8/11/2011
27/10/2011
Thank you to everyone who's been part of the E-Media class of 2011; Dylan, Kyan, Matt, Alex, Samantha, + Josh & Will, especially Chris & most of all Leigh. It's been a great journey. Thanks to everyone who's supported me and put up with my noise over the course of time leading up until now. Thank you everyone for being so awesome.
27/10/2011
The home stretch. Matt and my installation is now complete and we're both really stoked with how it turned out. We've already had some positive comments from people passing by today. A few things on the install; I've decided to keep the fan, it's too nice in there not to have it. I've also decided to have some seating, I liked the chairs from the room because they had armrests, but they were uncomfortable as hell. The seats I was playing around with earlier on were reasonably comfy but had no arm rests, fortunately Leigh suggested I use some of the seats from the E-Media computer room, which are REALLY comfy AND have armrests! Perfect! I found the best 3 (some had muck/holes) and centered them in the space. I'm really liking them in there. I didn't want to use a couch, because that seemed too ... thoughtless, but the seminar chairs were too posture-correctingly studious. These chairs are the perfect balance.
Balance has been really key in our installation, not only in the set up but for ourselves, Matt lost his balance this morning and fell off a stool onto the floor. Ouch. He was fine though.
I've set up a light onto the table where my statement, DVD and cover sheet are and I love how that looks - much better than the desktop lamp I had earlier. Matt was also kind enough to show me how to generate a QR code, so now we've both got matching titles and QR code links on the outside of our curtained door to our shared space.
Here's some of the last shots from our installation;
I'm ecstatic with how this has turned out. There's so much cool art going up around the place and I'm so glad to be a part of it. Kyan and Dylans installations are looking (and sounding :p) awesome. At the end of our whole installation process the only remaining issue is the projector I'm using which switches itself off at about midnight (it's centrally controlled from the main campus so there's not much we can do about it) however this is a very minor issue. The sound is sitting great in the space and comes out into the atrium nicely to hopefully draw people in.
This has been one hell of a ride and I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of people to be around. Thank you to everyone from the E-Media department. What a team. More thanks to come tomorrow once I've had a hard earned beverage and a decent nights sleep.
Balance has been really key in our installation, not only in the set up but for ourselves, Matt lost his balance this morning and fell off a stool onto the floor. Ouch. He was fine though.
I've set up a light onto the table where my statement, DVD and cover sheet are and I love how that looks - much better than the desktop lamp I had earlier. Matt was also kind enough to show me how to generate a QR code, so now we've both got matching titles and QR code links on the outside of our curtained door to our shared space.
Here's some of the last shots from our installation;
I'm ecstatic with how this has turned out. There's so much cool art going up around the place and I'm so glad to be a part of it. Kyan and Dylans installations are looking (and sounding :p) awesome. At the end of our whole installation process the only remaining issue is the projector I'm using which switches itself off at about midnight (it's centrally controlled from the main campus so there's not much we can do about it) however this is a very minor issue. The sound is sitting great in the space and comes out into the atrium nicely to hopefully draw people in.
This has been one hell of a ride and I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of people to be around. Thank you to everyone from the E-Media department. What a team. More thanks to come tomorrow once I've had a hard earned beverage and a decent nights sleep.
26/10/2011
Well the last few days have been predictably frantic. Fortunately my installation is complete and everything seems to be in working order. I ducked into Spotlight on my way in this morning to grab a decent amount of black cloth to help disguise the seminar room. Here's some more installation shots to depict our progress since the last lot of photographs;
We've set a length of cloth up in the center of the room to act as a divider. When you enter the space you have to make a choice to go left for my sound collages and right for Matt's interactive display. We wanted to help establish each work as its own, but still keep the freedom of open space in the room.
Other last minute developments have included me being brought on board by Kyan to do sound for her stop-motion film, which I did last night and had a lot of fun with it. I'll post a link to that once it's complete.
So 15 meters of black cloth and a couple of rolls of gaffer tape later, we're almost done. Very exciting. I've also finished off my 300 word statement so that's good to have that finally complete as well. The end is in sight...
We've set a length of cloth up in the center of the room to act as a divider. When you enter the space you have to make a choice to go left for my sound collages and right for Matt's interactive display. We wanted to help establish each work as its own, but still keep the freedom of open space in the room.
Other last minute developments have included me being brought on board by Kyan to do sound for her stop-motion film, which I did last night and had a lot of fun with it. I'll post a link to that once it's complete.
So 15 meters of black cloth and a couple of rolls of gaffer tape later, we're almost done. Very exciting. I've also finished off my 300 word statement so that's good to have that finally complete as well. The end is in sight...
22/10/2011
The final version of Dylan's video Liminal Embrace is up on the main page. I'm quite happy with how it turned out and I'm happy with my final sound composition for it.
So, in recent news I've been putting the finishing touches on the blurbs to go along with each collage for the final submission. This is to give a bit of an insight into the strategies behind each one, as well as the imagery selection process which has been brought to my attention as something the assessment panel will find to be very important. Once I've finished uploading the video files you'll be able to see all this information alongside each collage by going to the UTAS page on this site and clicking the Sound Collage Series link.
Matt Daniels and myself have successfully gutted Room 108 and have begun to set up our installation in the space. During the day on Tuesday I lugged all the equipment I'll be using for the installation into the space to make sure that the room wasn't going to rattle or shake, or generally give any nasty reaction to the sound. If there were any of these problems in the space, I want to know sooner rather than later. Fortunately, despite the large ventilation shaft, the sound was sitting quite nicely in the space throughout my initial tests. As mentioned previously, I have the mixing desk and EQ controls on the amplifier to adjust playback to suit the room but that has so far been unnecessary.
