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Audio Projects

Project - School News Podcast Episode

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

  1. Pre-Production

    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.
      1. There may be a schedule so that multiple students are not working on an episode for the same week.
      2. There may be formatting norms to adhere to, including a specific theme song, order of segments, and so on.
    2. Gather school-wide announcements and an upcoming events schedule to be included in your recording.
      1. This likely can be done via email. Your Media Arts teacher will know who best to contact for this information.
      2. Remember that timelinessis part of the rubric. An announcement about the upcoming WInter Break is not timely if your recording is scheduled to be released in January.
    3. Gather information about a recent school-related event that you think was interesting enough to share.
      1. This can be a lesson that happened in a classroom, a sports event, or even a club activity.
      2. While this can be something in which you were directly involved, this is not a requirement.
    4. If there is not already a selected song used for your school podcast, 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.
    5. Combine the information you gathered into a coherent news podcast script.
      1. If your school has an official podcast, make sure you are following the official formatting.
      2. Include a citation for the music you intend to use in your script. This traditionally goes at the end, like an audio version of the credits.
    6. Get your script approved by the Media Arts teacher. They may have advice to make the recording/editing process easier.

  2. Production

    1. Record your script 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 news program 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.

  3. Post-Production

    1. Edit out any bloopers, flubs, long pauses, or other content that would distract from the purpose of this assignment.
    2. Add in music to play at least at the beginning and end of your recording.
      1. If you changed what music you're using since you wrote your script, you will need to make sure your citation is up to date.
      2. If your Media Arts teacher checks your citation and realizes it's for a different song, they may very well assume you decided to lie to them about your citation. This is not advisable.
    3. Export your edited work as an mp3 file and submit it along with your script.

Rubric

Standards

Resources


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