Assignment:
For today you are going to create a five minute podcast where you interview each other about a topic.
First develop a set of questions (3-5 questions).
Record your conversation around the questions.
Edit your conversation down to five minutes.
Time permitting, add music, an intro, any non-distracting sound effects, and an outtro.
Export as an .mp3.
Please upload to our WordPress site with the category “Podcasting with Audacity”.
Audacity Resources:
Workshop Outline – tinyurl.com/VCMakers-Audacity
Audacity Overview / Zooms / Headsets/ Spaces to Record Sound
- Zoom H1s can be signed out at Media Resources
- USB headsets with mics at circ deck and Media Resources
- 1-2 Rhode Lav mics
- Basement of Chicago Hall has a space to record high quality audio, email babailey@vassar.edu or acs@vassar.edu to arrange a recording session (9-5, M-F)
- Film has a whisper booth / Foley Booth (may be Film students only)
Downloading Audacity – http://www.audacityteam.org/ (Don’t use SourceForge).
Workshop Outline
Microphone setup – apple menu->Input/Output BEFORE launching Audacity
Launching Audacity
Security Settings
Tools Overview
Selection Tool – you’ll use this a lot
Envelope Tool – use this to adjust the volume, fade in, fade out
Zoom Tool – use this to view the wave form close up, control click to zoom back out
Draw Tool – for editing wave forms
Timeshift Tool – for sliding tracks left or right
Make a quick recording
Checking your input source
Tracks
Stereo/mono
Basic Edits
Selecting – use the selection tool to select pieces of the wave form
Deleting – edit menu, cut, or backspace key
Pasting – edit menu and paste, or apple – V
Shortcuts for repeating an insert – use the arrow key, then paste
Saving Files
.wav, .aiff – lossless, high quality
.mp3 , .aac – compressed file, “low” quality, export format, not good for editing
.aup – Audacity project Files
Effects
Amplification
Fade in/ fade out
Manual fade (Envelope Tool)
Noise Removal
Compressor
Importing Sound Files and Music
Practice Files
https://drive.google.com/driv e/folders/0BwJsmGvMifkLa0gwck5kM0F0NkE?usp=sharing
Exporting
Saving Files
Reopening Files
Exporting mp3s
Bonus Stuff – Trust your ears!
Resources:
Audacity Video Tutorials by Baynard
Audacity Tutorials in Lynda
Audacity Team Help http://www.audacityteam.org/help/
Audacity Tutorials http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Category:Tutorial
Download the LAME mp3 encoder from within that site
Google for help, lots of stuff on YouTube.
Open Source Sound – https://www.freesound.org/
Blog Post on 20 top free sources
Getting two USB headsets to work:
This is built-in functionality for Mac OSX. Plug in both headphones, then open Audio Midi setup from /Applications/Utilities.
![searching for Midi](http://pages.vassar.edu/educ-373-spring-2018/files/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-03-at-4.03.25-PM-300x109.png)
Click the plus in the lower left corner and choose “Create Multi-Output Device.”
![Make two usb headsets play together!](http://pages.vassar.edu/educ-373-spring-2018/files/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-03-at-4.05.44-PM.png)
Check the checkboxes beside both headphones in the new panel on the right.
![Uncheck the built-in output.](http://pages.vassar.edu/educ-373-spring-2018/files/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-03-at-4.10.37-PM-300x125.png)
If you want to rename it, you can double click the new entry in the list on the left and give it a name like “Both headphones.”
Now you can choose the Multi-Output Device as the audio output in System Preferences → Sound. (You can also easily change the output by holding the Option key and clicking the volume menu.)
Setting up Two USB Headphones mics
A similar arrangement will work to create two usb inputs. Create an aggregate device for the usb headsets.
![Make two mics record on separate channels!](http://pages.vassar.edu/educ-373-spring-2018/files/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-03-at-4.15.42-PM.png)
Check the appropriate boxes.
To record in Audacity onto two separate channels, choose stereo recording channel as your input: