Thursday December 17th: time to get ALL DECEMBER SHOWS UPLOADED to ME!

Greetings, Period 6 Radio Noisemakers!

We are REALLY starting to run short on time. For one thing, we won't be here tomorrow. For another thing, after this week, we only have one day after today to realistically get any work done: Monday. Other than that, all you have is today.

SO FAR, THE ONLY DECEMBER SHOW I HAVE FOUND IS FOR Brooke/Ryan and the PIT Sports crew. FOR THE REST OF YOU, I NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING BY THE END OF CLASS TODAY. btw, if I have missed what you uploaded, please let me know

Today, the batting order to get next door is as follows:

WAVE 1: Paul/Andrew/Graham & Matt/Jake

WAVE 2: John/Craig & Brian/Lucas

WAVE 3: Derrick/Dave & Max/Mike

WAVE 4: Brooke/Ryan & Phil/Ian/Tim

This presumes that you are not COMPLETELY FINISHED RECORDING next door. If you are, then my only question must be: where the heck is your December show?

While you're waiting to go next door, here is an item missed by people on WEDNESDAY

The assignment was to either explain how to do something that you already do, or explain how to achieve some special effect in Adobe Audition. I was unable to find a discussion posting on either topic for the following people:
Calvario, Derrick
Carter, Brian
Kelley, Paul
Marcus, Ian
Muscanell, Craig
O'Malley, Timothy
Pichel, Philip

Additionally, I will need some additional information from the following people:


Lerner,David
Palmer, Michael
Steedman,Andrew
West,Matthew
Whittles,Jake
I like what you've done, but it doesn't completely fit the assignment, which is to tell me how you DO something. Could you include a paragraph or two on HOW to do something from what you wrote already please? And, please include links to useful sites that have some more information

Hamilton,Ryan
Hinkel,John
Wise,Lucas --- Excellent work, but could you upload an audio example that demonstrates this effect please?


OK, that ought to do it for this morning. Again, most importantly, YOU MUST UPLOAD SOME VERSION OF YOUR DECEMBER SHOW TODAY.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wednesday, December 17th: more studio time and ......????

Greetings, fellow Dissonants!



Today, you will be moving in and out of the recording studio next door with all due speed -- this means, BE READY, and don't waste any time when you get in there.

You will each have 15 minutes to begin with. Here is the order in which you will go in:



wave 1: Dave/Derrick and Phil/Ian/Tim



wave 2: Matt/Jake and Brian/Lucas



wave 3: Drew/Paul/Grazammm and Brooke/Ryan



wave 4: Max/Mike and John/Craig



Then we start all over again from yesterday, time permitting.



While you are waiting your turn, you will need to do the following:



A) Add to the show you have already created next door: bumper music, on air identifiers, intro theme song. Using Audition of course. Note: I can convert any files you might need, so if you need something ripped from a CD, I'd be happy to help. Just did that for a bunch o' people yesterday.



B) Your choice of the following:



either



1) figure out at least two new features in Adobe Audition, and then post a discussion about how to do whatever it is you found out how to do, what it's good for, why anyone would want to use it. The posting must be at least two complete sentences for each effect, and ideally a link to where this sound has been uploaded to your DIV share account. THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL EFFORT!



or.....



2) give me a little something I can add to our staff page, sort of an add on to your picture and bio. It could be anything you want to share; for instance, I know some of you like to draw, some of you play on teams, some of you can play an instrument, some of you are into gaming such as Halo or WoW, some of you are into "fantasy sports teams", and so on. Either offer me some example of what you do, whther its a picture, a sound file, a movie(?), etc etc, or explain to me how you do it. Make it as detailed an explanation as possible. Pretend I don't know jack squat about what you do, and you have to show me how I could get started. OK, that oughtta be enough exercise for today.



"the faster we go,

the rounder we get"

Mr. L

Monday, December 15: Four sessions til the break!

Greetings, noisy radio dissonants!

As of today, we've only got just a few more sessions until the break. Most of you have published December scripts, and some of you have gotten in next door to do some recording; though truth to tell, I have yet to see any actual "December broadcasts" show up in our account at Box.net.

This being the case, I am asking that each member of every group make the a discussion posting to our Google group. The discussion should consist of at least 4 paragraphs of not less than three to four complete sentences each. It should include the following

A) Title it after yourself, plus the phrase "Old and New"

B) The first paragraph should discuss anything you look forward to doing during the upcoming break

C) The second paragraph should talk about anything you wish you had gotten to do during this past year, but somehow just didn't

D) The third paragraph should be all about plans you might have for this new year that's coming up fast.

E) The fourth and final paragraph should be how you're going to connect this all to the December show you're currently working on.

This material should be worked into the current December shows you are working on. Each of you will need to get at least five minutes recording time in next door. I will begin setting up a "batting order" in a completely random fashion while you finish this current assignment.

"the faster we go,
the rounder we get"

Mr. L

Friday December 12: Fire at will!

Howdy, all you pppl with mad radio skilz!

I'm so happy its Friday, and that our programs are broadcasting, at least outside of the building. If you haven't heard yourself yet, here is the address:

http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/whps/home.htm

Just click on the PROGRAMS link, then click on the Dissonance link on that Programs page.

Also, there's a link called "Staff" on the main page to your pic and bio; check it out!

While we are HERE in the school, you guys have programs to work on. Let's get going!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday, December 11: it WORKED!

Eureka! It works. OK, let me back up and explain my story a little bit better. It would seem that our accounts on DIVshare do indeed work. It also seems that our website works: hooray! It would seem that we can do our work here, but cannot listen to the results online UNTIL we leave the building and go online somewhere else. AND, I cannot upload any of your files while I am at home: I have to come back to the building to do that. Savor the irony. In any event, it seems that we are indeed in business, and that we can proceed to the next step which is:

DECEMBER BROADCASTS

Here's what you need to do (if you didn't know it already)

A) You need to discuss amongst yourselves what topics you'd like to cover, then post a discussion to this effect

B) Naturally, you will need to write a script for this show: some kind of an outline that's somewhat more specific than your topic list. Try to set it up in 5 minute time slots, as I want to be able to move people in and out of production next door as quickly as possible. Post this as well

C) Get next door and start setting up your broadcast.

D) While you're waiting around, you may NOT play any games online. However, you can --and will-- set up another avatar for yourself by going to this website:

http://www.sp-studio.de/

It allows you to make a "South Park" type character to represent you on our site.

Please follow the instructions carefully, & when you have a (school appropriate) image ready, please either upload it to Box.net, or upload it to your account at Divshare, and then send me the download link.

"the faster we go, the rounder we get"
Mr. L

Tuesday, December 9: Have we found a solution?

Greetings, radio broadcasters!

Before we get into anything else, I would like you to first of all go here:

http://www.geocities.com/radiothreewhps/

This is a webpage I cooked up on my own to see if it would be possible to display some radio shows (from the other class, sorry I just happened to do theirs first!) after I have hosted them at this website:

http://www.divshare.com/

It seems that the first webpage works, and works very well because the second website seems to offer the ability to "stream" your radio shows that we have been seeking. BUT.....

Before we get too overwrought, I would like to try an experiment. I will be moving at top speed to revamp our stuff found on the school's website. In the meantime, I want EACH of you, as INDIVIDUALS, to set up your own accounts at www.divshare.com Once you have an account, I want you to upload some files -- 3 or 4 will do, as long as its stuff that you yourself have helped make during this class.

