UNIT 24 TASK 1 – Why we edit sound

The reasons for editing audio is so that it can be changed, compressed or corrected. This
means that you are able to modify the sounds for many different things. The primary ideas
would be created in order to start the whole audio process, as before you can edit there has
to be something for you to edit in the first place. Once this has been done, you would need
to listen back to the audio that has been made in order to figure out what to edit and how you
do it etc. Once this is all done, the editing process can begin as the second to last step of
creating audio. Editing should be ethical as well. This is because it allows freedom of speech
where it is not hateful, so people can have their own opinions on things. It also means that
listeners will not be misled or lied to, because it could have a bad effect on people.

We edit things for news in order to compress what they have said, which helps to shorten
the clip and get rid of unwanted material so it fits into a certain time. We can also remove
certain content not needed, such as pauses between words etc. to make it sound better.
This also ties into aesthetic decision, because you want it to sound as good as possible, so
removing illegal speech (such as drugs, swearing) would benefit many people. Doing this
enables the company to impact their audience, so they really understand it.

Ethical editing is when you make the clips suitable for the audience. It is important because it
allows freedom of speech where it is not hateful, so people can have their own opinions on
things. It also means that listeners will not be misled or lied to, because it could have a bad
effect on people. Ethical editing ensures that the audience they are targeting it towards will
enjoy it as much as possible.

Freedom of speech should remain legal because it allows everyone to express themselves
and what they believe is right. Not everyone would agree on things, they need to be able to
say their opinion for everyone to understand what they are thinking. Freedom of speech
allows the world to differentiate themselves from each other without it harming other people,
so people aren't like robots. The law for this came into place in 1998, where “everyone had
the right to freedom of expression”. The public order act, however, came into place in 1986,
which makes it offensive for people to use abusive words or actions which causes someone
to be harmed. This applies to the following examples.
News editing - BBC
At the beginning, there is an introduction to the whole thing so it plays music that everyone
recognises as BBC. When something has happened and they show a video clip, they would
mute it so the presenters can talk over and explain what is happening. Another thing they
edit is the volume of the presenters, so they are clear to hear as it would be louder than the
background music. When reporters are outside, for example if there was an accident, they
would leave the ambient sound in to create a realistic effect and the audience would
understand what is happening. Most TV and radio programmes are produced so that it goes
into a certain time they want it. This is so that it can fit between any programmes on,
announcements and other things. Any news story is usually between 3-27 minutes and tings
like the weather should be less than a minute. This is an example of factual editing.

Song editing – bury a friend, Billie Eilish

In the beginning of this music video, it starts off with the ambient sound left in before the
song starts playing to give it a bit of a back story. There are sirens and creaking noises to
create an eerie effect, as it is dark in the video and we can tell it is meant to seem scary. Her
voice is edited as well to seem deeper, like a ‘monster’ to fit the song and the video together.
In most songs, they would record the track first and then put it over the music video, so the
actual video would have been muted. Here, timing is less of an issue because it is not on a
programme where there are set times for this as it is a fictional product. There are also no
legal challenges as fictional content can’t be a lie, since it’s not real. There is more flexibility
in fictional editing.

We know if content is factual if it has presenters. If there are real facts and content, then it
would have the correct information for people to understand it. In this, they are not
pretending to do anything, it is all happening in real life. Often they mention that it is factual,
it tells you what it’s going to be about. After, they would tell you what they have told you. It is
also presented right before or right after the news.

Factual content is edited so that recorder speech can remain legal and fit a specific time. It
can also be to change the order of things so it makes sense chronologically, and add certain
sounds to the audio in order to create an impact for the audience. This contains ethical
editing so that people cannot bend the truth

Here are 3 examples of fictional content:

• TV soaps - EastEnders, Coronation street – these reflect what is going on in the

news
• Series - teen wolf, the vampire diaries – this has its own narrative.
• Movies - IT, Spiderman

We would know if content is fictional as it may have unrealistic content such as fantasy
characters. We often describe these as stories, where there are characters (such as
superheroes having certain powers) that do unbelievable things. These stories can contain
things that we know aren’t actually real. In TV soaps, they are pretending that its rea, but we
can understand it is not because of the amount of drama. Fictional content also has actors
and narrators. It is presented midday or late at night.

Fictional content is edited in order to produce a believable narrative/content. They would

alter real world sounds so they can create a new world fantasy. You would edit this way to
impact the audience so they can believe what is happening is real.