Friday, November 8, 2013

Audio Tour

My audio tour took place on the bridge that faces Manzanita Lake and was designed to transport the listener across the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. A good portion of the sounds were recorded at my house and on campus, while the unattainable sound effects were found through sources online. The one constant throughout the piece was the sound of trickling water--except during the Winter segment when there was no ambient sound, as the water would be frozen or drained. I also edited all the traffic sounds so that they would be consistent with the setting and were heard only through the left speaker (the closest street is to the west of the lake when the listener is facing north). I originally had a track of descriptive dialogue, but decided it was way too distracting and would be more effective to listen to only the sounds of nature.

15 comments:

  1. I think axing the description was a good idea, because it forces the listener to really imagine the scene. Keeping the ambient sounds (traffic, water, etc.) was nice touch as well.

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  2. This was one of my favorite pieces. I felt so serene listening to it. One thing i really loved was that the mix of outside noises fit perfectly with the noise you produced. I really enjoyed it start to finish.

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  3. The absence of word here was a strong choice. Your piece is complex with sound, but simple in summary. I enjoyed that you created a vivid experience through mental process only. No movement or words to guide the listener along. Simply allowing the person to access their own memories and thoughts of the seasons along with your sounds was fantastic.

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  4. This was one of the few pieces that made me ask "Real or not real?" The sound effects were believable, whether you recorded them or not and the concept was easy to follow. Your piece was a relaxing break from the rest of the pieces that relied on spoken word. Good job!

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  5. These were some awesome and very well recorded sound effects! They all felt so real and worked so well with the environment that you took us to that it was difficult to tell if some of them were real or not. And the change of the seasons was awesome with how subtle it was that I almost didn't realize it till the end!

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  6. I loved the sound effects, the piece was simple, yet so complex in that it was the changing of seasons! Loved it.

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  7. I actually enjoyed it without the dialogue. It would be interesting to have a narration, but I think without the narration it gives the listener the opportunity the freedom to interpret what they're hearing. When we were standing over the lake I imagined as if the lake itself was like a sort of movie screen and I can watch the reflections change from season to season. I imagined the water becoming ice and reflecting snow falling on the surface and then melting to reveal the colors of spring and so on. I really enjoyed making my own narration than a voice telling it for me and I think that's what made your audio so enjoyable to hear.

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  8. This piece was very relaxing. I found it similar to Crystal's piece in the sense that it was more about internal dialogue with ourselves than the outside world, of course Crystal pushed the listener along with her overlapping words where as you pushed us along by making us process the natural sounds and force us to reflect and focus on them. You did a great job balancing and overlaying your sound effects and it came out extremely convincing in the end.

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  9. The bridge on Manzanita lake is one of my favorite places on campus to go when I need to relax, so I really enjoyed this piece because it allowed us to become immersed in the environment more. The use of no words and just background for your piece was definitely one of the stronger points and worked in your favor.

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  10. I enjoyed this piece without any dialogue because I could focus on listening to the sounds of nature. The sound effects were very fantastic and fit for the Manzanita lake environment. Both sound and scenery made me equanimity and pleasure.

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  11. Amazing use of sound! I had to second guess if some of the traffic was real or apart of your piece. I also really enjoyed how you captured the sound of walking through fresh snow. Great job!

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  12. Totally agree with Aaron, a lot of your sound I caught myself looking around seeing if there was tons of cars driving by. By selecting which ear you had us hear certain things, it really made it realistic. This was such a great topic because in Reno we definitely get to experience all seasons, but some times I don't think I stop and really notice the changes happening around me. Great job :)

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  13. What I enjoyed most about your piece was how you were able to drive the work forward without the use of words. With the viewers stationary, the environment created it’s own sense of an I-Spy where the various sounds could be sought out in the location, even when elements such as thunder had presented themselves. What I really loved about this work was how it interacted with the world around the viewers, as the sound of busy streets and an ambulance bled over into the audio, it sounded as if they could be apart of the audio and were intentional.

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  14. I'm glad you didn't add the extra dialogue because your piece was spoke for itself. I would actually love to experience your piece at sun down or sunrise, because it is in a beautiful location. With the audio, I also felt like some of the sounds weren't in the actual track and was actually happening outside of it. You did an amazing job fooling me and really captured the feel of the different seasons.

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  15. You did a really good job playing with the different ambient noises, and especially nice that you emphasized a detail like the street noises coming from one particular side. It made for great atmosphere. During our particular group tour we were lucky enough to have a small "display," so to speak, courtesy of the ducks and swans in the pond. Your piece was able to really capture the essence of the area, plus it was nice to just stand in one spot and really take in all the details.

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