Popaganda

Christine Hawryluk, Final Thoughts

Can't believe the term is already over and exams are just left. The thing that I can't believe even more is that I created a podcast. Never in a million years did I imagine myself doing something like this.

I am, surprisingly, very happy with how the podcast turned out. I did not think I would be this happy with the final outcome. For the first time, I feel I did a very effective job of creating this podcast and editing all my segments into one final outcome. I also enjoyed creating this podcast, since it was on a topic that was close to heart. This podcast has also helped me become more comfortable with recording and being more comfortable with people reading my work.

I cannot think of anything that I would change, except to force myself to not get frustrated so easily. 

The one piece of advice that I would share with a student who is just starting this course is to follow your guideline for the things you need to do. Stick to that timeline, just like I did, and do not fall behind; this will make a lot of things easier. Also, believe in yourself and don't doubt yourself. Keep positive!

This course has been very enjoyable and I have learnt a lot of things. Enjoy your summer!

Holodomor: The Untold Story of Ukraine's genocide

This is my Final podcast! Hope you enjoy it! Below is the summary (from my pitch assignment) for my podcast!

Hi my name is Christine Hawryluk and I am here to pitch an idea for a podcast about an emotional and inhumane historical event to the podcast show Stuff You Missed in History Class. Before I begin, I have a question for you to simply think about: Have you ever thought if it is possible for people in a country to be killed very slowly at the rate of 30,000 people a day and nearly a third of them being children?  Not many of you may have heard of this event, but this is why I am here today, to inform you about the Holodomor. This was a brutal, man-made famine caused by Joseph Stalin from 1932 to 1933 on Soviet Ukraine. What makes this event most devastating is that Stalin took away something that people here in Canada take for granted—grain, which was Ukraine’s primary food source. My goal is to examine how Stalin’s removal of grain affected the people of Ukraine. To be informed about how millions of Ukrainians died in the most cruel and brutal way possible, by starvation, is something that would be an eye-opener for many. Food is something that millions of people around the world take for granted, but these Ukrainians had nothing to live off of. This is why it is important! This is why people should know about it. This event is not like WWI or 9/11 where people were killed instantly by some military machine. This event is different from others because Stalin’s motives were inhumane by choosing a method that takes much, much longer to kill a person, rather than shooting them and dying instantly. To see images of people deteriorating slowly after having no food or nothing to drink for weeks and weeks, and seeing them barely crawling on the ground is an image that will never leave someone’s mind.  The most interesting aspect of this large event is to see how Stalin’s removal of grain affected the Ukrainians: to see Stalin’s goals, how exactly these goals were accomplished, the effect these goals had on the population of Ukraine and the final result. To see this timeline of events would make those two years seem much shorter. This issue of how Ukrainians were treated very poorly by the Russians can still be seen today with what is happening in Ukraine this very moment—showing that the Russians never give up, that all they want is power over Ukraine! The mercilessness of the Russians can be seen in Stalin’s implementation of his goals on the Ukrainians where he doesn’t care who gets hurt. In my eyes, the Holodomor is considered “the lost famine,” since not many people know about it, but I am going to change that!

 

Har-har-hard to Stay Tuned: College Students, the News, and more...

This week, On The Media, broadcasting from the top of the CN Tower, is taking a critical look at the satirical spinning of traditional broadcasting and current event. Specifically, asking where are college students getting their news, and why it's significant. If the rumours are true, and college-aged students are less and less inclined to engage with tradition forms of news media, is it a concern that satirical news programming, like Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, SNL or the Rick Mercer Report, could be skewing their public opinion? 

Final Thoughts

All in all, I am fairly happy with the way my podcast episode has turned out. I really feel as though I did the very best I could with the amount of help I got. I did do the majority of this projects on my own and it definitely was a big task for just one person. I wish I did have just a bit more time to complete it because that would have allowed me to edit more closely. I realized afterwards that I should have adjusted the volume of some of the recorded sections of my podcast, as they sounded lower in than others. Unfortunately I just did not have the time for this. I am however happy with the way it sounded especially in regards to how I spoke. I rehearsed my script as much as I could to ensure I could speak as naturally as possible. I think I accomplished this for the most part, so I am quite pleased with this aspect of my podcast.

