Podcasting 101. Installing and Using Audacity. Audacity s main page:

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Podcasting 101 Professor Herbert N. Ramy Suffolk University Law School 120 Tremont St. Boston, MA 02180 hramy@suffolk.edu (617) 573-8709 (617) 305-3081 SSRN - http://ssrn.

1 Podcasting 101 Professor Herbert N. Ramy Suffolk University Law School 120 Tremont St. Boston, MA (617) (617) SSRN - Installing and Using Audacity Audacity s main page: Tutorial for using Audacity: Step-by-Step video download instructions: At the bottom of screen, click on the Watch the Video link next to Using Audacity to create audio files. Podcasting Websites itunes U: Suffolk Law on itunes :

Audacity Web Page http://audacity.sourceforge.

2 Audacity Web Page Mac users should click here for other options. From the Audacity web page, click on this link to start the downloading process. 2

3 Download Page Next, click on the link that reads Audacity installer. 3

Audacity s System Requirements Once you have clicked on the link to Audacity 1.2.6 installer, you will have to work through the basics of saving and installing as you would for any software.

4 Audacity s System Requirements Once you have clicked on the link to Audacity installer, you will have to work through the basics of saving and installing as you would for any software. Those steps include: Left click on the Save File button when prompted. Go to the download box that will appear and left click on open. o Depending on your version of Windows, you may have to double click on Audacity in the download box. Then click run when asked if you are sure about this software. 4

5 Setup Wizard Click Next to start installing Audacity. When prompted, indicate that you accept the agreement. Continue clicking next until you reach the end, and then click install. At the end of the installation process, click Finish to launch Audacity. 5

6 Here is Audacity, but we still need more software! While you can record audio at this point, Audacity cannot save or export your recordings as MP3 files without an add on program. Minimize Audacity. Now go back to the page on your web browser from where you downloaded Audacity. 6

7 For Podcasts, we need the LAME MP3 Encoder. Click here to begin downloading the LAME MP3 encoder. Without this add on, Audacity cannot save or export MP3 files. 7

8 Then click on this link to bring you to the LAME download page. 8

9 LAME MP3 Encoder download page Scroll down slightly until you see the above image. Once you see the above image, click on Audacity for Windows When prompted, click the Save File or Save to Disk option Double click the program s icon in order to start the Setup Wizard. Continue clicking next throughout the setup process. o When prompted to choose a directory for placement of the software, be sure that you remember the location. o The location of the program will be relevant later when we establishing our preferences in Audacity. 9

10 Establishing Preferences in Audacity Under Recording, select device in order to choose your microphone option. Also, be sure that Channels reads 1 (Mono). Go back into Audacity. Then, click on the Edit drop down menu and select Preferences, which will appear as the last option. This will bring up the screen you see above. 10

More Audacity Preferences Now select the File Formats tab in the Audacity Preferences box. Next, click on the Find Library button under the heading MP3 Export Setup.

11 More Audacity Preferences Now select the File Formats tab in the Audacity Preferences box. Next, click on the Find Library button under the heading MP3 Export Setup. This is when you need to remember where you saved the LAME MP3 Encoder. These steps are essential! Audacity will not be able to create MP3 files, and thus Podcasts, if you do not download and set up the LAME MP3 Encoder correctly. So that I can find downloaded files more easily, I often save them directly to my desktop. But, be careful if you save the file to your desktop. Some computer systems automatically remove seldom used items from the desktop. 11

12 Audacity Helps You Locate the MP3 Encoder Once you click on Find Library, the above dialog box appears. Left click Yes in order to locate the LAME MP3 Encoder on your system. Direct your computer to the location where you saved the file. The downloaded file will likely be located in a folder named libmp3lame The only file in the folder should be named lame_enc.dll. Select this file and then click open. 12

13 If you completed the above steps correctly, the MP3 Export Setup will read LAME v3.97 Finally, be sure that the Bit Rate reads

14 Audacity is Now Ready to Record Your Podcasts! Reverse Play Record Pause Stop Forward Cut Paste Undo Above, I have tried to identify Audacity s most used buttons. As with most software, it takes a little trial and error before you become proficient with using it. 14

Recording Your Podcast Record Button Recorded Audio Track To begin creating a Podcast, simply click on the red record button and begin speaking into your microphone.

15 Recording Your Podcast Record Button Recorded Audio Track To begin creating a Podcast, simply click on the red record button and begin speaking into your microphone. Audacity begins recording an audio track that will look something like what you see above. I recommend creating a script for yourself as opposed to speaking extemporaneously. This will help limit the number of mistakes. 15

Correcting Mistakes Two Options Option 1 Mute Track 1 Track 2 with correction highlighted for cutting and pasting. These numbers help orient you to your location on a particular audio track.

16 Correcting Mistakes Two Options Option 1 Mute Track 1 Track 2 with correction highlighted for cutting and pasting. These numbers help orient you to your location on a particular audio track. First, record your script from start to finish regardless of errors. Next, click play and note your errors. Use the numbers on the screen to reference the error s location. I strongly recommend correcting entire sentences or even paragraphs to maintain continuity in the audio track. Click the record button a second time to begin recording your correction this will create a second audio rack. Mute track 1 so that you won t hear both playing at the same time and listen to track 2. If you like it, highlight the section, click cut, and paste the information into the original track. Delete track 2. 16

17 Correcting Mistakes Option 2 For this option, the speaker would take note of each problem as it occurs. Problems would include: o Misstatements o Phone calls o Throat clearing o Or any other noise that you do not want in the final product Unlike in Option 1, the speaker should stop speaking for a moment and then restate the entire sentence containing the problem. Note while the speaker should pause for a moment when an error occurs, one should not pause or stop the recording itself. When completed, their will be only a single track to work with. All that is left to do is listen to the track and then delete any problematic aspects of the recording. Once you are satisfied with the Track you have recorded, you can save it. 17

18 Saving Your Podcasts Step 1 Step 1 Save Project As Step 2 Export As MP3 Saving Podcasts is a two step process. First, click on the File drop down menu and click on Save Project As... This will allow you to name and save the track as you would any other file. 18

Saving Your Podcasts Step 2 Next, click the File drop down menu again, but this time click on Export as MP3. Once again, you will be prompted to name the file.

19 Saving Your Podcasts Step 2 Next, click the File drop down menu again, but this time click on Export as MP3. Once again, you will be prompted to name the file. After you have named the file, the above box will appear asking you to Edit the ID3 tags for the MP3 file. This is information that will appear once someone tries to listen to the file in their MP3 player think ipod or itunes. You re finished! The file can now be posted to the web or sent to students, friends and colleagues via . 19

Downloading & Installing Audacity

Downloading & Installing Audacity Downloading Audacity 1. Open your web browser. 2. Navigate to the following URL: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ 3. The system displays the Download page for Audacity. 4. Select your operating