Here's a series of shots from our install process.
So, in recent news I've been putting the finishing touches on the blurbs to go along with each collage for the final submission. This is to give a bit of an insight into the strategies behind each one, as well as the imagery selection process which has been brought to my attention as something the assessment panel will find to be very important. Once I've finished uploading the video files you'll be able to see all this information alongside each collage by going to the UTAS page on this site and clicking the Sound Collage Series link.
Matt Daniels and myself have successfully gutted Room 108 and have begun to set up our installation in the space. During the day on Tuesday I lugged all the equipment I'll be using for the installation into the space to make sure that the room wasn't going to rattle or shake, or generally give any nasty reaction to the sound. If there were any of these problems in the space, I want to know sooner rather than later. Fortunately, despite the large ventilation shaft, the sound was sitting quite nicely in the space throughout my initial tests. As mentioned previously, I have the mixing desk and EQ controls on the amplifier to adjust playback to suit the room but that has so far been unnecessary.
Here's a series of shots from our install process.
12/10/2011
12/10/2011
We had our final E-Media class yesterday and in the lead up to our final submissions it looks as though chaos will reign supreme. It's about a 50/50 split of those who are pretty much done and those who haven't turned up for weeks and don't seem to have done much in that time either. Oh well, I'm feeling reasonably confident about where I'm at currently. Here's some of those blurbs I was talking about yesterday (see previous entry).
The Weight. Our time on this earth is finite. Passing away from this life is an uncomfortable thought for all of mankind. We fear death. The uncertainty of what lies beyond this world eats away at our once strong belief systems. Our genetic predisposition to prolong our species restricts our ability to embrace our return to the greater net of life.
This image was chosen for its balance of grit and aura. There is dirt and light. Depth and assention.
Glisten. It takes a certain naivity to ignore the possibility of life beyond Earth when we know so little about our own solar system. We're really still digging in the dirt.
This image was selected for its contrast between the distant unknown of other worlds against the fleeting distractions of ours.
The Worker. A hard working man comes home from work for the last time. This is his story.
The space this image was taken in connects with the sound composition in its address of the forgotten integrity to be found in hard work.
This is the demise of the hard working man.
Aureater. As our host organism and the human species pull in opposing directions in the fight for sustainability, the space we share is undergoing change through industrialisation and insufficient management of resources. The colour grey will soon be endlessly fashionable.
Marooned. A tale of displacement. Much of our state of well being depends on light. In complete darkness, there is nothing to see but ourselves. We fear darkness, alienation and seperation but at the core of these fears are our own insecurities and shortcomings.
Obviously these are rough as hell at this stage but it gives you a bit of an idea of where they're headed.
Here's an example of the title sequences to come before each collage.
Some of these were a bit jerky while I was playing them in the Room 108 space yesterday, I'm just going through these to make sure they run smoothly - hopefully it's just a playback issue that can be solved if I use something more reliable than quicktime. If the title sequences are too jumpy it will ruin the whole meditation of the thing so these really need to be right on.
The Weight. Our time on this earth is finite. Passing away from this life is an uncomfortable thought for all of mankind. We fear death. The uncertainty of what lies beyond this world eats away at our once strong belief systems. Our genetic predisposition to prolong our species restricts our ability to embrace our return to the greater net of life.
This image was chosen for its balance of grit and aura. There is dirt and light. Depth and assention.
Glisten. It takes a certain naivity to ignore the possibility of life beyond Earth when we know so little about our own solar system. We're really still digging in the dirt.
This image was selected for its contrast between the distant unknown of other worlds against the fleeting distractions of ours.
The Worker. A hard working man comes home from work for the last time. This is his story.
The space this image was taken in connects with the sound composition in its address of the forgotten integrity to be found in hard work.
This is the demise of the hard working man.
Aureater. As our host organism and the human species pull in opposing directions in the fight for sustainability, the space we share is undergoing change through industrialisation and insufficient management of resources. The colour grey will soon be endlessly fashionable.
Marooned. A tale of displacement. Much of our state of well being depends on light. In complete darkness, there is nothing to see but ourselves. We fear darkness, alienation and seperation but at the core of these fears are our own insecurities and shortcomings.
Obviously these are rough as hell at this stage but it gives you a bit of an idea of where they're headed.
Here's an example of the title sequences to come before each collage.
Some of these were a bit jerky while I was playing them in the Room 108 space yesterday, I'm just going through these to make sure they run smoothly - hopefully it's just a playback issue that can be solved if I use something more reliable than quicktime. If the title sequences are too jumpy it will ruin the whole meditation of the thing so these really need to be right on.
11/10/2011
I met with Leigh yesterday afternoon and asked him to rip into my work as hard as he fancied. He gave some useful advice in suggesting that I really put some words behind each individual work - which I was planning on doing anyhow - but that this was my chance to say something a bit more poetic. He advised that for the assessment panel, they're really going to be looking at each image and each one really needs a strong reason to be there. So, I've started writing individual blurbs for each collage and also tying in why I chose each of these ~ 13 images from a DVD's worth of material.
In each case it's been quite a reductive process for the image selection. Each collage is the result of breaking an idea down to it's simplest form, being a word, colour or sound and then building up from that. The core layer is what helps drive the image selection, it's not designed to be an absolute answer or completely encapsulate the narrative, it's more like another clue. Maintaining the ambiguity is crucial to the functioning of these collages.
Here's those images I promised earlier of my experiments with viewing configurations downstairs in the basement. Basically I'm looking at how far in each direction you can sit/stand without your experience of the sound structure being compromised.
And here's some images of some of the trials I've been doing in the actual space itself. (Room 108.)
