Blog Post #1: I've Never Listened to a Podcast Before This ෆ

Introduction

  For this first blog assignment, I listened to Held Hostage published by This American Life. I listened and analyzed the audio in the podcast and connected it to the 4 kinds of audio in 10 Tips For Using Audio More Effectively in Multimedia Stories by Casey Frechette, then proceeded to connect it to Ira Glass’s Moments of Reflection.

4 Kinds of Audio

      In 10 Tips For Using Audio More Effectively in Multimedia Stories, Frechette states that there are 4 different types of audio that multimedia stories depend on: interview clips, voice-overs, natural sounds, and ambient sounds.

Interview Clips

      Interview clips are recordings of a story’s subject, which can help bring the characters in a story to life. (Frechette, 2012, para. 5). There are many interview clips in this podcast; however, the interview clip I chose is from 9:08-9:32. This segment features the testimony of Jaime Correal, the podcast host’s father. This clip stood out to me the most because not only did the interviewee directly talk about getting kidnapped in detail, but he also had a connection to the podcast host and the previous interviewee, who was also abducted by the same rebel group. I thought it was very unique and clever idea for Correal to interview her own father. It adds a personal connection to the podcast.

Voice-Overs

      Voice-overs are voice recordings that are scripted after the interview(s) are conducted. These can provide context for what is happening in the story and can push the storyline forward. In Held Hostage, there are many examples of voice overs, but I chose to focus on 7:06-7:17. In this 11 second clip, narrator Annie Correal introduces Viviana, whose father is a police commander who was kidnapped more than 20 years ago. This helps push the story further so that Correal can give background and share Viviana and her father’s story.

Natural Sounds

      Natural sounds are the “sound effects” that are recorded on location — discrete, specific elements that command the listener’s attention when they occur. (Frechette, 2012, para. 7). A clip I found with natural sounds is 7:08-7:42. Behind the voice overs are occasional keyboard clicks and background conversations that show that the radio station is a busy and bustling place. It also supports a statement that Correal made earlier when she states, “there was so much kidnapping going on in Colombia, that the country's biggest radio station had a program that was specifically for kidnapping victims.” The fact that there are so many voices and background noises show that the radio station is very busy with a lot of people wanting to tell their own kidnapping victim story.

Ambient Sounds

      Ambient sounds are the background noises that create a sense of place. (Frechette, 2012, para. 8). A clip I found with ambient sounds is 9:10-9:47. At the beginning of the clip, there are loud motor noises that sound like a motorcycle. Nearing the end of the clip, there are car noises in the background, while interviewee Jaime Correal talks about being abducted from his car in broad daylight. These background noises gave the listener a sense of what Jaime Correal might have heard the day he was kidnapped.

Moment of Reflection

      Nearing the end of Act I of Held Hostage, Correal takes a moment to talk about how she coped with her father being kidnapped from 18:31-19:39. Correal explains that she talked to him as if he was there — she would ask him for advice as if he was never gone, and would try to connect with him when her mood went downhill. She would ask for a sign that he was still alive and fighting, and wait until she received one.

      Correal reveals that this is a common way of coping in these situations — Viviana still talks to her father in her head, and so do many families, even ones who have gone decades without any proof their loved ones are still alive.