Sunday, March 27, 2016

Podcast Telephone Interview Made Possible by App

My last exciting blog post detailed creating my first podcast for the Teaching Multimedia course, an overview of the Hancock County Courthouse in Sparta, Georgia.  After that, I was ready for another task, namely one that didn’t involve recording myself.

But wait—there’s more!  Now I had to create another podcast that would include interviews with others.

Hancock County Courthouse.  Sparta, Georgia.  National Register of Historic Places 
(April 16, 1974).  Photographed by Stephen Milligan (July 20, 2015).
I decided to delve more deeply into the courthouse topic, particularly the fire that virtually destroyed it in 2014 and the reconstruction process. 

I had contacted officials in Hancock County’s government, offering them my photos (a whole year’s worth) for archival purposes, and I’ve kept up with two of them: Sistie Hudson, Chairman of the Hancock County Board of Commissioners, and Teresa Kell, District 4 Commissioner.  Both were willing to participate in an interview.

Conducting the interview presented a challenge.  Sparta is more than two hours away, and while I wouldn’t mind a Saturday jaunt to Georgia, with endless schoolwork, housework, and yard work, I hardly had time!  I could neglect these chores (I do most weekends), but both ladies in Sparta were just entering a busy period of personal and professional commitments.

What’s the next best thing to being there?  A telephone interview!  But how would I record it?  If I used the speakerphone at school and recorded on the iPhone, I may sound clear and “live,” whereas my subjects might sound tinny and artificial.  If only I could record both ends of the conversation with a balance of sound quality!

Surely there’s an app for that.

There is…more than one.  After some internet research, I settled on an app.  Call Recording by NoNotes.com had positive reviews and required no special equipment (no VoIP or Skype connection needed).  This app would record a call I had initiated (many only record incoming calls).  The app is free, including 20 free minutes of recording per month, with options to purchase extra minutes (most charge, but this one was reasonably priced); I purchased more time in case the interview ran long…and it did.  For an additional fee, calls can be transcribed (hence the name).

Using the app is easy:  After entering my phone number and creating a password, I made a sample call.  The app accessed my contacts and routed the call through its network.  Immediately I received an incoming call from NoNotes.com.  I answered to hear the phone ringing, connecting me to the contact dialed.  After the call, I received an e-mail message that the recording was ready.  I downloaded it by simply logging in to NoNotes.com on the computer.

I composed my questions and called Sparta at the appointed time.  The interview went well, mostly.  A few words of mine are unclear near the beginning, and there was some latency between questions and answers, similar to latency during televised satellite interviews, but I edited that out in Audacity.  Thanks to previous lessons on Audacity, editing wasn’t difficult.

Now I’m tired of hearing myself talk—on to the next task!  

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Podcasting Novice Chooses Topic, Makes Recording with Ease

Create a podcast.  I should be excused from this assignment.  Shouldn’t podcasts be delivered in the smooth voice of Casey Kasem?  Or intoned in the authoritative voice of James Earl Jones?  Even if the instructor insists on subjecting herself and my non-Southern classmates to this voice, what would I record a podcast about?

A favorite piece of literature or beloved author?  They’ll already think they’re listening to a monologue from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  A great architect or monumental building?  Frank Lloyd Wright?  Louis Sullivan?  The Sears Tower?  The John Hancock Center?  Perhaps another building that derives its name from Mr. Hancock…if I can’t contract this assignment out to a better voice, I should at least choose a matching topic: The Hancock County Courthouse in Sparta, Georgia, the most beautiful courthouse in the state, at least in my opinion. 


I know enough about the building to write a script.  I traveled to Sparta once each month in 2013 to photograph it—3,336 miles and fifty-seven hours on the road.  Some thought I was crazy to invest so much in one dilapidated building, but I’m so glad I did—the courthouse was almost completely destroyed by fire eight months after I finished the project, so I have some of the last photos of it.  I’ve also researched the building’s history and become acquainted with some local citizens after I sent them copies of my photos.  So there’s my topic.  I can even throw a y’all or two into the podcast just like that Georgia peach Paula Deen!

I now had to get the technical knowledge down.  After reading the assigned textbook chapter and examining the websites listed, I can’t say I’ve committed to memory everything I need to know about equipment and software, but I know where to find out. 

Some of the microphone discussion and comparison I was already familiar with—my principal wants to start a broadcasting program (meaning he wants me to start a broadcasting program), so my friend Louise, who taught broadcasting at a nearby high school for sixteen years, has paid several visits to school to consult on equipment orders, evaluate our existing studio, and expose my students to equipment, including different microphones and their recommended use.

After preparing my script, rehearsing the timing, and editing for length, I had to record.  Creating an audioBoom account and downloading the app were easy; in fact, most everything about audioBoom was simple: recording on the phone, saving, deleting, pulling the recording up on the computer, and embedding the recording in the blog post were straightforward (a test post proved adding the podcast was easier than adding a photo slideshow).  The only real problem with audioBoom was finding the recording—it didn’t immediately display as a saved file, but after clicking around on the menu, there it was under Profile/Posts/Drafts.  Another problem is the lack of voice-filtering technology, but the class will just have to deal with it.

After all, y’all are the ones who have accents, not me!