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Creative Sound Design I - Assignment 2 Project Statement #17

The theme of this sound piece touches on everyday sounds. To be more exact, it looks into the sound Harry and I hear day to day. For example a series of pattern on how we interact with sound around us and unfolds an auditory story of our lives and daily routine as students. Through research every sounds around us is important and many are often overlooked, so the goal is to convey a message to sometimes take pauses in either our busy lives or digital lives, close your eyes appreciate and listen to yourself and the beauty of the world. The list of sounds in our composition from start to finish in order includes: snoring, alarm clock, yawing, bathroom, showering, brushing teeth, dress up, cooking breakfast, eating breakfast, leaving the house and getting to the bus to university. In the entire track we have put a lot of effort into all parts of the sound so they dont overlap each other. As well as add in certain effects to really bring out the detail and clarity so the listener/audience can easily follow the story. Drawing meaning from it and focus on the importance of each individual sound.

Composer such as John Cage’s 4′33, Hildegard Westerkamp, and Pierre Schaeffer has a major influence on the concept of our sound piece. Their work not only changed the way we perceive music and sound but has also made us wanting to explore their ideology of challenging traditional music and taking it further.  

Me and Harry have recorded majority of the sounds using our smartphones and a zoom recorder. We edited, mixed and produced this original composition together through pro tools 12. 

I am happy with how our sound piece turned out. Personally, I think we did a good job at using fade in and fade out for our sound piece, making it that much more natural and seamless. I can see that both me and Harry have improved quite a bit in that aspect since our last assignment. I also think that some reverb and EQ effects added were used at the right moment in certain sounds to create a sense of space without it being overdone. For example, the alarm clock ringing has two sides to it where it starts off sounding fuzzy and blurry at first and then later becomes clear and loud to show the character state is changing from dreaming/sleeping to waking up. In the middle part of our piece the consistent flow of sound has a sudden transition from normal to sped up to really portray the character is in a hurry, due to being late for university. This I believe creates a contrasting effect to keep the audience engaged. One thing I would have liked to change was definitely add in music. This would have given our sound piece more depth and substance. Although our project was simple I think it effectively conveyed the idea and message across to the audience. Overall we are both pleased with the final outcome.

A screenshot of our final audio session.

Here is our sound piece:

MP3:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/19nUHVEwuMD596cD6oLrNLPpvOUuDioGt/view?usp=sharing

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Creative Sound Design I - Auckland Art Gallery - #16

Today for our class we went on a field trip to Auckland art gallery to look at award winning artists work being displayed. Jess Johnson & Simon Ward “Whol Why Wurld” particularly stood out to me the most. The installation is based on a raised decagon deck, while stepping into the middle of the platform we are surrounded by five screens, each playing different animations and it included sound channels which enhance the experience. The feeling from within the installation was uncomfortable but very interesting at the same time. It allowed me to enter a fantasy or journey of some kind, in the mind of the artist imaginative world/universe which to say the least was incredibly awesome.

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Creative Sound Design I - Research and Inspiration - #15

I went on YouTube to look up work relating to the topic of everyday sounds or the sounds of daily life. Here is one that I liked to share, something about the loudness and cleanliness of the sounds really helped me focused at all times. This has really got me thinking of doing something similar to that, where in the later stages of recording and editing our sound piece we need to take into consideration of amplifying the sounds at the right amount so its detailed in a way yet easily recognizable to draw audience attention when listening as well as clearly understanding the story being told. Since its a team project I will be discussing this with Harry and get his opinion on it. 

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Creative Sound Design I - #14

Today I did some research to look into the importance of listening to sounds in  the world around you. Here is some facts I have found.

According to a blog post by author Julian Treasure, a person who takes the time and effort to truly listens to the things in there lives and the environment has tremendous advantages. The list of benefits when you try and listen rather than hear includes:

1) Deep understanding about the world.

2) Bringing families and friends closer together.

3) Provides Inspiration and persuasion.

4) Listening to the sounds in the environment as well as just listening has a positive impact in both our physical and mental well being.  

5)  Better acquisition of knowledge.

This small research has helped me gained a lot of insight on the importance of sounds and the way we should listen and value sounds surrounding us and not take it for granted. This provides me and harry the idea that our concept for this sound piece is not only worthwhile to purse but also has a much deeper and greater meaning behind it. 