One piece of advice I'd offer a student just starting this course would be to start as early as possible on each assignment so that in the end, there is plenty of time set aside for just recording and editing. I really did not realize how long this portion of the project would actually take. You especially need time to play around with whatever recording program you are using, to become comfortable with it and learn how to properly use it. I had never used Audacity before- or any recording program for the matter! I had to learn how to do everything on my own through the watching of YouTube videos- which was actually very, very time consuming and ended up taking away from recording and editing time.

I would also strongly advise them to work with someone they know for sure is reliable. This assignment requires a very great deal of time and effort and if you don't have someone to put forth that, the task just becomes more difficult and stressful! Quite often you can only really rely on yourself- so if that mean's working on your own, so be it!

Overall, I am happy I had the chance to complete a project as such. I learned a lot and I didn't expect to have  as much fun as I did!

Final Thoughts by Daniella Sousa

I am very happy that this podcast is finally over. It was a very time consuming and an extremely frustrating project. I found myself wondering why I was even making a podcast because I wasn't in a digital media class. All of my research and written work was completed ahead of time, but composing the podcast was difficult. Living in a house with 8 people makes it very hard to find somewhere quiet to record, and you can't record in the library because you can't make any noise. I also had technical difficulties with my computer --crashed so I had to reboot the whole system. This was very frustrating since I had all of my research and my transcript completed, but I had to ask for an extension because I could not record my podcast. I think it would be a lot better if we just had to compose the transcript with all the research and not have to physically make the podcast. Plus most of us are amateurs at recording and editing sound and don't have the proper recording tools, so it doesn't sound as good as it should.
On another note, I feel happy with the outcome of my podcast because a lot of time was spent on it. I feel my research was thoroughly done and I had a lot of interesting facts. I have learned a lot about smoking advertisements through this project. I do, although, wish that I had more knowledge of how to edit sound and I wish I had better recording tools so my podcast could sound more professional.  The advice I would offer on anyone taking this course is to educate themselves about recording softwares and start recording early because you my run into technical difficulties like I did.

It's Doctor Recommended: How Advertisers Manipulate Consumers

Industries have created a new, ground breaking art form that can control the minds of people. It is an expression of human creative skill and imagination but in an unexpected, twisted way. It can be written, drawn, painted, sung, danced, or composed –this art form can be presented through multiple forms. But it is like no other art because it contains the ability to control how people live their lives, how they think, how they act, and how they spend. What can this art form possibly be? You may ask. It is the art every advertiser uses to get more money in their bank accounts. It is the art of manipulation:the art of exerting clever, devious influences for the company’s own advantage. They do not care how the product affects you; they only care how the product affects their pockets. My topic is formulated to fit CBC Radio’s podcast show “Under the Influence” with Terry O’Reilly. Since manipulation is a broad topic, I will try to solve the problem of how advertisers are able to manipulate us, through tobacco ads. After carefully analyzing the audience of “Under the Influence” through mediums like Terry O’Reilly’s episode “Dear Terry”, where listeners sent in unsolved questions that they had about advertisements like: “how do ads grab our attention even when they don’t really advertise anything?” or “does having the same actors in TV ads help hinder the brand they represent?”; I discovered that the listeners of this podcast enjoy learning the fundamentals of advertising. This is why I chose to explore how advertisers are able to use manipulation through tobacco ads in the 50s.I believe this issue is an important topic because everyone in Western culture is affected by the advertising they see in the media –I will like to explain to all of you how companies are able to control our lifestyle and how they affect our way of life through the example of tobacco. The broader issue I wish to cover is to show listeners how we are all truly under the influence of advertisements through their unique ability to control our minds. The complex, imaginative, omnipotent, devious art form of manipulation has changed the world we know and I will like to show you how.

