AUDIO NARRATIVE

Recording, editing and publishing audio has become increasingly simple with the
increased availability in equipment and software. I learned that any smart phone can
become a recording studio with a few app downloads. There are a plethora of software
available to help amateurs record, mix, merge, equalize and manipulate audio within a few
seconds. Choosing the right software can affect the quality of your audio projects more than
having the wrong equipment can. The biggest takeaway from this activity was on the file
formats, where I understood how compression can affect not only the size but also the
quality of the recording.
My previous experience with audio recording and editing was very superficial.
Usually I stand behind a microphone and then listen to a finished product a few days later.
This experience was enlightening. I was able to record my greeting easily. I wrote the script
and practiced, even marking in points where my tone should fluctuate. The recording
process was smooth, but then I went into editing which was for me the unknown. I tried a
few apps, and decided which ones I was able to manipulate well. I found open source music
and tried several tracks with my voice, in order to find one that married well with my tone
and pace. I decided to use two different tracks both of which I think worked extremely well.
The editing process was not hard. I recorded my greeting so that I did not have much
trimming to do. I adjusted the bass, mid-range and tenor of my voice recording and the
volume settings so that what I was saying could be clearly heard with the music in the
background still clearly audible. I placed my recording within a suitable bar in music snip,
to ensure that they merged seamlessly and in time.
I am pleased with my final product and I wouldn’t do much to change it. From my
initial recording to the final recording, I changed the pace of my speech as I initially spoke
very quickly (23 seconds long). With some practice I got my recording to be evenly paced
(35 seconds long). I also ensured to do my recording when I was the only one awake, to
reduce interruptions and background noise. If I was able to I would have gone to a sound
proof room such as a recording studio. When I first recorded I tried to record the entire clip
in one take, however I found that recording one sentence at a time (while pausing in
between) helped with my intonation and reduced the number of takes because I was not
likely to make as many mistakes in a single sentence.
Recording and editing audio may seem like a simple task but require a bit of effort, if
your final product is going to be done well. The equipment used should be of a standard
quality, but other things like software selection, practicing and rewriting the script can
make a remarkable difference in the quality of the work produced. I also recommend trying
different software freely before beginning work on your project. This helps you to know
what the software offers and how to access and use all the features.