Reference:

https://www.juliantreasure.com/blog/listening-can-change-your-life/

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Creative Sound Design I - Sound Piece Concept For Summative #13

Our 2nd brief is to “ record, edit, mix and export an original sound track that transitions from one state or space to another eg: fast to slow, dark to light, happy to sad, forest to city, dream to waking, internal to external, rough to smooth etc ”

My assignment is themed on the sound track of a day in the life of a University student.  By using everyday sounds I hear and interact with around me I have compiled the sounds to tell a story. I will be working collaboratively on this project with Harry a good friend of mine as we both have very similar goals and mindset. Hopefully together we will bring something unique and different to this sound piece.

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Creative Sound Design I - Research and Inspiration # 12

I have to say, ever since I was introduced to John Cage’s 4′33″ in our lecture, It has became one of my favorite and memorial piece. I decided to do some further research to find similar artist like John Cage and also in hope of finding a more concrete vision/direction for my summative sound piece. 

Here are a few artist that I managed to find:

Hildegard Westerkamp is a German musical composer. The nature of her sound work involves mostly the acoustic environment (soundscape), and is influenced by the likes of artists such as John Cage and Pauline Oliveros. In her iconic piece “kits beach sound walk 1989″ that I really liked, the sound of sea waves hitting the shore, the different types of birds singing and chirping in the distance, and the background of a bustling city really makes me see the world that much more colorful and lively. The volume and quality of the sounds really helps emphasize on all sounds. Combined with the soothing narration it really creates a calming and relaxing experience for the listener. The sound also brings out a very positive vibe to our mind and body.  

Pierre Schaeffer a french composer who invented Musique Concrète. A genre of music that is described as recording sounds from either animate or inanimate objects or both to create it into a musical form. The “ Etude Aux Chemins De Fer” is his first sound piece of musique concrete where many will find that it just random train noises, however for me I see it differently. When paying close attention and listening carefully its like music to my ear I could hear short snippet of beats, rhythms and even sound patterns. The piece is something very different but because of its uniqueness it effectively evoke all kinds of emotions as well. I also find that the way the sound is organized and manipulated portrays a very vivid scene in my head and told a very meaningful story which was really  fascinating.

An important thing I learnt thorough researching these artist is there infinite passion towards music and sound. They dont just like doing it but has become one with it which has led them to the concept of redefining music and really showing the world sounds such as even silence and the environment is part of music itself. They have my deepest respect and appreciation. This has also inspired me to came up with an idea for my summative which revolves around sounds of everyday life. 

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Creative Sound Design I -Formative Feedback From Assignment 1 #11

Today I received feedback from my Anxiety sound piece. I am extremely happy with the results as it was better than I could have ever imagined, the comments given by my tutor was very helpful and useful in ways that has given me ideas on how I could improve my skills and importantly given me a boost to be more confident in myself and in my work. 

At first I was thinking of refining the concept of my anxiety project, however after giving it some more thoughts I notice there wasn't any room for creativity, so I decided to completely restart and think of a new direction for my summative. Currently there are so many ideas flowing in my head, Im still brainstorming and researching on what sort of sound piece I really want to do. Hopefully by the end of this week I will have something in mind.

More post to come!

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Creative Sound Design I -  Assignment 1 #10

Character – Cousin who has severe anxiety

This sound is about mental illness, around the spectrum of Anxiety. Through research I have found out that it’s often very difficult to know what Anxiety is from the perspective of a person without this type of illness. The concept/idea is to put listener in the shoes of the Anxiety sufferers and expressing how it generally feels. It begins with the character walking down the street surrounded by busy traffic and going into a cafe/restaurant, this provides the listener with information and establishes the location/environment. After the first breath, crowd, piano music and heartbeat starts together to indicate that the character is experiencing anxiety. These sounds also represent the current state of the character and having a chaotic mind and feeling overwhelmed by fear. As the sound piece progresses the audience will be able to hear a number of subtle changes made, such as crowd noise lowering, the heartbeat is amplified and get faster to focus on the intensity and buildup of the characters anxiety. The use of static/white noise and beeping may seem random, but they are called auditory hallucinations and can be a real factor during an anxiety. At the end of the sound piece crowd noise, heartbeat and piano decreases and stops to show a sudden and a dramatic impact, and portrays really well that anxiety can start and stop randomly. I have incorporated all five elements of the architecture of sound in this project.

The reason I chose an anxiety themed sound project is due to the fact that it means something much deeper to me. One of my close family relatives, my cousin, has been suffering from severe anxiety from a very young age. So, it’s a major influence based on what he experiences when his anxiety is triggered and how he copes with it in his daily life. This insight came through interviewing my cousin, as well as me personally seeing it happening first hand a couple of times.

