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Audio Projects

Project - Audio Interview

This project may be completed by the following students:

M1 1st Year Media Arts Majors.

M2 2nd Year Media Arts Majors.

M3 3rd Year Media Arts Majors.

TC Technology Concepts Students.


Directions

Pre-Production

  1. This project is designed with the idea that these interviews can be included in the same podcast feed as a school's weekly news podcast.
    1. While your school does not NEED to have a weekly podcast or other news show for you to complete this project, this may likely be the case. Check in with your Media Arts teacher to ensure you are familiar with your school's requirements.
    2. There may be a list of topics/interviewees already being covered. While more than one interview on the same topic can work well, multiple students should avoid interviewing the same person.
    3. There may be formatting norms to adhere to, including a specific theme song, style of introduction, and so on.
  2. Make a list of five (5) topics that are relevant to the school community (including staff, students, AND parents).
    1. Topics should relate to one or more of the following things:
      1. School events
      2. Current events affecting students and staff
      3. Innovations happening in a specific class
      4. School policies
      5. School, staff, or student achievements
    2. There might be an official class list, but YOUR list should narrow the official list down to ones you find interesting.
  3. Create a short list of 1-2 people to interview for each of your topics.
    1. This is important because "They said they wouldn't do the interview" is not a valid excuse for failing to complete this project. If one person says no, you should have backup interviewees and topics ready to go.
    2. Run this list past a classmate and/or your Media Arts teacher for feedback.
  4. Secure permission from the interviewee to record them for this project.
    1. Be up front in regards to the topic of the interview. A blindsided interviewee will not be as informative.
    2. If the interviewee is a student, a signed Publicity Release Form is required to be on file for them. If you cannot verify this in a timely fashion, select someone else to interview.
    3. Staff and other adults can give permission themselves, so they do not need to have a form on file.
  5. Write five (5) questions relating to your chosen topic, keeping the interviewee's area of expertise in mind.
    1. If your topic is about a band concert, questions for the band director should not be the same as questions for the arts coordinator. Both will have unique insights regarding the concert, because their roles in that concert will be different.
  6. Get your questions approved by the Media Arts teacher. They may have advice to make the recording/editing process easier.
    1. Schedule a time to complete the interview as soon as the questions are approved.
  7. If there is not already a selected song used for your school podcast interviews, find one that you feel will work well.
    1. Remember that copyright theft is against PGCPS policy and this recording is meant to be PUBLISHED. Your selected song must be one that is used WITH PERMISSION, ideally because it is under a Creative Commons license or in the public domain.
    2. Check this project's Resources section for places you can go to find usable music. You have a significant amount of media you can use for this project with permission. Choosing to steal someone else's art anyway is not a wise choice.

Production

  1. Record your interview in an area as free from background noise as possible.
    1. A specific app is not required for this assignment, but WeVideo, SoundTrap, Audacity, and GarageBand are all programs that have been used to produce school podcasts in the past.
    2. If you are recording from home, make sure no one is playing audio loud enough for your microphone to pick it up. (YOUR audio should not have an NFL game's audio in the background. The NFL is very particular about their broadcasts being reused.)
    3. Some professionals have had success with placing a comforter or other large blanket over their head and recording equipment to dampen room echos. In some cases, recording from inside a closet can help to muffle background audio.
  2. While interviews, by their very nature, are less scripted than many news segments, this does not make them less work.
    1. Thank the interviewee for agreeing to the interview.
    2. You will need to actively listen to and respond to each of their answers, showing that you value their information and are paying attention to it.
    3. Thank them again at the end of the interview.

Post-Production

  1. Edit out any bloopers, flubs, long pauses, or other content that would distract from the purpose of this assignment.
    1. This includes off topic discussion. A side conversation on favorite pizza toppings might be really engaging, but if the topic of the interview was supposed to be on how the basketball team is doing then the pizza talk should be cut.
  2. Look at the total length of the interview at this point. If it is longer than 4:30, consider removing a question to make the TRT a bit shorter. If the TRT is over 5 minutes, this is a requirement.
    1. If you're down to 3 questions remaining and you're still over 5:00 TRT, you'll have to find parts of the questions, answers, and/or responses that can be removed without drastically changing the meaning of the answers.
  3. Add in music to play at least at the beginning and end of your recording.
  4. Export your edited work as an mp3 file and submit it along with your approved questions.

Rubric

Standards

Resources


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