Welcome to the 3rd Creativity and Computation LAB!

Gandhi believed in always breathing through your nose, and eating many chocolate covered almonds. You should too!

We will spend today’s session going over three things: 1.Making sure the Python preprocessor (PyHP) is working in your account 2.A brief intro to podcasting 3.An overview of the technical side of podcasting (RSS and sound recording)

Early next week there will be a Python workshop, for those of you who need extra help. Sven will you a survey link so we can identify the best time to hold the workshop.

Please fill out this survey, even if you aren’t interested in a Python workshop. We will use the results to determine days/times of most future workshops.

So, first let’s go back to the end of last week’s class and see how people are doing with PyHP.

And now for something completely different: Podcasting (Thanks to Beth Cherry, who put a lot of time in preparing parts of this presentation!)

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

Podcast Definition A podcast is a syndicated audio or video communication distributed via the Internet. Podcast = syndication No syndication != podcast

Podcast Definition Continued A podcast can be played on any device that plays digital audio files (your computer, your MP3 player, etc.). A podcast DOES NOT require an ipod. Apple did not originate podcasting and does not own “podcasting.”

Podcast Definition Continued Podcasting IS NOT webcasting. It doesn’t stream It isn’t live It is personal (one to one), not a performance (one to many) that might be regulated by the FCC Learn more from Doc Searls

Benefits On-demand content (no click wait); Consumer is “program director” Serialized content Automated, direct distribution Most subscriptions are free Doesn’t require full attention and permits multi-tasking

Detractors Distribution uncontrollable Bandwidth consumption high DRM = Digital Rights Management (prohibitive)

Brief History of Podcasting

Brief History (continued)

Why is podcasting important to you? Opportunities for early adopters to gain mind-share in a relatively new space Alternative method for communication and self-promotion

WHY?

It’s fun.

Also…

It’s an assignment in CC and you have to do it!

How is this assignment useful to you? Learn about university tech resources Improve your presentation skills Improve your interviewing skills Figure out some things about audio Learn a new way to promote yourself, your ideas, and your work

OK, let’s go over a few things: What do you record in your podcast? How do you record your podcast? How do you syndicate your podcast? How do you promote your podcast?

WHAT DO YOU RECORD IN YOUR PODCAST?

General Format Intro music/ Introduction Sponsor Recognition Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Thank you for listening/ feed plug Exit Music *Typical duration ranges from 3 to 45 minutes

Podcast content examples Guest appearances Audience Q&A Media reviews (books, movies, etc.) Music interludes Banter “Soundseeing” from on location Get fancy fancy

Copyright Most podcasts are talk radio, because record companies haven’t provided an easy, affordable way for podcasters to license songs. Creative CommonsCreative Commons Learn more from Linux Journal Learn more from Linux Journal

Copyright Continued Is your music podsafe? When in doubt check with the artist or label before you assume something is podsafe. Podsafe Music Network Music Network Podsafe Audio Audio Read more on how to find podsafe music more on how to find podsafe music

Sample Podcasts KCRW Good Food/ Morning Becomes Eclectic Chinese Pod Diggnation

HOW DO YOU RECORD YOUR PODCAST? (we’ll run through this once, and then get down to details later in the presentation.)

Equipment A personal computer, a preamp, and an external drive (flash drive and/or ipod can also be helpful for file transfer/ testing) Audio software Headphones, a mic, and a pop filter An Internet connection Server space & lots of bandwidth

Recording Methods Audioblogger - Phone it inAudioblogger Portable recorder/ DAT Computer recording: 1.Low Quality - PC/ Mac (internal mic) 2.Higher Quality - Mac at school (better mic + preamp) 3.Dual location - Mac (can do on PC; slightly different process/ software)

Lower Quality Record

Audacity - built for PC or Mac LAME - MP3 Encoder iTunes

Higher Quality Record Reserve an audio suite on the eighth floor of the KU at least six hours in advance.audio suite Check out mics, a DAT, a mini recorder, a pop filter, or other recording equipment from the 9th floor of the KU. Make reservations online two days in advance.Make reservations online See Dave at the DT lab to find out what equipment you can borrow from DT.