Final Thoughts

I'm pretty proud of how my final podcast turned out. I'm nowhere near the best when it comes to editing things on software, but I think I managed to make it sound as best as I could. Given the obstacles I had in the midst of this assignment, I don't think I would change anything. But maybe I'd allow myself a tad more time to really understand the software. Perhaps if I gave myself an extra few days for that my podcast would've turned out a bit better. 

To students just starting this course, I offer this advice: START EARLY! It's so important in this class to start ahead of time because you need all the time you can get. This is a cumulative class, so you must take the time to really plan out your research days and the days you will need to write up a transcript and such. I'd also advise to have some fun with this. After a while, it didn't seem too much like work. It was kind of fun! As long as you stay on task, this may actually be a pretty fun course!

Thanks for a great semester. I learned some new things about podcasts and recording software, and of course about research (mostly databases which became very useful for other class already!). 

It's Over

Hello Jennifer Andreae and class,

Considering I have no previous experience with creating podcasts, I am surprised by how good and semi professional mine sounds. I'm happy that I was able to research a topic that I'm genuinely interested in. I was able to discuss the economic, political, and social aspects of music in a way that is accessible to listeners, in comparison to theses and books written on the topic. This assignment was a nice break from the typical string of essays I'm used to doing. 

If I had a couple of more hours I would have changed the fading for my music, at parts the transition into dialogue isn't as smooth as I'd like it to be. I'd also think of a better title.

What's one piece of advice you'd offer to a student just starting this course?

I feel like I've answered this question at least three times, in response to some similarly phrased question. Don't mind my sass, I am just overly stressed and tired. My one piece of advice for future students would be to get as familiar as you possibly can with your chosen recording software. I am not, as I've mentioned before (in a similarly phrased way), very technologically capable. I had to rely on someone to help me save and convert my podcast to the correct file. Short story shorter, said person did not save my work, and actually lost it in the process. So I had to rerecord, reformat and reedit my entire podcast... on the day it was due. Also, don't procrastinate. Like one of my blogger's friends said: procrastination is an art, sadly one that doesn't pay well.

The End of the End

I am generally quite happy with how our podcast out-turned. Our podcast process was much like a journey, like The Lord of the Rings, in that we began bothered and bewildered, visited dark and rank places to perform our research, and resurfaced with a large and evil burden lifted from us and most of our friends long gone. If I would change something about our podcast, if 'twere possible to travel back in time, I would tell the neighbours to stifle themselves, and try to get a good rest the night before. To anyone who is taking this class in the future, I have one piece of advice: bring a pen.

Final Thoughts...

I can’t believe WRIT 2300 is already over…  Creating a podcast episode was quite the experience, but I learned a lot!  Hopefully, my podcast episode will help someone with homophone confusion!

Since a podcast is aural, I had to structure my script in a particular way.  So, when I talked about the differences between the homophone sets, “there/their/they’re” and “to/too/two,” I had to constantly remember to spell out the words to ensure that my listener does not get confused – which was quite tedious.  But other than that, I think my recording process went well.  And, since I had no prior experience with creating a podcast, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with how my podcast turned out!

However, the editing process was not as simple as the recording process.  I had never used Audacity before, so I spent a lot of time practicing and figuring out all the different editing features.  In particular, my recording had static in the background, thus I spent a while trying to figure out how to edit out the static.  After a while, I discovered the “Noise Removal” feature and since I recorded my podcast in chunks, I spent a lot of time trying to ensure that the tone remained the same throughout the whole podcast, after I removed the static.  Hopefully, the tone sounds good – at least, I got rid of the static!

Perhaps, if I had the chance to go back, I would have spent more time focusing on the music I used at the beginning and end of the podcast.  I tried my best to make the music fade in/fade out when I was speaking, but I was having some problems with the “Envelope Tool.”  Therefore, I would have structured the music differently if I had more time.  Other than that, I’m happy with my podcast!

My advice to future students:  Remember that the podcast is a big, term-long project, so try not to fall behind.  If you stay on track with all the due dates throughout the term, then creating a podcast won’t seem as stressful at the end of the term.  Also, practice with the editing features of the recording program ahead of time.  If you know where all the editing features are beforehand, then hopefully your podcast will turn out the way you want it to in the end.  Finally, try to have fun – choose a topic you are passionate about because you will have to be dealing with that topic all term long... 

