The presentation contains three major points: 1. Pre Production. 2. Production. 3. Post Production.

1. Producing Amazing Audio Content In-House
Title – Heather Marie Wells
Heather Marie Wells
Education Technology Coordinator
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville, AR
http://crystalbridges.org

2. Heather Marie Wells
Heather Marie Wells is the education technology coordinator at Crystal
Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR, where she started
in November of 2010. Before joining the staff at Crystal Bridges she
was the collections assistant and technology coordinator at Shiloh
Museum of Ozark History where she started many technology initiatives
such as podcasting, iTunes U, the museum's Twitter feed, Facebook
Bio – Heather Marie Wells
page, and teen website, The Shiloh Loft, as well as developing the
museum’s first publically curated exhibit. Before that she served as a
collections assistant and an education assistant at the University of
Arkansas Museum.
Heather Marie’s projects have earned awards from the Arkansas
Museum Association (AMA) as well as a MUSE award from the Media &
Technology Committee. She was also named as the Southeastern
Museums Conference (SEMC) Emerging Professional of the Year for
2008. She has presented numerous times at AMA, SEMC, and AAM
meetings and written tech articles for the Historic House Museum
Affinity Group newsletter and the American Public Gardens Association
magazine. She is serving her first term on the Arkansas Museum
Associations’ board. Heather Marie earned her MA in anthropology
from the University of Arkansas.

3. PRODUCING AMAZING AUDIO
CONTENT IN-HOUSE
Heather Marie Wells
October 24, 2011

4. Poll: What are you thinking of
using audio for?
Tours
Podcasting
Streaming
On demand in galleries
Presentations
Other

5. Poll: What goals are you trying
to achieve with audio?
Alternative learning method
Means of delivering supplemental information
Reaching a global audience
Accessibility outside of business hours
Other

6. The Steps to Creating Audio
Pre Production
Production
Post Production

7. Poll: Which step do you need
the most help with?
Pre Production
Production
Post Production

9. Pre Production -
Make a Plan
Write what your goals are
How do you think you want to publish your audio?
What tone do you want to have - formal or informal?
How to pick voices
Where to record
Getting equipment

10. Content Concerns:
Think Before You Record
Release forms
Language
Subject matter
Copyright

11. Copyright - Theirs
Types of material
Performance rights organizations
ASCAP license
BMI license
SESAC license
Royalty free music (podsafe music)
Sound effects

12. Copyright - Yours
Terms of Use
Creative Commons
Control vs. Accessibility

13. Making Recording Fun -
Selecting Voices
Listen to the voices around you
What sounds pleasant to you
Tone, timber, gender, age (of the voice not the talent)
Match content to voice style
Balance of knowledge and quality

14. Making Recording Fun -
Quiet place
Location
Small or large
Comfortable furniture - stands, floor mats, chairs
No phones - cell phones should be in airplane mode
Hang up signs asking for quiet
Plenty of power outlets
Convenient facilities
Good, but quiet ventilation
Available for multiple sessions

15. Production

16. Production
Record directly on a computer
Audacity
Garageband
Portable digital recorder

17. Digital Recorders
You get what you pay
Don’t look at anything less than $100.00
Really nice ones start in the range of $400 - $600
Pro recorders start at $1000 and go up

18. Considerations
Battery life & type
Physical size
Inputs
Audio quality
Memory type
Recording format
Accessories

19. Resource: www.transom.org

20. http://transom.org/?page_id=7514

21. Microphones
Type of plug
Condenser
Phantom power
Direction

22. Misc. Equipment
Cables
Adapters
Headphones
Shock mounts
Windscreens
Mixers
Sound booth
Accessories

23. Sound Booth

24. Making Recording Fun - Talent
Set expectations, explain the process, talk about who the
audience is
Have water available
Don’t schedule marathon sessions
Allow time for breaks and questions
Be patient
If they ask for another take, let them
Be supportive, but constructive
If a mistake is made restart at a logical place

25. Making Recording Fun -
Mic Test
“Check one, two. Check one, two.”
“Pop goes the weasel ticky-tock, ticky-tock while Suzie sells
seashells by the seashore.”
“A steel seal searches childish snakes for chewy chocolates.”
“Boldly balancing pickles on punks in poodleskirts.”

26. Post Production

27. Learn from my Beginner
Mistakes
Make a backup of your raw audio and make edits to
another copy
Save and save often
Save multiple versions
Do not delete any related files until you have published
your audio

28. Where to Edit
Quiet place
Hang up signs
Comfortable furniture
Plenty of power outlets
Controllable light source
Good ventilation

29. As An Editor
Give yourself breaks
Have water
Big monitors / dual monitors
Pad the schedule - it always takes longer than you think
Ergonomic work station
Like writing - do multiple rough cuts and walk away for a bit

30. Audacity

31. Easy as Editing a Word
Document
Select audio the same way you select text
Same keyboard short cuts
Use of the delete key
To copy - Control c
To cut - Control x
To Paste - Control v
Or there’s always the edit menu

32. Effect Options

33. Common Editing Effects
Amplify
Fade
Noise Removal
Normalization

34. Amplify

35. Fade

36. Noise Removal

37. Normalize

38. Q&A

39. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
Heather Marie Wells
Education Technology Coordinator
HeatherMarie.Wells@CrystalBridges.org
Twitter: hmwells
http://sites.google.com/site/hmbwells
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville, Arkansas
Opening 11-11-11