Sound Editing and Podcasting: Sound Starter

Have you been thinking of making a podcast of your research but are unsure of how to get started? Or do you have an idea which you are looking to develop further?

One of the most exciting and accessible new media for PGRs wishing to promote their research to a wider audience is podcasting. For both creators and audiences, listening skills are the foundation of any good podcast. Good presentation, sound recording and editing techniques are also useful skills in any teaching and learning environment.

Sound Starter is a course for students with little or no previous experience, who wish to develop a podcast of their research. It offers an introductory level of sound recording and editing using Reaper software (free-to-download) and will provide a guide to the possibilities of sound manipulation, restoration and mixing. Through a series of practical and analytical tasks it focusses on the details of how to present one’s research clearly in a short podcast. It will cover how to record interviews, mix music and sound effects with voice, heighten listening awareness and dip into some of the different creative ways to experiment with processing sound such as reverberation and compression.

The course will comprise of 4 x 2-hour online workshops split over two days:

Day 1 (26 November 2024)

11:00-13:00 – Some Sound Essentials
Understanding how to creatively use the basic principles of the physics of sound in recording and editing software

Tuning the ear: Critical listening and recording. Learn how to hear good or bad quality recording and edits through critical analysis of pre-recorded podcasts.

Tuning the voice: how to deliver a natural-sounding and engaging scripted performance of a research topic.

14:00-16:00 – Developing the Ear

Focussing on editing and mixing, learn how to focus listening to achieve the best possible edits, and how to mix together music, speech, field recordings and sound effects.

Day 2 (27 November 2024)

11:00-13:00 – Using Basic Sound Effects and Audio Processing:

Adding reverberation and delay, to creatively extend the perceived environment of the narrative.
Tools for improving sound quality: An introduction to de-noising, compressing, and equalising the recorded sound.

14:00-16:00 – Summary:
Participants’ playback and discussion of a practical task.

Course Tutor: Dr. Jo Hutton is a radio and music BBC sound recordist and editor of twenty+ years’ experience, who completed her PhD at University of Surrey in a history of electroacoustic music technology.

A follow on course – ‘Developing Podcasts’ will run in January 2025 and is suitable for students with a basic knowledge of Reaper software and sound recording technology. This second course focuses on a more detailed understanding of mixing and production facilities, and simple live music recordings, so is well suited to those who have completed the ‘Sound Starter’ course or who otherwise have a pre-existing knowledge of basic podcast design.