SKETCH #3

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jasmingould/2025/03/22/a-kid-in-cape-patterson-assignment-1/

SKETCH #2

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jasmingould/2025/03/22/tony-the-fly-assignment-1/

REFLECTION TRANSCRIPT

For our sketch in week three we were tasked with interviewing a classmate. I have been in the role of interviewer before in previous studios, so I felt quite comfortable. However, previously I have already known the story I want from someone. So, to have the interviewee decide on what story to tell me was challenging. This meant I had to create interview questions whilst trying to envision the angle or overarching tone of the piece.

During the pre-interview stage I was able to listen without pressure and Niamh was able to tell her story in the way that she felt best. Recording the interview didn’t go as smoothly. It felt quite awkward for both Niamh and I to record within school grounds and often spoke over the top of each other. From this I’ve learnt to make sure the person you are recording is completely finished what they’re saying. Even holding silence for 5 seconds too long might be useful in the future.

When I started editing the audio I decided to cut out my questions and build it around Niamh’s answers only. I found my questions weren’t that useful in guiding the story and if anything, they got in the way. If I could do this process again, I would record the pre interview and listen to it a few times and decide how I wanted this story to be told. Then when I wrote my interview questions, I could guide it a bit more.

This activity has imbued in me a new respect for interviewers and their ability to know when to ask questions and when to respond. For example, Louis Theroux’s podcast. He would obviously have questions to jump off of, but he can also build on what the person is saying. I also know now how easily one could take the interviewees responses and manipulate them to mean something completely different. I’ll definitely be a bit more sceptical.

REFERENCES

Windy Beach Waves.wav by uagadugu — https://freesound.org/s/199283/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Kids Voices with Natural Reverb by Cornwallis89 — https://freesound.org/s/244593/ — License: Creative Commons 0

10 Minutes Past by <a href=”https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/307698″>Blue Dot Sessions</a>

REFLECTION TRANSCRIPT

This week we listened to three different audio pieces, focussing on the different styles of narration utilized by the makers. I would say I am most familiar with multiple narrators, as I tend to listen to podcasts with a more conversational tone. However, my biggest gripe with this style is that often, the two hosts sound too similar. This was definitely the case with Alex and PJ from Reply all. Despite the few moments of confusion, I found it very entertaining and kept my attention practically the whole time. Unfortunately, during the non-narrated podcast, ‘Sex Worker Diaries’ I struggled to stay actively listening. I believe this wouldn’t be the case if I had more background information or context for each of the speakers. Sarah Koenig’s podcast, Serial was definitely my favourite as I felt like she was speaking straight to me, and it was clear and easy to follow. For these reasons  I chose to create my sketch around a single Narrator, Tony the Fly.

Tony is a fictional character, talking directly to the audience about his ‘long’ life in New York city. Similar to Koenig’s audio piece ‘Serial’, my piece creates a sense of intimacy between the listener and narrator. The casual language and tone of my piece reminds me of a conversation between two friends. It was designed to feel like you were there with tony on the bustling streets, having a chat with him, not just a fly on the wall.

I am quite excited by the concept of this piece. And I think it has legs for something more polished to come out of it in the future. I would love to create an animation around it and turn it into a short film of sorts. However, the first thing I would change is the voice. Unfortunately for me I did not think I was suitable to voice over this sketch as I am not an American middle-aged man, and I am terrible at accents. So, I decided to try my luck with AI. I used Eleven Labs text to voice generator. This had its limitations, for one, there was no Italian mob boss voice. This was my first big hurdle. In the future I would love to hire a voice actor for this kind of audio narrative. I also think I can improve majorly with my editing and mixing skills, and I look forward to building these as the semester progresses.

REFERENCE LIST FOR Tony The Fly

Young man clearing throat by magicjoshua — https://freesound.org/s/704174/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Man Coughing by ckvoiceover — https://freesound.org/s/401334/ — License: Creative Commons 0

wasp_buzzing_around.wav by KevinHilt — https://freesound.org/s/392458/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Fly buzzing OWI.wav by nayahnaidoo — https://freesound.org/s/656042/ — License: Creative Commons 0

audi a4 b8 20tdi foley windscreen wiper medium speed dry stereom10.wav by Soundholder — https://freesound.org/s/425395/ — License: Attribution 3.0

Mosquitos.wav by mmutua — https://freesound.org/s/542163/ — License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

Baby Crying Slowly PE144001 by gumballworld — https://freesound.org/s/398552/ — License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

babycry1.flac by n2p5 — https://freesound.org/s/28100/ — License: Attribution 4.0

Wolf  Whistle.wav by deleted_user_4389770 — https://freesound.org/s/241258/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Splat1.wav by Shakedown_M — https://freesound.org/s/685205/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Car Speeding By Left to Right in Stereo by deleted_user_7146007 — https://freesound.org/s/383424/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Lighter Smoke.wav by Romeo_Kaleikau — https://freesound.org/s/622700/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Cigarette Drag by Storm_Crow — https://freesound.org/s/790482/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Car Horn_Irritated driver stuck in traffic.wav by wanaki — https://freesound.org/s/569613/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Fly buzz 1.wav by TeamEnFil — https://freesound.org/s/693933/ — License: Attribution 4.0

Police Siren and Sounds of City Train by sebnx — https://freesound.org/s/536172/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Improvisation on Major Scale – Saxophone (2) by emirdemirel — https://freesound.org/s/424916/ — License: Attribution 4.0

AMB_Int_Restaurant_Pizzeria_001.wav by conleec — https://freesound.org/s/149443/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Simulated seaweed slap B.wav by Timbre — https://freesound.org/s/98191/ — License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0