Dear Fenella
I agree with Paul's choice of the Zoom - although as he says others are
coming onto market all the time, so for other people following this
discussion it is a good idea to look around a bit. Amazon.co.uk is a
good place to compare and buy.
Other key factors, some implicit in responses already so far, are:
- if children are using them, they need to be robust, and using an
external microphone (which is a good idea when aiming for really high
quality audio free of extraneous noise, which is important) can make
things complicated and increase likelihood of damage
- transferring from device to computer: some Dictaphones and Sony
devices, for example, can seem great until you start the editing process
and find that to transfer it, you have to 'play' it into the computer in
real time, so that 45 mins of recorded bits here and there take 45mins
to transfer. The Zoom and many other devices work like a memory stick
or iPod, in that you can just drag across the files you need and it
copies very quickly.
- even if not using a microphone, listening while recording or at least
monitoring occasionally with headphones is a good idea, especially when
out in the field, as otherwise you won't hear the wind / popping /
people in the background that will be really annoying when you get back
and start editing
- Once you get into editing (and this is the most time-consuming and
skilled part of the whole process) a common choice is Audacity sound
editor. It is free, quite powerful and fairly easy to use. You can
get it at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ To save your edited files
as mp3 you also need to get an extra file called lame.dll - instructions
are on the website.
- A clear statement, for participants and for yourselves as an
organisation, encapsulating in a sentence or two why you are doing this,
who it is aimed at, what it will offer them and how you will do it. In
my experience, the more concisely you can summarise this, the more
likely it is that the end product(s) will be useful.
- Just to reinforce the point that editing takes a lot of time and can
lead to potentially divisive discussions about what you are aiming for,
etc. I would recommend that you establish some basic constraints from
the start, for people to work within. For example you might say
+ you want each young person/group to produce an audio piece lasting no
more than 90 seconds
+ with a clear introduction (so that anyone listening can work out who
produced the clip, who is presenting it, what the point of it is, etc)
+ each group should use the same short bit of music at the beginning and
end, to establish a bit of consistency
+ etc
Or you might decide you want to give them total freedom, but this can
lead to frustration. Another way to do it, to avoid complicated
editing decisions and save time, is to tell them to edit as they go.
In other words you will use the first 90 seconds (or whatever you
decide) they produce. They will run over a bit of course, but that
would mean you or someone else could simply 'top and tail' a clip and it
is done.
Hope it goes well.
Martin
----------------------------------------------------
Martin Bazley
Online experience consultant
Martin Bazley & Associates
15 Margin Drive
Wimbledon
SW19 5HA
0780 3580 727
[log in to unmask]
www.martinbazley.com
-----Original Message-----
From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Paul Baker
Sent: 05 October 2010 22:25
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Sound recording device
If you're looking at Olympus prices, my first choice would be the Zoom
H2.
It's not a voice recorder, but a studio quality stereo audio recorder.
It
actually contains FOUR built-in microphones, arranged as two X-Y stereo
pairs, one set at 90 degrees for a fairly narrow sound stage, the other
at a
wider 120 degrees. You can use either pair, both combined, or all four
recorded to separate tracks for old-fashioned "quad" recordings, or for
later mixing. That makes it very versatile. The sound is accurate, too.
I've
used mine to record professional quality audio for video work. It
performs
amazingly well for its price.
There are now direct competitors from Edirol, Korg, M-Audio, etc. but
the
Zoom still stands out for price and versatility.
Something like this is all you'll need if you just want to record
ambient
sound with birdsong. If you want to zoom in on a particular bird,
you'll
need either shotgun or parabolic mics, which get expensive.
Best wishes,
Paul Baker
Supreme Commander
Diabolus in Musica
Historical musicians in costume
Replica musical instruments and historical artifacts
Interactives, websites, audio & video work
[log in to unmask]
www.diabolus.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hunt, Fenella" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 2:24 PM
Subject: Sound recording device
Dear all,
I'm looking for a sound-recording device (probably a Dictaphone) to be
used by children for recording birdsong and other natural sounds in the
park. My key requirements are:
- affordable (I'd like to buy four)
- records relatively good quality sound (perhaps with a
compatible directional microphone)
- easy to use
- digital
- records in MP3 format
Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks for your help.
Best wishes,
Fenella
Fenella Hunt
Learning Officer
Osterley Park and House
Jersey Road
Isleworth
Middlesex
TW7 4RB
020 8232 5069
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