Sound Out Media

Today I’m listening to hours and hours of field recordings to collect my best sound effects. I have a large sound library of sounds I’ve collected that I use in documentaries, art pieces and soundscape slideshows.

Today I’m listening to recordings I did when I was living in the mountains of southwest Virginia back in 2000-2002. I have a whole range of sounds, and I am hearing them quite differently now than I did when I was living with them every day.

In future episodes of The Roaming Ear, I’ll be doing a piece about my time in Appalachia. Right now for this blog, I’ll share some of my tips for gathering good sound effects:

a) don’t turn your recorder on and off — keep it going for long stretches of time. That way, you won’t accidentally cut the sound off at the beginning or the end. Let it roll.
b) wear headphones. That way, you’ll hear how your recording is being reproduced through your mike. And you’ll hear wind noise, cables banging, so you can remind yourself not to do that.
c) if you’re outside, watch the wind. You can find sheltered spots if a breeze comes up .. like behind a pillar. Or you can use your jacket as a windbreak. I bring an umbrella in my kit .. it cuts the wind noise if you put it in front of your mike.
d) don’t take your dog with you. My constant companion on my mountain soundwalks was BlindDog Wilbur. The sound of Wilbur padding along in the long grass was ever-present. (that’s why my other dog, Ursala, is tied up on the front porch .. by the time she came along, I’d learned my lesson) On the plus side, soundwalking with the pooch gets you great dog sounds.

In future posts, I’ll write about how I archive and store my sounds for easy retrieval when I want to use them.

Good Saturday morning to y’all. The sun is shining, it’s still summer (or should I say, it’s FINALLY summer .. been rainy and cold)

Seems like fall is a long time away. As I look at my calendar, I am realizing that it’s time to get planning for my fall workshop series.

So here’s a heads-up that I am working on my schedule. If you have a request for a certain date, now is the time to let me know and hopefully I can accommodate as many schedules as possible.

I will be doing my workshops in both Toronto and Hamilton. And other cities if I get enough requests.

Here’s what’s on the drawing board:

a) An introduction to Multimedia on the internet

- story basics, interviews, simple editing techniques. Starting with audio, and with also some tips on getting good sound for video and slide presentations.

b) Podpoems

- a workshop for poets and writers to learn how to do online poetry in their own voice. Lots of fun — every participant will have their own mp3 poem to take home and upload. (Toronto workshop is scheduled already for Sept 19)

c) Soundscape Slideshows

- how to turn your beautiful still photos into movies with voices, environmental sound and music. Learn how to Hear the Picture.

d) Bringing the Story Home

- for travellers, international development workers and everyone who wants to document their experiences on the road. Create sound rich visual pieces from photos, video and audio gathered on the road.

Contact me for more info. I will be sending out an E-blast to people on my mailing list when the sked is together.

Okay, I’m almost a believer.

Whenever anybody tells me that their built in “microphone” is “great”, I take it with a grain of salt.

But if Tod Maffin says it’s “not bad”, I’m more convinced. Because he’s a radio guy too who got a lot of his training at the venerable Mother Corp just like I did. They’re very picky about sound quality in the Hallowed Halls of the CBC.

So okay. Use your Iphones to do podcasts. As long as you remember that it’s an omni directional microphone that picks up damn near everything. So your technique really matters.

You can read Tod’s review here.

I’ve been getting out and about meeting people in the past couple of weeks. Good to take off the headphones for a while. I’ve been collecting idea for future blog entries .. there’s never a shortage.

In upcoming posts, I’ll be doing one about recording phoners .. specifically which on-line recording services to use.

Today’s question comes from Life Balance Consulting in Toronto (via Twitter - thnks for the follo)

The question was Why do I use the Rabble Podcast Network for my podcast, The Roaming Ear?

Lots of reasons. First and foremost, I was approached by the creator of the RPN, Wayne MacPhail, way back in 2005. I liked Wayne, I liked the energy and the focus of the Rabble community. Still do. Very much. And the other people who do podcasts at Rabble are really great. I just like being there.

The other reason is that it’s so easy to use. All I have to do is create my podcast, follow the very easy upload instructions and templates for show notes etc. And every time I post a new episode, it is promoted to other listeners. Rabble does not charge their podcasters to be there, either.

