Pre production.

The Death of Chadrack Mulo.

Chadrack Mulo, 4, starved to death as he clung to his mother’s body two weeks after she died.

Script -

4 years old Chadrack Mulo was found two days after he died clinging onto his mothers decomposed body. His mother had died two weeks earlier from an epileptic fit. the poor child wasn't able to call for help due to him suffering from autism spectrum disorder. a post mortem was held to find that his cause of death was due to dehydration and malnutrition.

unfortunately, this was only discovered as a corner called upon the government to discuss the fact that he was a young child that had unexpected unauthorised absents for a long period of time. His school was unable to discover why he was absent.

the coroner reported that it was likely that Chadrack was living on his own for two weeks with no idea how to call for help or feed himself properly. he was found a couple of days after he died with his arms wrapped around his mothers body.

the school noticed Chadrack absence and tried contacting his mother but failed to get a response. they then paid a visit to their flat twice but were unable to gain entry. Police were alerted after the neighbours complained about the smell.

the neighbour who lived next door, was upset that he didn't think anything was wrong.

Its sad that they weren't able to be saved. they both suffered traumatic deaths and if only they had anyone else there with them, could they have had the chance to continue their lives.

Interview - I lived just next door, and I didn't realise. I wish I could have been able to save the little boy, he was so young with his whole life ahead of him, he didn't deserve to die like that.

phone call - how could this happen, why didn't anyone know about this.

Equipment -
Tascam recorder, cable, Headphones, microphone

Recording schedule
Thursday 22nd June 2017 - going to record the first part of my script. I will aim to record this three times so I can choose the best to include. I may make mistakes so I may have to record more than this.

I will later record the second part of my script and do it the same way doing the first. I will attempt to pick out sound clips and music that I can include into my podcast.

sound checks -
will be using the recording studio to record. I will need to do a sound check to see if there will be any other noise in the background and if it would get caught in the recording. I also need to do a check to see if the volume for the mic is okay and picks up everything I say clearly.

Health and Safety
There may be cables around that I couple trip on so I should be careful whilst recording or walking around the studio.

some of the equipment is very expensive so when handling the equipment, I should use extra care to make sure I don't break it.

some of the equipment is also sensitive so I shouldn't shout into the microphones and be careful of the level of sound around the mic.

Serial Season 1 Episode 1

Serial season 1 episode 1

• Music
  The purpose of this is to introduce the podcast while setting the mood. The mood that is trying to be set is a soft mood. This is so that the audience are calm and ready to listen to the rest of the podcast. It is softly in the background to add body to the podcast although it isn’t supposed to take the listeners attention from what the speaker in the podcast is saying. The Music also changes the tune and sounds a bit more depressing as at this point, the story has been built up and is suppose to have an effect on the listeners.

• Dialogue
  The dialogue is the main part and the most important part of the podcast as the audience listen to what is being said to find out what happened. Most of the podcast consists of dialogue. As we listen to this we are supposed to be informed about the day leading up to the event and all the facts that have already been established about the events that had taken place. The dialogue is at first meant to create a calm mood where the audience have tuned into the podcast and are listening. Later on the events described by the narrator.
  
  
• Phone in

  these are included usually when they want to get information of someone who isn't available to meet in person so phone calls are recorded. These being used makes the audience feel as if they are part of the phone call and keeps them engaged as an audience. using phone ins gives the audience exclusive information and makes them feel like they are getting the information first hand. it also adds effect showing that they wanted to get extra information for the audience so they could have the full story.
  

  
  
• Aural sounds
  the podcast uses the same theme tune throughout the whole podcast which is repeated at different aspects of it. This is to build the brand/identity. this is to also set the mood again and is added in the background at different part of the podcast when the tension builds up.
  
  
• Interviews
  There are interviews used at the beginning of the podcast so that the narrator can find out who could potentially be responsible for the crime. the mood is calm as the people are just joking around and talking normally. Listening in makes the audience feel like they are part of this interview which also engages them into the podcast leading them to keep listening. 

Report

Sound.

