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/c05xd0hjqy
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
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Who Are They? Where Are They? How Do They Do It? (tues sept 23)
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
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
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Monday, Sept 22 -- Saving your Theme song as a sound file
Greetings, and welcome back from your absolutely dreadful time-without-Mr-LaRue (aka "the weekend"). Well, you've all done a great deal of work, most of which has been passed in by now -- more on this later!!! 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
OK, so that will do for today. The other thing you've got to is 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/i14o4l3i17
Loops and Selections -- http://www.box.net/shared/qtbfcfh8g7
Session Files -- http://www.box.net/shared/k5uxcufygk
Theme songs -- http://www.box.net/shared/xdpmojn2tu
(You will have handed these in only just starting today, but I thought you should know where they will be stored.)
Please make sure that you have all your work handed in, including today's work.
Cheers,
Mr. L
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
OK, so that will do for today. The other thing you've got to is 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/i14o4l3i17
Loops and Selections -- http://www.box.net/shared/qtbfcfh8g7
Session Files -- http://www.box.net/shared/k5uxcufygk
Theme songs -- http://www.box.net/shared/xdpmojn2tu
(You will have handed these in only just starting today, but I thought you should know where they will be stored.)
Please make sure that you have all your work handed in, including today's work.
Cheers,
Mr. L
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 18: loops and selections
OK, it is possible that I, your highly trained technology instructor and all around good guy, can make a mistake. And when I do so, I admit it. Well, here I am admitting it: I have asked you to make sure that you have emailed to me a loop plus four selections which you have "carved out of" that loop, and it looks like I haven't specifically shown you how to do that. My apologies for that; and now, to explain precisely how it is done:
A) start up Adobe Audition, and get into multitrack mode
B) import the loop you want to chop some pieces from, and then drag it onto a track (no, it doesn't really matter which one)
C) change from multitrack to edit mode -- you do this by selecting it from that list you can find in the upper right corner of the program. If you still need help with this, please let me know
D) when you're in edit mode, simply position your mouse arrow somewhere in the loop, hold down the left mouse button and drag as far as you want to go. Where you start and how far you go is totally up to you.
E) When you have part of the loop selected, click on the File command, then click on "Save Selection"
F) give your selection a new name. Usually, I keep part of the old name, and add something to it, but I say, whatever works for you.
G) Save your selection
H) Repeat this process until you have made four different selections
I ) send me the original loop, plus the four selections you made from it, to my email address. In case you've forgotten, my email address is mrlarue2009@gmail.com
Once you are done with this, please keep working on your session files, and I will do my best to get your new stuff uploaded to my Box.net account as soon as possible.
Cheers,
Mr. L
A) start up Adobe Audition, and get into multitrack mode
B) import the loop you want to chop some pieces from, and then drag it onto a track (no, it doesn't really matter which one)
C) change from multitrack to edit mode -- you do this by selecting it from that list you can find in the upper right corner of the program. If you still need help with this, please let me know
D) when you're in edit mode, simply position your mouse arrow somewhere in the loop, hold down the left mouse button and drag as far as you want to go. Where you start and how far you go is totally up to you.
E) When you have part of the loop selected, click on the File command, then click on "Save Selection"
F) give your selection a new name. Usually, I keep part of the old name, and add something to it, but I say, whatever works for you.
G) Save your selection
H) Repeat this process until you have made four different selections
I ) send me the original loop, plus the four selections you made from it, to my email address. In case you've forgotten, my email address is mrlarue2009@gmail.com
Once you are done with this, please keep working on your session files, and I will do my best to get your new stuff uploaded to my Box.net account as soon as possible.
Cheers,
Mr. L
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Wed Sept 17: are you up to date?
Hey there all you happy noisemakers in Period 3!
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
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
Sunday, September 14, 2008
September 15: wow, is it Monday again already? ;-0
Greetings, Period 3 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.
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/i14o4l3i17
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 occassion
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
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.
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/i14o4l3i17
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 occassion
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
Thursday, September 11, 2008
hello to period 3 Radio Production on this most glorious Friday, September the 12th
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
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
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
What we will be doing on Tuesday September 9
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.
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.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
OK, now for Part Two of today’s assignment! (Sept 4)
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
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 Thursday, September the 4th
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 "Doctor Troll's Psycedelic Therapy Lounge". 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. Additionally, several of your classmates have already responded to their invitations, so they will be able to help you as well. They are:
Wesley Eriksen
Thiago Mendes
Zachary Hutchinson
Trevor Flaxman
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
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 "Doctor Troll's Psycedelic Therapy Lounge". 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. Additionally, several of your classmates have already responded to their invitations, so they will be able to help you as well. They are:
Wesley Eriksen
Thiago Mendes
Zachary Hutchinson
Trevor Flaxman
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
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Greetings Period 3 students, and welcome to the Noise Aquarium!
This is the Noise Aquarium, where the students from Mr. LaRue's period 3 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
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