That’s one of the big advantages of being part of a podcast community — rather than a standalone on your own website. People will find you when they are looking for other things. And, bonus, Rabble directly feeds my podcast to Itunes, so I can be found there too without having to do anything more.

Rabble doesn’t have as many listeners as some of the bigger podcast services (like Libsyn, for example .. that would be my next choice). But there are ways you can maximize your own listenership — like getting listed on other podcast directories out there (there are thousands). That’s where podcasts are different from radio — when you put a feature on the radio, you can assume there’s an audience there already. On the internet, you have to be your own promo department. It definitely helps to have your podcast live in community instead of being a solitary little voice on your own website.

So those are the big reasons. Check out the Rabble Podcast Network and the larger site that it’s part of, Rabble.ca - News for the Rest of Us.

Don’t get me wrong .. I love having my own desktop production rig in my own home. I just love it that we don’t have to go into studios to do all of our work.

But there are some times when I WANT to go into the studio. Call me spoiled .. I worked at CBC Radio for a lot of years back in the days when technicians did all the pushing of buttons and the rest of us just talked. I worked both sides of the board, as tech and as a producer/writer/broadcaster.

And I miss those days when all I had to concentrate on was my content. I loved the sound of my voice in the close-to-perfection acoustics of the studio. And above all, studio time was a special time to focus on my piece and nothing else. When I have guests to interview, I can give them my individed attention, which always makes for a better rapport.

I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio again. Not all the time .. but here are some examples of the kinds of things I want to go into the studio for:

a) when I am voicing a commentary or a longer piece. It’s a performance. My mindset is much different when I’m in the studio. And for longer pieces, I think the listener has less tolerance for technical glitches. Not consciously, of course. But the longer the piece, the more you have to do to hold the listener. Those popped P’s just don’t cut it ..

b) when I want to do a whole batch of interviews — what I’m going to do is book a whole day and then invite my guests to come in. It looks very professional and a lot of people never get a chance to get into a recording studio. So it’s a buzz for them too. And above all, I can book more people in because I don’t have to set up mikes and doublecheck recordings. Nice to have staff.

c) when I’m working with a musician to come up with themes and stingers. Yes, I could do it with my stereo mike in my own apartment. Until the phone rings. Or something else happens to distract me. And the sound in the studio is better.

d) When I want to treat myself. It’s a change of pace from working at home all the time. I meet new people, and my focus is on my work alone. And I also take myself out for lunch, sometimes with the talent or guests I am working with for the day. It’s a field trip out of the office .. and a tax-deductible one at that.

Studio time doesn’t have to be expensive .. there are lots of studios out there at different price ranges. And you’re not just paying for the studio time .. you’re also getting Technical Staff.

I just finished the first cut of a soundtrack for an audio slideshow.

It’s now going to the Eye guys to add the visuals. Even though I won’t be doing the photos and slides, I learned a lot about composing where the sound doesn’t have to carry the whole story.

I’m a radio person and used to relying entirely on my words and sounds. This is a different process .. I don’t have to say everything. I also have to leave room for the visuals to convey the message too so that the pictures aren’t just eye candy.

What I realized is that it’s a dance between the visuals and the sound. Sometimes you want the interview clips and voices to be more prominent, other times you want people to focus on what they see.

It’s hard to describe .. best way to explain it is that you want to make your photos more impressionistic when the words are spoken. That way, your audience will focus on the words. When you are going for maximum dramatic impact with your photos, put them over music or ambient sound. Don’t bombard your viewers with too much stimuli at once.

I’ll let you know when the production is posted. It will be interesting to see what the visual editors do with it.

My favourite home broadcast booth was my walk-in linen closet. It had a light, lots of pillows and blankets to make the acoustics nice and soft. And then, I moved.

My next house was on a busy city street with trucks roaring by. The only closet was in the bathroom at the front of the house. My recordings were frequently interrupted by the oncoming rumble of loud traffic coming off the access from Hamilton Mountain. (I was on the main transit route for Big Steel — My voicers were frequently interrupted by my assistant yelling “Truck!”)

So why did I need a broadcast booth? My rooms were large with 12 foot ceilings. Very boomy. What I ended up doing was making a tent out of quilts in the middle of the room. Which wasn’t ideal either because I had to crouch under it. Not good for the breathing or the energy level.

I just found a partial solution .. check out the Harlan Hogan Portabooth ..

