As we near the end of the semester I think that’s its really important to look at these past few months retrospectively as well as at ourselves introspectively and be honest in terms of where we were, where we are and where we want to go. Given that I am not naturally technologically savvy I’m pretty pleased with how I have progressed in terms of familiarising myself with the software that we’re required to work with. But, that having been said, the main reason that I moved to Melbourne was to challenge myself academically and professionally as much as possible. While I generally don’t “fear” things per se, I sometimes worry that I am not meeting my absolute potential and, because of that, I am very honest with myself with what I could be doing better or how I could be improving my skill set quicker or more effectively.
Looking back at past work I definitely didn’t produce very polished products, especially when initially orientating myself with Abode Audition. Because of this, I thought that it would be worthwhile to revisit the software (which I haven’t really touched since) and refine my skills some further, through interviewing my sister and mother during a weekend away in Sydney. This is something that I intend on doing during the break to get some more experience before the next semester commences.
Taking a look back at my second attempt, I can definitely appreciate a marked improvement. The editing is far more subtle and, I feel, generally sounds quite naturally (even though I had pulled apart and re-constructed the audio quite significantly). I felt that, listening back to the audio, I was interrupting my subjects far more than necessary, inadvertently distracting their flow of thought and ditracting from what they were saying. Perhaps I did this because it seemed natural, especially talking with people that I am so close and personal to. But, the audience doesn’t necessarily understand this relationship dynamic so I feel as though the degree to which it distracts from what is being said can’t really be justified. This is something that I need to work on, especially if interviewing subjects with whom I don’t really share this relationship.
I am also a little self-conscious about the way my voice sounds but that isn’t really something that can be changed, as this is simply the way that I speak. I will acknowledge, however, that sometimes I try too hard to use “fancy” (ie. convoluted language) that, while it may sounds “nice”, doesn’t effectively get across the message as best as possible. Because of this I am going to try to adopt a more relaxed and casual tone, especially when interviewing subjects.
I love implementing music into the backdrop of interviews as I think it adds so much atmosphere, usually complimenting the subject at hand being discussed. You can add such greater depth and emotion into the conversation taking place which is such an incredible thing. My two subjects, being my sister and my mum, I feel were quite well spoken and clear and direct in their answers that were, admittedly, still authentic and interesting.
So, all in all, I am pretty pleased with my progress in terms of working with Adobe Audition but, still recognise how much I have yet to learn and understand to improve as quickly and as creatively as possible.
