Here I have made a short video with the test audio on:
Audio Test from Eughan Wooding on Vimeo.
I will be assessing the participants generally and on a separate basis.
Me:
Quite a nasally voice, seems to struggle with enunciation. In terms of delivery it is relatively standard and isn't too offensive to listen to. The pace is fine but too fast in some parts, which would need work on.
Jon:
Well pronounced and clear. The pace in which the text is read is great and establishes a clear and informative tone. Perhaps too formal, the idea behind my project is to create a very casual and accessible or entertaining means of learning.
Daniel:
Loud enough and quite clear and confident. I know for a fact that Daniel is well-read on the topic of the crusades and would be able to pronounce key terms very well, however in this audition he speaks far too quickly and so his pace would need to slow down for the final piece if he were chosen.
Niall:
A very friendly voice and clearly spoken. Issue at the time (as can be heard after a few listens) is that Niall is very smiley and would often laugh or smile due to feeling the session was 'awkward' due to the silent nature I assumed while he recorded; his inability to take the session seriously may otherwise affect the outcome of the audio, which would need work if he were chosen.
Mo:
A very deep and distinct voice, this is important in creating a memorable video that will perhaps help people learn. His voice might be too low but I think that it would be ideal for the information being presented; names of key events, forces, places and people would have a very cool sound in Mo's voice. In terms of speed I think he was fine, although I would have to work on my script to ensure he has enough points to rest and breath as he seems to strain a little towards the end.
Holly:
The speech was very clear and calm, which makes the video seem more accessible. I think it is important to offer the role to both genders as media often sees a lack of female narration; as a result, I sought out Holly who is well-read on the crusades and would therefore be able to comprehend the information and not necessarily read it in a confused manner. The only issue I could find would be volume but I am also aware that she is capable of speaking louder.
Final thoughts and judgement:
I think that it is important to note that recording in the music rooms proved difficult to organise and as a result I don't believe either of the candidates are able to fully commit to narrating for me. In the future, I can't guarantee that we will be able to record in the area and therefore think that I should consider recording myself at home, in case the narrators are unable to commit to the project.
I would rank the best as Mo, Holly and Jon due to the clarity they offer in speaking. Their voices are distinct and offer a great range of narrators for me, I think that if one of them can't read my script for me then I'll be able to ask the others. However, I will definitely be recording myself at home, this way I will still be able to finish my product if none are able to record in time.
Friday, 31 March 2017
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Audio - Location: Music Room or Closet?
School:
A possible recording location is the school's music rooms in the music department. These areas are filled with music equipment and therefore could be an issue. However, they're reasonably sound proof and provide a relatively lo-echo location.
A major issue would be the fact that these music rooms typically have music lessons going on, either in other smaller rooms or in the major class rooms, in which case my recordings might disrupt those lessons (and I wouldn't be permitted to do that). Furthermore, these lessons would also disrupt my own audio and that would also be an issue.
One benefit is the fact that the location is on school grounds and therefore organising a recording session with my peers would be easier, in fact they're more likely to come during a common free than if I was to have them record at my house. I think that this is a great location to try organising some auditions to see if anyone would be ideal for narrating my video; the issue would be actually finding a time when no other classes are occurring and those auditioning were free.
Closet:
The idea to record in my closet comes from the YouTuber MatPat. His audio is extremely clear in his theory videos and for a time I believed that he recorded in a foamed studio but it has been confirmed that he records from his closet. The clothes essentially prevent the reverberations and allow for him to record extremely clear audio. I will have to record my audio on my phone as I don't have a microphone but this means that the recording from the closet will be too much of a hassle to record - since my phone is smaller than a high-budget microphone.
A possible recording location is the school's music rooms in the music department. These areas are filled with music equipment and therefore could be an issue. However, they're reasonably sound proof and provide a relatively lo-echo location.A major issue would be the fact that these music rooms typically have music lessons going on, either in other smaller rooms or in the major class rooms, in which case my recordings might disrupt those lessons (and I wouldn't be permitted to do that). Furthermore, these lessons would also disrupt my own audio and that would also be an issue.
One benefit is the fact that the location is on school grounds and therefore organising a recording session with my peers would be easier, in fact they're more likely to come during a common free than if I was to have them record at my house. I think that this is a great location to try organising some auditions to see if anyone would be ideal for narrating my video; the issue would be actually finding a time when no other classes are occurring and those auditioning were free.Closet:
The idea to record in my closet comes from the YouTuber MatPat. His audio is extremely clear in his theory videos and for a time I believed that he recorded in a foamed studio but it has been confirmed that he records from his closet. The clothes essentially prevent the reverberations and allow for him to record extremely clear audio. I will have to record my audio on my phone as I don't have a microphone but this means that the recording from the closet will be too much of a hassle to record - since my phone is smaller than a high-budget microphone.
