Post #6 Final Audio story
For my Audio story, I decided to discuss the issue of wild horses and burros on rangelands in the Western United States. This topic has fascinated me since I first learned about it in my high school Zoology class. I did some presentations on this topic for a natural resource policy class at the end of the school year and thought it would make for an engaging audio story discussion. Truthfully, I figured out while recording this that this issue is so significant and nuanced that only having 3 minutes to explain the problem was very challenging. I could have talked for an hour about all the moving parts from past and present. I did my best to cut out all the fat and touch on the important stuff. I began with a brief history of the wild horse issue in America dating back to when they were introduced in the 1600s. I then moved into how they are affecting the landscape currently. Then, I finished by explaining some options and considerations for the future.
Regarding videos and sources I used to learn how to edit on Audition, I stuck primarily with the content included in the audio assignment module.
- https://com561.wordpress.com/audition-tutorials/audition-tutorial-counting-numbers/
- https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tolo6hbltoet231o1bsfs/beam_audition_561_SP2014.mp4?rlkey=g2tnhes3mt9tn6letzp52tziy&e=1&dl=0
I also used the unlicensed “Ascona” audio for my intro and outro music. It’s very mellow but adds a nice vibe to the story overall. I really enjoy the way that studios like NPR include music between segments and at the end. Maybe someday I can have that high-quality production, but for now, I made due the best I could.
I recorded my Audio in four separate parts. First, I recorded an introduction segment introducing the show. Then, I moved into the brief background on wild horses. Then I jumped into the current effects wild horses are having on rangelands. I finished by giving a short synopsis of the possible routes for managing wild horses. I uploaded each of these clips into Audition and trimmed out silent parts at the beginning and end of each clip. I organized them all into one line. Then I went back and clipped two portions of the Ascona soundtrack for intro and outro music. I did a fade-in effect over the intro to mesh with my speaking and a fade-out for the outro. I arranged them correctly and exported them into MP3 to post on SoundCloud.
Unfortunately, it has been a hectic fire season, so I did not get to participate in the peer review process. So, for the revision process, it was all personal changes. I was thrilled with my first draft, but I lowered the volume of the music I had overlayed on the intro and outro for the final draft. I also adjusted the fade to overlap longer with my speaking to signify the end of the podcast was coming. I also trimmed a few more seconds off the solutions portion at the end of the story.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this project. I learned a lot, and I am pleased to say that I feel I can use Audition with some effectiveness. Below is the link to my final story. Thank you, and enjoy!