Chiki:Speaki/1
From Chiki
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Speaki |
Obviously, you'll need to choose an article to record, before you start recording. We recommend an article that is:
- Not under construction
- About something that will happen soon (eg recording The Fall a day before the book is released is a bad idea - the article will probably change massively after the book is out)
- Not really too short - stubs are probably better not read, until they have been well expanded
- User Pages (forbidden - to save server space)
Once you've found an article you like that (hopefully) meets all these criteria, it's time to start recording! Here are some key points for your recording:
- Make sure you are in quiet surrondings
- Keep the microphone a short distance from your face to prevent your breathing, etc interupting the recording
- Speak slowly and clearly
- Always begin the recording with:
"<<article name>> from Chiki, the official unofficial CHERUB wiki" - Always end the recording with:
"This sound file is released into the public domain. The text of the article is either public domain, or considered to be fair usage, under United States copyright law." - Your file must be under 2mb for it to be able to be uploaded. Try cutting out pauses and such, or split your recording in half.
Removing Background Noise
Once you've finished recording, it's a good idea to remove all background noise from your recording, making it as clear as possible. Here's how to do it:
- Highlight a section of the recording where you are not talking
- Go to the Effect menu > Noise Removal, and click the Get Noise Profile button
- Select the entire recording (Ctrl/Command + A)
- Go Effect > Noise Removal, and move the slider towards Less (the change will be irreversable, and even at the lowest setting it still does a good job at removing background noise). Keep Previewing the effect until you think you've got it about right, and click Remove Noise.
- Wait for Audacity to finish removing the background noise.
You might also want to experiment with Click Removal, if you can hear yourself clicking in the recording.
Export!
Almost there now... All you have to do is export it as MP3.
To do this, simply go File > Export as MP3...
You should already have downloaded the LAME codec, but if you haven't exported an MP3 through Audacity yet, you'll need to show Audacity where you put the LAME files. Simply browse to the folder you extracted the files to and find the file Audacity wants.
Choose where to save the MP3 file to. Give it a filename similar to that of the article it's about (eg, if the recording is for The Fall, call the file The_Fall.mp3). The ID3 tag window should appear - you might as well leave it blank, but you can add info if you desperately want to.
You can also save the file as an Audacity project, if you think you might want to work in it again later. Just go File > Save. If you don't, Audacity will ask you to save it when you quit.