Not a perfect solution because I need something I can stand in .. and I don’t get the fun of making homemade tents just like when I was five .. but it looks like a good alternative to start with until I get the Studio of My Dreams ..

Podcasting and Beyond
An Introduction to Multimedia on the Internet
May 23 10 am - 4 pm
Hamilton Ontario

One of the easiest ways to get started in multimedia production is by doing a podcast. It’s a great way to get comfortable with the technology, develop interview and voicing skills and putting together a production from start to finish.

Podcasting and Beyond is a one day workshop to introduce you to the basics of podcast productions. We’ll focus mostly on audio, and also on how to create simple visual and sound productions such as slideshows with easy soundtracks. We’ll also talk about getting good sound for video .. because everybody knows what it’s like to look at pictures without hearing what the person on the screen is saying.

This hands-on, day long workshop will focus on:

* simple audio production techniques – recording and editing
* turning your idea into a story, interview or feature
* combining pictures with still photos (audio slideshows)
* getting good sound from your video camera
* getting your production out to the world via social media

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2009
10 am – 4 pm

Location: Community Centre for Media Arts, 3 Rebecca Street, Hamilton Ontario

Cost: $85.00
enrollment limited to 10 people

Workshop Presenter: Victoria Fenner

Victoria is a podcaster, radio producer, journalist and composer. She has worked in radio and television broadcasting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in various capacities – on air writer/broadcaster, production technician and producer, and with community media organizations in both Canada and the United States. Victoria is also a practicing artist working in creative sound and documentary production who is recognized by the Canada Council for the Arts and The Ontario Arts Council. Her company, Sound Out Media, produces multimedia for the internet and provides training for organizations and people who want to explore emerging opportunities to produce and distribute their audio and video works.

Her new podcast The Roaming Ear can be heard on the Rabble Podcast Network – www.rabble.ca/podcasts

My newest podcast is now up and running at The Rabble Podcast Network.

This is one I’m doing mostly for fun .. I have thousands of sounds that I’ve recorded and I want to get them out there.  

The premise of the show is this — everybody travels with a camera.  But what if you travel with a microphone too?  That’s what I do, and this is what I bring back.

On the first show — These are a Few of My Favourite Sounds — little sound snippets I’ve picked up over the years.   Strange little electronic chirps from Chinatown San Francisco; fisherpeople hauling in their nets from the Arabian Sea in Kerala, India; a hot buggy night with square dancing in the Appalachian Mountains; and a cold September day on the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

You can find it here:  The Roaming Ear - let me know what you think!

I’m doing housework today .. a task I don’t enjoy but it’s made easier because I do my podcast listening at same time. (You can tell how much I’ve been listening by how clean my place is.  Or not.)

Right now I’m listening to podcasts from a major interactive conference that I didn’t go to.  So really great that I can listen.  Good casts.  Content wise.

You can hear a “but” coming, right?  Sure enough .. here are the problems.

a) distorted voice. Questions from the audience weren’t distorted.  The main voice was.  So my best guess is that she’s talking way too close to the mike. (

b) We didn’t need to know that her powerpoint presentation screwed up.  No editorial content there.  A very easy edit.  Flows much better if it wasn’t there.

c) Reference to an email address on the screen.  We can’t see it.  Superflous content.

Now, here are the solutions to make this a better listening experience.

a) Choose a mike that is more forgiving of bad mike placement.  And give your speaker a couple of tips on how close to be.  You can do it tactfully .. explain that every mike is different, and this is how to make it sound better for them.

b) Cut out things that don’t need to be there (powerpoint and computer screwups and expressions of frustration; coughs; “the washrooms are to the left”; “lunch is at 12:30″.  And big pauses — last year this organization posted a podcast with questions from the audience .. the questions weren’t miked and the 45 seconds of dead air at a time was left in)

c) If there is important visual information, do a version which includes the slides and pictures and the sound.  You can post it as a Quicktime or Flash movie. (I still encourage you to edit the audio .. you can retime the slides fairly easily .. tedious but not difficult)

A final tip: If your sound tech is taking a feed from the board, make sure s/he pays attention to the feed to your recorder too .. not just the house sound.

Better yet, hire a podcast producer to monitor the feed, stay in touch with the event organizers, edit and package (add music and intros after the fact)  and make sure everything sounds and looks great.