Reading Response 3

I chose to read The Art of Instant Gratification by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. His point is that in todays world of modern technologies, there is less gratification in the end result of taking a picture, because the technologies are so advanced, there is less meaning behind each photo and therefore, less gratification. He says in the early 1900's taking a picture was an experience and each one was special, but now that it is so easy to take them, each photo doesn't have as much meaning because there are so many of them. I can see Trachtenberg's point and I think it is very ligament, but I think he has to be more open to the new ways of technology as well. I personally think that embracing the old and the new ways of technology is the best route to take because it gives you more choices to choose from and gives you more tools to use.

Video/Software Responce

I thought the Olympia camera was fairly poor over all. It wouldn't be so bad if we were only using the camera for photos, but using it as a video camera didn't work well for many reasons. One of them is that the image quality of the video is terrible, even if you don't zoom. Another problem was the size of the camera was a problem because when trying to get some low-angle shots or other weird shots, it was really difficult to see through the viewfinder, whereas with a regular camcorder, you can usually tilt the viewfinder or LCD screen to see it better. Compared to other cameras and camcorders I've used, which aren't great quality either, this camera ranks pretty low on my list. I was able to use this camera to fulfill my drift strategies, but I think I could have fulfilled them better with different cameras. Ideally, I would have camera for stills and a camera for video that would be a little better quality.
I used the softwares that I always use to edit video and sound, which are iMovie and audacity. I've used both softwares before, and I was very comfortable doing all of my editing with them. I will probably continue to edit using these softwares for future projects.

Reading Responce 2

In John Cage's credo on music in the future, he talks about what he thinks music will look like in the times ahead. I think he makes some intelligent guesses on how music will change, especially since it was written (or given in a speech, I should say) in 1937, without anymore knowledge of the future then anyone else has. Having the advantage of looking back on his future though, lets us see the development of music over 70 years and we can decide for ourselves whether his predictions have come true or not. The biggest change over Cage writes about is the incorporation of "noises" or "tones" into what we call songs or fugues. I think this incorporation is something that hasn't happened to the fullest extent like Cage thought it would be, but I think that music is still heading in that direction. In many modern pieces of "classical" music that I've heard, they use electronic noises and other sounds that you normally would associate as sounds and not music. This is what Cage was talking about when he spoke about this new music and said, "Before this happens, centers of experimental music must be established." I think sounds in music are still being established and we are still in the establishing phase. Whether we'll get to the phase where sounds are always and completely incorporated like Cage thought, I don't know, but all we can do is wait and see.

AUDIO HARDWARE/SOFTWARE RESPONSE

I was excited to build my own microphone for my Drift and the actual process of doing it wasn't disappointing. I thought it was a great idea to be able to build the thing that you would be recording with. It was a step that made you think and learn more about how sound recording actually works. They work well and there weren't any big problems with the microphones either. The first time I tested the microphones, only one of them worked, but after I twiddled with it for a bit, the other one started working and that was the end of my problems. Capturing the sounds the best way I found through trial and error. In the end, I found the best way to record them was to get as close as possible and keep the sensitivity fairly low. I suppose my ideal microphone setup would be to have a set of different microphones with different quality levels, but I would keep the one I made in in that collection for sure.
Operating the miniDisc recorder was a little annoying. The menu was very poorly setup and hard to navigate through without the manual at hand. I haven't really used much other sound equipment so I can't compare it really, but I'm sure there is another device that's in the same price range, but would be much easier to use. Ideally, the perfect recorder would be simple to use but have more recording functions so you could record with different settings, rather then always manipulating the sound on the computer.
I choose Audacity for my editing application and it was something I have never used before. I picked Audacity because it seemed like the best one for my MacBook Pro and I think it was a good choice because I really enjoyed it and it had a lot of great functions. The filters especially helped me create the sounds I did for my Drift. Also, how you could edit the clips was a neat function it had that I was able to use. I will definitely be using this software for future projects in sound and film.

