2. LAB WORK STRUCTURE
• LAB TIME is built into the structure of the class in order to work on
projects. Even so, students work at different speeds so there are also
OPEN LAB hours you can use to work on your projects outside of
regular class meetings.
• LAB TIME = PRODUCTION EXERCISE; simply stay on track with
specific project steps to receive a 100; if you don’t, it’s a 0
• You can also download the software we use to work on your projects
outside of class.
• We have to stay together as a class so once the class lab time
allotted for a project is completed, we’re moving on. Remember -
NO CREDIT FOR LATE WORK! You will have plenty of time to
complete projects, but in order to do so you must attend class and
use the allotted time wisely
3. AUDACITY-GETTING STARTED
• ALWAYS PLUG YOUR HEADPHONES IN BEFORE STARTING AUDACITY!
• Start AUDACITY
• Open the “YOUR LAST NAME-AUDACITY EXERCISE #1” project file
from your USB by double clicking it – DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OTHER
FILE!
4. This is where we left off – you’ve copied, pasted, and
edited the soundbites you want to keep into a new track
and your raw track is MUTED
AUDACITY EXERCISE
5. When delivering your narration DO:
IMAGINE YOU ARE TALKING TO SOMEONE SPECIFIC
GIVE YOUR DELIVERY VARIETY AND INFLECTION
FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE MATERIAL
When delivering your narration DON’T:
BE FLAT AND MONOTONE
SOUND LIKE YOU’RE JUST READING – YOU’RE
TALKING TO SOMEONE, NOT READING TO THEM
MUMBLE OR SLUR YOUR WORDS – PROPER
ENUNCIATION IS VITAL!
AUDACITY EXERCISE
6. Now you are going to record your narration using the supplied script –
first mute the track with the saved bites – if you don’t, you will hear
them play as you record your narration
AUDACITY EXERCISE
7. CLICK THE RECORD BUTTON AND A NEW TRACK IS
AUTOMATICALLY CREATED AND RECORDING STARTS
AUDACITY EXERCISE
8. SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE AND YOU SHOULD SEE
THE AUDIO APPEAR IN THE TRACK
AUDACITY EXERCISE
9. IF YOU DON’T SEE AUDIO BEING RECORDED – CHECK THE
RECORDING INPUT AT THE TOP TO THE RIGHT – SELECT
THE MICROPHONE OPTION
AUDACITY EXERCISE
10. ONCE YOU’RE RECORDING – READ THE NARRATION
SCRIPT STRAIGHT THROUGH PAUSING BETWEEN EACH
PART – MAKE SURE THE LEVELS ARE NOT IN THE RED OR
TOO LOW!
AUDACITY EXERCISE
11. YOU ARE GOING TO EDIT THIS DOWN SO FEEL
FREE TO REDO WHATEVER PART YOU WOULD
LIKE BUT DON’T HIT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE
COMPLETELY DONE!
ALL YOUR NARRATION SHOULD BE ON ONE
TRACK
IF YOU HIT STOP AND THEN RECORD AGAIN, IT
MAKES A NEW TRACK AND YOU DON’T WANT
THAT – YOU ONLY WANT ONE!
