The article that I have chosen to write my last reading response on is Stephen Trachtenberg’s The Art of Instant Gratification. I read the last of the class articles I found the Tranchtenberg article to be very interesting both on the level of content but also it made me wonder what is next in the age of picture taking.
The article examined the photo and how it has changed over the years. When photography was first introduced it was considered to have a magical or even a religious power. He talks about the photo has being tangible “ the memory was something that could be held in your hand, felt, touched, as well as seen.” But today with the advancement in modern technology the photograph has lost its physical form. This to me was the most interesting section of the article I agreed entirely with Trachtenberg. I myself miss the physicality film simple because it is rare to hold the photo nowadays, and yes it might be on the internet some where but how safe and reliable is that. Do I really want everyone to see this photo? These are all questions that the article got me thinking about and also what is next my guess is you will not need to hook up the camera to the computer any more, you will just click a button on the camera and boom they are sent directly to the internet.
We can use this same idea and argument for many aspects of the Drift II project; the big on to me is the blogs themselves. Like photos there is a loss of physical form, we can’t feel our projects and so the level of comfort is not always there. For example every time I make a change on my blog I pray that it works and I don’t get the “error page.” Again there is the idea that at any moment everything could me lost, blogger could get a virus and everyone’s ideas and thoughts lost to history, and it will be interesting to see what Film 116 is like in five and ten years from now.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Video Hardware/Software Repsonses
1. How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?
The Olympus camera was a good experience for me. Yes it was not the nicest of the digital cameras in the world but for this project that isn’t necessary. The goal was to have a drift strategy, fallow it throw and then make the best of what you had. For my strategy the cameras functions and features were adequate and I didn’t run into any major problems with it. In an ideal world the only thing that I would change is the quality, if the video capturing were better the projects would be cleaner and easier to edit.
2. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
As for editing together my clips I choose to use Final Cut Express manly because I already had it and I did not see the need to buy or download any new software. I am fairly new with Final Cut Express but have worked with it and Final Cut Pro in the past, I kept my edits straightforward and simple and just worked on accomplishing my goals through the video clips themselves. I plan to continue to use Final Cut Express and like almost everyone hope to one-day master Final Cut Pro.
The Olympus camera was a good experience for me. Yes it was not the nicest of the digital cameras in the world but for this project that isn’t necessary. The goal was to have a drift strategy, fallow it throw and then make the best of what you had. For my strategy the cameras functions and features were adequate and I didn’t run into any major problems with it. In an ideal world the only thing that I would change is the quality, if the video capturing were better the projects would be cleaner and easier to edit.
2. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
As for editing together my clips I choose to use Final Cut Express manly because I already had it and I did not see the need to buy or download any new software. I am fairly new with Final Cut Express but have worked with it and Final Cut Pro in the past, I kept my edits straightforward and simple and just worked on accomplishing my goals through the video clips themselves. I plan to continue to use Final Cut Express and like almost everyone hope to one-day master Final Cut Pro.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Reading Response #2
As I was doing my readings over the last few weeks, knowing that we would have to do more reading responses, I remembered the articles that I really found interesting to respond to. One of theses articles was Phillip Lopate’s On The Aesthetics of Urban Walking and Writing. The Lopate article stuck with me because it truly discussed some real life approaches that artist take when capturing their findings on walks. It was interesting to read how well known poets (Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Reznikoff and Lopate himself) used walks to draw out material to use in their art. He is able to connect all of these artist based on the fact that they all walked the streets of New York and whether or not the artist themselves likes New York the city itself has had any affect on their art.
