Reading response 3

Video response

I enjoyed that we were given a digital camera and it did it's job quite well I thought. It had better resolution that I thought it would and the recording feature wasn't to bad. I would have liked to be able to zoom while recording video but I still successfully implemented my image capturing strategy. If I could go get a better camera I would, but everyone wants to upgrade their life. Part of the experience is the primitive nature of the drift.

I had no history with the software I used to edit my video, iMovie. I liked it though, it was simple, didn't have many options on ways to edit but it did the job for my videos. I will use this software in other classes but or video's that I do for myself in the future I would like to get a program that is more diverse. I would like to be able to edit my video and audio next to each other in the same program with ease.

reading response 2

Audio response

Making microphones was quite a fun experience, I didn't expect it to be such a simple task, although some difficulty came in keeping my hands steady while soldering. It has such good quality too, I could get great close up recordings and ambient recordings. If I had the money to make my ideal set up I would make a suit that had built in microphones. A suit that others wouldn't be able to tell it was a microphone.

The MiniDisc recorder worked well for our task I thought. It was fairly simple to operate and seemed to get the job done. I havn't used any other audio equipment so I really have nothing to compare too, but I guess other than my micro-suit this would be an ideal device to use because it is simple small and durable from what I found.

I used audacity for the first time in this project, I have heard of the program before, and I found it to be quite a powerful little program. I enjoyed using audacity and will continue to use it for my future projects. It has a large variety of effects to use on your sound files, It helped me make the sounds I needed.

A few things to wonder....

1. What can I hear suspended from a tree?
2. Can I find any friendly woodland critters to record playing?
3. Do people fly kites anymore?
4. Where is there a colony of insects that I can interact with?
5. Is sound recording better in the suburbs or in the city?
6. Can I find a good bridge to record under?
7. Where is the best natural echo chamber?
8. Where is the best natural spot for sunlight?
9. Where are some cool reflections?
10. What time of day is best to record wind? Water?
11. Can you record a good fire sound?

Throughout my trek, many little technical problems aggravated me, but overall the most annoying factor in trying to create optimal sound possibilities was the people I knew around the area and the need my mouth has to greet them as they passed. I ruined more than a few good takes because of this, but then again you can’t ignore a friend as they pass you by.

Step, after, step, I, walked, with, no, change, in, pace, just, steady, stepping. This is quite meditative. Another very meditative moment along my journey, was when I stopped to take a seat at some stairs within Riverside Park. The crickets conveyed a constant creek, humming, all around, I want to sleep.

Further, chronologically speaking, along my steps, I was destined to cross Gordon Park, little did I know a party was going down. It was about 5PM, Rap and R&B music was bumping out of the park pavilion. It was a really neat site, about 100 people of all ages, mainly of African American decent, having a great time. When I turned the corner to see all these people and hear the music and children, it was really a nice surprise. Another unexpected situation I ran into was that of the toad. As I stepped along, he was hopping along. I couldn’t get any sound out of him but when I looked down while strolling through the park I didn’t expect to see such a big toad. That also reminds me of the fish I saw jumping out of the Milwaukee River around 7PM on my walk through Riverside Park. Getting just about to dark to see, I was about to call it a day when I saw ripples in the river. This river, if you haven’t seen it before, is shallow, filthy, and greenish-gray; I didn’t think fish could actually live in there, and that I saw multiple jumping in front of me was an interesting site.

My favorite part of the drift was merely the aimless walking. I really enjoyed the random occurrences, and the meditative feel of taking a long stroll. If I had not gone on this walk I would have missed out on a really good experience and this will cause me to want to drift and record my everyday experiences for recreation.

Soundwalk

• Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

The Downer woods were a nice area to find a variety of different sonic tones.

• Was it possible to move without making a sound?

eh, barely with the gravel and twigs and such, but if you're stealthy....

• What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

The sounds all became more drowned together and I found that when I unplugged them I was a bit overloaded with the sonic sensation.

• In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

I was able to hear birds tweet, sneakers squeak, and trees that almost could speak, but it was the wind. The wind blew through the trees, creating a rustling within the leaves. Then the leaves left the trees and fell by my knees, and around on the ground making just a light sound. A roaring, pulse like rumble came from a power tool in the distance. I could hear my own blood, and muscles compensating for the tension in my arm and hand. I heard the rocks under my feet as I stepped and music from b-ball courts, whispers about her having sex with him and crickets cricketing.

• Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?

pretty much, I found myself to be pretty accurate with what sounds were which besides the sneakers, I thought they were from basketball, but they were from tennis shoes

• Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

maybe, I like going out to quiet places often though, finding the obscure in simplicity for inspiration.

• How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?

I might mess with simple sounds more. I'd like to capture the sound the leaves make as they leave the trees and journey to the ground

Reading questions

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I have selected the article, "Theory of the Dérive", written by Guy Debord. Originally "published in the Belgian surrealist journal Les Lèvres Nues #9 (November 1956) along with accounts of two dérives," I found this article to define the term Dérive, or Drift. I felt this was an important work to study more closely because it was what out class revolves around and something I would like to experiment with more. I would like ideas on techniques for drifting.

2. What are the main points of the essay?

First Debord sets forth a base for what a dérive, or drift is, then goes into the aspects that make up one, defining the word in a sense. He then shows some examples of drifts in different forms. He goes into different ways of attempting drifts, explains the durations the drifts can last, affects of nature on drifts, storms, and how location can play it's part.

3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

As an artist I am always searching for new content and material to work into my projects. Often times I can come to creative roadblocks, setting back both my work and my mood. This idea of a drift, or a modified stroll in a sense, seems to be the perfect way to break the mental block I experience. It allows me to experience constant new input from places in which I wouldn't necessarily venture into.