So I've now finished the title sequences for my end of year installation and I'm having a meeting with Leigh this afternoon to basically ask him to tear it apart. There's about two weeks left before submission, so if anything's not working I want to know now. Hopefully I can find a decent media player so I can just set all the sound collages and title sequences in an ordered playlist and have them run smoothly. I'm going to go set up for my 1 on 1 with Leigh now so I'll write another entry afterwards.
26/09/2011
In each case it's been quite a reductive process for the image selection. Each collage is the result of breaking an idea down to it's simplest form, being a word, colour or sound and then building up from that. The core layer is what helps drive the image selection, it's not designed to be an absolute answer or completely encapsulate the narrative, it's more like another clue. Maintaining the ambiguity is crucial to the functioning of these collages.
Here's those images I promised earlier of my experiments with viewing configurations downstairs in the basement. Basically I'm looking at how far in each direction you can sit/stand without your experience of the sound structure being compromised.
And here's some images of some of the trials I've been doing in the actual space itself. (Room 108.)
Well, only about 50 minutes remain until my last official E-Media class. There's something particularly hilarious about the mood on campus in week 13. I'll post some individual blurbs and images after class.
10/10/2011
Last friday Dylan and I went out to MONA in the hope of catching the Utopia exhibition before it was taken down, but unfortunately we were too late. Dylan showed me what he said was his favourite work in there - a video titled Placebo. It was really fantastic and I can see why he loves it so much. We managed to have a good chat to Chris who's been helping us out in class the last couple of months, he's always good to talk to. Especially about the hygienic concerns of the museum and the general zombie-like behaviour of the patrons.
So I've now finished the title sequences for my end of year installation and I'm having a meeting with Leigh this afternoon to basically ask him to tear it apart. There's about two weeks left before submission, so if anything's not working I want to know now. Hopefully I can find a decent media player so I can just set all the sound collages and title sequences in an ordered playlist and have them run smoothly. I'm going to go set up for my 1 on 1 with Leigh now so I'll write another entry afterwards.
26/09/2011
Monday. There's some new videos on the home page of fun stuff like gigs and pedals. I've tried to have a bit of a break this weekend but it hasn't really happened. I'm really bad at sitting still, or sleeping in. I've produced a 3rd or 4th draft of the soundtrack for Dylans film and I think it may be the final one, he said it worked awesomely - he's going to put the two together for a crit tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I'm secretly hoping it is the final one because there are so many layers and crazy processes going on in the project file of this track, it maxes out my computers processing power (not completely, but close enough to be uncomfortable). So hopefully Dylan doesn't think it needs anything more. Here's the audio as it is currently:
Currently I'm waiting to get some feedback on my 100 word statement from Leigh and Lucy, hopefully I'll get some pointers before submitting it on thursday. That'll do for today, probably expect a larger entry after class tomorrow.
Currently I'm waiting to get some feedback on my 100 word statement from Leigh and Lucy, hopefully I'll get some pointers before submitting it on thursday. That'll do for today, probably expect a larger entry after class tomorrow.
22/09/2011 Cont'd
22/09/2011
20/09/2011
19/09/2011
16/09/2011 Cont'd
16/09/2011
06/09/2011
23/08/2011
16/08/2011
9/08/2011
05/08/2011
After having a break for some tasty edibles I re-set up my presentation rig in the basement this afternoon to play the collage/video combinations I finished earlier today to make sure they're all working fine. This also gave me a chance to listen to all the others that I hadn't played on that system yet. Fortunately they're all working. I did have to edit a couple this morning as well, there was one where the audio didn't completely fade out before the end, so after 5 minutes of this slow, sprawling meditative state it just cuts off, which felt like a real cop out, so I fixed that up, made sure it's completely silent before the video cuts. Admittedly it does feel pretty self indulgent sitting in a room listening to your own stuff at reasonable volume but it was a good chance to test out listening points, to find out how much your experience is altered by where you are in the space (even if this was achieved by childishly wheeling about on an office chair).
Having the mixing desk gives me good equalisation control. In a couple of the tracks the mid frequencies were a bit over bearing, but by using the 4 band EQ for each channel (L&R) I'm able to soften that out. While I was testing these, I had a fan going (the temperature control is non-existent down there, it's basically a slow cooker) and found there was something nice about having this soft cooling breeze in my back. I think this is because a lot of the collages (to me, at least) are about a place, when I start to construct these works I often think 'Where is this', so having that tangible sensation helps put you in that space a bit, I guess.
I just spent the last 40 minutes or so reading through last year's grad show book, to help me figure out what my statement, portrait photo and work photo/information should look like. Having a flick through the 2010 copy helped me to gather a few pointers, particularly on what I don't want to do. Here they are (in no particular order) ;
1. There's a couple of jocky types who waste the 100 word statement with a one liner to the effect of 'live art, eat art, sleep art' or 'my work speaks for itself'. There's hardly a quicker way to look like a complete tosser. What a waste.
2. WAY TOO MANY of the statements start off like 'My work is blah blah' or 'My work is about...' I find this damn boring. It's just instantly uninteresting. Definitely do not start or probably even mention the words 'my work'.
3. Surprisingly few, but still too many of the portrait shots are bathroom mirror myspace angles, comical thinker poses, or just something generally cheese-laden. For most people this is the only image of you that they'll associate with your work and it will definitely change how they look at it (for better or worse). I'm of the opinion that no-one likes a smart-ass so I'm going to keep mine stern.
4. There's still quite a bit of 'art talk' in all this too. After 3 years of studying here I'm pretty over 'art-wank' as it's affectionately known, I would have thought most people would be by this stage! I'm pretty sure that most people find this style of language to be a repellent, even if you haven't studied Fine Arts or similar. I really believe you've got to be concise here. I don't want to beat around the bush with some airy fairy ramble about things only pseudo-related to my project in an almost stream of consciousness manner. I just want to say exactly what things are in the most efficient way possible. Call a toaster a toaster.