After that, you will need to post a discussion in our Google group. Name the Discussion after yourself, plus the word "divshare". Please include the exact website address for at least one of the files you have uploaded.

Here's how you do it:

A) go to http://www.divshare.com/

B) in the top right hand corner, you will see a form that asks for your first name, email address, and two places to enter a password. Please fill out the form then hit the SIGN UP button

C) On the next screen, you have to type in some random words; please do that correctly or you'll be here all day!

D) On the next page, look for the link in the top right corner that says "No thanks, continue to my account"

E) on the next page, notice that you will have to go to your email at some point to answer the email they just sent you and "confirm" your account. Either that, or they conclude that you're a bug-eyed alien robot from Neptune, and they delete your account

F) Still on this page, notice that there's a link which says "create new folder" do that, and name the folder after yourself

G) When you create this folder, notice that DivShare automatically puts you inside that folder. While you are there, click the Upload a new file button, and upload some files

H) Once these files are uploaded, you will notice that they have gotten some links attached to them. Those are the links you want to copy and paste into your Google discussion.

See how well you can get this to work. Good luck!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Monday December 8: setting up online

Greetings, valiant radio beings, and welcome back! Today, you are going to do at least these three things while I continue trying to puzzle out just why the heck your mp3 files are not working online: A) First and foremost, you need to work on the assignment begun at the very latest part of last Thursday (see it here). If it is at all possible, I would like to be able to discover at least ONE valid way of streaming your shows online, even if we have to do it through my computer only. Please do your best with this assignment, and do not be discouraged: if your first attempt does not succeed, please try another. Please be sure to record what steps you have taken as a group by posting a discussion, even in instances where it didn't work out: that way at least we will be able to know what steps we should avoid.

B) it seems that just about all of you have posted a discussion saying what you would like the world to know about you. I have uploaded the staff page already, but will be re-doing it today to include your "bios" What I would like from you is to tell me a color you would like your bio to be printed in. Here's how I want you to do this:

On Box.net, in your shared folder, there is a file called "Hexadecimal" Please download it to your computer Its a webpage so just doubleclick on it to open it up. At the top of the webpage, you will notice three controls for RED GREEN and BLUE color values, they go from 0 to 255.

When you change these numbers, the page color will change, and you will see a little code show up in the top right corner
Please shoot me an email with your name and the color code you've chosen in the subject line


C) I am aware that many of you have "loose ends" that you need to get wrapped up, esp. with regards to more studio time next door. Please don't be shy: let me know when you need to get in there, and I shall surely unlock it for you. Cheers, Mr. L

Thurs December 4, part two

Howdy there, friends and neighbors!

If you are reading this, it must mean that you have finished both the assignment on free online radio AND the latest assignment on "free online broadcasting". That much being the case, here is what needs to happen next:

Everyone in your group will need to decide which website you found is the very best for actually doing online broadcasting. ONE member of your group needs to make a discussion post which includes all the names of your group members, the name and address of the website you chose, and a one sentence explanation as to why your group chose it.

I hope you choose wisely.

Mr. L

Thurs December 4, part one

Howdy, howdy, howdy!! .....here we go!

A) you are going to create another "page" in our discussion group. This one must be named after yourself, plus the phrase "we can do online broadcasting"

B) As you may have guessed from the title, today you are going to explore the possibilities of being able to create your own broadcasts using some other venue besides the school. There's two reasons for this: 1) we might be waiting quite awhile before the school gets us set up to do "streaming mp3s", which is the stuff you could listen to on those stations you looked at yesterday 2) Long after you're out of this class, I want you to still be able to broadcast if you so choose. I'm a big advocate of free speech, and I don't think it should be limited to groups with lots of money and equipment like the school has!

C) you will be doing a Google search for "free online radio broadcasting"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=free+online+radio+broadcasting&aq=4&oq=free+online+radio

D) You will locate at least five online broadcasting places which have at LEAST these features:

• its completely free -- what can I tell you, I'm cheap. Besides do YOu have money to burn?
• it allows you to broadcast some sort of radio show without lots of special (and expensive) hardware or other equipment
• it doesn't require a credit card -- even when something's free, sometimes they want a card number, go figure!
• it allows you to do it from any computer you want; in other words, we're not limited to the equipment we have here at school
• Hopefully, there's no software to download and install

E) In your "page", list the website addresses AND the names of each of these five websites

F) for each of these websites, write one paragraph of at least two to three complete sentences explaining how the site is supposed to work, how you sign up for it, what you can and cannot do with it, etc etc.

G) Finally, recommend at least one of these sites as the best you've found

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wow, it's December 3!!! --- Part One

Greetings radio children!

As you know, I try to make all my classes as practical as possible. I also try to give you opportunities which you can make use of long after the class is over. I also try to go around any difficulties we come up against. You may have noticed that we have had some technical difficulties getting some of our shows to play. Also, we STILL do not have the ability to "stream" these shows, meaning they start playing as soon as you click on them. I would like to start fixing that. Here's what I want you to do:

1) do a Google search for "free online radio" This will bring up a startlingly HUGE number of hits. Apparently, there are a lot of people doing broadcasting out there online.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=free+online+radio&aq=f&oq=

2) Pick out at least eight of these sites to investigate. Make sure you record somewhere the name of each site, plus the website address

3) Your sites must include at least two different "genres", meaning they play at least two different kinds of broadcast. I haven't looked at them all, not by a long shot, so I don't know everything that's out there. See if you can find stations out there that do the stuff you've been doing, whether its sports, hard rock, gossip and celeb stuff, gaming, politics, etc etc.

4) For each one of these stations, list at least two things they do that you wish we could do, if it were possible.

Please make all this information available in a PAGE called "What's Out There - Part One"

Ahhhhhh, but what the heck is a "page"? Well, its kind of like a discussion posting, only it allows you to create instant links to websites simply by typing in the address then hitting ENTER. Or, you can copy and paste, then hit Enter. Either way, please make sure that all the information I'm asking for is listed on this page.

Cheers,
Mr. L

WOW, its December 2!!!!!! -- Part ONE

Whoa...time flies when you're having fun. Or as one frog said to another "Time's sure fun when you're having flies". Anyway, there's a whole bunch o' stuff we need to get to today, so let's get it done, OK?

A) I'm still waiting on a whole bunch of November shows. If I'm simply overlooking any of your shows, please point them out to me. If you still need to get them done, well then, let's get you into the recording rooms!

B) While we're at it, there was an assignment that I asked you guys to do "if you had time": a brief bio of yourself, your interests etc labeled "what I want the world to know". Most of you haven't had a chance to get to that, so here's the assignment parameters again:

"Finally, and this is ONLY if you have time, I would like each of you as INDIVIDUALS to start thinking about what you would like the world to know about you as part of this radio station. Think about what you would most want people to know about you. Jot some ideas down, and post them. Again, this is ONLY if you have the time; if not, don't worry, we'll get to that next week"
GET THIS DONE TODAY PLEASE

NOTE: Part Two of today's assignment will be showing up in a short while. Don't miss it!

Mr. L

Tues Nov 25: finish the recordings, get your next shows setup

Greetings one and all, children of all ages!

