You can use your phone, your computer, or you may have a recorder that you’d like to use. Whichever method you plan to use to record, test it out before you start. Make sure that you know where the microphone is on your device, and that it is set to record at a high quality. See below for specific notes about different recording methods. Do a test recording and listen back to it. Is the recording level ok? If it is too low, you will hear a hum when you boost it later; if it is too high, it may distort. Adjust the recording level on your device if you need to, and make sure you are close to the microphone.
We are surrounded by sounds – passing cars, the hum of the fridge, the neighbour’s whipper snipper. Whether you are recording with your phone or with the best gear around, you will get a better result if you record in a quiet environment. Choose a space with lots of soft surfaces – carpeted floor, curtains on the windows – to reduce echo. Make sure you hold the recording device still, and try not to bump it. We recommend you wear headphones while recording so that you can hear if there are any problems as you record.
Every room or space has its own unique sound or acoustic. It is a good idea to record at least 30 seconds of ‘silence’ (which is really the sound of the room) at the beginning or the end of the interview. This can be invaluable at the editing stage and even if you don’t use it, we might ask you for it later if we want to broadcast your pocketdoc.
Interviewing someone else
If you are interviewing someone else, will you be including your questions? If you are, make sure you clearly record your own voice as well as theirs. (You may need to move the microphone between yourself and the interviewee in the course of the interview, so practice this with headphones on, so that you can move smoothly without ‘mic noise’.
Make sure your interviewee is comfortable, and give them time to relax and settle into the interview. You might want to ask them a question you know you won’t use in your piece (about what they had for breakfast, for example) to get them talking and check that it is all running smoothly before you are into the meat of the interview.
It’s ok to stop and start the recording, if your interviewee loses track or wants to say something again. If they have missed something that you think is important or interesting, or if you’re not sure that they’ve said something clearly, don’t be afraid to ask your question again. Or if you feel like their answer is too long for you to be able to use it, ask them to answer the question again, more briefly.
Again, you can record more than you plan to use, and edit the recording, but try not to record more than a couple of minutes over your five minute time limit.
Using your smartphone to record audio
There are lots of free sound recording Apps to help you record audio. Pocket WavePad is just one example of the many free, easy-to-use recording Apps for smartphones.
Choose an App that lets you record at a high quality (48,000 khz sample rate, bit rate 16 or higher, AIFF or WAV format), and make sure the highest quality is selected in the App settings.
Make sure you know where the microphone is on your phone. For example, the microphone on an iPhone is on the bottom end near the docking port.
Hold the microphone close and speak into it.
If you are recording with an iPhone, use iTunes to get the sound off the phone and onto your computer.
1. Create a folder on your computer, and call it Pocketdocs Entry.
2. Connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable. iTunes should launch automatically.
3. In menu across the top, click on Apps.
4. You should find your sound recording App in the Apps box under File Sharing. Click on the App you used to record the sound, and you will see the audio recording files in the Documents box on the right.
5. Click on each audio recording to give it a name. From here, you can drag the files to the folder you created in Step 1.
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