I realise that my previously posted draft statement probably crosses a few of these lines but that will be later addressed. These guidelines will also (of course) carry over to my 300 word statement to accompany the installation itself. Earlier this afternoon I re-visited David Burrows' work in the Plimsoll Gallery, his written statement is particularly neat. As was Matt Daniels' 100 word-er that he presented on tuesday. Well, after pulling a 9 - 6 stretch here today, I think I'm going to go home.... and finish off Dylan's soundtrack.
Having the mixing desk gives me good equalisation control. In a couple of the tracks the mid frequencies were a bit over bearing, but by using the 4 band EQ for each channel (L&R) I'm able to soften that out. While I was testing these, I had a fan going (the temperature control is non-existent down there, it's basically a slow cooker) and found there was something nice about having this soft cooling breeze in my back. I think this is because a lot of the collages (to me, at least) are about a place, when I start to construct these works I often think 'Where is this', so having that tangible sensation helps put you in that space a bit, I guess.
I just spent the last 40 minutes or so reading through last year's grad show book, to help me figure out what my statement, portrait photo and work photo/information should look like. Having a flick through the 2010 copy helped me to gather a few pointers, particularly on what I don't want to do. Here they are (in no particular order) ;
1. There's a couple of jocky types who waste the 100 word statement with a one liner to the effect of 'live art, eat art, sleep art' or 'my work speaks for itself'. There's hardly a quicker way to look like a complete tosser. What a waste.
2. WAY TOO MANY of the statements start off like 'My work is blah blah' or 'My work is about...' I find this damn boring. It's just instantly uninteresting. Definitely do not start or probably even mention the words 'my work'.
3. Surprisingly few, but still too many of the portrait shots are bathroom mirror myspace angles, comical thinker poses, or just something generally cheese-laden. For most people this is the only image of you that they'll associate with your work and it will definitely change how they look at it (for better or worse). I'm of the opinion that no-one likes a smart-ass so I'm going to keep mine stern.
4. There's still quite a bit of 'art talk' in all this too. After 3 years of studying here I'm pretty over 'art-wank' as it's affectionately known, I would have thought most people would be by this stage! I'm pretty sure that most people find this style of language to be a repellent, even if you haven't studied Fine Arts or similar. I really believe you've got to be concise here. I don't want to beat around the bush with some airy fairy ramble about things only pseudo-related to my project in an almost stream of consciousness manner. I just want to say exactly what things are in the most efficient way possible. Call a toaster a toaster.
I realise that my previously posted draft statement probably crosses a few of these lines but that will be later addressed. These guidelines will also (of course) carry over to my 300 word statement to accompany the installation itself. Earlier this afternoon I re-visited David Burrows' work in the Plimsoll Gallery, his written statement is particularly neat. As was Matt Daniels' 100 word-er that he presented on tuesday. Well, after pulling a 9 - 6 stretch here today, I think I'm going to go home.... and finish off Dylan's soundtrack.
22/09/2011
*Exhausted Breathing* Right, just finished rendering and exporting the last of the sound collages with their visuals embedded. The last of which - the most mega of all of them - I'm particularly happy with. While waiting for premiere to do its thing, I'm on my 3rd (roughly, maybe more) draft of my 100 statement for the grad show catalogue! I've just sent it off to Leigh for some feedback, and will probably present it to my TOP class tomorrow for some more. Here it is in it's current state, if you have any suggestions let me know! (Probably use the 'Contact Us' page to save yourself scrolling all the way to the bottom of this stream of posts)
Sound is a higher form of language and is capable of cutting to the core of an idea in a way that can be understood by all people. When I hear a piece of music or sound that resonates with me in this way I get goosebumps. The desire to invoke this electrical and magical feeling in others is the driving force behind my Sound Collages. The foundation of this series lies within resonance – both material and personal. Built from the ground up within the mantra of my ‘Scrapbook’ aesthetic, each work is an aural narrative diversified through each viewers experience.
Current word count is 101. I think I should be able to get away with being one word over. Also there's a video on the main page (click 'Home') of me working some textural sounds into Dylan Oswin's soundtrack.
20/09/2011
After presenting a couple of my sound collages with their visual counterparts embedded it seems like the 7 hour stretch I put in here at the computer labs has paid off, the reaction was very positive and I'm really enthusiastic about the variety of readings I'm getting from people.
Some found the experience meditative, some said it was a bit of a brain teaser, Chris said it was very engaging which was obviously a really encouraging comment to get from someone like him.
I'm really happy with how the speakers are working, they have a great clarity and are really forceful at the same time. Earlier today I tried out playing my video files on the projector screen where I'm planning to show this series of work in theory room 108. The image sits quite nicely on the screen and also, as a projection it's a much softer image, which I think helps smooth out some of the sharp whites and things like that. So I think I'm making good pace. Out of the 10/11 Sound Collages that I've made I've got about 7 or 8 of them with visuals embedded, ready to show, so just a couple more to go. I'm planning to render some titles for each piece as well, just as a quick fade in/out before each work plays, I'll probably do that and the remaining videos on Thursday.
Here's an example, I haven't got a title for this one yet but anyway, here it is:
It's important to note this one features the only sound not recorded by me, it features a transcription of The WOW! Signal bumped onto magnetic tape. For more on The WOW! Signal see the 23/08/11 entry.
