Unheard Sounds – Audio Project 1

I haven’t put a date on this one, because it combines two separate decisions. However, they’re both linked, so I thought it would be easier to put them in the same blog, as well as only change the aims objects once more.

Stereo Recording

After receiving word back from one of the galleries stating that they were full until after the New Year, I have changed the way in which this piece will be presented. Currently, it is being mixed for headphones. In the past, I have really liked the way that headphones encapsulate the listener, and surround them in sound. They are able to lose themselves within the piece, and it cuts out background noise and distractions. This way of presenting the work echoes my original idea to have directional speakers in front of each photo, so the piece could only be heard from a certain area.

This also means that the piece can be adapted for use on the sound wall or sound spiral, which would allow the piece to have movement along the speakers. Having the sound physically move would work well for the hydrophone recordings. It could also give a better idea of a progression in a piece, and I would be able to have recordings from difference mics at the same time, from different speakers. David McSherry’s piece for the Joseph Banks exhibition at The Collection used the whole wall, creating a complex soundscape, with sounds coming from all over the wall, and creating much more realistic ‘picture’.

Second change of idea

Following problems with putting all of the different types of recordings together, I decided to change my idea again, and have the final piece more like the original idea – to have three separate track for the same piece. It would be similar to an art triptych, but for audio.

This means I don’t have to worry about trying to blend a clip recorded underwater with some electronic static. This made the idea much easier to work with, as I was having a lot of trouble putting all the clips together, while making it a listenable piece. Previous to the change, it had sounded very ‘thrown-together’ and haphazard.

With those two ideas in mind, I decided it could be more of an art piece upon using the sound spiral, and as such I would reintroduce the visual element, following a discussion with a drama student about my piece, and how to present it. Knowing how important a visual queue can be, I would have three simple objects or ‘set ups’ to accompany the pieces. A sheet of metal for the contact track, a tank or bowl of water for the hydrophone piece, and an old block television showing static for the coil pick up.

In addition to this, I have decided to call the project as a whole ‘Hidden:’, the contact ‘Within’, the hydrophone ‘Underneath’ and the coil pick up ‘Above’.

Alterations to the aims and objectives:

– Overall aim: To create soundscape using contact microphones, hydrophones and coil pick up microphones, for a headphone installation.

Aims:
– Learn how to put ‘unheard’ sounds together effectively to create a soundscape experience

– Learn how to mix a soundscape for headphones, using the new microphones

– Learn the process and equipment needed to record using contact mics, coil pickup mics and hydrophones

– Gain a better understanding of what makes a good recording using the three microphones

Objectives:
– Use contact microphones, hydrophones and coil pickup mics to create a soundscape experience.

– Create three soundscape pieces for headphones

– Plan visual cues to work with the piece during the exhibition

– To research equipment used in other sound exhibitions and to use information gained to apply to my own project

The biggest and first issue with recording I had with the project was chatter from passersby near the recording, as well as myself. Not having used contact microphones before, I didn’t realise how much dialogue they would pick up. I assumed they would pick up some when recording, particularly with resonant materials such as metal, where the vibrations from the speech travelled through the material. However, I thought it would be negligible, and unheard on the recording. It was very unfortunate that the first day I went out to record with the contact mic, it was very windy. This was great for some of the sounds, especially rattling metal, but it meant I was unable to hear was being recorded properly in the headphones. Which I suppose is another part of the same problem – presuming the mic wouldn’t pick up a sound, and then not being able to hear when it did.

Due to that problem, a lot of the recordings made on that day were unusable, though some had sections that could be used. There also wasn’t another day as windy as that when I had a recorded to hand, so some of the really great recordings I got from a long section of metal fencing rattling in the wind could not be replicated. It would probably have been the best contact recording I’d capture, were it not for the talking it picked up. I also foolishly didn’t continue recording for long enough; in hindsight, I wish I’d left it recording for a lot longer, but not being able to hear what was being recorded, I didn’t know what it was picking up.

A second point I discovered during that recording session was how difficult it is to record during the day in Lincoln. The locations I chose would have been fantastic if it were not for all the people. Not just because of the chatter, but also because when I was recording, I was in the way a lot of the time. This was especially noticeable on the bridge within the university, and by the train crossing just off campus. Very often while I was recording, I was jostled and barged out of the way, so I was reluctant to stay there for any length of time.

When I returned one evening, while it was quieter in terms of number of people, not only was it too cold to stand there for very long, but the few walking past were generally louder, students heading to a bar for instance. Additionally, the night I chose wasn’t windy, so the recordings I got weren’t good enough to be included.

Lessons I learned:
– Contact microphones pick up more sound than you expect
– Don’t record while there are lots of people around
– Try and plan recordings if they are dependent on weather conditions
– If possible, choose a quieter area/time to record

Change of Idea

After about a week of trying to figure out what I wanted from my project, I have decided to remove the visual aspect. In trying to include photos, I spent more time taking test shots and thinking about where I should take photos than actually recording sounds. Because of this, I am now going to produce one track, involving a journey through the three microphone types.