Sunday, 26 March 2017
Teaching Guides
What I read:
Sort of worth it, they're interesting but apply to the more conventional areas of teaching and don't really help given the distinct nature of a video - it's meant to be relatively informal but there is a clear teacher-student dynamic to the structures proposed. The platform I would be using (a digital video uploaded to YouTube) would certainly be applicable within a lesson as - in accordance with Michael Schratz - students are allegedly fine with having information "poured" at them. The book focuses on the dynamics of group work vs the more traditional lecture style but the nature of my product allows for feedback and discussion on the subject within an online comments section; the aim of my project is to generate interest and provide some overall knowledge in order to spur further historical interest and education, but the idea of entirely teaching something may not be possible in the time I am allotted. The Teacher's Toolkit was widely useless to me as it focused more on conventional teaching strategy; particular focus was placed upon methods of teaching such as class activities which would definitely not fit the format of my product.
Schratz makes an interesting point about structuring a lesson around an image, showcasing it at the start of a lesson then teaching about the subject and then having students reflect on the initial image at the end. With this, I could include a conventional crusader at the beginning of the video and have the student perhaps question the notion of "victorious crusaders" that the Media has generated. I believe the Western educational institutions fail to acknowledge the human aspect of the Muslims in this section of history; it appears to just be a clear Christian vs Muslim narrative however I would like to balance this out. I therefore have something to take away from reading Schratz's work.
This method is rather unconventional and coincides with some suggestions put forth by Phil Beadle. He explains that, within plenaries at the end of a lesson, the formulaic "What have you learned today" is likely to disengage the pupils and signal it is the end of the discussion. At least with this 'picture' method, I can allow for some reflection to occur - even if it is subtle and not outright. My attempt is to make them see the original image in a different light to the initial showing.
However, there is one last thing surrounding Schratz's work in regards to 'voice'. Essentially it proposes some cultural assumptions are to be made in regards to a topic based on the origin and background of students along with the accent and format of the teacher's speech. In order to achieve some degree of reliability in being neutral, it is important to tell both sides of a topic. This method is called 'Crosscultural, Comparative, Reflective Interview'; the idea of discussing the Christian and Muslim sides introduces a sense of neutrality and a lack of bias within my work, which I aim to achieve.
- Qualitative Voices in Educational Research - Michael Schratz
- How to Teach - Phil Beadle
- The Teacher's Toolkit: Raise Classroom Achievement with Strategies for Every Learner - Paul Ginnis
Sort of worth it, they're interesting but apply to the more conventional areas of teaching and don't really help given the distinct nature of a video - it's meant to be relatively informal but there is a clear teacher-student dynamic to the structures proposed. The platform I would be using (a digital video uploaded to YouTube) would certainly be applicable within a lesson as - in accordance with Michael Schratz - students are allegedly fine with having information "poured" at them. The book focuses on the dynamics of group work vs the more traditional lecture style but the nature of my product allows for feedback and discussion on the subject within an online comments section; the aim of my project is to generate interest and provide some overall knowledge in order to spur further historical interest and education, but the idea of entirely teaching something may not be possible in the time I am allotted. The Teacher's Toolkit was widely useless to me as it focused more on conventional teaching strategy; particular focus was placed upon methods of teaching such as class activities which would definitely not fit the format of my product.
Schratz makes an interesting point about structuring a lesson around an image, showcasing it at the start of a lesson then teaching about the subject and then having students reflect on the initial image at the end. With this, I could include a conventional crusader at the beginning of the video and have the student perhaps question the notion of "victorious crusaders" that the Media has generated. I believe the Western educational institutions fail to acknowledge the human aspect of the Muslims in this section of history; it appears to just be a clear Christian vs Muslim narrative however I would like to balance this out. I therefore have something to take away from reading Schratz's work.
This method is rather unconventional and coincides with some suggestions put forth by Phil Beadle. He explains that, within plenaries at the end of a lesson, the formulaic "What have you learned today" is likely to disengage the pupils and signal it is the end of the discussion. At least with this 'picture' method, I can allow for some reflection to occur - even if it is subtle and not outright. My attempt is to make them see the original image in a different light to the initial showing.