In presenting my work today I was reminded about the importance of listing strategies I've undertaken in these works and in the presentation of the final installation so here's some thoughts on that subject:
In the installation space itself there's already the projector and screen set up ready and working, so that's settled. All the furniture in the room can be turfed or at least moved out of the way so that should also be fine. One issue I found investigating the space today was that in the space there's two doors (quite heavy ones at that) on either side of the space. With them open, too much light comes in and spoils the image, but with them closed it's not particularly inviting, and would also block out a lot of the sound coming from the space which is a key drawing point in letting people know there's something going on in this space. Seeing as I was already planning to cover a few things in black cloth (like the speakers themselves and other unsightly equipment) I figure I could use more black cloth to make a curtain-like entrance to the space, that way it blocks out enough light but also allows the sound to reach outside the room and hopefully, draw people in.
I think I've mentioned in one of my previous entries that my TOP class didn't think I needed any visuals - which as nice as it may be, I've basically decided they're wrong. The visuals are meant to put you in the right position in the space, firstly aurally but also meditatively or contemplatively. The idea of having bean bags in the space was also thrown around in my TOP proposal presentation towards the end of last semester, unfortunately that class generally seems to think bean bags would be a good idea but I really don't. It's a bit cheap, there's something I just don't like about it, most importantly it puts you in a bad spot to actually hear the collages, if you're on a bean bag you're pretty much lying on the floor and I don't think people well get the right idea if they're just sitting in the low end of the sound spectrum, also the inevitable shuffling around and moving of bean bags would impede on the sound being presented through my work so it simply won't happen. Do I want to spend a bunch of money on something that will ruin my presentation? No.
I'd made this decision a while ago and had left it at having no seating arrangement but after showing today, I think having some seats would be useful. The thing I've found with these slow image pans is that they take a long time to get out of the close-up view, the rest of the image is revealed very slowly and it can be a bit irritating (or maybe even boring) at first, but I found it quite rewarding at the completion of each piece for having gone through that little journey. I think having some seats would encourage people to sit in the space and give it the time it needs to reward them, if viewers were left standing I don't think their attention spans would allow them to get the full experience.
Ok, time to go home and rest for a bit. At this stage my to do list is looking like this:
1. Produce last few collages with visuals (Thursday)
2. Produce a second draft of the sound I'm doing for Dylan (Tonight)
3. Get cracking on 100/300 word written components (Tonight... Probably into tomorrow afternoon)
Come next tuesday I'd like to use the pre-class time to lug the speakers I'm using up into the space I'll be using and put it all together, to get a sense of how things will work in that space.
Some found the experience meditative, some said it was a bit of a brain teaser, Chris said it was very engaging which was obviously a really encouraging comment to get from someone like him.
I'm really happy with how the speakers are working, they have a great clarity and are really forceful at the same time. Earlier today I tried out playing my video files on the projector screen where I'm planning to show this series of work in theory room 108. The image sits quite nicely on the screen and also, as a projection it's a much softer image, which I think helps smooth out some of the sharp whites and things like that. So I think I'm making good pace. Out of the 10/11 Sound Collages that I've made I've got about 7 or 8 of them with visuals embedded, ready to show, so just a couple more to go. I'm planning to render some titles for each piece as well, just as a quick fade in/out before each work plays, I'll probably do that and the remaining videos on Thursday.
Here's an example, I haven't got a title for this one yet but anyway, here it is:
It's important to note this one features the only sound not recorded by me, it features a transcription of The WOW! Signal bumped onto magnetic tape. For more on The WOW! Signal see the 23/08/11 entry.
In presenting my work today I was reminded about the importance of listing strategies I've undertaken in these works and in the presentation of the final installation so here's some thoughts on that subject:
In the installation space itself there's already the projector and screen set up ready and working, so that's settled. All the furniture in the room can be turfed or at least moved out of the way so that should also be fine. One issue I found investigating the space today was that in the space there's two doors (quite heavy ones at that) on either side of the space. With them open, too much light comes in and spoils the image, but with them closed it's not particularly inviting, and would also block out a lot of the sound coming from the space which is a key drawing point in letting people know there's something going on in this space. Seeing as I was already planning to cover a few things in black cloth (like the speakers themselves and other unsightly equipment) I figure I could use more black cloth to make a curtain-like entrance to the space, that way it blocks out enough light but also allows the sound to reach outside the room and hopefully, draw people in.
I think I've mentioned in one of my previous entries that my TOP class didn't think I needed any visuals - which as nice as it may be, I've basically decided they're wrong. The visuals are meant to put you in the right position in the space, firstly aurally but also meditatively or contemplatively. The idea of having bean bags in the space was also thrown around in my TOP proposal presentation towards the end of last semester, unfortunately that class generally seems to think bean bags would be a good idea but I really don't. It's a bit cheap, there's something I just don't like about it, most importantly it puts you in a bad spot to actually hear the collages, if you're on a bean bag you're pretty much lying on the floor and I don't think people well get the right idea if they're just sitting in the low end of the sound spectrum, also the inevitable shuffling around and moving of bean bags would impede on the sound being presented through my work so it simply won't happen. Do I want to spend a bunch of money on something that will ruin my presentation? No.
I'd made this decision a while ago and had left it at having no seating arrangement but after showing today, I think having some seats would be useful. The thing I've found with these slow image pans is that they take a long time to get out of the close-up view, the rest of the image is revealed very slowly and it can be a bit irritating (or maybe even boring) at first, but I found it quite rewarding at the completion of each piece for having gone through that little journey. I think having some seats would encourage people to sit in the space and give it the time it needs to reward them, if viewers were left standing I don't think their attention spans would allow them to get the full experience.
