Reflection on Post-Production

About a month ago, I was feeling the relief of having finished project 1.

I am once again in that same boat. Woo! I just finished project 2 and couldn't be happier.

Found on tumblr.

I'll admit, I felt calmer during this project because I was used to the pace and the workload. But I struggled so much more with time.

It was an interesting process, but I am honestly glad I did it. I can now say I have created a podcast. The high school world of only essays and presentations seems so far away.....and I love it! 

So, reflection time.

What were some of the successes during this week's process?

• I was finally able to figure out Audacity! So my podcast has sound effects, intro music, and meets the form requirements.

• I finally figured out the content, and heavily revised the content outline and the order I presented things in.

• Me, a person who is terrible with audio editing programs and not the best public speaker, made a podcast. I'm kind of surprised I did it in all honesty. 

• I actually had fun, which I consider a success. I did not expect to enjoy this project at all because I was not familiar with podcasts and writing in the medical field is not exactly a thrilling topic. But I learned so much and feel better prepared for working in that field. And I feel more confident in my abilities to figure new things out.

What were some challenges?

• Time management!! I feel like I always have 500 things going on and not enough time. 

• Because of spring break, I was behind during production week, which lead to being behind in post-production week. I was very stressed the whole time.

• Uploading the final version of my podcast took an hour and a half. And my internet connection was not strong, it kept failing, so I was just not having a good time. Especially since I submitted the project last minute.

• I couldn't figure out how to use Audacity for such a long time. I imported the 30ish segments into a file, but as soon as I tried editing, I could no longer export the file. And if I edited connected the tracks, I was unable to edit them. It is a very weird program and set up. I ended up having to make around 20 individual Audacity filed, import only 1 segment, edit it there, then export that edited segment onto my desktop. Then, I created a folder of all the edited segments, numbered them, and made a list in my notebook of the completed podcast (factored in sound effects, transitions, my recordings, the interview recordings). Finally, I opened up a final Audacity file and imported everything from that folder of edited content. I had to be super careful to not let the segments connect to each other, because if they did, I would not be able to export. It was complicated.

• I was bummed Sunday afternoon because I couldn't spend time with my family on Easter because I had to finish re-recording and fixing the Audacity mess.

How do you think next week will go?

• Next week, we are starting Project 3, the Public Argument. I feel like I kind of under performed for project 2 because of the time constraints. If I had more time, I feel like I would have created something better. 

• Because of this, I feel like next week, I will work extra hard to find a topic that really interests me and that I can argue for creatively. I am thinking of doing the video essay, so I want to be as prepared as possible so I can really allow my creativity to flow.

• Overall, I think I will be more motivated, because now I know I am capable of figuring things out and remaining relatively calm during stressful times. I'm ready for project 3!

How are you feeling about the project overall?

• I enjoyed the process. I wish I had more time so I could make my podcast better though.

• I am still worried about the length. I've always had the tendency create longer projects, I don't really know why. But I do feel like everything I added in the podcast is there for a reason. It wouldn't have been the same otherwise. 

• I think I thoroughly explained everything and was detailed. Overall, I think I did a good job.