Course Syllabus

Podcast Production: The Impact of Sound

Course Description

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 into rhetoric, soundscaping, interview techniques and psychology, reportage, and the role of human senses in communication strategies and practices. You will learn how to plan and produce your 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 using your sensuous apparatus to communicate and manipulate.
• Analyze and master the linguistic difference between writing for the eyes and the ears.
• Plan and execute a structured conversation/interview. 
• Understand and use audio/sound in visualizing storytelling.
• Produce a podcast of a minimum of 10 - 15 minutes duration.

Approach to Teaching

Engaging, experimenting, and demanding. The instructor will present the basic principles and understandings of the given topic. The students will actively acquire knowledge and skills through experiments, workshops, teamwork, and engaging class discussions. You are expected to participate actively in debates, practical exercises, and productions. We will meet professionals from both established and experimental radio production circles, and we will produce our audio storytelling. Engagement and courage are keywords for this course.

Expectations of the Students

I expect you to be well prepared for classes, whether 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 and active participation in partnership and individual efforts. I expect generosity in sharing personal experiences and ideas.

Field Studies

We will visit 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 experimenting with 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 criteria for strong grades in this course are:

Active and constructive participation in classes; ability to read and listen and discuss the material in class; active participation in workshops and group work; completion of all assignments by the deadlines. The technical and aesthetic mastery of the audio productions is less vital for this course. Perfection in execution has less priority than the learning process of trial and error.   

• Participation – Active participation, presentation, peer review. 20% of the final grade.
• Assignment 1: You will plan and execute a recorded, unedited audio interview for this assignment. 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 the final grade
• Assignment 4: You will produce a Pea-Podcast (=baby-podcast) maximum of 5 minutes to find your weak spots and build up these podcast muscles before the final assignment Podcast. 10% of the final grade.
• Final Assignment: In teamwork, produce a 10-15-minute audio piece demonstrating your knowledge and practical control of several primary audio production means. 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

• Out on the Wire, Broadway Books, 2015
• 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, and 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: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

The classes and readings listed below are subject to adjustments. However, I will clearly communicate any adjustments before class in Canvas announcements.

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org