Ok, time to go home and rest for a bit. At this stage my to do list is looking like this:
1. Produce last few collages with visuals (Thursday)
2. Produce a second draft of the sound I'm doing for Dylan (Tonight)
3. Get cracking on 100/300 word written components (Tonight... Probably into tomorrow afternoon)
Come next tuesday I'd like to use the pre-class time to lug the speakers I'm using up into the space I'll be using and put it all together, to get a sense of how things will work in that space.
19/09/2011
Here's a quick tour of the Gasworks Building where a lot of my recording has taken place, the renovation process is well underway so it's no longer available to me but I think I've made good use of it while I had it.
16/09/2011 Cont'd
Just caught the Catalyst segment, very cool and does explain quite nicely some of the principals involved with my studio work. I wish the presenter would stop saying 'rock god' and 'guitar god'. Still though, decent. Here's the link:
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3318871.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3318871.htm
16/09/2011
Time is getting away from all of us. About 1 month out from submission now. In preparing my written components to accompany my submission, I'm trying to condense my conceptual basis to its simplest form. I know that one of the hardest things will be to communicate what my work is about to examiners and the general public who've had nothing to do with me up until this point. I think that at its core, my work is about resonance. It does employ similar techniques to the work of Alvin Lucier (below) who inserted the sound of his own voice into a room and played it back into that space continuously, the effect being that the sound becomes increasingly washed out and eliminates inconsistencies in his speaking (Lucier famously had a pretty bad stutter). This work is definitely a key placeholder in the influence behind this work but to be honest, I'd forgotten about this work until it was later referred to me a couple of weeks ago.
My working process has consisted of inserting sound into a large space and recording particular aspects of the room that have a unique resonant response. Traditionally when recording a sound source, you would place a microphone directly in front of it - this gives you the main source of recording, you could place another mic a bit further away - this starts to introduce some of the room sound, and you could place another mic much further away which mixes in much more of the room character. My recording technique is all about room character. To capture the qualities of the space I've been working with, microphones have been placed up in the roofing beams, on the other side of walls, under staircases, even on different floors of the building to the source of the sound. The initial sound inserted into the space is performed, sometimes random, other times composed. This technique creates a resonating sound bed much like in the Lucier performance, these forms are layered up, edited and combined with other recorded sounds to further permeate the mood of that base, resonant bed.
Essentially I'm working with sound collage. Once I have the basic sound bed from these extended room-mic techniques for each collage they take on their own form, from there I simply try to work out what each individual work needs, if anything. From there it basically snowballs. In a way, each collage is like a little film. They may sound quite ambiguous initially but each has its own mood, or charge and a lot of the feedback I've received to date has reinforced this.
The week before last when I presented some of my collages to my TOP class I received some interesting feedback, most of it was quite receptive for people who have nothing to do with me prior - which is encouraging - but it seemed like the general consensus amongst that group of people was that I didn't need any kind of visual stimuli in the presentation, that having something to look at almost felt apologetic? I wasn't too sure about this, so when I brought this reaction back into my studio class they felt as though I was doing the right thing in having an image involved, the reason for doing this is to draw people into the right viewing position (/hearing position) without having to mark an 'X' on the ground. I still think that without a visual place holder, the insertion of sound into a space becomes too easy to ignore or misconstrue as being part of another neighbouring work.
When I had my mock-install set up on open day a couple of weeks back, downstairs in the basement, I got a lot of positive feedback about there was a really good communication between my installation, and the interactive xbox installation of Matt Daniels. If I hadn't have had the visual placeholder though, I think it would have been viewed as one big work. The open day mock-up install also gave me a chance to be sure about the equipment and materials I'm using for my final installation. The large audio monitors are sounding really clear and I'm now quite confident in being able to get the audio rig up and running quickly and easily. Basically the rig consists of:
Computer 3.5ml audio out (which houses video/audio playlist) ->
-> Mixing desk (provides EQ and level adjustments) ->
-> DSE Stereo Amplifier (compact for installation convenience + 3 Band EQ to further eliminate any nasty responses in the installation space) ->
-> 2x JBL Audio Monitors. -> Viewer.
There was an interesting segment on QI the other night about the old 'if a tree falls in the woods...' idea, where someone was arguing that a sound doesn't exist if there is no receiving device to pick it up, and that a sound wave does not exist if it doesn't travel into a listening device. Although I ruined the philosophical mood with my bonehead response 'BULLSHIT!' I found it useful as a thought-train-initiator. (Just for the record, I don't yell at the television, it was never vocalised.) Let's say as an example, that you and I are completely isolated from other people, and that you're completely deaf. If I say something to you, you won't hear it. Now as far as you're concerned, I haven't said anything (/have emitted no sound waves) and that can be your truth, but in the environment around us, those sound waves are present, regardless of whether you're able to perceive them or not. It's like saying there's no other life supporting planets in the entire universe because we haven't seen/found them yet. They still exist. (Probably).
Well, now back to work. Apparently there was something on Catalyst last night about sound, feedback and how sound travels etc so I'm going to try and check that out. I'm also about to get started on finishing of the video components for each collage, I'm at a total of 10 sound collages at this stage, now that the end is in sight I really just want to get this stuff done so I've got plenty of time to get feedback/crits/etc etc. I'm not a last minute person and I really don't want to start now. 4 weeks to go!
My working process has consisted of inserting sound into a large space and recording particular aspects of the room that have a unique resonant response. Traditionally when recording a sound source, you would place a microphone directly in front of it - this gives you the main source of recording, you could place another mic a bit further away - this starts to introduce some of the room sound, and you could place another mic much further away which mixes in much more of the room character. My recording technique is all about room character. To capture the qualities of the space I've been working with, microphones have been placed up in the roofing beams, on the other side of walls, under staircases, even on different floors of the building to the source of the sound. The initial sound inserted into the space is performed, sometimes random, other times composed. This technique creates a resonating sound bed much like in the Lucier performance, these forms are layered up, edited and combined with other recorded sounds to further permeate the mood of that base, resonant bed.