Today, I would like to ensure that every group has enough time in

A) the production rooms next door

B) the machines which have Adobe Audition here in the lab so that ALL groups are able to turn in

C) a complete rough draft of a new radio show for November

Please remember, today is pretty much the last day to get this done. We may be here on Wednesday (or maybe not) but that won't do much good, since the classes will be pretty short

Cheers,
Mr. L

Fri Nov 21: Keep on Keepin' on!

OK, it's the last day of this week, and we only have a few days left in next week; then we get back, it's DECEMBER already! Where does the time get to? Anyway, it's time to keep on getting next door and recording those new shows. Each group has started out with 10-15 minutes of studio time, so if you don't have at least that much of your script ready by now, that's what you need to be working on. As a group. While NOT playing any online games. Those groups that are "good to go" right away this afternoon need to get up to my desk to claim their fair share of studio time, and then get in there and get it done.



While your group is waiting its turn, you will also need to work on adding material to what you have ALREADY recorded next door. Come up with at least another ten minutes worth of stuff to do or talk about, and post that as a new discussion on our Google group.



Additionally, you should be brainstorming about other elements which you ALREADY know how to add, such as your intro theme song, "bumper music", your "on air identifier", your "end of the show" sound, and any other sound effects you may wish to add. If there are any changes you wish to make to any of these elements, you should let me know by posting a discussion on our group to that effect. PLEASE MAKE SURE that EVERYONE in your group has access to ALL of these separate files. When you start putting together your new broadcasts, I don't want any group held up because one of you is out sick, and no one else has the darned files!



Finally, and this is ONLY if you have time, I would like each of you as INDIVIDUALS to start thinking about what you would like the world to know about you as part of this radio station. Think about what you would most want people to know about you. Jot some ideas down, and post them. Again, this is ONLY if you have the time; if not, don't worry, we'll get to that next week Meanwhile, I will be busy getting everyone's group logos, so that I may finally start uploading everyone's files to the website.



Cheers,

Mr. L

Thurs Nov 20: in the end is our beginning!

Greetings, producers of Dissonance,

Today, I will be demonstrating to you the most updated version of the webpage which will host all of your radio programs. Please remember to complete all assignments from this past week, including all the research we have done on radio jobs.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, when you are done with all that, your radio groups will need to start filling out the details about what your next broadcast will be all about. You need to begin setting up at least the rough draft of a script -- ie, you need to know what you're going to say! This new November script needs to be posted as a Discussion on our Google group; the title must include all your group members names, plus the phrase "November script"

If you feel that you are ready at any time during this class to get into the Production rooms next door, then please get up to my desk and let me know

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed Nov 19: a new day dawning....

Greetings once again,



OK, so I am very close to being able to upload at least SOME kind of a website for us, including the first complete radio programs you have made (AND your interviews, eventually). While I am putting the finishing touches on that, your group will need to discuss the topic you wish to explore in your next broadcasts.



You will need to discuss, then post a discussion on our Google group which includes the following:



A) a general name for this new topic



B) five specific things you want to do or explore or talk about with this topic.



C) Any specific needs you will have, such as bringing in people outside of our class, if you feel the need for such



Please, when you make this discussion posting, include the group members names in the title, as well as the name of your radio show



Cheers,

Mr. L

Wed Nov 19 a day in the life...

Greeting, airwave students,

Today, you will describe what a typical day in radio would be like.

Here is what you need to do:

A) Pick out details from at least two of the jobs you've researched as a basis for what your day would be like. It would be better if the jobs were actually somewhat similar to each other, but this is not necessary: many jobs nowadays combine different elements of what used to be two or more separate jobs.

B) Imagine what your hours would be, staying within reason. In other words, different people work a lot of different hours -- I used to work at a job that was 7am to midnight Saturday and Sunday! Just don't imagine that you'll be working an hour a day...not happening!

C) Set up each hour. If part of your day is from 8am to 9am, devote at least two sentences to what happens during that hour, what you have to do, any difficulties you might face. Ditto if part of your day is from 3am to 4am.

D) part of every workday is about preparing to do something else. Be sure to discuss any preparations you might have to make. When you are done listing everything that happens and everything you do, a brief paragraph of not less than three complete sentences should do to sum up whether or not you would want to do a job like this, or if you think that a better one could be built.

Cheers,

Mr L

PS Even when you are done, you are not done. There is no online gameplaying; this includes Yahoo fantasy football

Mon Nov 17: While I'm uploading.....PART TWO

If you have time after the first part of today's proceedings, you may begin compiling a list of questions for DJs that will --hopefully-- be able to come to our class sometime soon. Please post these questions in a discussion posting called "new improved DJ questions" on our Google group. Five new questions should suffice for now.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Mon Nov 17: While I'm uploading.....PART ONE

Greetings radio people!

Today, we are going to be working towards two separate but related goals. Well actually, YOU will be working towards them; I will be working feverishly to revamp the website and upload your files. Wanted to do that from home, but apparently, my secret decoder ring powers over the school's website only work from inside the building, not from my house:

A) Last week, we looked up different job descriptions and titles that had to do with working in radio. Now that you know some of the things that people actually do in radio, it's time to find out a little bit more about them. You will choose at least two of the jobs you found AND one job that someone else found, and for EACH JOB, discover the following information:

1) How much money does this job make?

2) What kind of training beyond high school do you have to do in order to get this job?

3) What's the job outlook for each job? In other words, are radio stations going to need more of them or less of them in the future, or about the same?

When you get this information, you will make ONE discussion post about all three of your job choices. You will title it "getting paid to do what I want"


Oh, that's right, you will need a place to find this information! How could I forget that...here's a place that may prove useful:

http://www.bls.gov/OCO/

It's the online version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, and it's pretty simple to use. When you go there, you will see a "search box" in the top right corner, after the word FOR: Just type in the name of the job you want to find out about, and it should return at least several links. Each link should lead to a page that has several categories at the top and a lot of information. To find out what you how much you can get paid, you click on "Earnings"; to discover how much more schooling you will need, click on "Training"; to get an idea about whether this job will be around for you, click on "Job Outlook"

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS You may of course help each other, but you CANNOT be simply copying what someone else finds for you.If I see that happening, I will simply delete your posting and tell you to start over.

Fri, Nov 14: happy happy joy joy!!!

OK chilluns, before we begin, make darned sure you did BOTH assignments from day before yesterday. Or, you can do today's first, then get back to that stuff; whatever! As long you understand that you're responsible for all three.

OK, let's launch into this shall we?

Yesterday, I was granted extraordinary superpowers over that part of the school's website that has to do with us. The address is here:

http://www.hopkinton.k12.ma.us/whps/home.htm

You will notice that the picture, the students, the shows listed are all completely out of date. I will be working to update that, add in the names of your shows, put in links to your broadcasts, etc etc, and it will probably take a great deal of time. Here is what I want you to do in the meantime:

A) You came up with studio names and names for your shows and slogans for your programs. Start writing them down in Word, seeing which font size color etc etc you would like best

B) Decide if you want to go with photos of yourselves or perhaps some kind of avatar. On this last one, the skies the limit of course, provided its not inappropriate for school. As for myself, for many years I was known as the mightyWalrus -- its a long story -- and my symbol was a walrus and sunburst. Make something up, and have fun with it!

