If I were to describe my experience in this audio course to a song, I think it would be Tangled’s opening song, “When Will My Life Begin?” As someone who prefers to be “stuck” at home and do my peaceful routine of doing my school work, creating and posting some of my artworks and designs, or writing some stories — there was still that faint longing of wanting to try something new, something different from the routine I have, like an adventure! But just like Rapunzel, there was this hesitation and fear to go outside the tower, as the world beyond it is unknown territory and not what I used to know how to do. But being stuck in the same place I've always been won’t help me grow as a person nor my skills as a multimedia practitioner, which is why I mustered the courage to try something new and unfamiliar to me — producing and editing audio! 

As I go through the tools used by my peers, some suggestions online, and reading the Unit I module, I’ve decided that it would be ideal to own a microphone, a headphones, or a speaker to listen to the audio projects I’ll be doing, as well as allocate a mini studio setup in our house, which will be helpful to produce a better quality audio than what I have before. For starters, I’ve decided to break the bank [just kidding, I just used my savings] to buy a budget-friendly microphone and an in-ear monitor (IEM) earphones to have the full MMS 172 experience! I’ve just been using old, cheap, unbranded earphones that I’ve bought on the streets for listening music and recording audio, which I realize was really bad as it made me used to hearing bad quality audio. As what I’ve learned in the Unit I module, it’s bad to get used to hearing bad quality audio, as it can be detrimental to improving your “creative ear.” Which is why I think I really find it helpful to have the right tools for audio recording, as well as creating my own mini studio where I can record in a less noisy environment that has also been sound-treated. 

As I was doing my final project (a storytelling-type audio story), I was really anxious if I can finish it on-time and whether if I'll be able to do well since there were a lot of ups and downs during my production phase [such as schedule adjusted due to my flu that was mentioned earlier, waiting for my recovery as my voice was too horase to record dialogues, and being a beginner on using the DAW Tracktion Waveform 13]. But as I was doing the project, I found the process really fun, especially when I recorded the foley sounds and dialogues as well as the mixing process as I compiled the recordings and edited or applied some effects that can improve the overall audio story. Although I was a bit unfamiliar with Waveform and its tools, I think I was still able to produce an audio story that I'm proud of (considering my skills as a beginner for editing audio content).

I was also able to compare my work with my friends and coursemates through viewing their eportfolios, and I really enjoyed listening to their works! From cover songs to audio story projects that were in the same category as mine, I love how the projects have that tinge of "professionality" in terms of how the audios were mixed and mastered. Some were also able to noise-reduce and apply some effects on their recordings, like reverb, to improve the overall composition of their final project.  While listening to my peers' work, I think some submissions were better than mine in terms of content as well as the overall mixing of the audio, although there were also a lot of works that were similar to my level, which I think we also did well as we were able to apply some of the learnings we have from the course (such as sound-treatment of recording place, also able to apply some effects and filter on our audio content). From the submissions that I've viewed, I think I did fairly well in the final project, and I'm also relieved that not only me, but my coursemates as well were also able to submit nice projects!