Creating an AAC Podcast Using a PC

Transcription

1 Introduction The Mac computer has all kinds of software that can be used to create podcasts but options on a PC can be limited. What software can be used to create AAC podcasts on a PC? An AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is an open audio file format the produces CD quality sound with a file the size of a mp3 file. It is the preferred file format for itunes audio podcasts. It is a container file format that will hold the audio, the artwork, and the metadata. The file extension for an AAC file is.m4a. This document will give directions on how to use the following software packages to create the podcasts: (1) Soundzabound free licensed audio for Utah teachers and students) for the Intros, background music, and Outros. (2) Audacity a free software audio editing that runs on several operating systems. (3) itunes to convert the wave file to an AAC file and add the metadata for the podcast. Planning the Podcast The planning of the podcast needs to happen before actual recording of the podcast begins. The music intros, introduction of the podcast, script of the podcast, the conclusion, the credits, the outros music, the metadata, and art work all need to be planned ahead of the project. Podcasting planning forms can be very helpful in the planning process. Soundzabound Royalty Free Music for Schools 1. Soundzabound is royalty free music for students, and teachers in Utah. The files can be accessed through the Pioneer Online Library at 2. The library is accessible from a computer in a Utah school or public library or by logining in from a computer at home using the user ID and password. (This user ID and password are changed each year but can be found out from a school librarian or teacher.) Soundzabound website can be searched by category or browsed. Page 1

2 3. The 15 sec clips can be used as Intros and Outros. The introduction music and ending music clips. If music is wanted as background music it can be searched for and found also. 4. Once the file is found it can be downloaded and saved for later use in the podcast and it can also be edited and modified using Audacity Page 2

3 Audacity The Audio Editor 1. Audacity is a free audio editing program that can be downloaded and ran on a PC. 2. Audacity's default settings to record is a mono file. To change the recording to a stereo format, the preferences need to be changed to 2 channels (stereo). 3. This is done by accessing the Edit, Preferences menu. Page 3

4 4. In the Preferences Dialog box select the Audio I/O tab, then the Channels item and change it to: 2 (stereo). 5. New audio can be recorded by clicking on the red record button on the toolbar. The yellow square button will stop the recording. Page 4

5 6. The Soundzabound files can be opened in Audacity or imported in an existing project by choosing Project, Import Audio... The import function adds the tracks to the project.. 7. To edit an audio file, the part to be edited needs to be selected/highlighted by dragging the mouse across the selection. Once it is highlighted it can cut, deleted, copied, Amplified, Normalized, etc. Other effects can also be added. Page 5

6 8. To amplify the track or selection, use the menu to choose Effects, Amplify In the Amplify dialog box the sound can be adjusted. 10.A track or selection can also be Normalized, this allows you to correct a vertical displacement of the track and/or to amplify such that the maximum amplitude is a fixed amount, -3 db. It is useful to normalize all of your tracks before mixing. (Audacity, Help) 11.To Normalize a selection use the Effects menu choose Normalize. Page 6

7 12.Use the View, Fit in Window menu or the View, Fit Vertically to see the whole project. With several tracks in the file, the tracks need to be moved so they are in a correct playing sequence. This is done by clicking the Time Shift Tool and dragging the tracks to the correct alignment. 13.All the tracks can be viewed lined up and in the correct sequence using the Time Shift Tool. Click back on the Selection Tool for any additional editing. Page 7

8 14.Once the audio file has been created and edited, the project needs to be saved. 15.The File, Save Project, saves the information of all the associated files and how they have been edited. 16. The Audacity project file can not be opened or played with other audio software. For this reason the file needs to be exported as a wav file. This is an uncompressed Windows audio file format. 17.The file is exported using the File, Export as Wav..menu. The Export as Wave dialog box lets the user, name the file and select the location to save it. This may take several minutes to compile and export file, so be patient. 18.Audacity also has the ability to export mp3 files, but the dll file, lame_enc.dll. needs to be downloaded and placed in the Audacity program folder and associated with the program. Page 8

9 itunes Apple's Music Program 1. Apple's itunes music program can be used to catalog, organize, and play music, videos, and podcasts. 2. itunes can also be used to convert files and add metadata to them. The preferred file format for audio has become the open AAC format. 3. The first step in converting the wav file podcast to an AAC file is to drag and drop the file in itunes from the file folder where it was saved. 4. The imported file shows up in the Library Music folder. It has no data or information with the file other than its name. Page 9

10 5. Once the file is imported it can be right-hand-mouse clicked on to bring up the menu options available. The Create AAC Version is selected. This takes a little bit of time to convert the wav file to an AAC format. This can also be done from the menu using the Advanced option, then select Create AAC Version. 6. The converted file will show up in the Music list. It is named just like the original wav file. A right-hand-mouse click on it will bring up the menu options available, select the Get Info option to make sure you have the correct AAC file and to add metadata to it. Get Info can also be accessed using the menu File, Get Info or using the Ctrl-I keystrokes. 7. The Info dialog box in the Summary tab shows that the file is an AAC, it also shows the file size, date created, etc. Each of the tabs give information about the file and also allows the user to enter of additional metadata. Page 10

11 8. The Info tab in the Info dialog box has several options for metadata that will make the more searchable when in itunes. The following are basic metadata standards for itunes U in Utah: 9. Name this is the name that shows up in itunes. It should follow the episode naming convention and be limited to 30 characters. 10.Artist the name of the individual or organization. 11.Album Artist employer, institution, district, LEA, school, etc.) 12.Album subcategory of the content area, podcast series, or course name. 13.Grouping grade levels separated by commas. 14.Composer state name or other sub unit. 15.Comments state standards and descriptions. Limit to 90 characters. 16.Genre content area or subject done with 2 or 3 words. 17.Year the year the content was created or published. Page 11

12 18. The Video tab shows options if the file is a video file. These will not be used in the audio podcast. 19. The Sorting tab gives options for sorting of multiple episodes of a podcast. It comes populated with data from the Info panel. For this project nothing will be changed. Page 12

13 20. The Options tab allows the changing of the volume, start time, end time, etc. This will not be adjusted on this project. 21. The Lyrics panel allows for text data to be imbedded in,the file. For music the lyrics can be copied and pasted in. For an instructional podcast the Lyrics panel can be used to have an outline of the podcast, credits, timeline, etc. inserted. Page 13

14 22. The Artwork tab always art work to be loaded to with the file. Artwork will display as the artwork when the file is being played. File size should be 300px by 300px. This screenshot shows the art work loaded. 23. The OK button is clicked and the Information is updated for the AAC file. 24.The updated file can be played in itunes. The graphic shows in the artwork window and the other metadata shows up in the details of the podcast when it is played. Page 14

15 25.The last step in the creation of the podcast AAC file is to drag the file from itunes to the Desktop. This file can then be uploaded as an episode to a podcast channel or blog where it will keep all the metadata that has been added to the file. 26.This process allows a person with a PC to create an AAC podcast using Soundzabound, Audacity, and itunes with all the needed metadata. Page 15