C) Try to set up something that combines A and B together in one package. You are fre to use any program on your computer. I place no limits on your creativity, just remember to NOT do something inappropriate.

D) If you haven't already, go over your shows and your interviews, and make sure they're ready to get uploaded. If I find anything inappropriate that I somehow missed before now, I will make you change it anyway. Plus, there's always room for improvement.

Cheers,

Mr. L

Wed Nov 12: radio jobs part two

Ok, now that you've found seven different job descriptions, I want you to create another discussion post. Call it "batting order" plus your first and last name.



In the discussion itself, I want you to rank from most favorite to least favorite the radio jobs you have found. Do this in a column, kind of like so:

1) job A

2) job B

3) job C

4) job D

5) job E

6) job F

7) job G



After each job, write up at least two complete sentences describing what it is about this job that you most like. Why is it a favorite? What about it would ever make you want to do this job? Also list any possible downsides to each job.And, for your most favored job, add in why this job is number one for you.



Cheers,

Mr. L

Wed Nov 12: what's in it for me?

Greetings radio children,

In all the years I've been teaching, I have always tried to make my classes as "real world" as possible. Today, I want you to imagine this: that you have been so inspired by my magnificent classes that you decide that you are going to "break into" radio. In other words, you'll get paid to do what you're doing now for free.

Or will you? As you might have guessed, there are more jobs in radio than just sitting behind the microphone. So let's look at some of what goes on then -- besides everything else, when we FINALLY get some DJs in here, you'll probably have better questions to ask them.

(BTW, IF YOU STILL NEED TO COMPLETE YOUR INTERVIEWS, PLEASE DO SO. THIS ASSIGNMENT DOES NOT EXCUSE YOU FROM THAT.)

OK, so here we go:

STEP1 Identify at least seven different types of jobs that actually have anything to do with working in radio. Now, you could get a book out of a library or from guidance on what those jobs are. Or you could go where they place ads to get people to work at a radio station. Here are some places where you can find out some actual jobs:

http://www.bestradiojobs.com/
this site has a search feature underneath "Find Full or Part Time Work" where you set the "Job Type" to Radio Positions, then hit find. You'll get tons of ads, each with a position offered.
http://www.careerpage.org/search.php
this site also has a search feature, but they've got the job titles set up in a convenient little pull down menu
http://www.airtalents.com/
http://www.cpb.org/jobline/
http://www.massmediajobs.com/
http://www.amfmjobs.com/
http://msi.amfmjobs.com/quick.html
this link has a search feature where you can type in the "call letters" and find out the employment info for any radio station in America
http://www.npr.org/about/jobs/index.html

As you find the name of a job AND find out a little bit about what that job is all about (about a sentence or two for each job), you might want to start writing this stuff down, along with the address of the webpage where you found this information. When you've got all seven done, please post a discussion to our Google group. Title it after yourself, plus the words "radio jobs I've found"

When that's setup, I will post the next blog posting about the next step I want you to take

Cheers,

Mr. L

Mon Nov. 10 -- finishing the interviews

Greetings radio boyz and gurlz,

There are still many of you who have not completed your interviews. The following is the list of those who have not done so:

Brian Carter
Lucas Wise
David Lerner
Derrick Calvario
Paul Kelley
Andrew Steedman
Jake Whittles
Max Vumbaca
Phil Pichel
Tim O'Malley
Brooke McMullen

If you are on this list and have DONE the assignment, and just need to upload your work, then get up to my desk, most rikki tik! This assignment needs to get FINISHED fer cryin' out loud.

If you don't come up here, I will assume that you haven't gone yet and that you need to get this assignment done. If you don't volunteer, Uncle Paulie will draft you for his personal "Army of Audio Mischief" and tell you to get in there anyway.

Those of you who are not on this list are not exempt from the long arm of the Paul either. You need to find something to do with this class; and NO, "Yahoo fantasy football" is not part of it. You may help out next door as a "technical consultant" or you may come up with something of your own that will help this class. I have no problem awarding EXTRA CREDIT for the deserving. I also have no problem taking points away from those who do not heed my warnings.

Thus sayeth the Uncle Paulie!

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS Is it just me, or would "army of audio mischief" be a great name for a band?

Fri Nov 7: Are you on the list?

Greetings all you chirpy happy radio people!

This week, some of you have been conducting interviews. I have gathered all the interviews that I have found --this means the ones that you uploaded to Box.net -- and I have put them all in a folder. Please check here to make sure that your interview has been found. If it's not in there I'm assuming that you haven't fone yours yet.

Here is the folder address:

http://www.box.net/shared/vtgn1d1aj6#RADIOper6INTERVIEWS

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed Nov 5: finish up everything from Monday!

That's it. That's all there is too it. There's nothing else to say. Get your interviews recorded: remember EACH ONE OF YOU has to do at least two interviews where YOU are asking the questions. This also means that YOU were EACH supposed to set up interview questions in a Discussion posting.

Additionally, please let me know if any of your DJs have responded to your emails from this past Monday.

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS Your interviews are NOT group projects! EACH ONE OF YOU MUST INTERVIEW AT LEAST TWO OF YOUR CLASSMATES!

PPS Some of you have STILL not posted as a discussion the email you want to send to your DJ. This needs to get done

Monday November 3: Interviews and Q & A

Greetings all you magnificent people!

Today we will be doing two different things that are closely related:

A) The interviews you set up last week will actually be conducted starting today. That means some of you will be heading next door to conduct these interviews. Remember that you will be able to bring up your interview questions on screen if you know where you posted them in our Google group.

B) While you are waiting your turn to get next door, each of you will be picking out one of the DJs you were in contact with last month, and asking them if there is any possibility that they might be able to "swing by" our classroom for a little Q & A session. Let them know that your teacher/instructor/all around good guy will have to get permission first, but that he anticipates that the school will say yes.

please Please PLEASE make sure to post as a discussion in our Google group what you are going to say in your email, and which DJ you are sending this request to. I need to review them BEFORE you send them out! Please title this discussion post after yourself plus the phrase "which DJ I am inviting"

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS If some of you find yourself waiting to get next door, we have some small digital audio recorders which supposedly can be hooked up directly to the computers. No, I'm not really sure how they work, but won't it be fun to find out?

Thurs, Oct. 30: if you don't ask, they'll never tell

Greetings, radio personalities about to populate the fruited plain,

Today, you will be completing one task, and beginning another. Let's start with the second one first:

PRACTICE INTERVIEWING SKILLS

A few of you have already begun doing this, at least in a limited sense. Now, each of you will have to begin setting up interviews. Here's what you need to do:

A) Find at least two other people in this class who are NOT IN YOUR GROUP who are willing to be interviewed. (I'm trying to mix it up here a little bit). If no one consents, well, too bad for everyone involved, I'll just start matching people up if that happens. (Or as Darth Sidious put it, "I will make it legal")

B) You will have to agree on an interview topic with each of these two people. The topic has to be school appropriate and something you are both comfortable talking about.

C) set up a series of questions you plan on asking this person about the topic you both agreed to. For now, five good questions will do.

