Maps & Journeys #2

Maps & Journeys approach (Sound Installation)

We recently received feedback from Rosie explaining the idea was good and had potential but seemed as if it was moulding into a rather narrative piece insteaded of experimental, so now consisting of three members in the group we took a step back and tried to explore areas of the idea that showcased an experimental approach. In all we decided to step away from the documentary idea and indulge ourselves an installation soundscape which was a former idea of a member within the group had previously.

The initial idea came from the the movie monster inc, which used door that once you opened took you took another environment. So elements of this was used for the new idea in hand and some how translated into an installation piece. The plan is to use four doors that represent different environments created through foley sounds in the mixing room. which would then be played once you have walked through 1 of the 4 doors via an automated door switch or sensor.

Creating an actual atmosphere for the sounds to be heard meant that a small four  door wall  would have to be created, so it feeling that you have stepped into a new space once walking through the door.  

This will be the room used for the installation piece

Sensor to trigger sound 

DFSA Gallery Exhibition

Walking With Laughter 

The gallery has finally installed all of the DFSA work used in the exhibition. As you know my work was formed around the area of laughter and the varied emotions expressed from it. Mixing down the different recording was an important, this time around it was my second attempt at developing my idea even further and build a stronger piece. The first time around i had created a compilation of many different sounds that eventually built up into all the sounds playing at once. But I found that method to be a bit messy and confusing, so eventually after speaking to friends and family on what they thought could possibly be changed, and I came up with the idea for the different sounds to exist in some sort of environment whilst using the sounds to create a story.

When it came down to creating an environment  for the sounds to exist in i was not to sure on how to approach it until i found a website called http://www.ambient-mixer.com/ which use around eight different sounds all played around the same time to create an atmosphere. The type of atmosphere I had in mind to create needed to be peaceful and calm so when an audience listened to it they felt at ease and relaxed.

The story I want to tell is about an individual who is walking through the forest high in the mountains somewhere and experiences different sounds of, surrounding laughter and sets out to find the whereabouts and eventually comes across its where abouts near a small stream.

The sounds that I had incorporated into the my piece are;

• Walking on gravel
• Pan flute 
• Chimes 
• Calm wind breeze 
• Water stream

Throughout the whole piece there is no dialog, with the exception of laughter, the reason for this is I did not want to distract the listener away from the journey of the story through other sounds.  

These are a few of individual sounds used within the piece;

Here is The Finished Product Called 

'Walking With Laughter'

Maps & Journey (Extended Idea)

Visuals/Sound 


Recently I have come across the idea to use visual for my project as an alternative solution in developing my idea even further if necessary. I will still continue with my initial idea which is to produce a sound installation around laughter. The reason behind the additional visual imagery is so the that people experiencing this art form have more than one element to engage with creating an alternative outlook on the piece.

The idea is to capture as many different forms of laughter visually whilst collecting the sounds from the subject. Experimenting with the speed of the footage and using that to help convey to the audience the different types of facial expressions that exist through laughter.

Sound Installation

Once all the necessary sounds are collected the next process will be importing them into Pro tools, where I will then use effects that can alter the flow of sound. one area that I am having a problem deciding is weather to tell a story with the sound or possibly bring all the sounds together so they play off each other with a 30/40 second loop attached.

Certain Laughs that I want to stand out will be held in a separate room to get the best result i.e. Baby laughing or elderly person. Other sounds that I am going to collect will be used to create a back ground atmosphere which is going to be recorded in large groups.

Equipment Needed:  

• Zoom Recorder with boom mic 
• My personal DLSR or canon film camera 
• Tripod
• LED Light  

     

 

Map & Journeys #4

Maps & Journeys 

This idea first sparked after the group I was in made the decision to go our separate ways and develop our own ideas due to, not being able to produce a finalised workable idea. Whilst brainstorming for idea in the group the area of sound caught my interest when going on to develop my own idea. One of the workshops I attend this semester consisted of sound whilst learning different ways in which you could manipulate it. Which is how i came up with the idea to create a sound installation with the concept of laughter and emotion through different ages.

Laughter is universal meaning everyone can relate to it some how. It  is a regular part of life and has means in which it can collectively bring people together to share one and others experiences and memories. Laughter is not the sole purposes of the is idea overall I like to display areas of emotion that many different people experience bring bring together a collection of sounds that can heard. In other words almost imagine you can hear a range of the different voices and emotions all stored in your head being play at once.

Other idea that I had in mind were

• Spoken word using visual imagery and sound 
• Monolog explaining the power of laughter Using recorded sounds 
• Visual sound piece no dialog 

In terms of the collections of laughter that I intend to gather the aim is to try and collect laugher from all ages ( 0-2 year , 2-5 years, 6-12 years 13-18 years and upwards). 

Map & Journeys (feedback) #3

Maps & Journeys  presentation feedback

Today we had our presentation feedback section with rosie and were given a some interesting criticise both positive and negative. It seemed that the idea was plausible but we kept on coming back to the same conversation about requiring the right tools and equipment and if we had the skills to build the structural installation itself. "Whats the reason behind the doors" is an area that was brought up, and after discussing feedback we understood why people questioned it. They were not to sure whether people from an outside perspective would understand the concept fully.

We brainstormed a few ideas after the presentation to see if we could develop the idea even further and mold it into a sold understandable concept. We was not able produce a solid confident idea but managed to come across a solution for replacing the doors with objects instead and collecting specific sound the are within its normal environment. We would use an object with some form of mean and the journey it has previously undertaken i.e. a pair of old running shoes worn by an olympic athlete.

Map & Journeys #1

Maps & journeys approach towards the passage of money 


This idea was presented to me by Dowan and captured my interest due to its slight similarity to an idea i had for the project which was going to be about, exploring the journey of change from previous persetions to new ones. I felt that the idea introduced to me had an interesting outlook on the main source that is passed around the most. The idea was explained to with a narrative/visual structure which would be walking the audience through the eye of the £10 note witnessing areas that money effects in both negative and positive ways.



The message of the film was to express to display a number of ways in which money can be interpreted alongside financial background difference. It was important for us to show just how far money travels and its ability to change people who have come in contact with its perception on what you are actually living for.

The Documentary in terms of the our visual outlook needs to consist of carefully thought out engaged visual to help the audience feel some form of emotion towards the note. Voice over would therefore give the note its own characteristics making it believable to understand what life style it live on a regular basis.

In all the we want you as an audience by the time the piece is over to be able to relate to the note as a real person who has gone through a life changing experience.