Digital Audio Recording Production Plan

Project Planning Guides

In This Document

• Plan your project
• Plan your content
• Pre-production
• Record your project
• Save your recording
• Edit your recording
• Post-production
• Test your content
• Make your content available

Plan your project

Identity the type of recording you plan to create: full lecture, content summary, assignment introduction, guided instructional exercise, vocabulary list, etc.
Identify the format of digital audio content you plan to make available: audio-only; audio with chapter markers; enhanced audio; narrated slideshow; movie
Identify the source(s) of your content: original recordings of yourself, your students or other individuals; copyright-clear or licensed content, etc. (Duke's Scholarly Communications Office can provide consultations if you have questions about the use of copyrighted or licensed materials. For recordings of other individuals, send them an advance copy of the release form needed to use their recording, and ask them to bring a signed copy to the recording session.
Identify the way you will make content to students.

Plan your content

Develop a content outline or storyboard that list the major segments of your finished recording.
Create short, meaningful titles (3-5 words at most is ideal) for each segment.
Develop the appropriate script and/or outline for each storyboard segment.
If you are planning to create an enhanced audio file, for each segment identify additional graphic elements as appropriate (e.g. chapter images, screen shots, PowerPoint slides, etc).

Getting ready to record: Pre-production

Set up a standard digital storage location for project files, preferably one that is backed up regularly, as well as a physical location for other project documentation such as release forms.
Develop a standard naming convention for project files so they can be easily identified and retrieved as needed at a later time. This should include a label to indicate the actual content as well as the version in question (e.g. french201-lecture3-take2 or econ101-chap3-summary-final)
If you would like your content to be usable in iTunes and on iPods, it is a very good to idea to come up with descriptions (called metadata) those tools can use to make searching and browsing easier. .
Set up a project log to document recordings and project files created, to facilitate later retrieval of content as needed.

Record your content

Collect signed release forms from any individuals who are participating in your recording.
Record audio content using the most appropriate tools for the content source. This may mean a USB microphone connected to a computer, or a clip-on or small lavaliere microphone connected to an iPod or other small recording device, depending on the situation. (See OIT's Digital Media site for recommendations on microphones for computer and iPod use).
Special steps for field recording: if you will be recording using a portable media device such as an iPod, make certain that your device’s battery is fully charged prior to the recording session. Make sure to verify the maximum time your device can record when fully charged, and save your recording several minutes before you reach the maximum recording time, since recording quality can deteriorate dramatically in some devices as the battery charge gets low. If possible, take an extra battery, if one exists for your device (there are no replacement batteries for iPods), or take an external power source with you to connect to your recording device during the interview.
At the beginning of the recording session, complete a short (5-10 second) test recording and play it back immediately to verify that your equipment is recording properly.
Where possible, ask the speaker to begin the recording by identifying him/herself. This will help you identify the file quickly later upon playback. If you are recording the speaker for a presentation in digital audio format, ask the speaker to identify succinctly the topic of the recording.

Save your recording

For long recordings, pause and save your file at regular intervals, to avoid losing work and time if there is a technical problem. This may not be possible in formal settings where you are recording guest speakers or class presentations; in these cases it is especially important to verify in advance that the recording setup is functioning properly before the speaker begins and is capable of capturing the audio for the full length of time you wish to record.
Save your recording in high quality, uncompressed file format. If you are recording in Audacity, verify that you have exported the recording in high-quality .wav format rather than merely saving the Audacity project, which will not give you a usable file. If your recording was made using an iPod, make sure that you have archived a full copy of the recording in your project archive in addition to the copy you have on your iPod.
Review your recording for sound quality and content accuracy. If necessary, revise your recording script or outline and re-record sections as needed. (In many cases it may not be necessary to scrap the entire recording – you can often use the cut & paste functions in the audio editing program to trim out or insert content).
Once some portion (or all) of the recording is acceptable, create an archive by saving a backup file that will be untouched during the remainder of the production process (to keep a “raw” version of the original recording, in case of later technical issues or to have a “clean” version on hand to copy for reuse in other contexts at a later time).
Document recording filename & any notes in the project log.

Edit your recording

Create a new copy of your digital audio file to use as your working copy. Make sure you are not working with the archive copy you made in the previous step. Use your selected digital audio editing software to open your working copy and prepare it for distribution.
Insert any additional audio into the audio project as needed, including background music, additional narration, excerpts from other recordings, etc. This can be done using the cut & paste features available in the program.
Apply standard editing techniques to clean up or polish the audio projects for eventual distribution. Common editing operations at this stage may include:
- Trimming out excess “dead” time at the beginning & end of recordings
- Cutting out common filler utterances like “umm” or “uh” (some amount of filler can add naturalness to a recording and is not necessarily harmful, unless the desired effect for the recording is very formal or polished)
- Applying a normalizing filter to adjust the volume of multiple tracks or files to a standard, consistent level
- (In special cases) insertion of white noise or silences into the recording for a specific number of seconds
When your audio edits are complete, save (or Export, depending on the tool used) a full quality, uncompressed version of the finished edited file into your project archive for backup purposes.
Document your recording filename & any notes in the project log.

Post-production: format-specific tasks

Complete the post-production tasks specifically designed for the type of format you have chosen for this particular content. Remember to retain your naming convention for the file when you save your final product — it is not unusual to end up with two or three files with the same name but with different file extensions.
If your students are likely to use your content in iTunes or on an iPod, the final step in the post-production process for any of the formats will be to import the file into iTunes and add metadata for Title, Album, Genre, Artist and Grouping. See (see Getting More out of iTunes for more details). See Apple's iPod 101 Tutorial for more information on how to add this information to digital content.
Save a copy of the final version of your project file (complete with your iTunes metadat) to your project archive and document this filename in your project archive.

Test your content

Play the content back in the setting(s) you anticipate your students will use. Make sure that the sound is regular, that the metadata works as expected in search tools, and that any chapter markings are functional and in the correct order. Correct any production errors that will impede student use of content as intended.

Make your content available

At the appropriate time, make the content available to students via the designated course space and communicate clear expectations for what the students are to do with content. Make sure to provide sufficient information to students to let them know if they need a specific piece of software or tool to play the content. It is also very helpful to provide students links to help materials, such as for the download and playback process for the content format.