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Sound Ethics, Sound Studio

Texts to have read / listened to: Writer/Designer on “Working with Multimodal Assets and Sources” (Ball, Sheppard, Arola); Stuart Fowkes on field recording; Alison MacAdam on breathing life into audio scenes; and optionally some overviews of CC licenses and Fair Use.

Work to have achieved: a proposal for the soundscape narrative, posted to the issue queue

Plan for the day

  1. Key Concepts and Practical Takeaways (10-15 min)
  2. Fair Use and Open Licensing (10-15 min)
  3. Homework preview
  4. Studio time

1. Key Concepts and Practical Takeaways (10-15 min)

At your tables, work through the following questions, and be ready to discuss with the whole class if time allows. Some you should be able to go through rather quickly, others may require more discussion.

Ask if you can’t come to a resolution!

Using Sources

  • What’s the difference between a source and an asset?
  • How would you define a “credible citation” in relation to the soundscape narratives you’ve proposed?
  • True or false: if you can find it on the internet, you can use it in your project.
  • True or false: the only sources you can use in this project are those you record yourself.
  • True or false: if you record your own sources, you don’t have to cite them.
  • True or false: if you use a source with a Creative Commons license, you don’t have to cite it.
  • Why are Ball, Sheppard, and Arola so insistent about folder structure and file naming conventions?

  • Does my assignment of the Writer/Designer chapter fulfill the criteria of fair use? Consider all four major factors.

  • EXT: For each entry in your project’s assets list, add Rights information as per Writer/Designer page 160. (You’ll need to keep updating this, of course, as you determine what assets you really want to use.)

Recording advice

  • What’s one way to make sure you’re recording the sound you want to (and not, say, the loud bus passing by your conversation)?
  • What do both Fowkes and MacAdam consider tempting cliches, and how do they get past them?
  • Would you (each of you, specifically, for this project) want to work from a written script? Why or why not?
  • Would you want to incorporate human voices in your specific projects? Why or why not?

2. Fair Use and Open Licensing (10-15 min)

Let’s talk through any questions that came up.

I especially want to make sure we’re all on the same page about those True/False questions.

  • PS: Have you seen our plentiful Resources page? Be sure to check out both the free/licensed sounds and music section and the audio-unit-specific advice and examples.

3. Homework preview (5 min)

4. Studio time! (40-45 min)

Do whatever work you need to get *something* toward your project posted to your GitHub repository by Thursday: find audio sources you have permission to use, extract assets from them, record test voiceover with your phone or computer, start moving things around in Audacity, practice some more with GitHub Desktop (or command line git). The goal for now is to get a feel for how you work with audio, not to have a finished product.

On Thursday, we’ll use your experience to refine our shared baseline criteria and brainstorm some aspirational goals.

Call me over if you need help with Audacity, Git/GitHub, or determining the license on an audio source!

Homework for next time:

  • Work on your soundscape narratives, including making at least two recordings and putting them into conversation in Audacity. If you have time, do more!
  • Push a soundscape preview to your GitHub repository. As per the assignment prompt, this should include:
    • A layered Audacity project file (.aup), showing the arrangement of your sounds so far (need not be a complete soundscape or narrative yet).
    • The _data folder</span> associated with your Audacity file.
    • At least one static screenshot (.png or .jpg) of your Audacity file in progress. (You'll use this in your final reflection, for comparison later to subsequent drafts).
    • A plain text (.txt) or markdown (.md) file, explaining in at least 300 words what you're showing us in this preview. Feel free also to ask questions or lay out next steps for yourself!
    • An updated ASSETS.md, indicating which the files you've actually recorded or otherwise obtained. Add source documentation for any outside sources – and your permission to use them (e.g. licenses, fair use; see Writer/Designer p. 160-165).
    • Finally, I highly recommend (but will not require) that you export a playable mp3 file, just in case something goes awry with your _data folder.