Sound is vibrations moving through the air and can be heard when being reflected onto our ear drums. When the sound travels through the air they are known as sound waves which are then measured in decibels (db.) The sound waves vibrate in the direction that they are travelling. The vibrations are caused by the source which could be your voice box or a speaker.

Acoustics are simply the properties in the environment around you. These can be any hard surface that is able to reflect the sound. Reverb time is the time it takes for the sound to die out – this prolongs the sound onto every hard surfaces in the environment until the energy in the sound dies down. Some sound can be absorbed into items with soft surfaces. For example a wall would reflect sound from wall to wall as it is a hard surfaces whereas a sofa would absorb the sound due to its soft surfaces and shape. There are ways to make sure the acoustics for a room before recording are to a good standard. Some of these are:

• Absorption – which is a foam that flutters echoes.
• Diffusion – which keeps sound waves from grouping together.

Acoustic treatment in the studio must be placed flat against the wall and spread out evenly across the room for best results.

Microphones.

There are many types of microphones that are used in the media industry. They have similarities but also have differences that if not taken at caution could ruin the equipment. The main types of mics are: handheld, lavelier, direct connected, boundary microphone, parabolic, noise cancelling and radio microphones although the mics have different constructions.

Dynamic.

This Microphone is very strong and doesn’t break easily. They are commonly used at performances and concerts for this reason. Inside the microphone, there is a tiny plastic layer called the diaphragm. This is attached to a coil which is attached to a magnet. When sound is inputted into the microphone, it hits the diaphragm and the energy is passed through to the coil. The coil hen begins to move up and down the magnet which creates the audio sound.

Condenser.

This microphone also known as the capacitor, is expensive as it is very fragile and breaks really easily. They are commonly used in the studio. They are very sensitive to sound that loud or hard noise can destroy the mechanics inside. The condenser doesn’t work the way the dynamic mic works. Instead of a diaphragm, the condenser has two plates. The sound comes in to the front plate and send the sound down round the mic. If there is a lot of sound inputted into the mic, this could hit the back plate. If this happens the back plate would be destroyed and the mic would stop working. The condenser needs power to work. It uses a phantom which is a button on the mixer that inputs 48 volts into mic which powers the battery producing the audio.

Characteristics.

Polar patterns are the direction of where the mic is picking up sound from. There are three main different types on the mic. The first type is called cardioid. This gives you the opportunity to record directly in front of the mic whilst cutting out all the sounds in the background. The focus of the microphone is at the front of the microphone. The Figure 8 option allows sound to be record from the back and the front although blocks out sound coming in from the sides. The last one is the Omni all around. This allows you to record from all around the microphone picking up all sound. This is also when you speak. The boundary mic is usually used for big speeches as it can be placed in the middle of a discussion and picks up sound from every direction. It is flat and discrete.

The Proximity Effect.

This is the effect that leaves your output sounding muddy and causes feedback. This is very common in rap when the artist covers the top of the microphone and speaks closely into the mic. What this does it that it adds a base sound and it gets muffled and the frequency goes everywhere causing feedback. It is preferred to use a mount which you click the microphone into and place onto a stand so you can have the mic steady whether you are seated or standing.

Cables.

There are two different type of cables which are either mono or stereo. Mono means it has one ring and stereo has two. There are different cables and each of these cables can come in either mono or stereo form. The XLR cable goes into any mic. There are two ends which are male and female. The male connects into the female side of the cable. Speak on cables are used to connect passive speakers. This is because passive speakers don’t have an amp in the speaker whereas active speakers do so passive speakers need an external amp.

devices.
softwares that you can use to edit your raw audio are audacity or logic. they both work exactly the same.Logic allows you to edit your raw material and change the sound, make music, add effects, change the tone, pitch, speed etc to make your finished product add you can also add external sound to your work. you can use a Tascam recorder to record your sound and then connect it to the device using a cable. On the recorder there will be an arrow to help you control the sound. you should use this to do a sound check to make sure you aren't speaking too loudly. when doing this, you can adjust this and also make sure you aren't record with the proximity effect.