[Imc-chicago-audio] audio formats

[Kelly Pierce]

thanks Mitchell.  Based on your feedback and others, I have decided to 
encode the final product at 64 k.  I generally keep the .wav file on my hard 
drive for a month or so and if people would like this instead of the MP3, 
just let me know.  I discovered that Rita has a recording that she uses of 
30 seconds of tone for inserting into recordings when necessary.  I will 
catch up with Rita at the radio station one of these days and create a .wav 
file of the recording so tone can be easily cut and pasted.  Once I have it, 
I'll let the list know so people can request it from me.

Normalize is a pro audio term that refers to a process where the level of a 
recording is adjusted so that the highest peak of a recording is at the 
absolutely highest recording level of the medium.  this is useful when a 
speaker talks loudly and softly or different speakers are loud and soft. 
Often normalizing allows the producer of the recording to not only bring up 
the peaks, but to flatten the extremes of the highs and the lows.  If this 
is done too aggressively, the recording can sound flat and the speaker 
monotone.  done with a little art and care, level variations can be 
preserved but quiet passages are given a boost in volume so whispers can 
easily be heard and people somewhat away from the microphone as in a 
discussion can often be fully heard without wildly moving the volume knob. 
I've decided to do some light normalizing, which will be much less 
aggressive than what some do but a lot more than if I did nothing. 
Sometimes I don't do it at all, like with an amplified input.

Kelly


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mitchell Szczepanczyk" <msszczep at midway.uchicago.edu>
To: "Kelly Pierce" <kellyjosef at earthlink.net>
Cc: <imc-chicago-audio at lists.indymedia.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 9:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Imc-chicago-audio] audio formats


> 1.  Depends.  I use uncompressed .wav for loading files onto my iTunes,
> but I almost exclusively use .mp3 for loading files onto the web (since
> .mp3 is; sure, mp3 is a proprietary format, but it's very well known and
> easy to use).
>
> 2. Don't know.  Rita may have some comments on this.
>
> 3. Whether or not you should leave a curse word in depends on (a) the word
> in question, (b) the sensibilities of the broadcaster, and (c) the likely
> listening audience.  Plus, there's a factor as to whether or not
> by leaving it in you want to put up with any other potential
> headaches.  Judgment calls should rely on all three factors at
> least.  I've found tones to be easier to listen than pauses; at least
> with tones, you know that something is being bleeped out.  If you edit the
> word out, that can sound confusing.
>
> 4. mp3 is probably the way to go; even though it is a highly compressed
> format, it can still lead to some huge files.  One way to get around them
> is via the web or FTP transfers; if you can post them on a webpage (even
> if temporarily) or on an FTP site, that can help with traffic.
>
> Let me know if you have any more questions.
>
> Thanks.
> ----------
> _ Z  Mitchell Szczepanczyk
>  /  http://home.uchicago.edu/~msszczep http://www.chicagomediaaction.org
>     http://www.geocities.com/szczepanczyk http://chicago.indymedia.org
>
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2005, Kelly Pierce wrote:
>
>>
>> I am pleased to report that I have learned the Sound forge sound editing
>> program well enough to save a file from minidisc into my machine in Sound
>> Forge, edit it to the way desired and save it into a number of audio
>> formats.  In learning all of this some questions have occurred to me in
>> getting a file that could be used on someone's show.
>>
>> 1.  do people want the uncompressed .wav file or an MP3 file?  If an MP3
>> file, which bitrate?
>>
>> 2.  do folks want me to normalize the file before I provide it to them or 
>> do
>> they want to normalize files themselves?  What is typically done for 
>> sharing
>> audio files with program producers in general?
>>
>> 3.  If curse words which are not suitable for public broadcast are used 
>> in
>> the original recording, should these be edited out or left in?  If edited
>> out, should a tone be inserted or just the offending material be removed
>> without a tone?  I have heard both approaches.
>>
>> 4.  Once the file is ready, how should I make it available for folks?  if 
>> it
>> is a .wav file, the file size creates the practical necessity of
>> transferring it by CD and sending it through the postal mail or leaving a 
>> CD
>> at the radio station.  MP3 files can be transferred online for those with
>> high speed connections.  I can send files to people individually but is
>> there a place where I can upload files for people to download without me
>> needing to send out an announcement and make individual arrangements, 
>> which
>> could be time consuming in the long run?
>>
>> I will appreciate guidance from those more experienced in this area.
>> thanks.
>>
>> Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>