so i got an email earlier today asking for a recap of something i discussed with a few members of aiip a while back - how to record phone calls and convert the sound files on a project…thought i’d actually try to be serious for once and explain this in brief as a reference…but i typed this up fast, so there are some big ass typos! enjoy…

…before i begin, let me tell you that i never record illegally - i only record with the express permission of the interviewee…por ejemplo, i’ve worked on a bunch of television projects (hey, actually got some production credits, wahoo) and all involved extensive recorded interviewing and transcription…hey, did you know that i contributed to scip’s own book on ethics????

if you’re clueless about the rules for recording, then shit man, read up on the rules state by state - that’s why we have laws!

so let me explain my own situation - i’ve got a macbook pro, used to only have windows but now have both because i run parallels - why? because there’s some windows stuff that i’m using all of the time and don’t want to replace with ’style over substance’ mac apps…i’m using a landline for recorded calls, not a cell (though that’s covered down below)…

..yeah, so here’s the deal…i own a great little digital recorder - a sony pdp - you can pick up tons of these at any stapes, online, whatever you feel like doing…the sony models come with their own voice editing software, and that software will automatically convert sony’s bullshit oddball file formats into standard wav files for windows or mac (so you can burn ‘em cd for a transcriptionist and so on)

to connect the recorder to the phone and have a clear recording instead of just throwing the thing on a table and having it sound like shit, i use a small component from radio shack, catalog number 43-1237 - aka the “mini recorder control” - it’s only $17.99 and it’s simple: i unplug the cable that goes from the wall to my phone and plug it into the control thing, then there’s a plug from the control thing back into the phone, basically sitting now in the middle of the line - and coming out of the side is a standard little 1/8th inch mic wire that plugs into the ‘mic in’ plug on your recorder…that’s it. switch the little button on the recorder to ‘record’ and hit record on the digital recorder and then talk and it will capture both sides perfectly…

…with the sony, i use the sony voice editor software that comes with the device - including a little usb cable thing..i connect it to my computer, drag the file over from the recorder to the computer and then there’s an option to convert ‘fucked up sony format’ to ‘normal wav’ or other file type (though not mp3)…

...but dave, now i’ve got a big file - and i need to get it down in size…

so yeah, problem is, conversions to wav are kinda big - a one hour conversation can produce a 60 meg or greater file, and that’s a pain to email around (though it is easy with pando)…so what do i do? well, with parallels i just drag the file over to the mac and convert to an mp3 which shrinks it down a lot and it’s just as easy to burn to a cd for snail mailing - or you can do this all online with online (free) file conversion tools like zamzar (the best imho), or ‘media convert‘…

that’s about it. you should be good to go…please note: if you are on a wireless phone then you are going to need the wireless phone recording controller, catalog number 17-855 (it’s currently $24.99)

…but dave, i’m on a cell phone - what are my options?

well, if you’re using grandcentral from google, you can record any call (cell or land) with some simple button presses and then retrieve the file…

or you can also use third party services like recordmycalls that let you call in and out via their server and they’ll do it all for you and then you just download the file yourself…there are many of these online, selling cards and so on…and there are in fact a few devices for this, but i’ve not tested any - all they’ve done is modify the size of the jack so they’ll plug into a cell phone, and that’s a little component (jack adapter) that you can also pick up at radioshack for a couple of bucks (it’s a bit of a hack, and all sorts of ‘spy shops‘ sell this shit online for hundreds of dollars! they’re using 2 dollar components) - in fact, startstop sells their own recorder to cell phone connection jacks for less than 30 bucks for olympus recorders (should fit other manufacturers, but give ‘em a call to double check)! you can imagine what it really cost ‘em…

…but dave, i’m using skype or some kind of voip shit - so now what?

well, if you’re on windows check out stuff like easyvoiprecorder (covers skype, google talk, yahoo voice) - and if you’re on a mac, check out ecamms’ call recorder…both offer extensive file format options…and gizmoproject has built in recording, but nobody uses it because skype rules (kind of like google versus yahoo, y’know, but voip) - too bad, because gizmo is SIP and that’s great news! skype is unconventional transfer protocols, not good….or if you want to do it all on your computer for free, then check out this article about using the open source audacity program (multiple platforms) to record skype calls…another online not-free app to check out is hotrecorder - note that almost none of these are free, excluding audacity and gizmoproject built-in recording…

other ideas? you could plug a mic into your computer and record directly from a speakerphone into your machine (sound quality will vary, definitely put your dog away - and you’re gonna want what’s called a hi-gain mic for that kind of crap, and those cost real money - court reporters use them)…

..yeah, that’s about it for now, gotta run - but if you have any questions let me know in the comments and i’ll come back and edit accordingly…

this was probably the most polite and formal posting i’ve written in ages…shit…fuck…what are the odds? yeah, that’s right mofo’s…

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