Phillip Lopate starts his article with some of his own ideas on walking and the affect it can have on an artist as he tries to capture what he sees and hears in words. He talks about how a persons past and self-preoccupation directly contributes to the way in which we see and absorb the city surroundings. Lopate would often study people as they pasted him by and try and discover as much about them by their “…three-second cameo” (Lopate). Others like Walt Whitman studies the way in which people move in a crowed, and like Lopate, Whitman tries to see positive in the city streets because of his love for New York. On the other end of the spectrum are the works of Charles Reznikoff who “… was particularly interested in how different ethnic groups—Italians, Jews, Southern Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Poles—adjusted to New York” (Lopate). All of these artists used the sights and sounds from their walks through the streets of New York to help influence their works and I find this very interesting because unlike a lot of the articles read in this class they don’t focus on “Sound Walks” but instead using walking to gain material. It was nice to have a new angle on the same strategy/purpose.
“You need not seek, the streets will deliver all in due time” (Lopate). To me this is exactly what I hope to do in my final Drift, not just find interesting subjects but let them find me. I know that what Lopate and the other artists from the article might not be partaking in sound/video recordings but their philosophies for obtaining material in the urban jungle have definitely influenced my drift two and the way I approach walking.
Phillip Lopate starts his article with some of his own ideas on walking and the affect it can have on an artist as he tries to capture what he sees and hears in words. He talks about how a persons past and self-preoccupation directly contributes to the way in which we see and absorb the city surroundings. Lopate would often study people as they pasted him by and try and discover as much about them by their “…three-second cameo” (Lopate). Others like Walt Whitman studies the way in which people move in a crowed, and like Lopate, Whitman tries to see positive in the city streets because of his love for New York. On the other end of the spectrum are the works of Charles Reznikoff who “… was particularly interested in how different ethnic groups—Italians, Jews, Southern Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Poles—adjusted to New York” (Lopate). All of these artists used the sights and sounds from their walks through the streets of New York to help influence their works and I find this very interesting because unlike a lot of the articles read in this class they don’t focus on “Sound Walks” but instead using walking to gain material. It was nice to have a new angle on the same strategy/purpose.
“You need not seek, the streets will deliver all in due time” (Lopate). To me this is exactly what I hope to do in my final Drift, not just find interesting subjects but let them find me. I know that what Lopate and the other artists from the article might not be partaking in sound/video recordings but their philosophies for obtaining material in the urban jungle have definitely influenced my drift two and the way I approach walking.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Possible strategies and solutions for executing Drift 2
1. Where do all of these allies lead?
2. What happens if I look up?
3. Can my nose take me anywhere?
4. What makes these houses different from one another?
5. What are the parks in the area like during day/night?
6. What are the differences on Lake Ave in day and night?
7. What lurks behind buildings and restaurants?
8. Are there any patterns that I see on my Drift walk?
9. Can I find some interesting colors?
10. Can I find a place with a good echo?
2. What happens if I look up?
3. Can my nose take me anywhere?
4. What makes these houses different from one another?
5. What are the parks in the area like during day/night?
6. What are the differences on Lake Ave in day and night?
7. What lurks behind buildings and restaurants?
8. Are there any patterns that I see on my Drift walk?
9. Can I find some interesting colors?
10. Can I find a place with a good echo?
Audio Hardware/Software Repsonses
1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.
A: When I heard that we would be building our own microphones I was very excited. I figured that it was going to much hard then it really was, and the soldering was a good life skill to learn. As for the ability of my microphones they have out preformed my wildest expectations both on ambiance and closeup sounds. My ideal microphone would be wireless with a good range and a high quality of sound. And my recorder would allow for memorized preference settings, look and perform like an ipod nano. This way most everyone would know how to navigate and use the recorder.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
A: I used to own a MiniDisc player, but I don’t think that mine had recording abilities but I was defiantly familiar with the configuration. Last year I took an Audio Production class that focused completely on sound recording and sound editing. I used a wide range of recorders but mainly I worked with Marantz recorder and both lavs and shotgun microphones and ProTools audio editor. Basically the equipment accomplished the same thing but one cost a lot more and has many more options. Like I said above my ideal recorder would allow for memorized preference settings, look and perform like an ipod nano.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
A: The audio-editing software that I chose was Audacity; I have used this program before for recording my vinyl records onto my computer. After spending a semester on ProTools last year Audacity was a breath of fresh air, much easier to navigate and use for beginning audio editing. The programs are similar in that the do some of the same things but it is like comparing imovie and Final Cut Pro. For this project and projects like it, it is perfect. I see myself using Audacity to do my audio editing until I’m rich and can afford suits like Final Cut and ProTools.
