Course Syllabus
Podcast Production: The Impact of Sound
Semester & Location: Fall 2019 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits: Elective 3 credits
Major Disciplines: Communication, Media Studies, Journalism
Faculty Members: Jon Kaldan jonkaldan@gmail.com
Program Director: Iben de Neergaard idn@dis.dk
Time & Place: Monday, Thursday 14:50-16:10
Location: V10-D11
Description of course:
A podcast is the foundation of sensing journalism, a way of communicating related to literature and theater as it speaks to our feelings – and our senses. This course will give insight in rhetoric, soundscaping, interview techniques and psychology, reportage and the role of human senses in communication strategies and practices, as you will learn how to plan and produce your own audio pieces podcasted under the auspices of DIS. Thus, the academic curriculum runs parallel with hands-on production, including voice training, speech practice, recording, and editing.
This is your chance to be a pioneer in the rebirth of radio and audio as mainstream digital media!
Learning objectives:
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Develop a critical understanding of the use of your sensuous apparatus as a mean of communication and manipulation.
- Analyze and master the linguistic difference between writing for the eyes and for the ears.
- Plan and execute a structured conversation/interview.
- Understand and use audio/sound in visualizing storytelling.
- Produce a podcast of minimum 10 - 15 minutes’ duration.
Approach to Teaching:
Engaging, experimenting and demanding. The instructor will present the basic principles and understandings of the given topic. Through experiments, workshops, teamwork and engaged class discussions, the students will actively acquire their own understanding and skills. You are expected to participate actively in both debates, practical exercises and productions. We will meet professionals from both established and experimental radio production circles, and we will produce our own audio
storytelling. Engagement and courage are keywords for this course.
Expectations of the students:
I expect you to be well prepared for classes, whether it be home assignments in the form of reading, listening, writing or other. When working in groups, I expect you to have obtained the understanding and knowledge of the topic well enough to take part in teamwork independently and actively. I will reward engagement, active participation in teamwork as well as in individual efforts. I expect generosity in sharing personal experience and ideas.
Field studies:
We will be visiting Danish Broadcast, the most significant Danish radio & TV producing media, and meet some of the foremost radio producers to hear how an old, established media colossus is bracing itself for the digital future. We will also meet representatives of the independent young generation of experimenting podcasters at their much humbler production facilities.
Guest Lectures:
Voice, body & the power of personality. Opera singer, actress, and coach Ilia Swainson will take you on a breathtaking journey from your frontal lobes through your vocal cords to your dancing feet in pursuit of who you could (also) be.
Your voice and personality, by Thea Sejr, MA rhetoric. Thea has been training actors at the
Danish National School of Performing Arts, as well as radio and TV journalists, will help us find the potential
of our voices.
Grading and Student Evaluation:
The primary criterions for strong grades in this course are:
Active and constructive participation in classes; ability to read and listen and discuss material in class; active participation in workshops and group work; completion of all assignments by the deadlines. Technical and aesthetic mastery of the audio productions is regarded as less vital for this course. Perfection in execution has less priority compared to the learning process of trial and error.
- Participation – active participation, presentation, peer review. 20% of final grade.
- Assignment 1: For this assignment, you will plan and execute a recorded unedited audio interview . Max 5 minutes!!! 10% of the final grade.
- Assignment 2: Edit and rewrite a professional text so it can be used in an audio piece. You will demonstrate your ability to differentiate between effective metaphors and clichés. 10%
- Assignment 3: You will write a script for use in an audio recording to demonstrate your knowledge of and ability to differentiate written and oral language in audio communication. 10% of final grade
- Assignment 4: You will produce a Pea-Podcast (=baby-podcast) of maximum 5 minutes to find your weak spots and build up these podcast muscles before the final assignment Podcast. 10% of final grade.
- Final Assignment: In teamwork, produce a 10-15-minute audio piece that demonstrates your knowledge and practical control of several basic means of audio production. Reportage, Scriptwriting, Soundscaping, speech. 40% of the final grade.
Overview of the Course:
Theme 1: Storytelling and Interview. How to question, listen and facilitate.
Theme 2: Power of senses. From sensory advertising and manipulation to sticky and reliable information strategies. How do you smell?
Theme 3: The genres of audio communication. Reportage/documentary as the opera of Podcast!
Theme 4: Audio script writing. How to write for the ear.
Theme 5: Persona and personality in broadcast vs. podcast. How to find your own personal “voice.”
Required texts:
Aradhna Krishna, Sensory Marketing: Research on the Sensuality of Products, Taylor & Francis Ltd,
London 2010.
The Science of Sensory Marketing, Havard Business Review, March 2015
Strunk & White, The Elements of Style, 4th edition, 2015, Mass Market Paperback.
Jonathan Kern, Sound Reporting, The University of Chicago Press, 2008.
J.Bjarnholdt Hansen, Writing for The Ear, Speechwriting in Our Time, journal, Texas A& M University
Press.
Jesse Noyes, Companies, and podcasts, Havard Business Review, Dec. 9th 2014
Thomson, Voice, and Personality, March 2014 New Scientist
Plus Podcasts, TED-Talks, Hand-outs as indicated for each class.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
FINAL SYLLABUS
The classes and readings listed below are subject to adjustments. However, any adjustment will be communicated clearly before class.
Course Summary:
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