Good Luck, future podcasters!

- Camellia  

Final Thoughts....

Overall, I am happy with the way my podcast turned out. If I had more time I would probably spend it developing the music that I composed for the podcast a bit more. I would have also tried to give myself more time for the editing of the podcast; that took more time than I thought it would. I was a bit annoyed with the Free Audio Editor because it kept crashing while I was using it. Luckily, I’ve developed the habit of constantly saving my work so it didn’t affect me too much. I would also use a different recording program…preferably one I could use on the computer instead of my phone because the transfer and conversion of the audio files took up a lot of my time. Other than that, I’m pretty satisfied with the results.

For students starting this course, the best advice I could give is to do everything on time. The regular, required blog posts kind of force you to do that anyways, which is good, but a podcast is NOT something you want to leave until the last minute. It’s not an essay…too much can go wrong.

This is probably my favourite course to date…despite my early concerns about creating a podcast. I hope future students benefited from it as much as I did and I’m happy to say that I’m not as worried about creating a podcast anymore. Yay!

Final Post: Looking Back

My podcast, I am happy with it for the most part.  There is always room for improvement but for my first attempt I am pleased with how it turned out.

If I had the opportunity to go back and do things from the start, I would probably begin to decide to record my audio at least three days in advance and spend more time doing the editing.  Editing takes time and to get the best results (I think) adequate time should be spent on this area.

Here is another bit of advice that I would offer anyone who's in the beginning stage of this course.  Be sure to spend some time in advance getting familiar with the recording software that you have decided to use for your recording.  I used Garage Band and even though I was familiar with the software prior to taking this course I still needed to review a few tutorials on YouTube.  

I hope this helps, and I wish everyone the best.

Final Thoughts

I  have  finally  submitted  my  podcast  episode  and  I  am  quite  satisfied  with   it. I  am  also  a  bit  relieved  that  it  is  finally  over. I  worried  about  the  outcome  from  the  day  i  started  to  the  day  i  finished  it. 

If  i  had  the  chance  to  go  back  and  do  things  differently, I  would  definitely  chose  a  different  topic, maybe  one  that  would  be  easier  to  conduct  research  on. If  I  could  do things  differently  with   my  present  podcast, I  would  start   very  early, try  to  be  ahead  of  the  class  if  possible. Time  management  proved  to  be  a  very  difficult  area  for me  in  this  assignment  and  in  this  course   generally.

One  piece  of  advice  I  would  give  to  any  student  just  starting  this  course  is, be  on  time. Do  the   blog posts  on  time, do the  work  for  the  assignments  on  time, do  everything  on  time, because  this is  not  a  course  that   can  be  rushed  through  at  the  last  minute. 

I  am glad   to  have  come  to  the  end  of  this  course. It  was  interesting, but  also  really  tasking. I  might  even  take  more  writing  courses  in  the  future. 

DUIs: Should They Be Private issues, or Breaking News?’

This  is  my  podcast  segment  for the  show :On  The Media. I  have  analyzed  the  case  of  a  16  year  old  boy  who  was  arrested  and  charged  with  a  DUI  after  driving  while  he  was  drunk  and killing  and  injuring  a  few  people  in  the  process. My  podcast  segment  shows  the  media's  portrayal  of  the  case  and  discusses  whether  the coverage  was  ethical  or  not. It  also  asks  the  question, should  cases  like  this  be  reported  in  the  media  in  the  first  place?

Popaganda - Bad Ads

This is my episode of Popaganda, Bad Ads, a feminist response to pop culture. In my podcast I explore how the male gaze in American Apparel's advertisements harmfully dictates women's behaviour. I discuss with pop culture critic and feminist Justyne Lee her thoughts and opinions on the company's sexist marketing choices and if hipster culture is really to blame. Enjoy! Note: no copyright infringement was intended, no affiliation with Bitch Media, music was taken from the website of bitchmedia.org

End of the Journey

Hey everyone,

I can’t believe this semester is already over. After finally submitting my podcast, I feel relieved. As fun as it was to make, finalizing it was really stressful. To get every single portion perfect was challenging for me, especially since I’m a perfectionist.

