For my final project, I plan to create a 3-5 minute audiobook of my original short story, The Secret Note. I consider myself someone who enjoys reading and watching romantic movies with a touch of mystery, which aligns with the genre of my short story. If the ending comes across as predictable, I apologize in advance. My narration will blend a 1st-person perspective from the main character with a 3rd-person perspective as the overall narrator. I intend to incorporate background sounds rather than music, enhancing the listening experience. I hope to successfully condense the story to fit within the 3-5 minute timeframe while retaining the essential details, as my last reading took about 10 minutes rather than 5. 

If, for any reason, my short story does not work out, my backup plan is to record a cover of Let You Break My Heart Again by Laufey. The piece fits well within my vocal range, and I deeply connect with it personally, so I would enjoy performing it for this final project.

For some time now, I have been an ardent admirer of Laufey's music, and I would love to see her live in one of the Philippine concerts when she comes back—if only I could afford a ticket and have the time. Back in May, I missed her gig because the tickets sold out almost instantly. I am also unsure about attending her September show due to conflicting schedules. So, I might as well create my mini-concert for Laufey with this project.

For editing and mixing, I plan to experiment with Audacity, Bandlab, and Adobe Premiere Pro, with the latter as my last resort if the other options do not work out. My experience with audio editing is currently quite elementary. I wish this course had more time, allowing me to fully grasp the subject, rather than just cramming it into my mind, only for it to slip away when I return next semester. Generally, I am thrilled by the challenge ahead and confident that it will provide an excellent learning opportunity.

• Pre-production:
  Welcome to the brainstorming stage—where overthinking leads to backup plans for the backup plans. At this stage, I am carefully assessing the editing phase of my short story to ensure it can be delivered aloud within 5 minutes. If that proves impossible, I will move forward with my backup plan: recording a cover song.
  
  

• Production:
  Given that this is not the only requirement I will handle during finals submission week, I plan to dedicate about a day to recording the short story alone. I will also search for additional audio effects to enhance the listener experience, ensuring everything aligns with copyright policies. The same goes for the backup plan: I will spend at least a day recording the cover song, ensuring I hit the right tone.
  
  

• Post-production:
  It may take me up to two days to edit the audio, assuming I do not cram everything and make time to experiment with different software. I want to ensure that the voice, sound effects, and music (for the backup plan) have balanced levels for a better listening experience. For motivation, I will likely join a Discord call with a few close friends to keep me accountable and allow them to check my progress. I will also ask for their feedback to see if further refinements are needed before I submit it. 

Equipment:

Recording: Black Shark Goblin X1 Gaming Headset with Mic, Webcam & Huawei Y9s

Listening: Black Shark Goblin X1 Gaming Headset, Soundcore r501, & HIFI Speaker

DAW: Audacity, Bandlab, & Audio Premiere Pro

Location: My desktop/study area in my bedroom

Note to self: I will be sure to close the doors for better acoustics