Final

Final Project Edit 2

Alphabetical.wav
Alphabetical.mp3
0:56

Slightly revised version of original edit modified to be more interesting.

Screenshot

Final

Final Project Edit

Alphabetical.wav
Alphabetical.mp3
0:56

I took every word from the first part of my rant and rearranged them into alphabetical order. I thought it was an interesting look at how words don't sound the same out of context. Some words that you think you say clearly are really just sort of implied.


Audacity timeline:

Interview Project

Interview Project

Interview with brother.wav
Interview with brother.mp3
4:08

The beginning has some peaks that I didn't know how to fix (but I changed the mic level later on) and the rest did not need much equalization. I had a decent recording space. I really wasn't sure what to change.



Questions:
Introduce yourself (not included)
What was the best part of basic training and the worst part?
Do you have any good stories?
How did it feel to come back?
Where will you go from here? (not included)

Rant

Rant
Version 1
Version 1 mp3
2:59
Without paragraph 2

Version 2
3:25
With paragraph 2


This rant is interesting because I don't entirely believe everything I'm saying, although I am passionate about it. It was hard to keep my religious views out of it. In the end it became an ironic rant against nihilism as well as the other subjects (although I don't think most people will notice that) which makes the entire thing self contradictory in a way. I think that fits well with the subjects of the rant. I wanted to include more but I am already at three minutes and it would take a long time to write about the other subjects I want to talk about. Given enough time I would also have included pacifism, additional philosophy, and more about my frustration with people. A bit of humor at about the 3/4 point would be nice to balance the thing out and relieve some tension.

Rough draft rant

Rough draft rant
2:46

Deep Listening Essay

Sound affects a person in very significant ways. As any film student can tell you, the quickest way to change a viewer’s emotions is to choose the correct music, ambience, and sound effects to add to a scene. Even with this knowledge, we are still strongly affected by the soundtracks of movies. Clearly, sound is something to take note of, not just in passing, but in depth.

Oliveros(2003) distinguishes the concept of hearing and listening. Hearing is the involuntary act of having sound waves interact with one’s eardrums and converting them into electrical signals which are interpreted as sound by the brain. Listening is actively acknowledging and attempting to make sense of the sounds. To listen is to think about the things you hear. (The ear makes it possible to hear and to listen section, para. 1 & 3)

Deep listening is a step beyond listening. The idea to not only pay attention to a sound or sounds, but to stop doing other things, and lose oneself in sound. To properly engage in deep listening is to listen not only to musical and speaking sounds, but to all sonic formations that are audible. Oliveros(2003) considers deep listening to be a form of meditation due to its ability to expand consciousness and facilitate creativity and has created sonic meditation exercises and led deep listening meditation retreats with the goal of teaching people how to practice deep listening. (Deep listening is a form of meditation section, para. 1-3)(An interview with Pauline Oliveros, para. 21)

Deep listening takes practice and focus to accomplish successfully. When the mind is able to focus on nothing but sounds, the sounds can be ‘seen’ in a new way and the mind can expand. Sound has depth that we often overlook and deep listening is the way to explore it.

Unnamed Sound Project

Unnamed Sound
0:34

Unnamed Sound Version 2
0:18

Map Link

Field Recordings, Final Edits

Ashton Huntsman
Discussion group 116-802

These are my best three recordings, I think. They have some interesting sounds and stereo dynamics.

On the Street 1
2:24

On a Bridge Beneath a Bridge
1:30

On the Street 2
3:06

These were the other nominations. I like them too, just not as much.

Near the Lake
1:49

In a Park
0:45

Field recording clips

Ashton Huntsman
Field recording

Rough cuts

Edited recording on street
2:28
I edited this recording a lot to only include the most interesting parts.

Edited recording under bridge
2:15
Not as edited, just trimmed. Shorter original recording.

Unedited street recording
8:26
I stopped when I heard the sound of a trap set and was extremely surprised when the church bell rang at 5:00.

Unedited bridge recording
3:05
Lost my route but found a pedestrian walkway under a bridge. Fair trade imo.

Drift Strategy

1. Draw a vaguely circular scribble on the map.
2. Follow the line as closely as possible…
3. Except where it follows large, busy streets…
4. In which case take the next street over via the nearest alley.
5. Resume following route.
6. Repeat until arrival at starting position.

Notes on sounds

Notes on sounds:

birds & cracks

Burner

car whiz

clanging, footsteps

click, conversation, web

door slam & drill

eerie howl

everyone got a cracker?

Extra Gas

Harsh click

metal clink & rumble

paper

people & rustling

rainy street, hammer

rattle

scraping

sidewalk, fence, beeps

Slow walk, grass

sound12

sticks & hammer

vehicle reversing

waves

train?

rain & distant thunder

soft bird sounds

megaphone squeal

Found Sound Version 2

Ashton Huntsman
Film 116
Second iteration. Current final draft.

Sound project version 2
Runtime: 1:06

Sound project version 2.1
Runtime: 1:06

Essay 1

Ashton Huntsman

Film 116, Essay 1

In The Rural Landscape, Schafer describes the difference between high fidelity (hi-fi) systems and low fidelity (lo-fi) systems. “A hi-fi system is one possessing a favorable signal-to-noise ratio. The hi-fi soundscape is one in which  discrete sounds can be heard clearly because of the low ambient noise level.” (Schafer, 43) In a hi-fi system, without other sounds to cover them up, one can hear even the slightest of noises. Conversely, a lo-fi soundscape has a high ambient noise level over which, to be heard, sounds must have a much higher volume. Sounds in a lo-fi soundscape overlap much more often and a listener loses perspective, the sounds they hear being necessarily immediate to be heard at all. Cities tend to be more lo-fi than the country, day more than night. In my own experience, I have found that some households are more hi-fi than others. The difference is immediately noticeable upon entering the building or sometimes even before entering.

Schafer writes about some of the sounds he remembers from his youth, especially the sound of the butter churn. He describes the way the the sound of the churn changed slightly over time as the cream thickened. From my own childhood I recall sounds such as the sound of someone climbing the creaky wooden stairs in the house from which I could tell who was climbing the stairs, whether they were going up or down and sometimes how they were feeling. Other sounds I remember were the crackling sounds of the wicker chair in front of our computer, the sound of the gravel under the wheels of the car in the driveway, the high-pitched but extremely quiet sound of the tube tv. All these sounds had a meaning to me, which is probably why I paid such close attention to them. I am sure Schafer had a similar sort of connection to the sounds he lists in the reading. Even if they are just feelings of nostalgia, they must once have had some other meaning to him for him to remember the sounds so clearly. Sounds carry meaning and the more a sound means to us, the more we listen for it.

Found Sound Version 1

Ashton Huntsman
Group B

Sound project version 1
Runtime 1:06
Found Sound project rough draft.