Struggles and Triumphs of the Radio Essay
Well here it goes,
So far this class is like learning a second language, as in you know a few words and can almost understand it but its going to take a lot of practice. I know how to write an essay, so there's that. I know how to talk ( that's obvious) and I have listened to a pod cast before, so there's a few pieces. Now I just have to put them together and try not to mess up! The biggest struggle I had while doing our first few assignments was getting ahold of the basics, how the heck do I use this audacity thing? My first few tries with the soundscape project were well, lets say they were interesting. I had no idea how to piece the sounds together without them playing on top of each other. After some unnecessary frustration I decided that YouTube was the answer, and it turns out it was. I figured it out, ok now I just had to make them sound good, which I think I did an ok job, but with that being said I managed to somehow stretch the sound waves and it looked a tad bit crazy, but it sounded normal so yeah Ill have to figure out what I did wrong there.
Now comes the fun stuff the narrative short essay. I had a lot of fun with this. I really appreciate how we were given the challenge of "jumping into the fire" Sometimes my brain always overthinks things and I feel like I have to constantly explain myself or put in some context so that was a huge relief. I think because of this challenge and the examples we got in class it made my piece stronger than I expected it to be. I can honestly say I was really proud of my writing and sometimes as a self critic that's pretty damn awesome. I thought I had improved on the editing as well, but then again I did it in one fluid take so that made it easier anyway, I still need to work on putting things together I think though.
As for the genre itself it is still a mystery to me in some ways. It's a whole new kind of writing style that I have never considered before but I think it's pretty fun so far. I think it gives people a different way to express their writing. It's almost like the in-between a movie and a manuscript. You can add music to your piece to make it more dramatic, funny and so on. You can add sounds, interviews and you never have to show your face, just your voice. Its about creating a different kind of art, almost like going back to the basics with Orson Wells and his radio program. There's something kind of magical in that I think.
So far this class is like learning a second language, as in you know a few words and can almost understand it but its going to take a lot of practice. I know how to write an essay, so there's that. I know how to talk ( that's obvious) and I have listened to a pod cast before, so there's a few pieces. Now I just have to put them together and try not to mess up! The biggest struggle I had while doing our first few assignments was getting ahold of the basics, how the heck do I use this audacity thing? My first few tries with the soundscape project were well, lets say they were interesting. I had no idea how to piece the sounds together without them playing on top of each other. After some unnecessary frustration I decided that YouTube was the answer, and it turns out it was. I figured it out, ok now I just had to make them sound good, which I think I did an ok job, but with that being said I managed to somehow stretch the sound waves and it looked a tad bit crazy, but it sounded normal so yeah Ill have to figure out what I did wrong there.
Now comes the fun stuff the narrative short essay. I had a lot of fun with this. I really appreciate how we were given the challenge of "jumping into the fire" Sometimes my brain always overthinks things and I feel like I have to constantly explain myself or put in some context so that was a huge relief. I think because of this challenge and the examples we got in class it made my piece stronger than I expected it to be. I can honestly say I was really proud of my writing and sometimes as a self critic that's pretty damn awesome. I thought I had improved on the editing as well, but then again I did it in one fluid take so that made it easier anyway, I still need to work on putting things together I think though.
As for the genre itself it is still a mystery to me in some ways. It's a whole new kind of writing style that I have never considered before but I think it's pretty fun so far. I think it gives people a different way to express their writing. It's almost like the in-between a movie and a manuscript. You can add music to your piece to make it more dramatic, funny and so on. You can add sounds, interviews and you never have to show your face, just your voice. Its about creating a different kind of art, almost like going back to the basics with Orson Wells and his radio program. There's something kind of magical in that I think.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteI am also finding our assignments in this class to be challenging and fun. I found your comment about learning "whole new kind of writing style" to be very apt. While all writing is similar, each genre has its own unique challenges and opportunities.
Thanks Bryan,
DeleteI know right! I'm looking forward to seeing what the next challenge will be with this class.
"All hail YouTube!" But for reals, I had to youtube many things to get it just right. I love your comment about our projects being magical. I also had a little flashback to an old-style radio keeping a whole family entertained. I think it's cool how this style had been maintained over the years. It is going to be interesting how everything plays out this semester.
ReplyDelete"I decided that YouTube was the answer, and it turns out it was."
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of amazing how often that is true. I know it has helped me out of many a tech-related jam.
"It's about creating a different kind of art, almost like going back to the basics with Orson Welles and his radio program."
I wish there was an advanced version of this class, where we had to actually make an old-school radio play. I grew up listening to those (heck, sometimes I still pull up old episodes of Radio Mystery Theater on Youtube....so once again, hooray for Youtube), and I really miss that lost art.