WE WILL HOLD UNTIL EVERYONE HAS
RECORDED THEIR NARRATION
AUDACITY EXERCISE
12. NOW THAT YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR
NARRATION YOUR LAYOUT SHOULD LOOK
SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
AUDACITY EXERCISE
13. You are now going to remove the parts of the
narration you DON’T want but you are NOT
going to edit it the way you trimmed the
Trump bites
AUDACITY EXERCISE
15. MAKE CERTAIN THAT’S THE PART YOU WANT GONE
YOU DON’T WANT IT TO CLOSE UP, THOUGH, YOU WANT
TO LEAVE AN EMPTY GAP
GO TO EDIT – REMOVE SPECIAL – SPLIT DELETE
AUDACITY EXERCISE
16. GO TO EDIT – REMOVE SPECIAL – SPLIT DELETE
THIS WILL REMOVE THE HIGHLIGHTED PART AND LEAVE
AN EMPTY SPACE
AUDACITY EXERCISE
17. NOW DO THIS FOR ALL THE
PARTS OF THE NARRATION YOU
WANT REMOVED – LEAVING
ONLY THE TRACK AS ASSIGNED
WE WILL NOT MOVE ON UNTIL
EVERYONE HAS DONE THESE
BASIC EDITS
AUDACITY EXERCISE
20. AUDACITY EXERCISE
Once you select the TIME SHIFT TOOL you can
move the bites around in their tracks so you
want to sequence them so they sound natural
when played:
21. AUDACITY EXERCISE
Each track has its own VOLUME SLIDER that
you will use to make sure the levels of each
track are relative and sound good; the
narration and the sound bites should be heard
at basically the same level
22. WHEN YOU’RE DONE YOUR LAYOUT SHOULD
LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS AND IT SHOULD
SOUND PROFESSIONAL WHEN PLAYED:
AUDACITY EXERCISE
23. You are now going to add the music bed,
make final adjustments, and export and
submit the file
AUDACITY EXERCISE
24. • Go to the appropriate week and
download/save the file “NEWSCAST MUSIC”
to your USB drive in the “MMJ AUDIO” folder
• AS WITH ALL YOUR AUDIO FILES AND
MATERIAL, THIS SHOULD BE ON YOUR USB –
NOT ON THE LAB COMPUTER!
AUDACITY EXERCISE
25. • Within AUDACITY select FILE – IMPORT – AUDIO
and select the “NEWSCAST MUSIC” file which you
just saved to your USB drive
AUDACITY EXERCISE
26. After the import is complete, your layout should
look something like this with 3 active tracks and
one muted track:
AUDACITY EXERCISE
27. AUDACITY EXERCISE
Use each track’s
VOLUME SLIDER to
make sure the levels of
each track are relative
and sound good; the
narration and the
sound bites should be
heard at basically the
same level with the
music underneath it all
– the music should
NOT be the focus – it’s
there to provide a
unifying quality and
mask the edits
28. AUDACITY EXERCISE
You also want to
make sure the
music matches
the rest of your
audio in length –
use the edit tools
we’ve already
covered to adjust
music length
29. AUDACITY EXERCISE
LISTEN CLOSELY TO YOUR FILE! IS IT…
Consistent in sound levels - does it
simply sound good?
Edited smoothly with no errors such as
clipping of words or unnecessary gaps?
Narrated in an engaged and well-
delivered manner as per the provided
script?
THE GRADE FOR THIS EXERCISE
DEPENDS ON THESE THREE FACTORS!
30. AUDACITY EXERCISE
Once you’re satisfied with how it sounds, close
the RAW AUDIO track so all that remains are the
3 active tracks (Sound Bites, Narration, and
Music):
32. AUDACITY EXERCISE
ONCE EXPORTING IS FINISHED – LOCATE THE
EXPORTED FILE ON YOUR USB AND PLAY IT
AGAIN! Never just trust that it exported correctly
– ALWAYS CHECK IT!
If you’re satisfied with it, go to the appropriate
folder and use the ATTACH FILE option to submit
your finished exercise file
34. AUDACITY EXERCISE
NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED FOR CREDIT
USE CLASS LAB TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS
AND GET HELP!
I’VE GIVEN YOU THE TOOLS AND AM
HERE TO PROVIDE FULL SUPPORT BUT
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FINAL
PRODUCT
I EVALUATE THESE AS IF I WERE A TYPICAL
LISTENER, NOT JUST YOUR TEACHER
35. LAB REMINDERS
• There’s only one of me so learn to help yourself
by using readily available resources about the
AUDACITY software USE THE SUPPLIED
RESOURCES AND THE INTERNET – there is no
shortage of Audacity Help out there
• SAVE YOUR PERSONAL WORK TO YOUR OWN
USB DRIVE! IF YOU LEAVE IT ON THE PC YOU’RE
WORKING ON, YOU COULD LOSE IT WHEN IT IS
REBOOTED! Lost work due to improper saving is
the same as not doing it in the first place
36. LAB TIME ATTENDANCE
•If you don’t come to class during LAB
TIME sessions you will most likely fall
behind – the PowerPoints are
designed to be as simple to follow as
possible but there is simply no
substitute for in-person instruction
