to “Moon Graffiti” to understand how the story is told through audio, without any visuals.
I like how they started this with the audio, with the story, to understand and put ourselves into the story already. They introduced a narrator after the first audio, the sound of the crash, and the narrator gave a brief introdocution. I also liked the sounds in the background of the narrator.
While they were in the spaceship, I really liked the sound that stayed present in the back, almost like waves, or like the distant, white noise of the ship. I think it was really immersive. You could tell when it changed, when they landed on the moon and were walking on it. The sound was gone, but there was still white noise, something wind-like in the background. You could also hear the footsteps and the sound of them placing the flag.
What really added to the storytelling was filtering their voices through intercom. You could really understand they were in space, they could not speak outside of their suits. You could hear the crinkle of the mics, the slight muffling of their voice. It really helped you visualize it. Sometimes, I’d close my eyes and just imagine it in my head, allow my brain to paint the picture through the audio.
When Buzz was getting stuck in his head around 11:50, as Neil was talking, you could slowly hear the white noise intensifying, getting louder. I think I also heard a clock in the back, ticking, maybe to signify that Buzz knew he was running out of time. For a moment, instead of being an observer, the listener was in Buzz’s head, hearing him freaking out and losing it. You start to feel it, too.
A lot of thought went into this storytelling, and you could tell. I just think it’s really interesting to see how all these little things made the big story! It reminded me of when we listened to an hour of Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? for ds106radio. Here is my post about it.
Overall, I really like how you were able to feel and hear their frustration without seeing it, both through their intense voices, the sounds of the intercom, the white noise of the moon or ship, heavy breathing, buttons being pushed. You could feel their anxiety of the moon, of the crash.
Also, reading the comments on the story, I saw someone mention using a different sound that was distinct and really what the astronauts used, so it made me think, would it be any different with the sound? To a listener who doesn’t know the details of the sounds or the tools in the ship or the buttons or the applications of the ship and intercoms, I don’t think it would’ve changed anything for me. Maybe, to someone who is well-informed on this stuff would listen and feel disappointed for inaccuracies, because they know about it, but I don’t. I don’t know about these details, and I was still able to envision it regardless, but I think that’s really interesting!
To conclude, I just think audio stories are really cool, and this is coming from someone who needs a visual desperately. I think audio books have got to start being read like this, because it would definitely get me more interested in audio books (right now they bore me out and become monotone). I definitely can appreciate the work that gets put into audio storytelling more after actually listening to some, and watching Abumrad’s videos about the creation of it.
I had a lot of fun with the sound effect story. I had some ideas that didn’t work out because I just couldn’t find the right sounds and it would have taken a lot of work to make them myself. Initially I wanted to do a story about taking out my dogs. But then I decided to do the thing I wasn’t supposed to do and make a morning routine, but maybe there is something extra. You will just have to listen to find out. I want to hear your reactions.
What did you feel? I really want to know.
Overall though I had a lot of fun with this. I know I could have added some more layering of sounds and made the transitions less choppy, but I just wanted to make sure I got the story out there to get some feedback.
Todays daily crate was to create a secreta entrance to a room. If you are someone thats been following along with all of my creations then you wont be suprised that I created this design in Canva. My thought process for this secreat entrace was something grand and gave castle vibes only the most elite can enter and its invite only. What is this secreat room for? Thats up for the imagination.
As I am listening to Moon Graffiti, I am paying close attention to the various types of sounds. Sound drives stories by setting the atmosphere, show emotions, develop characters, structure narratives, foreshadow events, engage the audience, and influence the pace. Sound also impacts the mood and creates an atmosphere by using elements such as music, noises, and sound effects to create specific emotions and set the tone of a scene. The intro, almost immediate you get a sense of something gone wrong. The loud beeping noises, the increase in volume of the voices, and the crashing sounds all hint towards a sign of something gone wrong. The switch from a clear audio to a more static audio gives the impression that now Armstrong and Aldrin are talking to us through their helmets. Little details like this can make any audio recording go from boring to interesting. It also can give the effect that you’re experiencing whatever is going on in the recording in real life.
Going back to Abumrad’s video he claims “…the human voice has so much information the vibrations of the voice the way the voices rise and falls…” We can see some of these traits in Armstrong and Aldrin’s conversation thought the recording. You can tell when they’re calm, excited, or concerned. The human voice is a key piece to any form of audio. It can give a whole new perspective without you even realizing.
I am really not someone to put out work that they hate or aren’t confident in, but I really don’t think audio is for me. I have no idea what I’m doing, every option is like a different language, and I’m just confused and frustrated and posting this because I feel like I’ve tried everything and I’m tired and want to go to bed.
SO here is my ds106radio bumper:
Kudos to Dr. Oblivion for giving me a beautiful script, and then not being aware that I was going to keep his voice in . . . sorry old man, but you are a robot so I get to make the choice!
There is a lot that frustrated me with this. I used two audios: the synth sound and the bell? sound, both of which I downloaded from Freesound. I wanted to get this synthy-vibe, almost like the Stranger Things opening, but not entirely, just similar. I liked the mystery behind the synth audio, and I liked the idea that it was easily repeatable, and would be cool to fade out softly.
I thought the bell was cool to add for drama and emphasis, but I really don’t know what I was doing. I wanted the emphasis to be on the word “time” because I thought it sounded kind of creepy and weird and spooky, but I couldn’t figure out how to edit the actual audio of Dr. Oblivion saying “time” to continue that emphasis. I wanted the word to echo, but I couldn’t get that, or at least make it more emphasized.
I think I need to explore Audacity more, because this was so stressful and now I’m so afraid of the rest of the audio assignments . . . safe to say that I don’t think this is for me, but when I work tomorrow, I’ll give it my best shot.
If anyone has any specific tutorials they found useful for Audacity, I think I’d be your bestest friend if you guided me to them.