D) When you have this all set up, please post the names of the two people you plan on interviewing, the topic for each one, and the set of questions. This should be set up as a Discussion posting on our Google group; you should title it using your name plus the phrase "Interviews, step one"

When you are done with that, please complete any work that you have not finished up in the past few days.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed, Oct 29: part two from yesterday, aka review all other radio shows

Yesterday, you were asked to make sure to upload your "rough draft" of your radio show. It would seem that most of you have done so, and I know this because I have placed a copy of all your radio shows in a folder at this address:

http://www.box.net/shared/ghgdxhy6ic

Today, your job is to review all shows that are not your own. Eventually, when you have heard every show that's being created by this class, you will have to post your review in the form of a discussion posting on our Google group. All INDIVIDUAL students in this class are responsible for making this posting. Your Discussion must be named "all the shows". Each posting must include the following:

A one or two sentence summation of what you thought of each show. Be nice be polite be honest and get to the point

This summation should include at least one constructive suggestion for each show

OK, I think that will be enough exercise for this morning.
Let's do it, let's get it done!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday October 28: Part One

Greetings all you fine radio people!

Today you have two great tasks ahead of you. The first is for ALL radio shows to be "finished", in the sense of having a rough draft uploaded to Box.net. Please recall that I posted a blog discussion last week detailing exactly what needs to be included. If you forget what that includes, check out this blog post from last Tuesday, here:

http://dissonantdisturbances.blogspot.com/2008/10/tuesday-oct-21-your-radio-show-as-rough.html

If you still need to record something next door, get up to my desk, and let's get going! If you already have all your parts, and just need to put them together, then what on earth are you waiting for? Let's do it, let's get it done

Cheers, Mr. L

Thursday, Oct. 23: Putting it all together

Greetings O greatest of all student DJs!

Today we will continue to work towards completing your radio shows preparatory to us streaming them online. There's lots to be done, and as a way of helping you find out what you still need to do -- not that you didn't sort of already know anyway -- I have sent emails to all members of this class to let them know where they stand. Please get cracking on all work which you must complete. Anything that can be done in the lab should get done, tutto pronto; those of you who need to finsih up work in the radio production room, well, we will get a batting order set up straight away.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Tuesday Oct 21: your radio show as a "rough draft"

Greetings exuberant radio people,

Today, you will need to do two things:

A) finish up everything assigned yesterday, and last week. This means bumper files that are MP3s, NOT session files! So, if you passed in a session file yesterday, even if it had "all your mp3s", DON'T DO THAT AGAIN! I am not accepting session files anymore.

B) You also need to be able to start creating a "rough draft" of your radio show. This rough draft must have the following:

• an intro theme song
• a studio recording from next door
• An "on air identifier"
• another studio recording from next door
• A segment of bumper music on EITHER SIDE of those studio recordings
• A "signing off" segment, where you somehjow signal the end of the show, either through a voice recording of yours, or some bumper segment that you ALWAYS use to end your show

All of the aforegoing files MUST be saved as mp3s, which you then import into an Adobe Audition session file. You lay down each of these mp3 files into a different track, arrange them so they sound good, then EXPORT this whole session file as one big Mp3 which contains everything I just ementioned

This is the "rough draft" of your radio show, and it must be named after ALL the members of your group, and UPLOADED to your shared folder on Box.Net

Cheers,

Mr. L

PS If you don't have all the stuff for this "rough draft" of your show,

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Mon, Oct 20: Part Two

OK, while some groups are getting started with creating "bumper music", others of you STILL have to get next door and create at least one 5 minute studio recording, save it as an mp3 and then get it to me so I can give you credit for it. You know who you are, so don't be shy: get up here to my desk and get signed up to go next door. Ditto for those of you who need to record and save as an mp3 an "on air identifier"

Also, if you have already done all that, ALL groups owe me an mp3 containing what their radio show is so far, including the theme song, an on air identifier and at least two recording sessions from next door, with one being at least 5 minutes long. The file MUST be in the form of an mp3 and it must contain the words "Radio Show" PLUS the date it was created on PLUS the names of ALL group members. This file, like all files MUST be uploaded to your group's shared folder

Cheers,
Mr. L

MON Oct 20, Part One bumper music!:

OK, by now you ought to have some music mp3 files available; and if you don't, you get to use my tunes, such as they are. (Hey, don't complain if my selection isn't quite the same as yours; I've been telling you about this for over a week now.) Here's what you're going do with them: create "bumper music" by using the selection tool in Adobe Audition to take out a nice 20 seconds or so from a favorite song. Bumper music is usually used to bridge the gap between sections where you're saying something, or playing an entire song, or conducting an interview etc, etc etc. Each of you will need to create at least five "bumpers" for your group, with each one being 10 to 20 seconds long. SO, if you have two people in your group, I'll be expecting a total of ten "bumpers".

OK, but just how do you make a "bumper"? It's a simple four step process, and you will need to use Adobe Audition every step of the way, so get that program started!, Then, do this:

A) Use the import command to put a song on the list at the left side of the program (just like we did with loops way back when)
(if you don't have any mp3 song files to work with, I have a bunch of them here: http://www.box.net/shared/g3kmhntxou ) B) drag this song onto a track, just like we used to do with loops C) doubleclick on that song to get into edit mode D) In edit mode, listen to the song to find a small piece of it that you like. Then just hold the mouse button down while dragging to select the piece you like

E) Once you have that piece selected, Click the FILE command then click on "Save Selection As"

F) SAVE the file as an MP3, and name it after yourself plus the name of the song or the name of the group.

G) Repeat this process until you have them all done

H) Make sure to upload a copy of ALL your bumpers to the Shared folder I've made for you

Wed Oct 15: putting it all together

Greetings children, and welcome back!

BEFORE WE BEGIN, LET ME PLEASE PUT IN ANOTHER CALL FOR YOU TO BRING IN MP3 FILES OF SONGS THAT YOU REALLY LIKE. TWO OR THREE SHOULD DO THE TRICK!

Today, we will be accomplishing three very important things:

A) I have some shared folders available for you on BOX.net. What this means is that you will all have a place where you can upload files that you will need for future classes, whether it be song or sound files (more on that in just a second), or sessions that you have done in the "radio room" next door, and then converted to mp3s.

In your email inbox, you should find an invitation from me to share this new folder. I want you to respond to that email, and then see if you can upload a file that is named after you -- it can be even just a simple Word document.

B) From this point forward, you should upload work that you have finished into this shared folder. So for example, many of you will be continuing the process of recording 5 minutes of material next door, and then exporting this stuff as an mp3. Please upload this stuff to your new shared folder directly. (If you also want to email it to me and to yourself that is also fine)

C) Finally, I want you to start working on putting your show together. By this I mean that you already have a theme song and at least two different mp3 recordings. What I want you to do is to use Adobe Audition to fit these pieces together, using a separate track for each file you use. You will probably find that there are some things where you need to choose which parts of it you want. For example, many of you have theme songs that are just way too long. At this point, you will want to consider how best to get them to a minute long or less.

You may also have places in yopur other files where you messed up, and you will want to cut out those parts using the "selection" tool I showed you in Audition.

Well, that should be enough exercise for the lunch block :-)

Cheers,
Mr. L

Tues Oct. 14: making a name for yourself!

