Test Run of Final Podcast Project

I played a test version of my final podcast in class last week to hear how the audio sounded.  I had conducted several one-on-one interviews using the Audio-Technica Pro 24 microphone.  All the interviews were done around a kitchen table (or smaller table).   (See previous post.)

My concerns were:

1. After uploading the audio files to my laptop, the audio sounded much softer that what I was used to when using the Sennheiser MD-46 mike.

2. The Audio-Technica Pro 24 is a double-cardioid mike which means that my voice sounded much louder in one speaker, while the interviewee sounded louder in the other speaker.

During editing (in Audacity):

1. I started by trying to use the “normalize” effect.  But it increased all the background noise, so I decided not to use that.

2. Instead, I used the “gain slider” to increase the volume to 9db, which sounded about right. 

3. I used the “noise removal” effect, which worked great.  It’s a two-step process.  I selected a portion of the audio that had background noise, but no voices.  I clicked the “Get Noise Profile” button.  Then I selected the entire track and clicked “Remove Noise”, after moving the slider about one-fourth of the way, so that it would only remove about 25% of the noise. 

The results:

1. Dan, the instructor, had to turn up the volume all the way.  However, after doing that, the audio sounded fine.  So, the next questions are:

- What impact will increasing the gain even more have?

- Dan suggested trying a compression filter (in place of gain?)

2. In regards to the stereo effect, Dan said not to worry about it, but that I could try to flatten the recording after I finish all the edits.  Not sure what feature that would be in Audacity.  He suggested listening to the podcast through speakers, rather than just through headphones.

3. Dan also suggested using the blog to clarify sections of the podcast that need more explanation.  For example, my interviewee talked about going to U.T. (meaning the University of Tennessee).  It’s not obvious from the interview, but the blog post could clarify that point.  That’s a great idea and will make editing much easier!  I won’t feel as compelled to cram in a snippet of voice that really doesn’t belong.