A: When I heard that we would be building our own microphones I was very excited. I figured that it was going to much hard then it really was, and the soldering was a good life skill to learn. As for the ability of my microphones they have out preformed my wildest expectations both on ambiance and closeup sounds. My ideal microphone would be wireless with a good range and a high quality of sound. And my recorder would allow for memorized preference settings, look and perform like an ipod nano. This way most everyone would know how to navigate and use the recorder.
2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?
A: I used to own a MiniDisc player, but I don’t think that mine had recording abilities but I was defiantly familiar with the configuration. Last year I took an Audio Production class that focused completely on sound recording and sound editing. I used a wide range of recorders but mainly I worked with Marantz recorder and both lavs and shotgun microphones and ProTools audio editor. Basically the equipment accomplished the same thing but one cost a lot more and has many more options. Like I said above my ideal recorder would allow for memorized preference settings, look and perform like an ipod nano.
3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?
A: The audio-editing software that I chose was Audacity; I have used this program before for recording my vinyl records onto my computer. After spending a semester on ProTools last year Audacity was a breath of fresh air, much easier to navigate and use for beginning audio editing. The programs are similar in that the do some of the same things but it is like comparing imovie and Final Cut Pro. For this project and projects like it, it is perfect. I see myself using Audacity to do my audio editing until I’m rich and can afford suits like Final Cut and ProTools.
Drift Assessment
1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)
A: First was the weather, I went out on my first drift walk and like many others was not as happy with my recordings as I wanted to be. The next two times that I had set aside for my second drift attempt were both postponed due to poor weather. Another specific situation that aggravated me was missing good/rich sounds on my first walk. At one point I walked passed two squirrels that began to fight, but by the time that I got ready to record they were gone. I learned from this and from then on there always kept my minidisk recorder recording.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
A: Like I said above two of my drift attempts were postponed so I woke up early one morning and took off from my house at around 7am. It was an overall peaceful morning and made for a very serene feeling. With the absence of other people, few automobiles, and clear audibility of my surroundings it was what I was hoping to achieve on my sound walk. For one of the few times in my life I didn’t mind waking up early, it also made for a good start to a long day. The second time came from the sound of water running out onto a sidewalk between two houses, and unless you have been tortured with water, it is a very peaceful noise.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
A: There were a lot of decisions that I had to make, and in usually short amount of time, during my drift walk. One of which was high and low sensitivity of the microphone, and a lot of times when I would switch to high sensitivity I would be getting a good full/rich sound and then some time louder would get picked up by the microphones. And most of the time when this happened the clip would be over distorted and lost. It was a learning process to know when to use the high sensitivity and it isn’t that this is a technological issue it was just that I had no way of knowing what or when sounds would happen during a recording. Another effect that I didn’t expect the drifts to have on me personally was a complete and unintentional focus on interesting sounds that I would have otherwise ignored. When I brought my raw recordings back and played them repeatedly I was surprised at how the sounds became more apparent and clearer the more I listened. I learned a lot about the places I went and look forward to doing another drift walk.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
A: I would have to say that my favorite place from my drift walks was the ally. I thought of all of the places that I recorded sounds the ally gave me so of the most interesting. Often full of nature, garages, garbage, cars, bikes, and sometime people allies give us a wide range of dynamic and surprising sounds. I spent a lot of time listening to the ally and it became a building block for my project.
A: First was the weather, I went out on my first drift walk and like many others was not as happy with my recordings as I wanted to be. The next two times that I had set aside for my second drift attempt were both postponed due to poor weather. Another specific situation that aggravated me was missing good/rich sounds on my first walk. At one point I walked passed two squirrels that began to fight, but by the time that I got ready to record they were gone. I learned from this and from then on there always kept my minidisk recorder recording.