BEFORE WE BEGIN: PLEASE REMEMBER TO START BRINGING IN MP3s OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS. PLEASE GET THEM HERE ANYWAY YOU CAN, AS I HAVE SOMETHING PLANNED FOR THEM

Greetings radio children, and welcome to our first class after a long and much deserved weekend break. We are going to "cycle through" all the groups today, trying to give as many people as possible a chance at some time in the production room next door. While you're waiting for your turn, I want you to do the following:

A) Come up with a name for your show. Be creative but remain school appropriate. C'mon, if you're reading a blog called the "Dissonant Disturbances" and make discussion posts at a group called "Father Nature's Wild Kingdom", your instructor obviously doesn't mind some strangeness, but it has to be something that won't get us all in trouble

B) Come up with a name for yourself and your other group members. Again, be creative and appropriate. Just as an example, I am currently listed as "Uncle Paulie" on our Google group. I've also been known --in other places and other times-- as the mightyWalrus, the sonic superman, student X and Commander Zero. It's not that hard to make a name for yourself, you just have to do it.

C) Come up with a slogan for your show. Nike has the "just do it" slogan. The army has the "army of one" slogan. My own slogan is that "I'm not the best at what I do, I'm the only one who does it!" Come up with your own. Again, be creative and appropriate.

Please post all three of these as a group discussion posting on our Google group.

When you are finished with that, please work on anything else you still have not finished up for this class.

Cheers,

Mr. L

Wed, October 8: getting some air time

Greetings, DJs in the making!

Today, each group of you will be in the "production room" next door for a 5 minute session. Please be ready with what it is you wish to say, and be ready to go. It is important that your group be completely ready, as it is the only way that everyone will be able to get a turn.

While you are waiting your turn, make sure that you are completely caught up on everything else we have done this week, and make sure to check your emails to see if you have had any more responses.

Cheers,

Mr. L

Tuesday, October 7: yesterday, part two

Greetings O most noisy and happy of all radio people!

Today, I wish for you to continue your work from yesterday, only more so:

A) If you have received answers to questions you have asked of various DJs, then please post both the questions and answers in a Discussion posting on our blog. YOU ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE for at least one posting of this type; this is NOT a group project.

B) Continue refining the "script" for your group's next session in the Radio Production room next door. If you feel that your group has at least five minutes worth of material, and you guys can just go in there and get it done without wasting any time, then let's go for it.

C) Make sure that your group has posted what you will be saying for this new session

D) If you have not received any feedback from any of the DJs you emailed, then email some other DJs. Don't waste too much time nagging people who won't write back.

Cheers,

Mr. L

Monday October 6: Getting some air time, talking to DJs

Greetings loud noisy exuberant radio children!

Today, we will be working to accomplish three things, all of them really K3WL!!!

A) Everyone who has NOT had a chance to get into the radio room and record will be able to do so. BE READY !!

B) If you have received permission from your DJs to write to them and ask them some questions. When you get their answers back, you have to post both your questions and their answers under a new Discussion topic called " the DJs talk back"
Please be sure to include the name of the DJ, the website of their radio station and their email address for EACH DJ who responds to you.

C) All of you who have already had that chance will be putting your time to good use by starting to come up with a rough idea of the topic you would like to talk about for your first show. The topic has to be something specific -- "we wanna talk about the Patriots" is way too general for example.

The topic you choose has to have at least four or five different parts to it. For example, if you were going to talk about a particular band, you might want to talk about a new song they have which is getting a lot of airplay, a tour they've been on, what you think about the price of tickets, etc etc etc.
You will need to post a discussion topic about this as well. For this discussion you will only need one per group.

Cheers,

Mr. L

Thursday October 2: sending emails, setting more questions and getting into the "room next door"

Greetings radio children!

Today, we are going to work towards several different goals, one after the other:

A) You will send an email to each of the five radio DJs you selected as part of an earlier assignment. Each email you send will let them know who you are ( a high school student) what you are doing (working in a class on radio production) and why you are writing -- you would like to ask them some basic questions about what they do. Please make each email brief, polite and appropriate. Be respectful in all ways.

B) AFTER you have sent that, you will each need to make a new discusssion posting. You have had some time since you posted your original three questions you wish to ask your DJs; now you will need to create not less than five additional questions. Try to think of exactly what you will need to ask. This is important, as the people we are trying to contact are very busy people, and we may not get more than one chance to ask them anything.

C) While this is going on, I would like to take in groups of four people at a time to the radio room next door, to get acquainted with the equipment and possibly create a test recording of your voices. When I take you in there, please be aware that the equipment in that room is all precision made, and probably worth more than my car. In other words, you need to be very careful. This is one place where we DO NOT ACT LIKE WE'RE STILL IN GRADE SCHOOL. If you can't handle the responsibility, you will not be allowed to stay in there.

D) If this still applies, any makeup work you need to hand in needs to get done TODAY.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed October 1: peer reviews of your theme songs

Greetings children, and welcome back from your weekend! Today, you will be working to accomplish two separate but equally worthy goals:

A) Last week, this class reviewed the theme songs of the Period 3 Radio Production class. Meanwhile, the Period 3 radio students were reviewing your theme songs. You will need to read their reviews at their Google group, which I have opened up for your inspection. Here is where you can find their reviews:
http://groups.google.com/group/doctor-trolls-psycedelic-therapy-lounge/topics?start=40&sa=N

and here is how you can tell which theme song is yours (I changed the names so that the reviews would be more fair)

Dcal Dlerns session 2_mixdown	Theme 1
Dcal Dlerns session 1_mixdown	Theme 2
Dcal Dlerns session 3_mixdown	Theme 3
tim_o'malley_mixdown__sept_24	Theme 4
Matt_West_Jake_Whittles_exported_	Theme 5
PaulDrewGraham_ill_mixes_mixdown	Theme 6
Brian_Carter_and_Lucas_Wise_Session_File_2_mixdown	Theme 7
tim_o'malley_mixdown	Theme 8
Ryan_Hamilton_Brooke_McMullen_Session_1_mixdown_(2)	Theme 9
Ryan_Hamilton_Brooke_McMullen_Session_1_mixdown	Theme 10
PhilPichelIanMarcussession_mixdown	Theme 11
Max_Vumbaca_Song_Session	Theme 12
JohnHinkelJam_to_the_max	Theme 13
CraigMuscanellproject 1_mixdown	Theme 14
mike_palmer_september_19_mixdown	Theme 15

So, when you go to the Google group for Period 3, and READ WHAT THEY WROTE ABOUT YOU, you will know which theme song they were referring to.

Not only will you need to read their reviews, you will need to think about them, and decide whether or not you should consider their suggestions. If many of your fellow students say the same thing about your theme song, it might be true. If it is, maybe you should DO something about it.

One thing you will have to do is to write a simple paragraph stating your reactions to what your fellow students had to say about your song . Please post this paragraph in our Google group before you do anything else!

B) the "ANYTHING ELSE" --> I have a listing of your most up-to-date grades and I will be having each of you come by to take a look at how your are doing. You will have a chance today in class to make up any work you have missed. TOMORROW, WE BEGIN SOMETHING NEW

Cheers,
Mr. L

Friday, September 26: finish up listening to tunes

and make sure you have finished up all other work that needs to be done. This includes sending me an mp3 version of your session file, doing the research about DJs and radio stations, etc etc. That way, we can cruise into a weekend which, hopefully will not be completely drowning in rain :-)

Cheers,

Mr. L

Thursday Sept 25 : Listening to Tunes!!!!

