Production Protocol

RECORDING

Get the key from the Circulation desk and open the studio (your Student ID is required).  If the room lights do not come on check Switch #14 in the panel outside the hallway.

On the CD Recorder, Switch ON; CDR1 or CDR2, doesn’t matter they are both connected to the audio mixer. Insert disk.  After Reading TOC it will show 00:00; Press REC to put it into Record mode.  I will remain in PAUSE until you press PLAY.

On the mixer, check settings.  Make sure each channel you want to use shows the source you need Mic1, Mic2, etc.  These will be selected when the INPUT 2 button is pressed on those channels.  The Presenter mic is on channel 5.  The telephone line is on Ch1, but INPUT 1.

Press Select on each channel and make sure the EQ and PGM buttons are lit up.  (Press to select.)  Set the EQ and TRIM settings to zero or center (for now).  Set Main Outputs PGM and AUD are up all the way. MUTE the room monitors.

Put on your headset and individually check if desired channels are working.  Set channel ON, fader up all the way.  If you don’t hear anything, turn up your headset volume control.

Remind guests to place mics close to mouth.  Ask guests to count.  Fade up each channel to desired audio level (VU should read between 10 and 2).  If you need more audio level, SELECT the channel and turn up TRIM.

Remind host of hand signals; halfway, 5-minutes, wrap.

On CD Recorder, press Play, watch for counter to start moving 00:01…etc.

Have participants say and spell names.

On mixer, reset timer, cue host, start timer.  Cue host.

THROUGOUT THE RECORDING, keep your fingers on the channels to adjust levels as needed.

As you record, if you have stops, or pauses, try to keep a mental (or written) note of how much time you paused so you can compensate for that in your total running time.

Once the recording is completed.  STOP the CD and finalize (small button to the right of the large black knob on the CD recorder.  When it asks Finalize OK? Say yes by pressing in smaller black knob on right edge of CD recorder.  Finalizing will take a couple of minutes.

Disk is now complete.

EDITING

Insert the CD into the lower drawer on the Editing Computer.

On the editing computer, open Sound Forge.  OPEN>Extract Audio from CD.  If no file shows, do OPEN>FOLDER> then navigate to the disk drive and find the file on the disk that way.

Once file is opened, Save As> put the file in your working folder on the editing computer:   YOURLASTNAME-SHOWNAME-TOPICORGUEST (no spaces in file names).

Convert the file to Mono (small window in lower right of computer screen).  Click on L or R track and OK.

Edit track for content.  (Remember our key audiences)

Adjust audio levels as needed.  On average peaks will reach -6 on the Sound Forge display.  Keep peaks under 4.1 and above 12.1.

Add on musical theme intro/close.  Pre-selected music can be found in folders on editing computers.  Be sure music placement does not overpower voice levels during intro and close. 

Leave only 1 second of silence at both ends of entire sound track.  Total running length from beginning of music to end of music should be between 25 and 29 minutes.

Track is complete.  Save file to your working folder on the computer, and also save it to your personal backup disk or portable drive.

BURN DISK

Close Sound Forge.  Insert blank CD into lower drawer.  Navigate to the E: drive and select the file.  (single-click, not double-click). 

On left panel display, select COPY to CD

When the Copy Wizard panel opens, accept the default date, NEXT>, then select DATA  CD, OK>  Disk will burn.

When finished, label the disk with the file name and also write on the disk the first and last names of the guests who were in the program.

Turn the disk in to the teacher.