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Just tap each stop to hear narrated stories and navigate the content through the stop menu and GPS tour map.

Alexandria VA App offers Civil War History for the People

Q & A with Liz Williams, Assistant Director for the City of Alexandria

Civil War Alexandria, VA

Civil War History at Your Fingertips

The City of Alexandria utilized the Tour Buddy App Builder platform to publish their Civil War Driving Tour App for iPhone and Android. This app allows users to “explore Civil War Alexandria and discover how Robert E. Lee’s hometown of Confederate loyalists became a major operations center for Union forces while thousands of African Americans came to the town seeking freedom and security behind Union lines. Alexandria’s unique Civil War heritage gives visitors today the chance to see a Union fort, Confederate memorial, and museums dedicated to African American history. Check out more than two dozen distinctive sites and learn why Alexandria’s position as an occupied city made its Civil War experience unlike any other town in America – and why today Alexandria embraces its diversity as well as its past!”

Q: What made you decide to build an app for your organization?

A: It was the Civil War Sesquicentennial and we wanted to share the City of Alexandria’s Civil War history to as many people as possible. The mobile app was the perfect way to provide that information to guests and residents, meeting them where they are – on their smartphones.

Q: What is the best part about your app?

A: The best part of the app is the historic photos we used to showcase each stop. It brings a different perspective when you are looking at each stop.

Q: What did you like about working with Tour Buddy to create your app?

A: The platform was easy to use, allowing us to upload all the information ourselves.  And the staff was extremely helpful is providing good tips to make the product the best it could be.

Q: What advice would you give to other organizations who are looking to create an app?

A: Make sure you have an end goal in mind before you start. Plus high resolution graphics, a good data collector, and a skillful writer.

Download the iPhone app:https://itunes.apple.com/app/civil-war-alexandria/id437084134?mt=8
Download the Google Play app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tb.tb50&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS50Yi50YjUwIl0.

[stylebox type=”info”]Want your very own app to commemorate a special anniversary or share about your city? Contact us today at info@tourbuddy.net.[/stylebox]

Creating Audio – Mixing in Music and Effects

So you’ve recorded your audio tracks and are thinking about editing or mixing in some music or sound effects.  Here are some free, easy to use programs to help you.

 

There are lots of free (and paid) online and downloadable programs that allow you to easily edit voice tracks and mix in music and sound effects.   Here are a few we recommend.

  • Audacity:  Download this free program onto your computer and get started.  It will allow you to mix multiple tracks and add lots of cool effects.   But the output will be a .wav file so make sure to convert to .mp3 before uploading to the App Builder.
  •  Wave Pad – another intuitive product by NCH this allows you to easily edit and mix your audio content.
  •  Pocket Wave Pad:  This is a great (and free) iPhone app that allows you to record and mix in other tracks.  However make sure to convert to MP3 files before you upload to the App Builder.
Mixing Tip:  Always make sure that the voice is not drowned out by music or sound effects.  We also recommend using compression on the voice track whenever you add other sounds behind it.  This will give it a richer, stronger sound.

 

Need Music and Sound Effects?

There are a lot of websites that offer music and sound effects for your project.  Most of them charge a small fee for full rights to the media.  We recommend doing a web search for a specific sound effect (ie.  royalty free fire engine) to find what you need.

Here are a couple we recommend:  Royalty Free Music Library ,  Audio Micro , Shockwave

 Need a Professional?

We can offer full service audio tour consultation services from writing the script to professional studio recording and post production editing/mixing/mastering. Just fill out the form below for more information.