Greetings, children:

By now, you should be pretty well caught up with all the work we have had to accomplish this past week, including sending me your mp3-based theme songs, and the research you were supposed to conduct on radio stations, DJs and questions for the "radio personalities" you chose. Now it's time to just sit and LISTEN.

Here is what you need to do:

Go to this folder:
http://www.box.net/shared/kb8njoqlrs

and notice that there are approximately a dozen or so mp3 files. They are named THEME1, THEME2, THEME3, etc etc. You will need to listen to each song in its entirety. That means you have to actually listen to the whole thing. Then, you have make a discussion post where you do tell me the following:

A) a one sentence comment on each song. Be polite and school appropriate, but if you like or dislike something about it, then SAY SO. And, explain WHY you think what you think.

B) Out of all the songs, pick the top five, and then list them in order, something like this:

# 1 is THEME6
# 2 is THEME11
# 3 is THEME5
# 4 is THEME2
# 5 is THEME8

Make sure I know for a fact which song you liked the best, which you liked second best, so on and so on.

You all have to make a separate discussion post, but you may converse among yourselves about it.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Who Are They? Where Are They? How Do They Do It?

Greetings! If you are reading this, it means you are completely caught up with all the work you needed to do for the first part of this month. Now it's time to move onwards and upwards.

What you will be starting today is to try and understand a little bit more as to what is involved in being a "radio personality": people who actually already do this for a living. One way to do this is to find out who these people are, and then ASK THEM.

The obvious first step then is to find these people. One possible way of doing this is to look at the websites for various local radio stations in Massachusetts. I have done some preliminary research for you, and this is what I've found:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=local+radio+stations+Massachusetts.&btnG=Google+Search

the original Google search

http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/media/radiostations/massachusetts.html

a pretty good list, fairly comprehensive

http://www.usnewslinks.com/radiostations/ma.html

another good list, which breaks down the stations by genre and city location. A multiple page list

http://www.shgresources.com/ma/radio/

another really good resource, which not only does the break down by genre and location, it also lets you know if it’s a college station or not.

http://www.ontheradio.net/states/massachusetts.aspx

yet another good place to look, this one has direct links to the websites associated with the radio station in question.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

A) Make a list of at least five different radio stations. List their "call letters" -- WBZ, WNRB, etc, along with the town where they are located, their "format" (Top 40? Sports? Hip Hop? Easy Listening? News/Talk?) and the address for their website.

You will need to post this list to our Google group as part of a discussion posting you will make. You will also need to include in this discussion posting why you chose these particular stations

B) Once you have five stations in mind, please use their websites to find at least five "radio personalities" -- people who actually make broadcasts of some kind or another-- who you feel know something about this business, and might be able to tell you a little about what they do. Please list their names in a second discussion posting.

C) Finally, begin to compile a list of questions you would want to ask any of these people. You might ask them how they got their start, what first got them interested in doing what they do. Please come up with at least three good questions for now, and put them in a third discussion posting

Cheers,

Mr. L

Monday, September 22 -- Read this first!

Hello, chilluns!

Let's recount how much you've done up until now:

A) You've collected sounds from various sources

B) You've learned some basics about using Adobe Audition, including how to import sounds, lay them down in tracks, arrange them, cut them into pieces by using the selection process.

C) Finally, you've learned how to compress your session files into mp3 files.

Now it's time to get something else done -- or actually, get it started. But first.......

...... you've got to make absolutely sure that you've handed in everything you needed to do for this class up until now. To do this, you need to look at the folders I've set up for you on my Box.net account. And to do that, you'll need the addresses for those folders. Here they are:



11 Loops (per student) -- http://www.box.net/shared/nl7ao51qqe

Loops and Selections -- http://www.box.net/shared/7xq5cem93q

Session Files -- http://www.box.net/shared/5inb80ayot

Theme songs -- http://www.box.net/shared/54dahu0ux6

Please make absolutely sure that you have handed in everything. I should be able to issue a complete grade list by tomorrow.

Once you have read through this, another blog post should be up, telling you what we are going to be doing next.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Friday, September 19: passing in work, and saving your theme song as a sound file

OK, before we get into today's festivities, I would like to make a solemn warning: I am STILL missing files from many of you. This will have a huge impact on your future grade, and as such, I will feel compelled to inform all interested parties, including your parents, your guidance counselor, etc etc. You know who you are, and if you're not sure, check out the folders I've set up at Box.net. If you are STILL not sure, you will have some time later on this class to ask me.

But first, let's do something NEW

Up until now, you've been gathering sounds, creating session files, laying loops down into tracks, and selecting parts of these loops to make new sounds. Many of you have been making clever and creative noises; I should know, I've listening to them! Now, for the first time, I will want you to create a new sound file from your ENTIRE SESSION FILE. This new sound will include all the sounds you've been using in your session, merged into one single file.

Here is how you do it:

A) Open your session file

B) Click the File command

C) goto EXPORT, then Audio Mix Down

D) Save your file as a "wav" type file, or as an mp3

E) Please send it to me by email attachment


Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed Sept 17: are you up to date?

Hey there all you happy noisemakers in Period 6!

Today, besides everything else you are doing, you will need to make sure that you are "up to date". That means that, no kidding, I need to start setting up grades, and there are certain items you need to have in front of me by now. These include NOT LESS than the following:

A) 11 loops, along with a description (including a website address) of where you got them

B) At least two different session files, named in such a way that I know which one came first ( so I can see your progress in making it sound better)

C) One loop that has had at least four different "selections" extracted from: ALL FIVE FILES

D) Additionally, today, you are going to need or each one of you to make a discussion post stating one thing you have learned how to do in Adobe Audition from me, and one technique that have figured out on your own. That's two techniques for each one of you, not for a group of two or three. You each need to be learning stuff for yourselves, not just waiting for someone else to do it for you. You need to adequately describe how you do each of these things. Pretend that you're explaining this stuff to someone who knows nothing about this program

Cheers,
Mr. L

Making a selection (tues Sept 16)

OK, up to now, you've been collecting loops and just plunin' 'em down in a track, then moving and playing with them. Today, we wil be working with how to cut out pieces of a loop, and then save it as a new loop. It's called "Selection". Here is what I will need from you:

A) You will use ONE loop, and copy at least four different selections from it. In other words, you could copy out the first 10 seconds for one selction, the last five seconds for another, 11 seconds somewhere in the middle, etc etc.

B) You will email -- as attachments -- both the original loop, and the four pieces you cut out of it. Please remember to put your name and "period 6" in the subject line!

OK, so how do you do this "selection". Well, you can either watch me as I demonstrate, or you can follow these "cookbook" directions:

1) start Audtion, and get into "multitrack" view
2) import a loop, and lay it into a track somewhere
3) get into EDIT mode (its in that thing at the top right corner...I've shown you before)
4) make sure that the button under the INSERT menu is selected, the one that looks like a "I"
5) put your mouse where you wish to start your selection, hold down the left mouse button and drag until you wish to stop
6) Click on the FILE command, then click "Save Selection"
7) give the selection a name which you will remember
8) get back into multitrack mode, then import your selection as a loop.
9) lay it down into a new track to compare it to the old loop
10) lather, rinse, repeat :-)

Once you are done with this, you may proceed to working on your session files.

cheers,
Mr. L

OMG, it's already Monday morning! (Mon Sept 15)

Greetings, Period 6 radio Students!

