So you want to start recording audio clips
you hear on your mac and don't know where
to start?
I've got you covered using free software,
which will record anything you can hear with
your speakers or headphones.
First, a note about backing things up: everyone
expects everything to go perfectly.
Well, life happens, and then you are stuck.
Protect yourself and backup your work.
Whether it's audio, photos, text or videos,
always backup your work.
There is a handy rule from computer science
circles called the 3-2-1 Backup rule.
First, have three copies of everything you
care about.
Then make sure that you have in at least two
different formats.
That means one on your hard drive and one
on an external drive, your phone, a USB key
(are those even a thing still?), or an SD
card.
Lastly, have ONE off-site backup stored online.
Because if your place is burglarized, if your
office floods or a pandemic prevents you from
accessing your files physically, you'll still
have a backup in the cloud which you use to
continue your work.
Dropbox, Google Drive, all of these services
are relatively cheap, especially when you
think about time and money costs associated
with having to redo everything.
Backup everything you do before you start.
Then back up as you work through your project.
And backup once you finish your work.
Form good habits, and you will succeed!
Whenever you are working on your project,
whether it's a photo, video, text, or audio,
good file management will be critical to your
success and how fast you can complete your
edits.
Label and organize your files into folders
for easy access.
Start by creating a folder for your project.
I like to name mine JOUR whatever the class
is, in this case, 288, then the Assignment
number and then my last name.
Then inside of that folder, I like to create
a folder for audio, for photos, for my scripts,
my videos, and an extra folder in-case there's
something I need to keep around like PDF of
an event, saved webpages, etc.
Then organize your media into those folders.
And I mean organize - rename and label your
files with pertinent information.
And as you are renaming, make sure not to
change the file extension at the end accidentally.
Setting good habits allows you to succeed
long after others have fallen.
I always recommend, no matter whether you
are Windows, Linux, or Mac user, to download
and install the swiss-army knife of media
players, VideoLan Client or VLC.
It's open-source and free.
It's an incredibly robust media player to
test your final audio and video files before
submitting them online for distribution.
Let's get started.
You are going to need to install Audacity,
which is a free and open-source audio editor.
So go ahead and get that installed.
Next, you'll need to acquire and install the
iShow U Capture driver.
The links are in the description below.
Once both are installed, restart your computer.
Once your computer is rebooted, access the
SPotlight at the top right-hand side of the
screen.
It looks like a magnifying glass.
Then locate and launch Audio Midi Setup.
Once inside the Audio MIDI Setup app, click
the + on the bottom left of the window.
Then select create multi-output device.
On the list available, make sure the only
two that are selected are the I show you audio
capture and built-in output.
Then double click the device name to rename
it.
Make it something easy to remember, like audio
capture.
Once you follow these steps, you'll not have
to do this every time you record.
But if you do update your system, you may
need to follow the earlier portion of this
video again.
Use your audio capture device, hold the option
key on your keyboard and then click on the
sound icon located at the top right side of
your screen.
Under output device, select your new multi
output device.
I labelled mine audio capture.
Then launch Audacity.
Inside of Audacity in the main toolbar, change
the recording device so that I show you audio
capture is selected.
Then push the red recording button.
If a message pops up that looks like this
that says your Audacity that app would like
to access the microphone, press OK.
And like I said before, anything you can hear
with your speakers or headphones can now be
captured.
This is useful to capture live streams of
press conferences, new music from YouTube
podcast from anchor or Spotify, the list goes
on and on and on.
Navigate to what you want to capture and start
playing it.
Then go back to Audacity to verify that has
been captured.
Once you've got what you need, hit the stop
button to end your recording.
In the top menu bar, select File, then export
and then select export as wave.
In the same box, name your file and then set
the location where you want to save it.
I recommend the downloads folder for easy
access.
Then under format setting coding to signed
32 bit PCM high-quality.
Then push save.
If you're saving for archival purposes, fill
out the metadata with relevant information.
Otherwise, it OK you can now bring that file
into any audio or video editor.
The last thing you'll want to do is switch
from your audio capture device back to your
headphones or speakers.
If you don't do this, you won't be able to
change your volume as usual.
Hold the option key on your keyboard.
Then click the sound volume icon on the top
right of the screen.
And then select your original Apple device,
which is usually your internal speakers.
That's a quick and cheap way to record audio
clips using free software on your Mac.
Thanks for watching, and I'll catch you guys,
gals, and non-binary pals in the next one!
