In the workshop today we listened to a podcast on sound by Radio Lab and analysed its audio/stylistic elements, to help us when producing our audio essay. The podcast propels the narrative along by asking a question/hypothesis (why do we need sleep?). Notable was the conversational style of the narrator, which made it is easy to digest the information, as it wasn’t as dull or full on as more academic styles, even though it was clear that the podcast was still scripted. The sound quality was very high, as the narrators were probably speaking quite close to the microphone, compared to the interviewees who sounded more distant.

The podcast weaves in and out between narration and the interviews, creating an interesting rhythm. It is easy to visualise what is happening due to the creation of the soundscape, using sfx sounds and atmospheric sounds from the locations fo the interviews. This also helps to introduce the characters/people that are featured in the podcast.

The audio elements used include:

• Sound effects created in studio (SFX)
• spot sounds (such as the cat purring)
• Music
• Narration
• Interview audios
• Atmospheric sound
• sync sound (live sound)
• conversations

other audio elements that could be included in our audio essays as well include:

• archival recordings
• vox pops
• phone call (diegetic sound)

Mainly, this podcast created interest through the layering and mixing of different sounds in a way that engaged the viewer and thus presented information in a unique way.