Essentially I'm working with sound collage. Once I have the basic sound bed from these extended room-mic techniques for each collage they take on their own form, from there I simply try to work out what each individual work needs, if anything. From there it basically snowballs. In a way, each collage is like a little film. They may sound quite ambiguous initially but each has its own mood, or charge and a lot of the feedback I've received to date has reinforced this.
The week before last when I presented some of my collages to my TOP class I received some interesting feedback, most of it was quite receptive for people who have nothing to do with me prior - which is encouraging - but it seemed like the general consensus amongst that group of people was that I didn't need any kind of visual stimuli in the presentation, that having something to look at almost felt apologetic? I wasn't too sure about this, so when I brought this reaction back into my studio class they felt as though I was doing the right thing in having an image involved, the reason for doing this is to draw people into the right viewing position (/hearing position) without having to mark an 'X' on the ground. I still think that without a visual place holder, the insertion of sound into a space becomes too easy to ignore or misconstrue as being part of another neighbouring work.
When I had my mock-install set up on open day a couple of weeks back, downstairs in the basement, I got a lot of positive feedback about there was a really good communication between my installation, and the interactive xbox installation of Matt Daniels. If I hadn't have had the visual placeholder though, I think it would have been viewed as one big work. The open day mock-up install also gave me a chance to be sure about the equipment and materials I'm using for my final installation. The large audio monitors are sounding really clear and I'm now quite confident in being able to get the audio rig up and running quickly and easily. Basically the rig consists of:
Computer 3.5ml audio out (which houses video/audio playlist) ->
-> Mixing desk (provides EQ and level adjustments) ->
-> DSE Stereo Amplifier (compact for installation convenience + 3 Band EQ to further eliminate any nasty responses in the installation space) ->
-> 2x JBL Audio Monitors. -> Viewer.
There was an interesting segment on QI the other night about the old 'if a tree falls in the woods...' idea, where someone was arguing that a sound doesn't exist if there is no receiving device to pick it up, and that a sound wave does not exist if it doesn't travel into a listening device. Although I ruined the philosophical mood with my bonehead response 'BULLSHIT!' I found it useful as a thought-train-initiator. (Just for the record, I don't yell at the television, it was never vocalised.) Let's say as an example, that you and I are completely isolated from other people, and that you're completely deaf. If I say something to you, you won't hear it. Now as far as you're concerned, I haven't said anything (/have emitted no sound waves) and that can be your truth, but in the environment around us, those sound waves are present, regardless of whether you're able to perceive them or not. It's like saying there's no other life supporting planets in the entire universe because we haven't seen/found them yet. They still exist. (Probably).
Well, now back to work. Apparently there was something on Catalyst last night about sound, feedback and how sound travels etc so I'm going to try and check that out. I'm also about to get started on finishing of the video components for each collage, I'm at a total of 10 sound collages at this stage, now that the end is in sight I really just want to get this stuff done so I've got plenty of time to get feedback/crits/etc etc. I'm not a last minute person and I really don't want to start now. 4 weeks to go!
06/09/2011
Back after the holidays. 6 weeks remaining. After a hectic holiday period I've now got 7 Sound Collages that I'm happy with so that's the bulk of that taken care of, most of the moving image/still image stuff is sorted and I've drafted up a soundscape for Dylan's video work. We ran them together today and were really happy with how they matched. Here's the audio, the video draft will be uploaded later when it's all together etc.
Open day challenge went really well, you can see the video/audio piece Kyan and I made on the main page. Matt's interactive installation got a lot of positive feedback as well, and lot's of people thought our two works sat well together in the same space (I had my audio playing at the other end of the room). The big speakers are sounding great, generally I'm pretty happy with how everythings looking for the end of the year at this point.
Open day challenge went really well, you can see the video/audio piece Kyan and I made on the main page. Matt's interactive installation got a lot of positive feedback as well, and lot's of people thought our two works sat well together in the same space (I had my audio playing at the other end of the room). The big speakers are sounding great, generally I'm pretty happy with how everythings looking for the end of the year at this point.
23/08/2011
I've spent most of the weekend getting out in the REAL WORLD and recording little found sounds and bits and pieces to work into my collages. The Gasworks building is starting to look like a dead end, it's being cleared out and prepared for renovations so I don't think I can use that space again. Bummer. In other news in continued liaisons with ToneButcher we've got the prototyping stage of a custom-made effects unit under way, which I'd really like to incorporate into one of my collages, it will offer a very unique array of sounds which are hard to describe, so I'll just wait until I can upload a video or something. Looking to get some mock video presentations + mock up installs happening in the basement soon so updates on that shall follow.
Here's something else I'm considering incorporating into a collage, it's known as the WOW! Signal (no, not as in world of warcraft). Here's my short wiki-esque description; The WOW! Signal was a freak radio signal recorded on a 'Big Ear Radio Telescope' at an Ohio University in 1977. It lasted for 72 seconds and has never been detected since. With justified excitement the operator printed out the reading from the telescope, circled it and wrote WOW! on the paper.
Many alien life conspirators and so forth consider this to be a clear signal of an interstellar communication - I'd like to incorporate these sounds into a collage that addresses the nature of sound beyond our planet. Here's more pseudo-information on the WOW! Signal if you're so inclined; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal
You can hear The WOW! Signal by itself here: (please ignore tacky youtube alien conspiracy visuals) http://youtu.be/pcSWDzd2cDU
It's a teeny bit cheeky and I'm not totally convinced it will work but only trial and error will tell. Ok, time to get working on some mock-ups...