10 Questions

1. Is there a place with animals in the area?
2. Is there any mechanical equipment in the area?
3. Are there any side roads I haven't been on before?
4. What's the most well known place in the area?
5. What's the least well known place in the area?
6. Are there any places that don't have any cars around?
7. What places have I never been to (in my life)?
8. Are there any places with no wind?
9. What's the coolest/largest house in the area.
10. Are there and historically significant locations?

Drift Assessment 1

The first couple minutes that I went out on my Drift 1, I got frustrated because I couldn't get any sounds that were interesting or unique. All I got were some cars passing and wind noises. I was really annoyed those first few minutes because I started thinking that walking along a country road was a bad idea and I would only capture car sounds the entire drift. Luckily my fears turn out to be unwarranted and I got some neat sounds. The only other time I felt anxiety was when I tripped on the front steps of my parents house as I came out to start on my Drift. Luckily I caught myself and I didn't drop and of my sound equipment.

Drift Assessment 2

Once I was nearly finished with my Drift, I started to feel a nice feeling of accomplishment. I had recorded a lot of different sounds and was confident that I now knew what I was doing and that I had got some good sounds. It was the same feeling that I got when I first listened to all of my recordings. It's just a neat experience to listen to the stuff that you got in a different setting and not live while you're recording. It's fun to listen to what you just made.


Drift Assessment 3

Firstly, I got a lot of strange looks walking around with the big headphones and microphones in each hand, but it was more amusing then anything, especially after the fifth or sixth time. Another surprise was when I listened to the sounds and I heard what my feet sounded like when I was walking and I was glad that I usually stopped before I started recording. Finally, I found it sometimes difficult to remember what some of the sounds were when I recorded them. I thought that it would be easy to remember each situation I was in and my memory would be jogged by the sounds. But it turns out that sounds are sort of mysterious when listened to by themselves an it takes a little while to remember what they are.

Drift Assessment 4

The best thing about my Drift was simply what I learned about sound in general. I never really thought about making sound clips before and separating them from video. Sound always seemed to go hand in hand with video, but I realize now that it doesn't always have to and that it can stand alone as "art" by itself. Listening to sound is different experience that I never really appreciated until now and I'm glad I found it and will definitely continue to explore more of this art.

Reading Responce

I chose the article "The Art of Noise" by Davis Toop. It interested me because he presented a number of facts that I had never heard of or considered before about how we perceive sound. Also, I thought the way he presented the ideas of how people have interacted and worked with sound over the ages was fascinating.
Toop mainly discusses what the differences are between sound art and musical art, and what actually constitutes as art. Elaborating on that, he brings up a point: should all noises be considered art? Or are some noises just noise. He also talks about the history of that debate and how over the years it has been looked upon in various ways by the different generations. Sometimes being considered art and other times not. In the end he shows that this idea is very subjective and that it will always be an ongoing debate.
Since the article showed us that there is no defined way of creating or always determining what sounds constitute as art. As a media artist, I thought it was a good idea to take this notion into account as well as look at the history of what other media artists have done over the years and learn from what they have done to further my own sound recording ideas. His ideas also made me think that it is up to our own determination to decide for ourselves what is sound art to us.

Travis Torok

Soundwalk Responce

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes, I thought everywhere we went you could really hear a lot of stuff if you just stopped for a second and listened carefully.
Was it possible to move without making a sound?
Not really. You could always hear your clothes or shoes or backpack make a noise no matter how careful you were.
What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
It made me realize that there are a lot of sounds we take for granted and that it feels uncanny when your expecting to hear a loud noise from a truck passing by and you actually hear nothing.
In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
I could usually tell what was making the noise even if I couldn't see it.
Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Feet and voices. Vehicles and buildings. Wind and birds.
Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
Absolutely, every city bus seems to be humming its own note.
Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Pens clicking and note pages rustling. Planes and 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)?
It blew note pages and it also made a whooshing noises by my ears sometimes when it was strong enough.
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.?
Yes, but it was unintentional like when I had my hand in my pocket which made my keys jingle against each other.
Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes, it's neat to hear how many sounds there actually are around us.
How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I think it has made me much more aware of different ways that you can experience sound.