DTC/Eng 354
Digital Storytelling
Sound Story Assignment 100 points possible
We’ve already established that our brains are primed to engage with stories quickly and completely. Because we humans are so reliant on our vision for most of our daily functions, you may assume that images or video are necessary for a good story experience. But this assignment will convince you otherwise. Long before there were illustrated books, cartoons, or films, people listened to stories and conjured up the vivid images in their minds. This assignment asks you to read a short story and pay attention to the images that come into your mind as you read. If this were a short film, what kinds of music and sound effects would have the filmmakers used?How can you create a full sensory story experience for your listeners without using any visual input?
For this assignment you and a partner will adapt a piece of short fiction into an engaging sound story. You’ll:
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Adapt the written story into a script
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Plan what types of sounds and music will work to bring the story to life
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Use the script to create an “audio storyboard”
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Record the dialogue from your script (this is the main reason there are two of you working on this assignment)
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Gather, record, or create all sound effects and music
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Edit all sounds and dialogue into an awe-inspiring sound story that we will listen to in class
To prepare, listen to several of the following sound story (sometimes called audio drama) podcasts. Take notes on the different types of audio that you hear and how they work to tell the story that you are listening to. Pay attention to how you respond to the different types of sounds—does your heart beat faster with excitement? Do you know something scary is about to happen because of the music and sound effects? Do you become more deeply interested in the story and not want to stop listening? Do you want to listen to other episodes so that you can find out what happens? What sounds and techniques contributed to your responses?
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Adapting a story:
Who tells the story? Is it a narrator who isn't part of the story (third person)? Is it told by someone who is also a character in the story (first person)? You may change some things slightly to make the story better for audio. For example, if the story reads, "She told Bobby good by and closed the door." You may choose to have the character say "Good by Bobby," and then have the sound effect of a door closing. Do not change anything of substance in the story.
Sound story links:
Copyright: All sounds and music must be copyright-free, i.e. licensed on Creative Commons, used with permission of the creator, in the public domain, or made by you.
Editing
You have lots of audio editing options. Adobe Audition is available on computers in Spark 210, the AML, and the Creativity Suite. Another audio editing program is Audacity (free, open source, easy to use). There are lots more that are very inexpensive.
You may use the Sound and Music room in the Creativity Suite for both recording and editing. Reserve the room by emailing: creativity.suite@wsu.edu. There are also recording rooms in Spark G2. Reserve either of those rooms at the Information Counter right outside the door.
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Opening credits:
Open with the statement, "This is an audio adaptation of the short story _(title)___ by _(author)____. This audio adaptation was created by __(your names) for DTC 354 Digital Storytelling at Washington State University."
This is the only assignment this semester where you will not be able to attach the credits to the project itself. For this assignment you'll list the credits for all music and sound effects on the YouTube or Vimeo page where you post your work.
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Submit: Post your final version to an audio hosting site such as SoundCloud. If you used a video editing program, you can post your file to Vimeo or YouTube. Post the link to your project on our class FB page by class time on the due date (check the Reading and Assignment Schedule). We will listen to these in class. Submit the following two documents in class on the project due date.
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Reflection paper:
A 600-800 word reflection paper is due (in hard copy) in class on the day the assignment is due. Each person on a team must prepare their own reflection paper.
The paper should describe and reflect on the process you and your partner went through to create the sound story.
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What narrative decisions did you make to adapt the story that you worked with? Be specific. Describe the music you chose to include. What effects were you hoping for with those choices?
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Describe several of the sound effects that you used. What do they accomplish in terms of enhancing the story in that place?
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What is your favorite aspect of the final sound story? Why?
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What is the weakest aspect of the sound story? Why?
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What have you learned from this project?
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Script: Submit the working version of your script that includes all of the musics, sound effect, and narration notes that helped you create the soundtrack.
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Helpful tutorials:
Adobe Audition Tutorial for Beginners
The Best Adobe Audition Workflow for Beginners
Audacity: Complete tutorial for beginners
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