Audacity

We discussed audio today with my Ed Studies students, and the impact sound can have on an animation. We came to the conclusion that people will watch a poor screening but few will watch it with bad sound.  So what is special about audio? First of all, music gives a movie an emotional stance. It can change the audience's feelings; you can give them a more positive view on your film simply by varying your music.  It is possible to make the audience, happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, emotional, etc. Moreover the "background" music helps heighten a suspenseful moment in the film, anticipation and wonder keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Sound effects can add illusion to a movie and the effects in movies are rarely a recording of the real thing. The way sound effects are used in the movie’s final mix entirely depends on the sound design. Some effects could be: chairs scooting, glasses clanking, footsteps, traffic outside, water running, and buttons being pushed. Listen to a take with your eyes closed. What sounds do you hear? What sounds should be there to make the scene more complete?

I played the two clips below, asking my students to make notes;

·  http://www.youtube.com/user/hermes/featured?v=HpuIEH8sh48 play just sound 1^st – tell me what is happening.

·  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTqRwBKTaQ0&list=UUmFOnqrNg-YHLXfdB3GexBg Play without sound 1^st – tell me what it sounds like.

It is amazing the difference that that audio makes and not always positive, as some students said that they enjoyed some productions more without the sound. However, the idea today was to develop the understanding of the range and scope of audio and to then develop these aspects and create a news broadcast.  The activity used a selection of audio clips and news material found in my delicious link.  We used Audacity to create the broadcast, exporting as an MP3 file. The finished MP3 is then hosted on archive.org, and then embedded on their blogs.

My effort below is rather substandard, but you get the idea!

To the new term...

In honour of the start of term I have created a new wall display to brighten up the ICT suite.  I decided to explore a topical subject again this year in the shape of "Internet Safety". We can't get enough of it, we can't say it in enough ways and we can't stress enough the importance of it.  But are we all preaching for the same reasons?  Well yes we all want children and young or vulnerable people to be safe and secure when they use the web.  But to what end.  As innovative teachers we would like to see good, effective, safe and varied use of the wonders of the web.  This means to me that we need to educate our users, young and old to spot the dangers, avoid the pitfalls and recognise the rubbish. That is as apposed to just blocking it and banning it! It you hear of something good but you are unsure, try it, test it then get the LA to do the same.  Don't give up, there are some wonderful Web 2.0 application out there just screaming to be used by our creative innovative pupils!

There is an amazing range of material to be found on the web that explores Internet safety in many different ways, including lots of interactive, fun games and activities.  A list of my favourite sites can be found on my delicious account under peacehome/e-safety

Check out the finished product! Notice the game on the top of the table and the touch of Welsh on the cupboard door, not to mention the worksheets!