The follow up task for this week was to listen to a couple of podcasts to get some ideas on how we could go about presenting our audio paper. I listened to two podcasts that were available on the playlist that Ingrid (our tutor) put up on the padlet.
The two I listened to are linked here:
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/us/story/sound-matters-episode-1
https://artmusictech.libsyn.com/podcast-365-mark-fell
I found them totally different to one another, and I feel like I’ve picked up more of an idea for how I will approach my own audio paper. The first link is a podcast called ‘Sound Matters’, and the episode was titled ‘The sound of life itself’. I really enjoyed listening to this because there was a clear narrative, there was a lot of variety in the sound design/FX and the spoken word was never too long or tedious. I particularly liked how there was often a soundscape in the background when either the lead narrator or Bernie Krause (who provided a lot of the information over the episode) were talking, and the soundscape or recording would be relevant to what was being spoken about. For instance, at one point the narrator says “now imagine you are in the Amazon jungle”, and as he continues you immediately hear the subtle nuances of sound that the Amazon produces, which I assume to be a direct field recording. In my eyes this adds so much life and dynamism to the podcast because the voice sits within an evolving soundscape. Also, the narrative of the whole episode is reflected in these added recordings, which seem to tell a different version of the same story in their own way – I think this is an idea that could easily be transferred to an audio paper because if the recordings, which could also be replaced by referencing snippets of music, work in tandem with me as a narrator to flesh out the topic I’m speaking on, then it would elevate the entire piece into a more dramatic and unpredictable realm.
The other podcast was an interview with Mark Fell, whose name came up this week in a lesson. I don’t know anything about him other than what I heard in this podcast, but his work and ideas sound really intriguing to me and I would like to look more into him. However, this podcast example is one that lacks the same level of depth and rhythm that the first one had so much of. The basic interview style is still interesting but only if you are interested in what is being spoken about, whereas the more abstract and layered layout of the first example could engage aboslutely anyone because it feels like more of an experience, as if you are walking through these interesting places alongside the narrator.
Overall, the first podcast has helped me to understand further what an audio paper could be, and in turn has generated ideas in my head for how I might present my audio paper sonically. On the other hand I think there are certain elements such as the informal tone which wouldn’t translate so well into an academic audio paper as they take the listening experience down a more comedic path. I don’t think this is a bad thing in any way, but in the context of my own audio paper, seeing as it is my first one, I feel as though I should focus on creating an experience and representing a clear idea rather than trying to be too clever.
