asu2reflectivejournal - Tumblr blog

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Here Is my final sound outcome with the added video i was keen to experiment with and i am so pleased with the outcome one of the main reasons why i wanted to not just stop at the final sound outcome was that i wanted to give myself a jump start into the masters project, I think also through my research and my own practice in this unit i have realised how important the bond between sound and image is and i am very glad that i was able to still concentrate on the sound for the majority of the project but also show how both my elements work together.

I am also very pleased that this the first finalised outcome i have produced and it has really given me a chance to compare my work to working practitioners after showing a few friends i will be exhibiting the work at a show in a few weeks at studio 20. 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

I also thought it might be interesting to experiment with the video by approaching it the same way i have done with the sound i did this by layering a offset version of the original and playing with blending modes to give a weird unreadable slosh of the words in the anxious mind. 

results of these being projected will follow.  

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Here is the result of the word animation i was talking about and i am realy happy witht he results i think this will be really interesting to use as a projection. 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

So to create these word animations i wanted to project onto myself i found a online data cloud of the words linked into anxiety and picked my favourites and just worked on from the same style text i played with earlier in the project and i wanted the transition to be really quick i wanted the viewer not to be able to read every-word this is obviously to illustrate the chaotic and ever changing issues i am looking at in my project. 

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i thought it might be interesting to give a little insight into the process of making the final sound this is actually a screenshot from one of the early alliterations of it but shows the layering technique i have used and also how i have tried to give it a sequence however still be very free and random 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

After some feedback from my peers i have made one final edit i had alot of comments asking why none of my binaural stuff was added then after looking back at my earlier stuff i thought the binaural time stretch would work so well at the beginning then end when the alarm starts and i am really happy with it it sets the tone from the start and i think it is an interesting way to start my sound piece. 

I also felt the ending was to abrupt so i just used some more repition and time stretching like i had used previously to fade it out and hopefully leave the final word in the mind of the viewer.  

Now i have my final sound piece i can help but think what else i could do with it and i think this is a good time to do a short experimentation of how i am going to take this into the masters project. 

I am going to make some simple little animations to project onto myself to illustrate that all this stuff is going off in my head. more to follow

[asu2reflectivejournal]

i think this a really fitting ending to my piece and will hopefully be a vital integral part to its audience. 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

after thinking more about how my piece now has more of a sequence and how it was all formed around the central sample the walk i thought one of the times it beautifully illustrates is my journey to go see my counsellor.  Every journey there y head is running at 1000mph and i thought i would try this as a ending to the piece. which should follow.

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Here is the ambisonic edit and i am so happy with how it turned out in terms of subject matter and also in terms of the 3d audio techniques i used to make it.

BEST WITH HEADPHONES

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Here is a screen grab of the process i went through to edit my “anxiety” piece, what i did was split the left and right channels and then alter the levels so that they get louder then quieter however these happen between the right and left channel at opposite times so as the sound in the right headphone become louder the right ear is getting quieter. this produces whats called the hass effect and makes it seem as if the sound is traveling around your head and that you have been transported into a 3d audio soundscape

adding eco and reverb also just adds to the 3d effect. 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

So after the last edit here i had a play with all of the samples over the top of each-other, I approached this the same way as the previous ones however this time i felt like the piece needed more of a sequential narrative to it. I still feel it has that randomness however i feel lit is more of a story now. All of the samples start in sequence and tell a story about waking up in a bad state of mind and as the long walk sample comes in the all start repeating and building to a climax for me this is to illustrate how i can be having a good time but my mind is stuck on relaying negative information. 

I am really happy with how this turned out and am getting very close to what i might call a final outcome however i want to re-experiement with this uysing the ambisonic techniques i have been researching previously.     

[asu2reflectivejournal]

These are the initial edits i came up with after thinking about how i could achieve a feeling i was talking about i thought a good technique to illustrate the difficult nature of anxiety would be experimenting with layering and repetition of the samples.  

So to achieve these i approached it in a more random way because i feel like this is how anxiety works it can be triggered at any time at a varying amplitude. I selected random sections of the original sample and had 5 layers of random mish mash of the original and i am really happy with the result its confusing and feels like i am really moving in the right direction i do however think i may be able to achieve a better result if i do the same but try and incorporate all of the different samples into a axiety soundscape

[asu2reflectivejournal]

So i spent a day with a field recorder and anytime something triggered my anxiety i decided i would record it or try and reenact it if i couldn't get the actual thing.