Depending on how successful the hydrophone recordings are, I hope to achieve an effect that makes the listening feel like they are diving underwater. I’ll also be recording my pond and fish tank, as well as recording a tap dripping from underwater, and a dissolving bath bomb. I also look forward to experimenting with a coil pick up mic, as those are the truly hidden sounds. They cannot be heard with the naked ear, no matter how loud they are, which is exactly what this project is about.

This means I can no longer have visual-related objectives and aims.

– Overall aim: To create a series of soundscapes and photos as an installation for a specific space based on a brief from a gallery.
– Overall aim: To create soundscape using contact microphones, hydrophones and coil pick up microphones, for a specific space.

Aims:
– Learn how to put ‘unheard’ sounds together effectively to create a soundscape experience

– Develop communication skills while contacting a client outside of university

– Learn the process and equipment needed to record using contact mics, coil pickup mics and hydrophones

– Learn how to create from a brief based on a particular space

Objectives:
– Use contact microphones, hydrophones and coil pickup mics to create a soundscape experience.

– To work from a client brief from outside of university to create a piece for a particular space

– Take photos and use photo-editing software to produce images for the installation
– To create a story using the three types of recordings

– To research equipment used in other sound exhibitions and to use information gained to apply to my own project

Jez Riley French

I had been looking forward to this lecture for a while, as I knew Jez and his work related heavily to what I wanted to do for my project. His websites and recordings had featured in my blog previous to the lecture, so it was nice to put a name to a face, as it were, and to understand his reasoning behind his recordings and the use of contact mics (as well as many other more unusual types of microphone) instead of the more conventional recording techniques.

His reason for this was simply because he “got bored with the sounds [he] could hear with [his] naked ears”. He suggested our ears are getting weaker over time due to compression, and the lack of dynamic range in the sounds we hear. Jez considered using contact microphones to be a “re-opening” of the ears.

During the lecture, he gave several bits of advice, which I hope to take into my own work. The big one was listening and recording for durational periods. He likes to do this so he stops “imposing ideas” onto the sounds – in other words, stops letting his prediction of what the source will sound like affect what it actually sounds like. In the past, I have been guilty of only taking short recordings for a variety of reasons, including lack of time, not wanting to stand in a busy area for a long period of time, and hardware-related issues, such as lack of memory or battery power. Since his lecture, I have been recording for longer periods, where possible – though this has been difficult on windy days, as the wind hitting my headphones was often louder than the sound coming through them.

Other advice included practical pointers for recording, including not setting the volume above 7 – if you feel you need to go higher than that, you should move closer. This prevents the internal sound of the recorder becoming noticeable in the recording. Also, the headphone level should be set to the same as the level you listen to your television at. If you keep the headphones the same all the time, instead of changing both that and the gain, then you get a better understanding of how loud the source really is.

Whilst he was playing through his recordings, I also got several ideas about other places or objects I could record. The big metal warehouses just off from Boultham Avenue sound great when the motors inside are working, but could even create some interesting noises when they’re not. Equally, the metal fencing surrounding a lot of Tentercroft Street might have a lovely resonance travelling through the length of the line of fence sections. After hearing the wonderful cable sounds Jez captured, I will also look for long sections of cables or wires. I hope to have another recording trip soon.

Throughout Sonophilia, I attended as many event as I could – admittedly I wasn’t able to get to many, but these two were my favourites, and the ones I found most useful to my project.

Amie Slavin’s “Other Ranks”

Before you even entered the basement, you could hear the audio from this piece. What surprised me was the amount of senses this piece interacted with. The sound was the first, then when you enter the room you are not only greeted with visuals, but also smell. Hundreds of pairs of military boots were placed around the edge of the room, giving off a leather scent. The visuals consisted of army camouflage netting covering the numerous large speakers around the room, and photos of current and past troops beneath your feet. Next to hit was the cold in the room, whether intentional or not, but it certainly added to the audio, especially the drills – you could just imagine marching on a cold, crisp morning.

The final, but not so obvious sense, if you can call it a sense, was affect. A mixture of the cold, the smell and the audio hit me at certain points, particularly during the marching and the vehicles, especially when followed by birdsong. The recordings were in dispersed with interviews, making the whole piece quite emotional at times.

I really loved the mix of sensory media. Whilst I like sound pieces that you can interpret in your own way instead of being lead by pictures, I think visuals can add so much to a predominantly aural piece, and visa versa.

Jo Hamilton’s “Fractal Sparks”

This was also the case with Fractal Sparks, a gig by Jo Hamilton. Each of her songs included a different visual display, consisting of projections onto the stage and from the stage into the audience. The gigs and concerts that I have been to previously which have involved a larger amount of visual display (not just pyrotechnics) have generally been far more enjoyable, due to the extra storytelling involved. This is probably the reason the performance was one of the best concerts/gigs I’ve ever been to. The projections in the audience really included us in the performance, and the changing visuals gave a totally different feel to each song.

These made me feel more confident about using images in my piece. I have been struggling to find areas/objects to photography that properly represent my three pieces, but I think it will work well with the three tracks.