There are many resources available for royalty-free sounds and music. Here are a few we like:
Soungle.com - for sound effects
Freesound.org - for short music clips and sounds; creators release audio under Creative Commons license for reuse and remix, as long as attribution is given
CCmixter.org - for longer songs; a bit hard to search, but could be used for some projects
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Audacity Resources
The Audacity Team created a very clear introductory tutorial that you can download.
The team notes that:
"Audacity is a free, open source, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
* Record live audio from a microphone;
* Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs;
* Edit MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files;
* Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together;
* Change the speed or pitch of a recording;
* Create audio Podcasts."
There is a link to the right for downloading Audacity. The Audacity Team has also made other tutorials available on their wiki - check them out as you become more adept and need to learn how to make more complicated audio manipulations!
One more thing: due to software patents, Sourceforge cannot distribute MP3 encoding software themselves. There is a free LAME encoder to export MP3 files with Audacity. You can access it, along with all steps for downloading and linking it to Audacity, at Sourceforge's download and install Lame page.
The team notes that:
"Audacity is a free, open source, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
* Record live audio from a microphone;
* Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs;
* Edit MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files;
* Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together;
* Change the speed or pitch of a recording;
* Create audio Podcasts."
There is a link to the right for downloading Audacity. The Audacity Team has also made other tutorials available on their wiki - check them out as you become more adept and need to learn how to make more complicated audio manipulations!
One more thing: due to software patents, Sourceforge cannot distribute MP3 encoding software themselves. There is a free LAME encoder to export MP3 files with Audacity. You can access it, along with all steps for downloading and linking it to Audacity, at Sourceforge's download and install Lame page.
Foley Artistry
If you view the credits of most movies, you will note that there is a "Foley Artist" listed. The Foley Artist is responsible for producing all the background sounds that give life to films - the rustling clothing, creaking doors, and background sounds. Jack Foley, who worked for 33 years on Stage 10 at Universal Studios, is the inspiration for this term. His story is told on NPR's Lost & Found Sound: Jack Foley: Feet to the Stars.
The Folger Shakespeare Library includes a lesson plan entitled "I Will Hear That Play": Using Sound to Enhance the Text by Sarah Hicks on using sound to enhance text, with a discussion of Foley artistry; useful handouts are included.
Students were introduced to Foley Artistry in Technology class. As they listened to vintage radio broadcasts, they focused on identifying background sounds. A good site with short mystery radio tracks is 5 Minute Mysteries Old Time Radio Shows from MysteryShows.com.
They next used the project resource packet's Foley Artist Worksheet to identify sounds they wished to create and what they would use to do so. They used Audacity, an open source program which is free to download, to record sounds and play them back, keeping track of their successes.
The Folger Shakespeare Library includes a lesson plan entitled "I Will Hear That Play": Using Sound to Enhance the Text by Sarah Hicks on using sound to enhance text, with a discussion of Foley artistry; useful handouts are included.
Students were introduced to Foley Artistry in Technology class. As they listened to vintage radio broadcasts, they focused on identifying background sounds. A good site with short mystery radio tracks is 5 Minute Mysteries Old Time Radio Shows from MysteryShows.com.
They next used the project resource packet's Foley Artist Worksheet to identify sounds they wished to create and what they would use to do so. They used Audacity, an open source program which is free to download, to record sounds and play them back, keeping track of their successes.
Literature Resources
Students were introduced to the mystery genre as they studied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
The documents used as students studied the genre and wrote their own mystery scripts are available for download: Project Documents.
The steps students followed as they studied the mystery genre, wrote their own mystery scripts, and created individualized podcasts are included on page 2 of the packet, outlined below:
You must have a Sherlock Holmes and a Watson.Organizing Your Mystery worksheet with the group. Have it checked.plot diagram with the group. Have it checked.Super Sleuth Peer Editing Sheet. Have it checked.Foley worksheet.