Today, you have several tasks to complete:

A) Each one of you needs to have handed in at least 11 different loops, to be used in building your theme songs. According to my email records, MANY OF YOU HAVE NOT

B) Not sure if you've handed in 11? Or if I ever got them? (After all, it won't count if I didn't find them) Then check out this special link, which I have made just for the students in this class:
http://www.box.net/shared/nl7ao51qqe

It leads to an online folder, where I have gathered together all of the loops I have received from members of this class. If you don't see your name there, or if there are fewer than 11 files included under your name, then you need to do one of the following:

C) Find more files OR

D) re-send what you already have found -- hey, even I can lose stuff on occasion

E) You will also notice that this "Box.net" online folder is a handy way of not losing your files; so, if you stored stuff on the H drive and you've all of a sudden lost it, here is a place to find it again.

F) By the end of today, EVERYONE needs to have sent me at least one Adobe session file, which uses the loops you've found.

Cheers,
Mr. L

greeting period 6 radio students! (thurs Sept 11)

hey there, noisemakers and happy people! Today, I will spend some time at the beginning of the class demonstrating a few different techniques in the Adobe Audtion program. This was made possible by the fact that one of the techies came in and loaded Audition on my teacher workstation AND on several more of your computers. We can't have it on every machine -- we don't have enough licenses for that -- but there are at least 13 or 14 of your computers which do have it. So I'm expecting great things today.

But before you dive into that, I wish to demonstrate the following:

A) starting anew session

B) getting into "multitrack view"

C) importing sound clips

D) placing clips on various tracks

E) speeding up or slowing down the sound by using a "TIME STRECTH"

F) how to chop part of a clip, so it doesn't play

G) how to add new tracks from the INSERT --> Add Tracks menu

H) how to change a clip color, for ease of viewing

whew!

after that, you will be free to proceed with what you were doing yesterday. I am expecting that many more of you will be able to email me various sound clips/loops AND the website address where you got them, as the class progresses :-)

Cheers,
Mr. L

What to do on Wed September 10

Greetings, noise producing creatures!

Today, you will be
A) continuing to work with the program Adobe Audition.

B) continuing your effort to create a theme song for your future radio show.

C) continuing to experiment on mixing different sounds on the different tracks, to see the different effects you can get, and how it makes your "theme song" different

D) to do this, each of you will need to open the program, click on the FILE command, then click "NEW SESSION". This opens a blank window, where you can drag different types of sounds, and arrange them in a way that sounds good, or at least doesn't sound too bad

E) You will SAVE your session, and you will name it after your both your first and last name, plus the phrase "First Session"

F) Your session ends up getting saved in your MY MUSIC FOLDER inside of your MY DOCUMENTS FOLDER. So, when you go to email this session file to me, thats where the file will be located.

G) You MUST BE LOGGED IN AS YOURSELF in order to do this properly. So, when you finish your session, save the file and then log off that computer. You should be able to email me that file from another computer. Let's not waste time!

H) Speaking of time, lets make sure that everyone gets a fair turn. Try to produce something in about a twenty minute block; otherwise, there will be way too many people left waiting at the end of the class.

BY THE END OF THE CLASS, EVERYONE WILL NEED TO HAVE MADE A NEW SESSION. EVERYONE WILL ALSO TO EMAIL THIS NEW SESSION TO ME AS AN ATTACHMENT FILE. YOU WILL NEED TO PUT YOUR NAME AND THE WORDS "FIRST SESSION FILE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE

Cheers,
Mr. L

Oh, btw, while you are waiting for your turn at using Adobe Audition, I will need to have you collecting some free loops, downloading them to your computer, and then emailing at least eleven of them that you think are good to me, as attachment files. You may use the search I used here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=free+loops+download&aq=3&oq=free+loops

to look for websites that have loops you can download. Or, if you are really ahead of everyone, and know some sites where you can get something good, feel free to do so. Either way, TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT THESE SOUNDS!!!

PS One good site I've found is at http://www.freeloops.com/; they allow you to search for sounds by style, tempo, or instrument just use the little box that says "Search Loops By" in the lower right hand corner.

What to do, Part Two (sept 5)

I’ve been reading your emails with great interest, and have discovered a little bit about each of you, what some of your interests are, why you want to be in this class. You will need to expand upon this in a discussion post you will create on the Google Group you just joined. Here is what your discussion post needs to include:

A) What would you most like to do on a radio show? Would you like to

setup playlists, where you choose the music?
If so, what kind of music most interests you?

Would you like to talk about sports?
If that’s the case, then what teams would you want to discuss?

Perhaps you’d like to talk about school or local news, about things that are going on in Hopkinton that you think are important. In that case, would you be willing to interview people, either by recording or perhaps even live during a broadcast?

Maybe you’re in a band, or you can play or sing; OR, you know someone who does. Would you be willing to give your band some airtime?

It’s also possible that you’re interested in current events, like the election or things that are happening overseas. Could it be that you wish to be a commentator, someone who gives their opinion about stuff that’s happening?

Another possibility is that you are really into gaming, and you have some ideas about new titles that are coming out. Maybe you’d like to do game reviews?

Or maybe you like computers a lot and are really into special effects, especially with sounds.

Look, the bottom line is that the possibilities are endless. Please pick out AT LEAST TWO ITEMS you would be interested in pursuing, and why you’re into them. And by the way, if there’s something I didn’t mention in this list, please, Please, PLEASE bring it to my attention!

B) Regarding the two things you’d like to do, do you have ANY previous experience with them? Any at all? Please don’t worry if you think what you’ve done is not “important” enough, or you haven’t done it for an audience. Look if you’ve ever argued with your friends about the relative merits of WoW versus Halo, if you’ve ever played a song with a band, even if it’s just in someone’s basement, if you’ve ever talked about politics, traded mp3s by some new band with friends of yours, THAT IS MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH.

OK, that ought to do it. Please be as complete as possible. When you are finished, make sure to post your discussion, and then take a look at the discussions put out by your classmates. Maybe you have some people who share your interests!

Cheers,

Mr. L

What to do on Friday Sept 5 -- Part One

Greetings, and welcome once again!

Today in Radio Production, you will be doing two things, both of them related. this is the first thing you must do:

In your email inbox, you SHOULD have an invitation from me to join the Google Group which I have set up for this class. It's called "Father Nature's Wild Kingdom". You will need to follow the instructions in this email TO THE LETTER to get signed up, and to be able to go on to the next step. If you need assistance, I will do my utmost to help.

OK, so get get set up RIGHT NOW. C'mon back when you're done, and then we'll go on to part two, which I will post when you're ready.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Welcome period six radio students!!!

This is Dissonant Disturbances, where the students from Mr. LaRue's period 6 Radio Production class will receive news, instructions, marching orders and potentially leave comments and ask questions. If you are allowed and you do leave a comment, please bear in mind that this blog is available to the entire world, or at least that part of it that's on the Internet. This includes your parents, other teachers, your guidance counselor, the principal, the superintendent, and what the heck, the mayor, the governor, the chief of police, the head of the FBI, and pretty much EVERYONE. So be cautious, courteous and school appropriate in any comments you leave