Forum / how to make an audio recording of short story

• 
  David Erlewine

  Mar 04, 08:39am

  hey all, anyone have any tips on how i make an mp3 of me reading a short story? i've resisted learning but now need to figure it out (much like i resisted the move from wp to word) pronto.

  thanks,
  a philistine among scholars

• 
  Kevin Myrick

  Mar 04, 10:02am

  David,

  http://podcastfreeamerica.com/features/entry/the-real-beginners-guide-to-podcasting/

  That's what I'd suggest reading. You're going to need some audio recording software, a microphone of some sort, and about an hour's worth of time.

  -Kev

• 
  David Erlewine

  Mar 04, 11:32am

  Excellent, thank you Kevin.

• 
  Matt Dennison

  Mar 04, 12:49pm

  "Audacity" is a free recording studio. Quick download.

• 
  David Erlewine

  Mar 04, 12:56pm

  Oh great, thanks Matt. I did a bit of ol' Googling earlier and saw the reference to Audacity but my eyes sort of glazed over, a fairly common occurrence. Thanks for the help.

• 
  Finnegan Flawnt

  Mar 05, 06:40am

  audacity is somewhat hard. i recommend (for shorts anyway) apple quick time especially when you're on a mac. iTunes then converts any .mov file into an .mp3 for you. that's what i do anyway. and then you do what i did and become an iTunes podcaster: http://bit.ly/91HEfX - rest assured you'll be a lot more popular being better looking and all.

  still, it'd be great if you leave a review or a rating for me on iTunes, as a friend.

• 
  David Erlewine

  Mar 05, 07:03am

  Finnegan, I've got a dell laptop, not a mac. Still recommend I go the apple quick time route? And, ha, I've never been popular. The current word is that my 3:AM Mag picture resembles Harold Ramis in the Ghostbusters. I've heard that comment quite a few times in private Zoetrope offices. Better than Skippy from Family Ties I guess.

  Thanks, really, for your input. Greatly appreciated. If I can figure this stuff out, I'll most certainly rate/review you on iTunes.

• 
  Kevin Myrick

  Mar 05, 03:40pm

  David, Audacity might be a little difficult to figure out at first, but it isn't too bad once you figure out what does what to sound. I personally love Adobe Soundbooth (quite expensive, unfortunately) which used to be Adobe Audition.

  I'd say if you're looking to do this quick and dirty, use the sound recorder built-in to Windows. (programs/accessories/sound recorder (might be under audio tools if you use anything Windows XP and lower.)

  With a decent headset microphone and practicing reading the story a few times beforehand, you could easily do it in the time it takes to read you a story. Audio files will unfortunately have to be converted from WMA to MP3, but that is done easily.

  I'm available for help if you need it, by the way.

• 
  Kevin Myrick

  Mar 05, 03:40pm

  PS - You do have a Harold Ramis look about you.

• 
  eamon byrne

  Mar 05, 05:09pm

  I've used audacity. But here's another idea. A cheap usb mike (coupla bucks). Windows. Just get it to read it back to you. Will sound like the voiceover man with a lobotomy speaking from a diving bell. But you can ramp it up to warp speed if you want, make it sound like a chipmunk on phets. Guaranteed to give you a whole new perspective on your work.

• 
  David Erlewine

  Mar 13, 01:27pm

  Thanks everybody for helping with this. Greatly appreciated.

• 
  Finnegan Flawnt

  Mar 14, 09:50am

  looking forward to listening, david! i've also used a phillips dictaphone (digital voice recorder) - any of them digital wonders will USB into your machine and give you an mp3 straight from yer throat.

• 
  Michael Dickes

  Mar 16, 09:23am

  There is lots of software available, but some of it is too complicated for your purposes. Adobe Audition is fairly simple and comes with a great tutorial. It used to be called Cool Edit Pro and used copies are available on the internet. One tip: record at the sample rate of 44,1 then save as an mp3 320 kbps 44,1 Stereo

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