http://soundcloud.com/wbailey2
This is a link to my SoundCloud account which has the recorded interview with my classmate Dani Esquivel about her love for reading and what she reads.
1. In my experience in the filed of journalism here at UW, I have had previous experiences with interviewing with an audio recorder. I have used a variety of recording devices through over half a dozen interviewees, so this wasn’t very different. However, this is the first time I have had to upload the interview to SoundCloud and to a blog, so I had to pay attention to certain factors that I never had to worry about prior to. Factors included the amount of background noises during the interview such as other voices, body movements, the volume and clarity of the person speaking and others. I also, for the first time, had to closely monitor the time of the interview, which also proved to be more of a challenge. From the interviewee standpoint, I will admit this was a first in a very long while. I had to remind myself to keep my voice loud and clear and to not ramble or say ‘um’ or ‘uh’ throughout the interview. It was good to refresh myself with being the interviewee and I think I ultimately did well with it.
2. I learned that when it comes to audio, sound is both your best friend and worst enemy. It’s good because it is able to catch the voice of the interviewee clearly and give your report/story more of a personal feel, but at the same time, too much sound (background noises) can drown out the speaker and cause distractions for those who are listening to the interview. There are a lot of thing to pay close attention to, which was kind of a hassle at times, but it was very good practice and I’m sure it will help me out in future audio-based interviews.
3. I enjoyed the interviewer and interviewee roles I played in during this assignment. It was good practice for (possibly) other interviews to come. Dani was a good partner to have and she made it easy and enjoyable to do the assignment. I also enjoyed working with Audacity and I’m very excited to begin the editing process with the final recording. I didn’t enjoy the softness of our recordings on the computer, whereas when we listened to them with my headphones, they sounded clear and at the right volume. But I suppose having the recordings more quiet than loud is kind of a good thing. I guess the grade will either agree or disagree with that opinion.
4. Like the previous question, I wish that our recordings were just a little louder. I would have also preferred a slightly quieter place to conduct the interview, but since another group was waiting for the recording device, we had to make due with what was available. Other than those minor concerns, background noises and distractions were at a minimum, Dani and I both spoke clearly for the most part (a few ‘ums’ and slight hesitations here and there) and we stayed within the time limit given. All in all, it went very well and I think our final edited interviews will turn out extremely well.
3.
Multi-Media Storytelling and Writings 