I am glad that we brought up in class the 5 elements of recorded stories because I do believe that all these things are very important. Sound effects are what I thought of when we were trying to list them in class. I know that sound effects are so important because with no image it is basically the set where you are filming you movie. Rather than seeing a telephone, for example, you hear one. So the sound effects can tell you where you are as well as what is going one. I think of how a crackling fire could add so much to an interview that needs to feel very Sherlock-Holms-ie. Also another element that I believe is important is music. The music can do the same thing for sound recordings as it can for movies. Music is like the grease on the wheels, it helps the story move along. In movies music can create a sense of emotion, and it does the same thing for recordings. There are the other elements such and narrative and interview, which are obvious and good. But there is lastly the archival and existing material, which is important to me because I believe in history. I always think that it is really cool when a movie or radio program quotes a president of the past by playing the actual recording.
To be honest the main thing that I want to avoid is making my recording too long. I think that almost anything could be interesting as long as you could get out just the most important parts. If I do take a half hour interview and make it three minutes then I know I can find those things that the class and others will want to hear.
The sound recording that I picked is called “Wake Up and Dream.” I actually love this one. The music is so frightening at the beginning that I almost had to stop listening. Also, the sound effects make me want to look behind me. I love how the interview and the narrative overlap, it is done so well. I am so glad that I found it. Also it has such a good ending. If you are going to listen to this listen to the whole thing, it is only 17 minutes long. If you don’t listen to the whole thing I think that you will not be able to sleep.
"Music is like the grease on the wheels." Mack, have you ever thought about going into quote writing? Anyway I agree with that. As we were talking in class about having music, sound effects, and other ear candy I also thought of other examples I have heard that do a good job of incorporating music in their audio story. My favorite audio stories incorporate music and sound effects so seamlessly that you don't even realize they are doing it. If it's done poorly they distract from the story, which is what we obviously want to avoid. But it's amazing how much music can add or detract fro a story.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this audio story that you used in your example. I felt that it not only was an interesting story, but also incorporated a lot of elements we talked about it class. In my mind, that alone made it a fantastic podcast. Also, like Sam said, music and sound effects MAKES the story happen. You can tell a story but without that visualization element of hearing what is going on, it is very boring. Makes a huge difference in the long run.
ReplyDelete