Sound is so very critical to the creative process of making digital media. It plays a role in audio productions, but also an important but often unnoticed part of making videos and films as well. Watch the following short documentary on the art of foley, that is the art of creating sound effects.
Watch: The Magic of Making Sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3N_PRIgX0
Foley Artist – Try it:
There are numerous ways to make digital audio recordings, but by far the simplest is to find a mobile app for your phone to do the job. My favorite mobile app that I use for audio-only recording is Voice Record Pro but unfortunately, it only works reliably on Apple iOS devices. The Android version is buggy, according to the reviews and should be avoided. Perhaps you could try EZ Voice Recorder or another recommended app. Do a little research and find an app that works on your device for sound recording.
Using your sound recording app, record several (8-10) sound effects from nature or sounds from your living or work environment that are naturally occurring or artificially created by you. Take a walk through the park, through your neighborhood. Record sounds from the kitchen when food is being prepared. Or the cafeteria. Show us what it sounds like where you live.
Combine these files into one recording using an audio editor such as Audacity or Adobe Audition. (There might be phone apps for this, but I find it is much easier to edit sound on a computer.) For extra style points, add an audio track of your own voice with the background sounds telling us a short story about your life or your world. Export and save your edited sound file as a .MP3 file.
Publish your sound effects work online. You can publish sound files on Soundcloud. (You can create a free account if you do not have one.) Alternatively, you can publish sounds to YouTube, but they must be uploaded in a video file format, which is a bit more (but not by much) complicated by using a video editing program. Write a blog post on your WordPress website about the audio editing experience. Embed your online sound recording in your post using an embed code for the recording. Share your work on Miro and/or Discord.
Upload your edited foley sound .MP3 file to Canvas with your weekly summary submission.
Other Audio Assignments
- Music Mashup – Make a mash up of your favorite songs. Five or so songs should be enough. Do not include the entire song, but share about ten seconds of each song. Put them together with sound editing software. Export the song mashup as a .MP3 file and upload to canvas with your weekly summary.
- Text to Speech App -You can find various speech to text options online and built in to applications like MS Word and even in some computer operating systems like MacOS and MS Windows. Find a suitable text to speech app and make a MP3 sound recording of a fictional person placing an order at the drive-through window of a fast food restaurant. (For extra credit, use two voices, one of the restaurant employee and one for the customer.) Upload your MP3 with your weekly summary.
- Movie Quotes – Make a MP3 file that has some of your favorite movie quotes. You can record the movies you watch online through streaming services or YouTube. Again, upload the MP3 with your summary.
Weekly Summary: Write a weekly summary of this week’s activities. Be sure to also upload the MP3 recordings you made this week. Submit your weekly summary to canvas by next Monday evening at 11:59 pm.
