Help Me Create Quality Audio for an Animated Instructional Video
Stephanie Foster
Created on July 4, 2024
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Transcript
Help Me Create Quality Audio for an Animated Instructional Video
The Scenario
My team is working on an e-learning project intended to support mental health providers in managing their work-related stress. In light of this, we have decided to create a series of animated videos within our larger course, which we will use to illustrate some important concepts using the metaphor of climbing a mountain (Mount Mission). I have been assigned the task of recording the audio for one of these videos. Can you help me work through the process?
Test #1
Having recorded a few audio segments previously, I know that I should test my recording setup and listen to myself narrate a sentence or two BEFORE I dig into the full script. For this reason, I will start with the following snippet, which will begin the video. "When we experience depletion stress, mission stress, relational stress, traumatic stress, and team stress as mental health providers, it may be difficult but tolerable at first."
Test #1
No, could use some work...
Yep, all good!
Is the quality good enough for an instructional video? Select your answer below.
Below is my first attempt at recording. Give it a listen and see what you think...
When you have some ideas in mind, select here so we can compare notes
Need a hint? Select here
Can you identify three (or more) elements that could be adjusted to improve the audio quality? If you need, listen to the recording again below.
Test #1
Test #2
No, could use some work...
Yep, all good!
Is the quality good enough for an instructional video? Select your answer below.
For my second attempt (below), I turned off the air conditioner and tried a different approach to my narration. Give it a listen and see what you think...
When you have some ideas in mind, select here so we can compare notes
Need a hint? Select here
Can you identify three (or more) elements that could be adjusted to improve the audio quality? If you need, listen to the recording again below.
Test #2
Test #3
No, could use some work...
Yep, all good!
Is the quality good enough for an instructional video? Select your answer below.
For my third attempt (below), I moved to a different room and tried yet another approach to my narration. Give it a listen and see what you think...
Blue Yeti microphone
MacBook Pro microphone
Voice Recorder app on iPhone
Choosing a Microphone
Now that I've found a decent spot to record and a narration style that should fit nicely with my animations, I need to choose a microphone. I completed three recordings with the following three devices. Can you guess which one goes with which? Drag the device over the recording you think it corresponds to, then navigate to the next page to check your answers.
Blue Yeti microphone
MacBook Pro microphone
Given the differences in sound between the three microphones, it will be important that I be consistent with the one I use (and its settings) if I have to record multiple sessions.
Personally, I was surprised to find that the MacBook Pro built-in microphone seemed to produce the best audio quality for me, as there was no noticeable background noise (there is a bit of a low hum with the Blue Yeti microphone and iPhone Voice Recorder app).
Voice Recorder app on iPhone
Choosing a Microphone
Did you guess the correct order (below) of the three devices and their recordings? Did any of them surprise you? Which one would you choose?
What do you think?Are there any particular aspects you like?Is there anything you would do differently, either with the audio or video?
Select here if you wish to read the video transcript
I chose the MacBook Pro microphone to record my audio and created the following animated video.
The Final Video
Hover over the pink buttons on the image to read each takeaway
Final Takeaways for Creating Quality Audio
Your Turn!
Challenge yourself to go through the process of planning, troubleshooting, and capturing a short audio segment using different recording setups, narration styles, microphones, etc.If you would like some feedback from me, especially in prepartion for an audio project we are or will be working on together, please don't hesitate to reach out and send me your test files. And don't be afraid to play around, mess up, and have a little fun while you're at it!
I tend to agree. Though perhaps not perfect, there is limited background noise (which can be removed through editing), and the narration is reasonably good in terms of volume, speed, clarity, and tone of voice. On the next page, let's pick a microphone that gives us the best overall audio quality.
I agree! This audio clip definitely has some room for improment. Move to the next page to help me brainstorm ways to increase the quality of my next test.
I agree! This audio clip definitely has some room for improment. Move to the next page to help me brainstorm ways to increase the quality of my next test.
When we experience depletion stress, mission stress, relational stress, traumatic stress, and team stress as mental health providers, it may be difficult but tolerable at first. We may notice our stress response kicks into overdrive at times, but the effects are temporary, and we are still able to make the journey up Mount Mission every day. If we have the added bonus of having strong, supportive relationships in our lives and team support, we can often sustain carrying this extra stress burden for quite a while, as sharing the load with someone who is capable can help mitigate the impact of stress. But even if we do have strong relationships to buffer our stress response and lend a helping hand, if our stress load continues to increase and the obstacles get bigger, the journey will get harder and harder, and we will have less and less energy to spare when we do reach the summit of Mount Mission daily. In other words, we might be able to accomplish everything we need to in our day, but we may also find that we are going to bed exhausted every night and waking up every morning still feeling tired from the day before. If this continues, we may eventually reach a point where we turn to face Mount Mission, and we get so overwhelmed by the challenge in front of us that we simply give up trying. For mental health providers, this could look like neglecting important paperwork, tuning out during client sessions, failing to respond to texts from friends, watching hours of television, or any other behavior that indicates we have mentally and emotionally checked out. When this happens, we transition from tolerable stress to toxic stress, and we risk entering the “red” danger zone of the Stress Continuum Model. When we are in this state, any type of stressor, whether good or bad, can send us spiraling, and it can feel like we are constantly battling thunderstorms and ducking for cover. So how do we avoid putting ourselves in this situation? As any hiker knows, there is no way to completely avoid every thunderstorm or obstacle in our path, and our backpack may be a bit heavier on some days. But there are plenty of actions we can take and habits we can develop to increase the likelihood that our daily climbs up Mount Mission will be satisfying, successful adventures. Or if we have a hard day for whatever reason, we know what we need to do in order to recharge, bounce back, and start over the next day. Knowing our path will be different each day, it is easier to face it with confidence, positivity, and hope when we have capacity to spare, we can name and manage the stress obstacles we have control over, and we have the collective support of others around us.