More lessons in audio and Voddio

In our last class session we did an in class exercise that allowed us to get more experience using Voddio and recording on the attachment microphones. The exercise allowed for me to get a lot of practice in planning and gathering the needed components to produce a compelling story. I really tried to take in my surroundings and give great thought to what natural sounds were there and what sound clips would create detail for the listener. The piece was recorded on the quad and we were given free range to develop a story on any topic of our liking. Since it was such a nice day I decided to do a "man on the street" type piece and ask passers-by why they were outside, what they thought of the weather, whether or not they were enjoying the scenery and such. I caught sound of a long board rolling by, a guy on rollerblades zipping past, the sound of a bike wheel, birds chirping, bushes rustling, a lot of sounds that were clearly associated with nature and outdoor activities. I was able to get interviews from two students sitting on the columns. They gave nice interviews that described the scenery and they explained that they were outside just taking advantage of the day - one doing homework, the other relaxing and listening to music. After the one student explained he was listening to music I inquired who was he playing and he answered with "Kanye West." He was listening to his iPod using these big headphones that cancel out surrounding sound, I just knew that he was enjoying himself with a private jam session. I had the guy pull of his headphones and place them up to the mic while I recorded the track. It was going to be the perfect element to place the listeners in the scene. Who doesn't love Kanye? Well, maybe we don't love him as much as he loves himself, but, nevertheless. (haha) Only disappointment that day was that a lot of what I captured was distorted due to the gusts of wind that flew past the Mikey. I was so crushed...While I knew that they were sensitive, I just didn't fathom that the wind was strong enough and the microphone was so sensitive to ruin a couple sections of my interview and some of my nat sound pops. Another day, another lesson I suppose. Definitely will use the handheld mics when I go to record outdoors. Hopefully those will work more efficiently to pick up direct sound. 3...2...1..Signing Off Andria Kirkland