Unit 2 Reflection Blog Post

        Another day, another unit comes to a close. I am a bit sad about that because I really enjoyed this unit but I am also excited to see what happens next. 

    It was interesting working with an audio drama rather than a traditional podcast because of who they use the same things differently. For example, any type of podcast can use sound effects but audio dramas tend to need sound effects to make their stories more believable. When looking at the list of sonic rhetorical devices, I looked at what people would use to describe action movies rather than a podcast. This allowed me to focus on the positive aspects of The Two Princes that other podcasts don’t have, like dragons.

    Going into this assignment, I figured that this would be just like writing any other essays for a class but instead of writing about a book, I'm writing about a podcast. I quickly learned that that was not the case. For one thing, it is harder to flip through a podcast than it is to flip through a book. You can change up the speed of what you read, but it is hard to change up the speed of what you are listening to, especially if someone saying words quickly makes it hard for you to concentrate. I get distracted easily so I sometimes have to go back because I missed the section I was trying to find. Luckily, once I had the specific examples that I wanted to work with and their timestamps, I could begin my essay. Since I knew what sonic rhetorical devices I wanted to use, the actual writing part was easy. The most rewarding part was the peer review. It was very enlightening and helpful for me.

     I learned that you can’t just add music to a podcast. Ignoring copyright rules, the music has to make sense in the context of the scene. You don't want the music to overpower the dialogue but still be relevant to the scene by not playing it too low. It is not an easy task to do. 

    I also learned that just because a sound is bad, does not mean it cannot be used for a good reason. Dissonance can provide discomfort in a controlled environment to either prove or exemplify a point. The creator of the podcast wants you to feel surprised/shocked/annoyed etc. at that moment. Those displeasing noises give the creator an advantage since they know how the sounds make them feel.     

    In general, a podcast is more than someone just talking into a microphone. It is the combination of the different sonic rhetorical devices and the voice acting. However, it is more than the sum of its parts. A podcast can have all these things but if they are not used correctly, then it is not a good podcast. This project has us break down a chosen podcast so we can explain, essentially why it is good and why people should listen.