Another major inspiration comes from a video on YouTube by Megan Rienks titled “What Having Anxiety Feels Like”. It has definitely influenced my whole sound piece where I incorporated a technique of sounds that start slow and quiet and gradually builds up getting faster and louder, but in a more subtle way.

I have recorded all the sounds with mostly a zoom recorder borrowed from the reception and my Samsung galaxy S3 cell phone. The piece is made in pro tools.

I have quite a mixed feeling about this project; personally I don’t think I did justice to it or clearly conveyed the message/idea well enough. There are a lot of things that need working on, some are quite obvious to spot and others difficult to pinpoint, due to my lack of experience. For example fixing the sound of heartbeats, as it was created using household item, it had a thump noise at the end of each beat, which I wasn’t able to get rid of. It became clear that it doesn’t really sound like heartbeat the more I listen to it, which in my opinion affected the sound piece as a whole. Since I have such strong connection with this particular topic on “anxiety”, I may have also subconsciously set myself high expectations which could have affected my workflow and the way I approached the project. Overall this was my first time creating anything related to sound, I am quite pleased with the outcome of this project. I believe letting myself go a bit, taking risks, and doing more practice will definitely have the potential to improve my sound piece making it more captivating to the listener.

A screenshot of my final audio session.

Made two version where I just changed the tone of the heartbeats.

Anxiety 1

MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iJReQN_qC1e0TpXm3QTZ9tBzCsRiTS3s/view?usp=sharing

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tcP1y3GbHbGxqZWpSPzM96V5ZTVpTCRK/view?usp=sharing

Anxiety 2

MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17eN3Uu5Hn184j2xHZhnwgyOOHJ1vGvJs/view?usp=sharing

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12DMW1UdONQuk2ijsjfEp94vZUhKI0Sg5/view?usp=sharing

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Creative Sound Design I -  Recording Sounds #9

Over these past few weeks I have been using a zoom recorder and my cellphone to record a list of sounds that I will be using for my sound project. They are:

Atmosphere - Traffic, Crowd.

Music - Dark/sad piano theme.

Dialogue - Slow Breathing,  Panting/Heavy Breathing.

SFX/Foley - Footsteps, Door open and close, Beeping, White noise and Heart Beat.

Most of the sound effects as well as the Foley were quite easy to record, however, heartbeat was the hardest to do. I have found out that using a soft plastic container and flipping it over and pushing the bottom in and out is the closest replicate of a heartbeat.  

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Creative Sound Design I - Research and Inspiration #8

I already have a very clear vision on the concept of my Anxiety sound piece, However, I thought it will not hurt to research some more. As mentioned in a previous blog post I have no experience in any sound or music before, so I limited myself into only searching what anxiety feels like rather than trying to look for sounds that is related to anxiety, because I wanted to have a open and fresh take on my project. I came across this video online that I really liked the narration is very helpful in conveying an idea or message across to the audience without confusing them. The flow of music and sound effects were also amazingly done, they played an important role in developing the story in the video even more. One major key elements from this video that I learnt and would like to add into my project is to have the music or sfx/Foley to starts slow/quiet and builds up to be fast/frantic which I find this really fitting and portrays Anxiety as it doesn't get better but worse and overwhelming. 

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Creative Sound Design I -  Research and Inspiration #7

Absolutely amazed by the fact that the sounds we hear in movies and films are mostly invented by Foley artist during post-production. Watching these two videos has not only made me fall in love with sound and Foley design but also made me appreciate the artistic side of Foley, as they are creating the sounds we hear through creativity and unique objects.

I will definitely be going out of my way to record my own Foley sounds using everyday items to enhance my sound piece and attempt to make it more realistic.

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Creative Sound Design I - Research and Inspiration #6

I have selected the shower scene from Psycho since it was my favorite movie growing up, as one of my sound design example to analysis and talk about. I can hear quite a few elements of sound in this scene. However what stands out to me is the use of music, the screeching of the violins combined with screaming and stabbing works really well making this scene extremely uncomfortable and impactful. I also find that the different pace in the music helps setting mood to the scene as well. It has shown me that music is not only crucial but also very powerful. This example has influenced and inspired me to use music for my sound piece that Im doing.    

