Skip to content

Workshop (audio edition)

Texts to have read:

  • any tutorials you need to begin getting a handle on Audacity
  • the shared criteria we developed on Tuesday

Work to have done:

  • a working draft toward the baseline criteria (so at least three tracks, 1-5 minutes long, etc), knowing you can revise, retake, dub in, change your mind, etc.
  • at least one new git commit per working session, with a meaningful commit message, and a push to either github or box so I can see it

Unit 2 Criteria, revisited (10 min)

There were only a few extra suggestions that I found in the notes, and they all seem to me to be aspirational: by and large, the groups seemed to be in agreement on the baseline criteria. Still, I proposed a few revisions, and I want everyone who missed Tuesday to have a chance to weigh in, too: bit.ly/cdm2017fall.

Executive summary of changes:

  • I split the three-version aspirational criterion of coherence into two, dropping one version in the process.
  • Two new possible criteria
  • A suggestion that if you're using Box for large file storage, you link to the Box folder in your README and still use github for mp3s and the rest. This will make it easier for me to find your work!
Important note: if you haven't shared your _data folder (the one with all the *.au files in it), I won't be able to open your Audacity project – and neither will you be able to recover it from GitHub / Box, if things go awry!

Workshop strategy (5 min)

I'm going to ask the authors to use their own laptops, and playback in Audacity so we can see how the parts interrelate. If you notice something especially praiseworthy or comment-ready, you may want to note down the time, so it's findable afterward.

Last time, I tried to separate the discussion into discrete phases of describing, evaluating, and only then suggesting. This time, I think we can aspire to cover the full cycle in any given comment. That is, when you comment, aim to hit all of 1-3 below, in order:

  1. Describe: What do you notice? Say it back to the author, to make sure we agree that thing is happening.
  2. Evaluate: Given the goals of the author and the unit, where's the piece working well? Where’s it getting stuck?
  3. Suggest: Given what’s working and what’s not, how can the author get more of it to work?

That said, I will still ask the authors to begin the discussion, and I will still give them the final word.

Let's begin!

Workshop! (45 min)

  1. Gwen
  2. Lucas
  3. Taylor

Revisit criteria (10 min)

Take a few minutes to write: realistically speaking, what are your personal aspirations with this project? Do you think anything needs to be altered from our baseline criteria?

If you have changes, please share them as comments on that google doc, or start an email thread with all of us (you can reply-all to one of my emails to you), to make sure we can all see it.

Before we end for the day

  • If you haven't yet, can you please quickly add me as a collaborator on your repository?

For Next Time

  • Administrative
    1. This class will not meet on Tuesday, October 9th, because Pitt will be holding Monday classes that day.
    2. Our next class, one week from today, will be studio time, all the time. Bring what you might need to be at your most productive – including, probably, headphones.
  • Inputs
    • Find and watch any tutorials or materials you need to achieve your audio goals
    • Cite while you're downloading: don't trust that you'll be able to find your source materials again if you don't. Save time and energy and copy out the specific URL – for the page that includes the CC license, if applicable.
  • Outputs
    • Keep revising forward with your audio project.
    • Save and commit to git as you go, with meaningful commit messages: that is, say what you've accomplished in that editing session
    • Push to GitHub at least once, so I know you're working
    • Include at least one mp3 of the current state of the project, so I can easily preview the current state of the project
    • If you're using git-lfs, include your .aup project file and .au subdirectory, so I can try to clone and open, and so that you have a matched backup.
    • If you couldn't get git-lfs working, use Box to share your large files (.aup, .au). But please still do use github to keep track of your progress. In fact, it would help me if you'd add a link to your Box folder in your repository's README file – why not?
css.php