Adding sound and voices

The same basic rules that apply to video tape also work for audio. But there's one big difference. Video clips give people a picture of what's happening — audio helps to paint a picture with sounds. SNN reporters can use audio clips or segments to help tell their stories. If you've gone to an event in your community, you may want to record the sounds of the crowd -- whether they're yelling, singing or cheering. A sporting event or concert has its own unique sounds and those sounds will add to your story about the event.

Of course, one of the major benefits of using audio tape is that you can hear people's voices. On radio, tape clips are used to help tell a story. The announcer will read part of a story, then he pauses to play a piece of tape of a person involved in the story.

 Write your story with your audio tape in mind. For example, if you have a section of tape where a person explains how they got involved in a charity, then let them tell that part of the story. You can write the section that leads up to the clip.

Take care not to repeat what someone has just said in their tape insert in your writing.

Keep your clips to 20 seconds in length.

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