   This scene from the movie Lost Highway really impresses me as well. When the mystery man in black walks up close to the main character and suddenly the jazz music that was playing in the background before goes to silent. It is then replaced by a dark ambient sound. The sudden transition changes the tone of the room completely making it more dramatic and serious for the audience. I found that the use of this method is very smart and portrays the creepiness of the scene really well. This clip and John Cage’ 4:33 not only influenced and inspired me to add ambience into my project but also teaches me to think carefully about what sort of atmosphere I should record that will fit in well with the Anxiety theme Im going with.  

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Creative Sound Design I - #5

Research:

Anxiety is an overwhelming feeling of constant fear and apprehension about what’s to come that can debilitate your ability to function as you usually would. It can be triggered by external sources, or brought on by nothing in particular.

 The most common symptoms of Anxiety are as follows:

Panic, fear, and uneasiness

Not being able to stay calm and still

Shortness of breath

Heart palpitations

A racing mind full of thoughts

One important thing I got from this research is that Anxiety is a very complicated condition. It is something that dictionary and even medical experts alone can not easily be defined, its true all anxiety disorder do share some common grounds, however since its a mental illness related to the brain one of the most complex structure in the human body, Anxiety can also feel different for everyone. 

References:

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/anxiety-symptoms/#.W3jtFc4zaUk

https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/anxiety-disorders#1

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Creative Sound Design I - #4

My idea of creating a sound piece that expresses/represent a mental illness has been approved by my lecture. However, I haven’t chosen which mental illness to focus on. This week I started doing some research to help narrow down the options. Through an Internet article I came across by Mental Health America, I found out that there are over 200 forms of mental illness. Some of the well knows and common types that gives me some ideas are Clinical depression, Anxiety/Anxiety disorder, Bipolar disorder, Dementia, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity and Schizophrenia. 

After giving it some thought I have finally decided to choose Anxiety/Anxiety disorder, mostly because a family member of mine is diagnosed with it and I have also seen it happening first hand a couple of times during my lifetime. This gives me the drive to create this sound project to hopefully give people a better idea of what anxiety feels like, and raise awareness of this mental illness.

References:

http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/recognizing-warning-signs

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Creative Sound Design I - #3

This week’s slide, was the introduction about the architecture of sound design. They include Atmosphere, dialogue, sound effects, Foley and music. This presentation has taught me the significance of these 5 element of sound and how they help in really making a film shine.

We were also shown a several examples of how the architecture of sound is used. An example which I liked to share is from a Ted Talk by Tasos Fratazolas who is a sound creator from Greece. Watching his Ted Talk has given me a lot of knowledge and understanding on sound design. In his talk he covers aspect of the architecture of sound and even how powerful sound is, which I find this really astonishing. But the most important thing I got from this talk is that sound can convey different meaning. An example is when he shows a clip of a baby’s face and add in different sound effects. Each time a different sound effects is added, it alters the idea and meaning behide the scene making audience have like a rolling coaster ride of feelings. This has made me understood just how important and influential sound is where sometimes visual alone can not do.

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Creative Sound Design I - #2

For our 1st assignment (formative), we were asked to develop an original sound track that recreates a ‘space’ or ‘event’ - real, imagined or from memory. Since I come from a background with no musical experience I was quite overwhelmed on what I wanted to do and just started brainstorming ideas that I could think of and also listened to different genres of music on YouTube in hope of getting an idea. After a couple of hours of doing this, I came up with an idea, I wanted to do something that is a bit out of the ordinary and to create a sound piece that looks into mental illness and express or represent how it feels like for those who have it.

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Creative Sound Design I - #1

Alright, I’m not a very confident writer so here it goes. First day in creative sound design class, it was quite nerve wrecking as I didn’t really know what to expect. However, things got better for me and become much clearer when our lecturer Rachel gave us a brief rundown of the course. Pretty much we will be touching on the basics of audio design, recording, editing and mixing sounds together, which are skills I have always wanted to learn, but never really knew how to approach it.

Moving on, for today’s lecture slide on “Listening to SoundScape” we get taught about the introduction of sound and was introduced to a list of composer. One particular artist that I find intriguing is listening to John Cage most infamous creation 4 minutes and 33 seconds (4’33). In which the musician performs nothing for a duration of time and all you hear are ambient sounds created by the audience inside the concert hall and natural sounds outside the environment. I really like this particular musical composition of his, the fact that it is out of the ordinary is inspiring. 

 I also did some research to learn more about John Cage philosophy and it amazing that this composition of his has such a big impact on many musician in the past and even today. I don’t know if I’m right but, personally I believe a important message I got from John Cage’s 4’33  is to value the sounds we hear every day in our lives and not take it for granted. 

                                                 John Cage's 4'33"