Evaluation - Technology

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

At the beginning of AS Level, I had very little knowledge about the equipment that I would need to use in order to turn my radio extract from a 4 page long script, to an 8-minute long, authentic radio extract. During this transition, I have learnt not just how to write a radio show, but how to create one as well. The piece of equipment that was used to make my radio show is called 'Adobe Audition'. Adobe Audition is a digital audio workstation from Adobe System that features both a multi-track, non-destructive mix/edit environment, and a destructive approach waveform editing view. Basically, Adobe Audition is the software that made my extract appear realistic.

When doing my Preliminary Task, I had no idea how to use Adobe Audition. By monitoring my teacher Jon, I slowly understood how it works and how to edit effectively. I was gradually able to understand how to use the software to enable me to get the clip how I wanted my extract to sound, and this practice gave me extra confidence and practice when it came to creating the main task.

For the recording of my radio show, a 'Sure SM58' was used to record the voices. This is piece of recording technology that is able to record sounds to a high quality standard. The recordings are then recorded on Adobe Audition. During the editing of my main task, the ability of Adobe Audition to edit and mix to a high standard highlights the quality of technology. As an A Level student, the technology is available for me to do whatever I want with something, and make it to a high standard. This is an extraordinary thing and this means that, despite the software costing money, it is available to anyone, and the opportunities are endless for those who use it.

Many editing techniques that I frequently used to make my radio extract were silencing and cutting (in order to create a smoother sounding flow in the content), adding frequency to sounds (in order to make sounds realistic to its setting), and creating layers (merging various different sounds, such as background music, a main voice, and special effects, such as crowd noises).

All my sounds were taken from the 'Indie Rock 2' CD, which contains various pieces of music recorded specifically for use in radio. All of my effects were taken from the 'BBC Music Library', which has recorded sounds for every situation, and is useful when creating a realistic scenario in radio.