Overall, I must say that I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. I think that after fixing the volume for the speaker’s parts, the podcast flows well. I did however, change the program I used. Although I was planning on using audacity, I changed my mind last minute and decided to work with Garageband. I’m glad I chose to use Garageband because it was really simple to use and perfect.

If I had the chance to go back and do things differently, I would have chosen my podcast speakers earlier. Although I chose my speakers in advance, I realized later that I did not have enough speakers and scrambled to find my last two. Because of this, my podcast sounded a little off balance when I played it all together. For the last two speakers, I had to record their stuff at a different location using a different recording device. Because of this, the podcast sounded a little off when their parts came up. Despite my editing, it was clear that the parts were recorded somewhere else.

One piece of advice I would offer a student just starting out the course is to start the podcast uploading sooner than later. I was a little time crunched towards the really end because even though I finished my podcast on time, the uploading and creating an account on Soundcloud took a bit of time. When I created my account on Soundcloud, my primary email never received the confirmation email, making it impossible for me to upload my podcast on time. I waited 15 minutes, but in the end, I still never received it. I had to change my email and confirm it there.
Thanks so much for reading my blog. I’ve had a blast writing these . Good luck with exams and the rest of your assignments everybody! Happy studying!

Adelina Ruffolo, W14: Final Thoughts

Good Afternoon,

      After listening to our podcast I am happy with the way it turned out. A great deal of hard work went into the creation of this podcast. I think that our topic was good, our tone was good, we had a good pace and the audio clips we used applied well to our topic.

      If we had more time the only thing I would use that time for is becoming better acquainted with the audacity program. Seeing as neither myself nor my partner has ever used this program or one like it before, we did the best we could with the time we had. I don`t think I would necessarily change anything.

 
      If I could give one piece of advice to students starting this course, I would tell them to start thinking about every step in advance. Planning and preparing are important factors to do well in this course because you need to plan a topic and learn how to use programs you may not be familiar or comfortable with. This course is a lot of work and requires a lot of attention. Research is important and knowing how to do proper research is useful.

Final Blog Post

As I reflect on my podcast episode, I can say that I am pleased with the way it turned out. We used a Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone, and that experience alone was very cool. I'm also proud of our music choices; they're quite varied, and we chose to do that in order to convey the diversity of the contexts in which we discuss our topic.

If I had more time, or the guts, I would have asked my downstairs neighbors to keep it down. After spending so much time padding the walls and appliances in my kitchen (to avoid sound bouncing back into the microphone) it was a little irritating to deal with their noise. Perhaps this was in part due to the fact that they were partying, while we had to work. Oh well...

I have two things to say to the student just beginning this course:

Start your research early and don't get overwhelmed. Speaking as someone with a full (overflowing) course-load, you don't want to get stuck with a topic you don't care about, and have this unique experience become a chore. Working with a partner definitely helps, in all kinds of ways, so if you can work with someone else, do it.

Practice early- both recording yourself and using recording software. The blog prompts help to keep you on the ball but nothing really prepares you for all of the problems you will run into the way starting early will. If you start early, you can resolve your questions early.

As they always used to say, friends: this concludes our broadcast day.

Contributing to this course and to this course blog has been an unforgettable experience; thanks WRIT 2300.

Jessica

Unmasking The Flash Mob

Hello everyone,

Wow!  This was a challenging task but its finally done.

So, my podcast focuses on flash mobs.

Now, you have the opportunity to listen and learn more about this very popular phenomenon.

Here are a few of the questions that I discussed in the audio:

What has been the specific formula that has contributed to flash mob marketing success?

What methods if used improperly will cause this spontaneous act of gaining publicity to plummet into dismal failure?

And finally, what is it about these flash mob performances that attracts us?

That's it, check it out and I hope you enjoy it.