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!). 

Shanice Grocia W:14

Overall, I am actually quite pleased with how my podcast has turned out. I took a lot of time developing the transcript and implementing clips and sound recordings to produce a podcast that was not only informing, but I think quite compelling as well.

If I had more time, I would probably go back and fix any audio where my voice sounded a bit 'far away' (maybe I wasn't speaking into the microphone properly) and perhaps include an intro and outro where I introduce the podcast as the show I am emulating (Freakonomics) before going into my chosen topic.

The one piece of advice i'd like to offer future students in this course is would be to NOT leave researching to the last minute. Research is a process that is time consuming; and if done well, will give an in-depth perspective that is well rounded as well as useful. If done last minute, there may be holes or neglected issues that will be ignored in the podcast, and therefore, offer a narrowed topic.

So to do well, research well!

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.

KONY 2012: "The Danger of a Single Story"

What is the danger of telling a single story? The danger of telling a single story like KONY 2012 is huge. KONY 2012 was a half an hour 'documentary' on Uganda's notorious Warlord, Joseph Kony, who abducts children to turn them into sex slaves and/or soldiers. Invisible Children's co-founder Jason Russell produced the video, and it has received over 100 million views on YouTube to date. Jason Russell subtly used a Western lens to show his fellow Americans who the "good person" is (Westerners) and who the "bad person" is (Joseph Kony). KONY 2012 undoubtedly convinced the privileged class of the West to adopt a colonialist mentality and get ready to 'help solve issues' in Central Africa. The danger in telling a single story like KONY 2012 is that it creates a generalization of the issues in Northern Uganda, as an "African problem," which requires the West's help. Thanks to TV commercials that portray the lives of individuals in the global south as 'poor,' Americans jumped the gun and became "saviours" once again!

This video specifically played on the emotions of young individuals to become a part of a campaign that attempts to "end the war" in Uganda, without offering information regarding the history of colonialism in Africa or even shed light on the complexities of the situation. The Ugandan population was outraged by the stereotypical and one-sided image that Jason Russell portrayed. Interestingly, various individuals from the Western world, as well as from Central Africa, have analyzed and debated over the documentary's purpose, as it "raised awareness" about a complex issue in a simplistic way, and aimed to raise funds that were given no explicit purpose. This podcast episode questions the lens through which KONY 2012 is depicted and argue that a more nuanced understanding is needed because a single sided story merely generates stereotypes.