Higher Quality Record

Dual Location Record - Mac What you need: Soundflower + Soundflowerbed + Soundflowerbed Line-in Skype Sound Studio or GaragebandSound StudioGarageband

Other dual location methods Do it on a PC ($40) it on a PC ($40) Do it with ichat search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:officialDo it with ichat

HOW DO YOU SYNDICATE YOUR PODCAST?

Syndication Technology Informal Specifications: RSS 1.0 RDF Site Summary Extensible (outdated) RSS 2.0 Really Simple Syndication (xml based) Easy to code by hand Formal Specifications: Atom - standardized

Which should you use? Most aggregators can read all three. iTunesiTunes iPodder.netiPodder.net FeedreaderFeedreader Odeo Odeo

Okay, but how do I setup the feed? Write the code yourself (generally best) Cheat (as long as it works) Feedburner Feedburner

Feed dos and don’ts Don’t: Include HTML mark-up in your feed Do: Identify entries (rdf:about, guid, or id) Fill out your ID3 Tags Validate feeds (

By the way, we’ll get both this Powerpoint presentation and all of these links up on the CC Lab site.

How do listeners subscribe? Click on subscription link Highlight it in the address bar Paste it into their aggregator

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR PODCAST?

Podcast promotion Link to the feed on your site Register your feed with directories Tell your friends Read 12 ways to promote your podcast

Podcast Directories Indie PodderIndie Podder Podcast.netPodcast.net Podcast AlleyPodcast Alley (There are many more)

WHAT IS THE ASSIGNMENT?

1 Podcast for now (you’ll do 3 over the course of the semester) Duration: 3 minutes Link to syndication feed Upload HTML files to your Parsons site at “~user/podcasts/index.html” There should be some description of what your podcast is about on this page (I.e.-- an HTML [web] presence

1st podcast theme: Choose the digital technology that is most interesting to you. Tell why.

Judging criteria Assignment completion on time + followed the requirements Everything works (syndication, files, etc.) Sound quality (good volume levels, attractive and interesting voices/ sound/ music) Content quality (creative, structured, on topic)

So, now we can move on to the nuts and bolts of creating, editing and distributing a podcast

There are two main things we need to cover: 1.Recording a sound file 2.Getting the results into proper file format for subscription and distribution

First, recording onto a computer

The main thing you have to remember is that computers have different types of audio inputs (the Mac and the PC don’t always work the same way!)

So, you can’t always just stick a microphone into the computer and expect it to work. You need to check the “levels” and make sure that your mic setup works.

A mic input has a built-in amplification, because the volume of the audio collected by a mic is very low.

What this means is that if you plug a mic into a standard “audio in” port on most computers, you will get only a very faint signal– too soft to do much with.

By far the easiest way to record to a computer is to use the built-in microphone on a laptop (a powerbook or a PC)

The next easiest way to record to a computer is to get a microphone made for the computer. This can plug into either the “audio in” port or USB.

A third approach is to record sound using a dedicated box (deck). The 10FL Lab has a couple of nice Marantz flash drive recorders you can check out. The 9/55W13 has Tascam digital audio tape decks you can use.

If you are using a PC, sometimes you can plug a normal microphone right into the audio input (in the front or back, usually pink in color)

You need a microphone with a “mini” (1/8”) connector

If you are using a Mac workstation, you will need an “iMic” connector (the 10FL lab has a few, check one out)

If you want to get really serious, you can use a fancier preamp unit such as a USB M-Box (by M-Audio, 55W13 labs have some of these) or a fire-wire box (M-Audio makes these too, and the 10FL Lab has one)

The next few slides are about the fancy set-up. We won’t be messing with this stuff today, but some of you will want to try it out to get better quality results.

