Hey yall,
GPayne checkin’ in! Since the first week of the term I’ve helped quite a few people to navigate the recording booths in the DLC for voice and video recording, so I thought it would be useful to share what we’ve learned for anyone out there interested in using the booths this semester:
- Make an appointment
- Use the appointment system (go/dlcappointment) to learn about the booths before you get started. Even if you don’t plan on recording the same day, do yourself a favor and let us walk you through the process before you start.
- Reserve the booth
- Use the reservation system (go/recordingboothreserve) to help you avoid times when people are already using the booths. If you happen to be in the DLC when you want to reserve a time, there is an iPad by the Blue Booth that can help you with that. Just ask someone to help you!
- Choose the program
- Garageband is perfect for recording just audio, and Camtasia is great for recording both your face and your voice. They’re both user-friendly programs.
- Set yourself up for success
- Make sure you come prepared with what you want to talk about. Scripting your podcast or video will make the whole process much smoother than just speaking-off-the-cuff. Try practicing your script out loud before you record. It will flow more smoothly when you do the real thing.
- Add content
- Once you hit the record button, just go for it! Say everything you have to say. If you think you messed up, just pause for moment and start again from a few lines back. Editing after you’ve recorded the bulk of your project is always easier than trying to edit as you go.
- Edit later
- Editing creates meaning. You decide what remains in the final product, and it’s easy to delete sections that don’t belong, or rearrange clips to make yourself sound better. If you don’t like what you did, Command-Z will always undo your actions.
- Export and save
- Once you feel good about the content you’ve created, find Share amidst the drop-down menus above and click on export (or Export Song to Disk in Garageband) to save it, with your name, in an easily located place like the desktop. Be sure to save it again onto an external flash drive or to the cloud when you’re done. Think! if it’s not saved in at least 2 places, it’s probably not saved at all.
And those are the key takeaways from my experience helping people in the recording booths. I hope these simple-to-follow instructions make it easier for you work on your own, but remember Tip #1, make an appointment with one of the GAs to get a full walkthrough.
Be well,
George