However, there is one last thing surrounding Schratz's work in regards to 'voice'. Essentially it proposes some cultural assumptions are to be made in regards to a topic based on the origin and background of students along with the accent and format of the teacher's speech. In order to achieve some degree of reliability in being neutral, it is important to tell both sides of a topic. This method is called 'Crosscultural, Comparative, Reflective Interview'; the idea of discussing the Christian and Muslim sides introduces a sense of neutrality and a lack of bias within my work, which I aim to achieve.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Supervisor's Advice
Upon meeting again, my supervisor raised some concern in regards to my audio situation - which I haven't commented on much. In response to this I explained that I wished to hold some auditions, which my following post should be about. These auditions will be in order to determine who narrates my final video as I don't believe my own voice to sound very appealing or clear - I believe someone else may fair better in this field. I would still be writing the script though, in order to ensure the information and focus within the video coincides with my project's aim. I also clarified that I would be recording on my iPhone and that I would scout for areas to record audio (one potential location being my closet).
Additionally, my supervisor mentioned the teaching guides again. I'm currently reading through these guides but they don't appear useful as they mainly offer guidance in regards to conventional teaching; I have yet to finish looking through the guides but again intend on creating a future post around this exact area.
Lastly, we seemed to agree that using my video with a test audience would help to evaluate how effective it has been. The issue with this will be managing a time and place to showcase the video and how I will go about receiving feedback; I believe it would make sense to simply have people state if they found it useful or not and depending on the amount I can quantify that number and make a pie-chart or table to show the percentage that thought it good or bad. Again, this does come down to a timing issue as it might be difficult to set aside 15 minutes of lesson time in History to organise a test group, however actually getting volunteers to commit to a screening time would also be a hassle as many people would likely not turn up. One solution to this might be catching people when they are free and showing my video then, keeping a tally of those who believe it was successful and those who thought it wasn't.
Additionally, my supervisor mentioned the teaching guides again. I'm currently reading through these guides but they don't appear useful as they mainly offer guidance in regards to conventional teaching; I have yet to finish looking through the guides but again intend on creating a future post around this exact area.
Lastly, we seemed to agree that using my video with a test audience would help to evaluate how effective it has been. The issue with this will be managing a time and place to showcase the video and how I will go about receiving feedback; I believe it would make sense to simply have people state if they found it useful or not and depending on the amount I can quantify that number and make a pie-chart or table to show the percentage that thought it good or bad. Again, this does come down to a timing issue as it might be difficult to set aside 15 minutes of lesson time in History to organise a test group, however actually getting volunteers to commit to a screening time would also be a hassle as many people would likely not turn up. One solution to this might be catching people when they are free and showing my video then, keeping a tally of those who believe it was successful and those who thought it wasn't.
Thursday, 16 March 2017
Sound Effects - Worth It?
I do not believe the inclusion of these sound effect is entirely necessary, in fact they might be too distracting from the narration which provides the information necessary within the video. It was a nice idea initially but not really one I think that needs pursuing.
Sound Effects - SFX Production
I considered adding in some sound effects into my video, as to better immerse the viewer in any action that might be displayed. Notably I was able to make the sounds of a sword fight, a horse galloping and some wind.
The horse noise was made by clapping my leather wallet against my chest, I think it turned out quite close to the real thing. I could also layer up the audio as to create the sound of an army on horses and such which might also be cool.
For the sword fight I used cutlery, namely a fork and knife. I clanged them together a couple of times and made sure to just graze them across each other as some fights would include parrying and grazed hits rather than direct blocks and blows. It doesn't sound too realistic, in fact they're quite dull in sound.
To create some ambient wind, I thought of blowing into microphone. I was quite out of breath but in editing I could perhaps extend or loop the noise to make it last longer. It seemed to work but the issue would be blowing directly into the mic may cause lots of harsh grainy audio, so I would need to blow alongside the microphone instead.
The horse noise was made by clapping my leather wallet against my chest, I think it turned out quite close to the real thing. I could also layer up the audio as to create the sound of an army on horses and such which might also be cool.
For the sword fight I used cutlery, namely a fork and knife. I clanged them together a couple of times and made sure to just graze them across each other as some fights would include parrying and grazed hits rather than direct blocks and blows. It doesn't sound too realistic, in fact they're quite dull in sound.
To create some ambient wind, I thought of blowing into microphone. I was quite out of breath but in editing I could perhaps extend or loop the noise to make it last longer. It seemed to work but the issue would be blowing directly into the mic may cause lots of harsh grainy audio, so I would need to blow alongside the microphone instead.
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