2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.
A: Like I said above two of my drift attempts were postponed so I woke up early one morning and took off from my house at around 7am. It was an overall peaceful morning and made for a very serene feeling. With the absence of other people, few automobiles, and clear audibility of my surroundings it was what I was hoping to achieve on my sound walk. For one of the few times in my life I didn’t mind waking up early, it also made for a good start to a long day. The second time came from the sound of water running out onto a sidewalk between two houses, and unless you have been tortured with water, it is a very peaceful noise.
3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)
A: There were a lot of decisions that I had to make, and in usually short amount of time, during my drift walk. One of which was high and low sensitivity of the microphone, and a lot of times when I would switch to high sensitivity I would be getting a good full/rich sound and then some time louder would get picked up by the microphones. And most of the time when this happened the clip would be over distorted and lost. It was a learning process to know when to use the high sensitivity and it isn’t that this is a technological issue it was just that I had no way of knowing what or when sounds would happen during a recording. Another effect that I didn’t expect the drifts to have on me personally was a complete and unintentional focus on interesting sounds that I would have otherwise ignored. When I brought my raw recordings back and played them repeatedly I was surprised at how the sounds became more apparent and clearer the more I listened. I learned a lot about the places I went and look forward to doing another drift walk.
4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.
A: I would have to say that my favorite place from my drift walks was the ally. I thought of all of the places that I recorded sounds the ally gave me so of the most interesting. Often full of nature, garages, garbage, cars, bikes, and sometime people allies give us a wide range of dynamic and surprising sounds. I spent a lot of time listening to the ally and it became a building block for my project.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Reading Response
Over the last few weeks I have been reading many different articles on sound and its importance in the media world. The article that stuck out in my mind was The Art of Noise by David Toop. I liked the ideas of braking down types of sounds, music, art, and noise. It really got me thinking about the differences and similarities between sound art, music, and sound used in art. I can’t see noise as just noise, but as the bases for creating new and exciting types of sound media.
David Toop talks about the types of sound media and gives many good examples of different sound artist and how they are using noise to create their works. “Sound is ubiquitous, unstoppable, immersive, the agency through which spoken language is understood and music is absorbed” (Toop 1). Without sound it would be very hard if not imposable for us to communicate and interact with one another. Toop talks about sound as a “function of time” describing our surroundings, directing our attention and increasing environmental awareness. Next Toop compares sound to things such as visual media showing sounds ability to always stay with us and visual arts flaw in always being a fixed media. Lastly Toop goes into great detail explaining how different artist us sound to crate music, sound art, and sound in art.
The main thing that this article has got me to do is look at my own artwork, take a steep back, and decide what direction I want to take my sounds. Music and sound art use sound as there big picture creating and conveying the ideas through sounds and sounds only. On the other hand sound in art is more of and add-on to the bigger picture. I think that it would be very interesting to us my recordings to try and make a type of music and find the natural rhythms in nature. The article has helped me discover the many possibilities of sound in the natural world.
David Toop talks about the types of sound media and gives many good examples of different sound artist and how they are using noise to create their works. “Sound is ubiquitous, unstoppable, immersive, the agency through which spoken language is understood and music is absorbed” (Toop 1). Without sound it would be very hard if not imposable for us to communicate and interact with one another. Toop talks about sound as a “function of time” describing our surroundings, directing our attention and increasing environmental awareness. Next Toop compares sound to things such as visual media showing sounds ability to always stay with us and visual arts flaw in always being a fixed media. Lastly Toop goes into great detail explaining how different artist us sound to crate music, sound art, and sound in art.
The main thing that this article has got me to do is look at my own artwork, take a steep back, and decide what direction I want to take my sounds. Music and sound art use sound as there big picture creating and conveying the ideas through sounds and sounds only. On the other hand sound in art is more of and add-on to the bigger picture. I think that it would be very interesting to us my recordings to try and make a type of music and find the natural rhythms in nature. The article has helped me discover the many possibilities of sound in the natural world.
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