The first is just a long recording of my favourite walk from my house along the river i recorded this because this is my go to source of therapy, whenever my symptoms are a walk usually sorts my head out and thats why i want to somehow incorporate this.

The next 2 are recordings of busy traffic this may be abit of a weird one but i have these specific little anxiety triggers like this one, when i was a younger i got hit by a taxi and had to learn to walk again so for me roads and traffic have always been a source of extreme anxiety for me.

The next is a field recording of a building site i live right next door too for me this is a constant battle with my mental state work starts every morning at 8am and really does affect me when i am not feeling great.

the next in my biggest failure of this experiment i thought it might be a good idea to right down some of the negative thoughts i have then set up a mic and try and whisper them to try and show things going through my head, however like i have mentioned earlier this is just way too obvious for me it leaves no room for interpretation and this is something i am really keen for. i will not take this part any further. 

this is another pretty simple one i tried to record the process of taking anti depressants every morning i am really happy with this one because i think you'd have to listen really close to work it out but that is really what i am going for and  it gives me more room for experimentation after. 

The next 3 i would probably group together when i am at a low point i tent to turn my house into a cave and only really leave when i have to part of this is the sound of me locking my multiple locks to convince myself i am safe, the other is a sound of post falling through the letterbox for me this is a major anxiety alarm bell after years of bailiffs and important letters i just wanna ignore. the other is just a little recording of a leaking tap i have, i should tell my landlord so he can come and fix it but the thought of him coming in and checking the flat makes my hair stand up.

another is just a recording of my alarm sound this is my worst nightmare if i know i have to get up for something it basically automatically ruins my sleep ill wale up every hour expecting my alarm to go off

the last is also one of my favourites it was achieved using a contact mic and it is a recording of my heart beat i just ran on the spot for a couple of minutes then pressed it up against my chest it could use some editing but really happy with it. 

i know want to experiment with different ways to edit these to try and turn these mundane everyday sounds to sound overwhelming and scary to show how someone like me might interpret them 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Progression

After thinking about specific direction i am going with the project i have decided that i need to go and re record more specific samples that relate to what i am trying to say with my work, so for me this is going to be specific sounds that are related to me and my anxiety and from the research i have been doing i hope to record them stereo then experiment using the ambisonic techniques i have been researching.

samples to follow.

[asu2reflectivejournal]

I have always liked to name my projects and after my last few bits of research i have a title for the direction i am heading that is “Ambisonic Anxiety” 

The font was inspired by Guerrilla girls work as with this work i want every aspect to be bold and in your face because that is how you can be affected by mental health you have little control and there it is up close and personal. 

[asu2reflectivejournal]

Here i have 2 experiments from editing the binaural recordings i undertook to see how i could manipulate them to my effect.

in my opinion one is a success and one is a failure, the one labeled time move was achieved by just splitting the left and right audio channels and slightly offsetting them by a few seconds, in my head i thought that this would create some sort of weird echo of sorts however as you can tell from the result it actually takes away from the binaural experience i think the offsetting makes it way less captivating as it lessens the effect of the binaural experience.

The second edit is also a basic one but for me is exactly what i want to take into my final piece it is achieved by using a app called “paulstretch” it is a way to do extreme time stretches without losing audio quality and with he added binaural aspects from the binaural source material i love how weird and immersive the result is.  

It also just speaks to me so much due to the subject matter of my project outline i wanted to try and show someone what it is like to live inside my head for a couple of minutes and this does it perfectly anxiety can totally morph your perceptions and i have been there zoning out in many different situations and this is really good example of how it feels to have your head wired like that.  

[asu2reflectivejournal]

After much research the three dimensional sound i am playing with has so many different names and techniques but all seems to fall under one umbrella that is “Ambisonics” which is really just a basic term to describe how you can mathematically play with he pan between left and right headphones to create a three dimensional audio experience.

I need to play more with this concept with other recordings that are not binaural as i feel that i might have more control as an artist over how i can use this technique to speak to my audience.