Conferencing recorder, Skype, iVocalize, online interviews, skypcasting Earlier this week I focused on podcasts and raw MP3s with high production values, some of which originated from modest production facilities. Some of the more interesting memes in these podcasts arose from recordings of online or telephone audio interviews and commentary. But recording online audio interactions can be a bit of a complex black art and so, in this article, I introduce a promising new easy-to-use solution. In my Auricle article Probing podcasting from the professionals I highlighted how fairly high production values were to be found in podcasts and raw MP3 downloads orginating from individual and groups with relatively modest technical facilities.
Even my tentative investigations into this area suggest that the quality of the recording can be better than that achievable from recordings made from plain old telephones. I can now see why the current telecoms incumbents are really worried about the transmission of voice over the internet.
Being able to interview a subject, or subjects, online has incredible potential for the gathering of information to be used for evaluation, research, and journalistic purposes. And just think of those case studies!
However, let's get the ethical, legal, and human-relations bit out of the way first. Get the approval of whoever you're recording before you do it. If you don't do that then your future is probably more with covert operations than with what you are currently pursuing … investigative journalists excluded.
So how do you go about creating your own quality audio resources for dissemination online?
After reading Robin Good's article from last December
The Online Audio Interview Recorder: Skype Recorder vs. iVocalize I tried out the iVocalize service using that company's free 2 hour trial account. Impressive results were easily attainable from iVocalize. Users unhappy with the iVocalize recording's proprietary Microsoft .wma format will need to invest in a format convertor, but this is an easy and relatively cheap process. iVocalize is an online service which attracts a cancellable monthy fee; the cheapest option is $10 per month for a 3 person account which will suffice for many doing one-to-one interviews.
I then downloaded Skype, which is a desktop client, and had the application up and running within 5 minutes. When this application works it's fidelity is pretty impressive. I say, 'when it works', because Skype can be fussy about what it works with. If it takes exception to other audio applications on your system it will throw errors. Unfortunately, when you are trying to record a Skype session there will invariably be another audio application active.
Recording a Skype session was apparently not for the faint hearted. However, a couple of gurus, Stuart Henshall and Bill Campbell, have worked out a solution they called Skypecasting, i.e. Skype plus Podcast Recorder. But Skypecasting required two instances of Skype and the purchase of some software called Virtual Cables. Now whilst I'm prepared to get stuck in, I couldn't help thinking that there had to be an easier way, preferably a single recording utility that was Skype friendly.
I located a potential candidate solution in the form of Applian Technologies' Replay Telecorder which can also act as a Skype answering machine. Replay Telecorder is free, currently, but it's still in the early beta stage of development and so there may be a few gotachas! hidden in there, but I couldn't find any in the time I had available to test it. Once I had made a few adjustments to my laptop's audio settings it made a reasonable to good job of recording two way conversations on Skype. The key Skype settings for me were Options>Hand/Headsets>untick 'Enable automating sound-device settings' and in Replay Telecorder, Settings>Record from Stereo Mixer and tick 'Also record from microphone'. I also needed to tick the boost setting on my microphone setting in my laptop's audio control, but I suspect this will vary on different systems. Here is a sample MP3 recording I made using Replay Telecorder and Skype. The sample was recorded using the Skype testing service which has the Skype user name 'echo123'. It's kind of hard to control the different levels of the different sources, but I think it's about usable.
It's also important that all participants use headsets, otherwise ambient and computer noise at both ends may detract from the message. A bit of 'atmphos' is fine, but Skype can find sounds you never knew existed in a room.
I view Skype, and its ilk, as potentially powerful research and information gathering and resource production tools. There are undoubtedly others, however, who will see such technologies as the spawn of the devil. What do you mean you can bypass the switchboard? Why are you taking up such bandwidth? What are the security risks? Where's the revenue coming from? But one thing is certain, Skype et al are the thin edge of a fast approaching wedge. These are, in another form, some of the 'etools' which could make effective distributed learning and production a reality much quicker than we ever envisaged. But heh! … let's see what emerges to spoil that vision.