Mbox front and back USB Mbox front and back-- 55W13 has some of these

M-Audio firewire pre-amp (the 10FL lab has one)

Fancy fancy recording setup 1. Computer + Audacity + LAME + M-Audio Driver 2. Preamp 3. Power Cord 4. Firewire Cable 5. XLR Cable 6. Mic

Steps for the fancy setup: 1.Connect the preamp to a power source using the power cord 2.Connect the mic to the preamp using the XLR cable 3.Connect the preamp to the computer using the firewire cable

Preamp Settings Turn it on! Depress

Preamp Settings Ensure that your mic input is turned on and that the levels are turned up. Depress Turn up

OK now, whether you are working fancy or simple, once you have a mic set-up you think works, go into System Preferences (Mac), or Control Panel (PC), choose sound, and check that your input settings are correct.

If your settings are right, you should see the input level bar go up and down while you speak (on the Mac)

Once you have the microphone set up, you need recording software. The 10FL lab has a few choices: Peak (Mac) Ableton Live (Mac) Logic (Mac) Garageband (Mac) Audacity (PC and Mac)

Of course, some of you may be in a Sound Design class and can do all of this on ProTools. It’s your choice.

We will use Audacity for today’s demo. It is free, and works on both Macs and PCs: audacity.sorceforge.net You should install Audacity on your laptop, if you have one. audacity.sorceforge.net

Audacity on the Mac (the PC interface looks very similar)

One last software thing we need is the “Lame” libraries, which allows us to export the Audacity files as mp3 files (this may already be installed on the 10FL Lab machines): Lame for OS X Lame for Windows Lame for OS X Lame for Windows

So, now please go to the computers, get a microphone set up, and try recording a short file You can use your laptop if you have one (you’ll need to install the software)

Record Press record and talk into the mic. Access Audacity’s HELP MENU to get fancy. Press stop when finished and export the file as MP3. RecordStop

Then export the file as an mp3. You can play the file back from Audacity or from iTunes.

As far as the sound editing goes, start with Audacity and try putting some clips together. It’s like video editing. It’s easy.

Ok, so now you have an mp3 file. That’s not quite a podcast yet. Why not?

Two reasons: 1. You are expected to script and edit your content. Remember the slide about typical podcast structure (music, intro, credits, etc.) 2. The final edited mp3 file must be referenced using a protocol that allows users to “subscribe” to your podcast

The code protocol we use for podcasting is called: RSS

RSS actually stands for three things: Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91) RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0) Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0.0) (No, this is not a joke) We will use RSS 2.0

RSS is a family of XML file formats for Web syndication used by (among other things) news websites and weblogs [The following RSS defs are from Wikipedia]

The technology of RSS allows Internet users to subscribe to websites that have provided RSS feeds; these are typically sites that change or add content regularly.

The RSS formats provide web content or summaries of web content together with links to the full versions of the content, and other meta-data.

RSS is widely used by the weblog community to share the latest entries' headlines or their full text, and even attached multimedia files.

A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check RSS-enabled web pages on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that it finds.

On Web pages, RSS feeds are typically linked with an orange rectangle or optionally with the letters or

A podcast is an RSS file that contains a link to downloadable audio files instead of a link to a news story.

An RSS file is a lot like HTML. There are tags and content. The file can be named just about anything, as long as the tags and content are correct.

You are going to make one RSS file for your feed. You can add many mp3 content files to your single feed. You do not need a new RSS file for each mp3!

Code (click here for a good step by step tutorial) INSERT YOUR CODE HERE

Your Code Your Site Title Description of your sitedescription> Title of Your Podcast 1 Description of Your Podcast 1! Repeat for each media (mp3) file

Display Save RSS as YourFile.xml Create HTML page to display descriptions of your podcast and a link to the subscription file. Upload your files to your server. Test subscription file in an aggregator such as NetNewsWire

Repeat: you must test your final site! Download an aggregator or a feed reader and use it to make sure your RSS file works.

Sven will details of the actual podcast assignment (theme and due-date) later this week.

Many of you will still have questions. Please work with your friends to figure this out. It is not complex, but it will require you to work through the different steps.

Remember that testing is the most important step in the whole process!

Test your microphone input Test your sound levels Test your final mp3 Test your RSS code Test your final site Try adding another mp3 to your site to see if an aggregator updates as it should

The End!