1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
>Building my microphones was one of the more frustrating things I did. My wires kept breaking and I would have to start over. It was a very tedious process. However, as much anger as it caused me they did work quite well. I was able to record both ambiance and closeups. If I had an unlimited supply of money I would probably buy a professional microphone and an awesome recording program where I could edit the sound.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
>I had no problems with the MiniDisc recorder. I thought it worked perfectly with what I was doing. The only other audio equipment I use is the microphone on my computer. The MiniDisc was nice because it was portable.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
>I used audacity to edit my sounds. I actually have used this program before to record and edit songs. When I used it to record songs I usually did very little or no editing. Since useing it for class I have learned a lot about editing sound. I will probably use this program in the future especially now that I have a better feel for it.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
10 Questions
1. What are good indoor places to record sounds?
2. Where can you go to get only natural sounds?
3. Where can you go to get only mechanical sounds?
4. Does a specific place have different sounds or sights during the day than it does at night?
5. Where are the spots with the most color?
6. Where can I find the most shocking shots in my drift area?
7. Is there anything that seems out of place in my drift area?
8. Should I make the sounds or find them?
9. Should I try to collect the sounds at the same place I shot my footage?
10. What is the prettiest/grossest place I can find?
2. Where can you go to get only natural sounds?
3. Where can you go to get only mechanical sounds?
4. Does a specific place have different sounds or sights during the day than it does at night?
5. Where are the spots with the most color?
6. Where can I find the most shocking shots in my drift area?
7. Is there anything that seems out of place in my drift area?
8. Should I make the sounds or find them?
9. Should I try to collect the sounds at the same place I shot my footage?
10. What is the prettiest/grossest place I can find?
Drift Assessment
1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)
> The wind was always bothering me. All my raw recordings had some sort of wind feedback d. I had to edit them down a lot to make it sound decent. Also it was hard to find a place that didn’t have some sort of traffic in the background. It seemed like the traffic was everywhere.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
> After I recorded a sound that I came across by pure luck. The sound was a man who had drained his battery and had just found someone with a car and cables. I just happened to be walking by at that exact moment. After that I felt very lucky. I also got that same feeling when I first listened to my raw recording of inside a manhole. There were so many sounds I was not expecting.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you
brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
>I found a sound Listening with headphones that I did not hear during the recording. It was a seagull and it felt like he was right next to my mic. I also wasn’t expecting to record a sound outside without some sort of traffic noise. It was hard to find a place. I had to look and listen hard but when I found one I was overjoyed.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
> I think the thing I like most was just searching for sounds. I liked walking around the city and just listening. When I found one I thought was worth listening to I was excited. All my searching had finally paid off. When I was done recording I was eager to search again.
> The wind was always bothering me. All my raw recordings had some sort of wind feedback d. I had to edit them down a lot to make it sound decent. Also it was hard to find a place that didn’t have some sort of traffic in the background. It seemed like the traffic was everywhere.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
> After I recorded a sound that I came across by pure luck. The sound was a man who had drained his battery and had just found someone with a car and cables. I just happened to be walking by at that exact moment. After that I felt very lucky. I also got that same feeling when I first listened to my raw recording of inside a manhole. There were so many sounds I was not expecting.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you
brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
>I found a sound Listening with headphones that I did not hear during the recording. It was a seagull and it felt like he was right next to my mic. I also wasn’t expecting to record a sound outside without some sort of traffic noise. It was hard to find a place. I had to look and listen hard but when I found one I was overjoyed.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
> I think the thing I like most was just searching for sounds. I liked walking around the city and just listening. When I found one I thought was worth listening to I was excited. All my searching had finally paid off. When I was done recording I was eager to search again.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Reading Response
The Article I chose was by John Cage, The Future of Music Credo. I chose this because I believe this article is way ahead of its time. At first I thought it was written in 1958 because I saw the copyright first. Then as I was reading I noticed It was actually composed in 1937! This kind of blew my mind because many things Cage predicted are now true.
The main point in Cage's article is that in the future no sound will be unattainable. He predicted that we would create machines that could make any tone or rhythm using any sound. Today we have machines very similar to his predictions. Synthesizers are being used by today's artist all the time to create new sounds. They then put these sounds into their music or their movies. Cage was dead on when he said, "No rhythm will be beyond the composers reach."
Although this is a very old article it still relates to present times. I myself wish to compose things using sound. Cage predicted almost exactly our current "sound situation." Now we have millions of noises to work with. I want all sorts of sounds so I can create a certain mood or feeling. This is why the article is very ahead of it's time.
Sound Walk Responses
# Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
>Yes I was. It was hard to find a place where I could get away from the ambience of the city. The traffic was a problem but if I walked to an area between building or a place with less congestion I could really hear some interesting sounds.
# Was it possible to move without making a sound?
>Yes, however it was some what difficult. My clothes would make a sound every now and then and also my feet. I had to walk at a slow pace to quiet my shoes hitting the pavement.
# What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
> When I plugged my ears I could only hear loud specific sounds. When I unplugged them all the ambience of the city like cars and people came flooding back into my ears. I wish there was away to drown out the ambience sometimes and only get those specific sounds.
# In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
>Cars, busses, people talking, people walking, running water, trees blowing in the wind, cars running over bumps in the road, bikers pedaling, food being cooked, music, crickets, and buzzing of power cables.
# Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
>The sounds that I could place were always loud sounds or sounds that were easily recognizable, like a car or bus. The sounds that I could not place were always soft and seemed to only last for a few moments at a time. When I was walking around campus I heard a strange buzzing sound and I could not place it. I know it wasn't power cables or anything like that. I looked all over for a while to find the source but eventually I gave up cause it was no where to be found.
# Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
>In the beginning I only heard Human sound like people talking and moving about. Then as I focused my ears I began to hear more Mechanical sounds of food being cooked and tools being used. Once I was outside I heard a great deal of traffic. It was easier to hear Natural sounds outside to like the wind and animals. I listened to some birds for a while and I even heard a squirrel running around in a tree.
# Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
>Yes I was walking down a side walk and all I could hear for the longest time was traffic. Then I came across a small field where I heard a cricket. I found this very interesting cause I'm so use to always hearing "the city." It was nice to hear something that was part of nature rather than the city.
# Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
>Depending on where I was i heard many different close sounds. People talking, Crickets, and water running are just a few of them. Far away sounds were mostly the sounds that were always present like traffic and sometimes sirens.
# What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
>Trees, flags, cords hitting flag poles and also a whooshing sound when the wind hits a building.
# Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
>I found some rocks which I through into a body of water. This made a cool spelunking sound. I took a metal object and knocked it against bike rack which made a ringing sound.
# Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
>Yes before I really didn't think much of the sounds I heard. I would only dwell on the noise of traffic and people talking. Now I realize there is so much more. All you have to do is focus your hearing. Now I hear things that I would have never guessed they were there.
# How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
> As a media artist I will now be looking for and recording sound. Now that I have practiced the art of hearing sound I believe I am ready to make a Drift. I know what to listen for. Had I just been handed an audio recorder before practicing I probably would have only recorded meaningless sounds.
Monday, September 8, 2008
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