The documents used as students studied the genre and wrote their own mystery scripts are available for download: Project Documents.
The steps students followed as they studied the mystery genre, wrote their own mystery scripts, and created individualized podcasts are included on page 2 of the packet, outlined below:
You must have a Sherlock Holmes and a Watson.Organizing Your Mystery worksheet with the group. Have it checked.plot diagram with the group. Have it checked.Super Sleuth Peer Editing Sheet. Have it checked.Foley worksheet.
The Sherlock Holmes Radio Mystery Theater Podcasting Project
Detective, your job is simple. With your cadre of like-minded sleuths, you will create
a spine-tingling tale of tension, trickery, and terror. Write and record your tale
with your friends and your laptop, then add your own background sound to the
production. Share your podcast with the world.
The following steps will lead you to your final destination:
___1. Read a good Sherlock Holmes mystery and record title here: _________________________.
___2. Complete a plot diagram for that mystery.
___3. Discuss Mystery Elements and Mystery Words worksheets with the class
___4. Discuss the Mystery Elements Writing Guide.
___5. Meet with your group and brainstorm your story. Decide on your characters. You must have a Sherlock Holmes and a Watson.
___6. Complete Organizing Your Mystery worksheet with the group. Have it checked.
___7. Complete the plot diagram with the group. Have it checked.
___8. As a group, write your story as a script. You may have a narrator (but remember it is Watson). Have your script checked.
___9. Complete the Super Sleuth Peer Editing Sheet. Have it checked.
___10. Make any changes to your final script. Be ready to record.
___11. Decide what group sounds to record. Complete the Foley worksheet.
___12. Record your story together and save to the sharing folder.
___13. Record group sounds together and save to the sharing folder.
___14. Record any sounds you would like for your own story soundtrack (not the group soundtrack) and save to your own folder.
___15. Sync tracks. Add music, if you like. Save to your folder.
___16. Go to the club with Sherlock Holmes and relax by the fire.
Job well done, detective.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Welcome to the Mystery Theater Podcast Project
We are teachers at Cape Cod Academy in Osterville, MA. We would like to share resources and links from our joint Literature/Technology project, for which students created mystery theater podcasts as they studied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
Susannah Remillard is the 6th grade Language Arts & Literature instructor, and Mary Beth Bergh is the Upper & Middle School Technology Coordinator. The groundwork for this project was laid separately in students' Literature and Technology classes, then merged as groups of students recorded the mystery scripts they wrote together. Ultimately students created individualized mystery theater podcasts based upon the group script, but personalized with their own sounds and music.
We hope you use this site for resources and ideas to help your students create their own podcasts related to the grade level and subject area that you teach.
Use the other posts and links at right to access resources for this project.
Many thanks to Chris Shamburg, whose excellent book Student Powered Podcasting inspired us to undertake a podcasting project. His Podcourse, linked with permission, has an excellent tutorial to introduce Audacity and its multi-track recording capability.
The Sherlock Holmes Radio Mystery Theater Podcasting Project by Susannah Remillard and Mary Beth Bergh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Susannah Remillard is the 6th grade Language Arts & Literature instructor, and Mary Beth Bergh is the Upper & Middle School Technology Coordinator. The groundwork for this project was laid separately in students' Literature and Technology classes, then merged as groups of students recorded the mystery scripts they wrote together. Ultimately students created individualized mystery theater podcasts based upon the group script, but personalized with their own sounds and music.
We hope you use this site for resources and ideas to help your students create their own podcasts related to the grade level and subject area that you teach.
Use the other posts and links at right to access resources for this project.
Many thanks to Chris Shamburg, whose excellent book Student Powered Podcasting inspired us to undertake a podcasting project. His Podcourse, linked with permission, has an excellent tutorial to introduce Audacity and its multi-track recording capability.
The Sherlock Holmes Radio Mystery Theater Podcasting Project by Susannah Remillard and Mary Beth Bergh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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