Here's something else I'm considering incorporating into a collage, it's known as the WOW! Signal (no, not as in world of warcraft). Here's my short wiki-esque description; The WOW! Signal was a freak radio signal recorded on a 'Big Ear Radio Telescope' at an Ohio University in 1977. It lasted for 72 seconds and has never been detected since. With justified excitement the operator printed out the reading from the telescope, circled it and wrote WOW! on the paper.
Many alien life conspirators and so forth consider this to be a clear signal of an interstellar communication - I'd like to incorporate these sounds into a collage that addresses the nature of sound beyond our planet. Here's more pseudo-information on the WOW! Signal if you're so inclined; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_signal
You can hear The WOW! Signal by itself here: (please ignore tacky youtube alien conspiracy visuals) http://youtu.be/pcSWDzd2cDU
It's a teeny bit cheeky and I'm not totally convinced it will work but only trial and error will tell. Ok, time to get working on some mock-ups...
16/08/2011
Just finished a new collage yesterday afternoon, quite happy with it. My new microphone is proving a worthy investment. Here's the audio for 2 collages that I'm saying at this point are definites for the final reel. #1 is the new one and #2 is one I finished a while ago, made of site recordings around Weymouth (Northern Tasmania).
12/08/2011Battle of the arts. Is on. It's an inter-studio challenge and it's happening on the 28th of August. A chance to be awesome, super fast at art making and win MUNNEH. Prepare for ultimate domination from E-Mediums. Team name suggestions welcome.
12/08/2011So apparently I'm a representative for E-Media now? Hm. In other news I've just been told my new microphone has arrived, all the way from footscray. w00t. This weekend is booked to be mostly spent working on Lords of Leisure however, I'm planning to shoot a couple of scenes that will hopefully be worthy of inclusion in my installations. After presenting my W.I.P (work in progress) to the class this week, I'm basically scrapping (no pun) the font animations, which everyone agreed were distracting and lame. After presenting the same audio with the same central video WITHOUT the animations, everyone thought it was much more effective and I agree. I'm conscious of having a slow image pull out for EVERY sound work, it might get a bit too predictable and .. samey? This is why I'm going to shoot a couple of moving image scenes this weekend, to see how/if they work. Here's an example of the text animations that have been trashed, the idea here was to embed symbols that describe music and sound (like a treble clef, a note, etc etc) into the context of symbols from various other forms of language (ie; letters). This was sort of a mash of Asian, Russian, Heiroglyphics, English, Caveman style motifs and others, + the musical symbols.
The general consensus was that it just becomes to convoluted and detracts from, well, everything. The reasons for trialling these animations stemmed from the work of Brigita Ozolins in her approach to language, I want to try and embed this notion of sound as a language but this is not the place to do it. I'm also a sucker for symmetry so having this either side of the main video was admittedly a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Not having to worry about these will simplify the visual presentation which is good, because I really don't want it to be over-bearing. It also means less work, giving me more time to make sure the sound compositions are 110% complete in themselves. More to come soon; starting to formulate 1 sentence / 1 paragraph synopsis'. That's all for now.
The general consensus was that it just becomes to convoluted and detracts from, well, everything. The reasons for trialling these animations stemmed from the work of Brigita Ozolins in her approach to language, I want to try and embed this notion of sound as a language but this is not the place to do it. I'm also a sucker for symmetry so having this either side of the main video was admittedly a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Not having to worry about these will simplify the visual presentation which is good, because I really don't want it to be over-bearing. It also means less work, giving me more time to make sure the sound compositions are 110% complete in themselves. More to come soon; starting to formulate 1 sentence / 1 paragraph synopsis'. That's all for now.
9/08/2011
Busy week. Visited Brigita Ozolin's 'The Reading Room' @ TMAG last week which I thought was really cool. The (HUGE) Video projection was really interesting and the room had a nice vibe to it. There were lots of people in there when I went, some reading quietly to themselves and some reading aloud to others. There's something really nice about it. I found it relevant to my project in terms of it's conceptual basis around language. This gave me some food for thought as to how I can address this idea of Sound as a Language in my own work. I also went to Error In Time on saturday night which was pretty interesting, I always felt pretty alienated by Nancy's 'live coding' and all that and this was no different, not to say that I couldn't find plenty of things to enjoy in the show but in that kind of niche area makes me feel like I 'don't get it'. Nick's sound show after the show was really cool too, I normally don't go much on the whole table-top effects pedal assortment type of performance but his was pretty good.
I've started to play with some visual cues to incorporate into my installation, which I talked through with Leigh yesterday afternoon. These are only in their infancy at the moment and will probably be torn apart in class this afternoon but it's good to get a clear understanding of what works and what doesn't. Obviously I want the sound to be the driving force, I'm not too precious about the visuals, they need to extend the conceptual basis formed by the sound pieces, not dominate or distract from them.
I've started to play with some visual cues to incorporate into my installation, which I talked through with Leigh yesterday afternoon. These are only in their infancy at the moment and will probably be torn apart in class this afternoon but it's good to get a clear understanding of what works and what doesn't. Obviously I want the sound to be the driving force, I'm not too precious about the visuals, they need to extend the conceptual basis formed by the sound pieces, not dominate or distract from them.
05/08/2011
As the end of semester draws nearer, it's time to get busy. In various talks with Matt Daniels about possible collaborations and whatnot, we've decided to do our own separate works but inhabit the same space, that should make the whole assessment process a lot easier. I've just finished the short animation for the two outer visual components today, which is awesome. Last night I got permission from my photographer friend William Syms to use some of his images in my installation.
Last night I started working on a recording using similar techniques to that of the gasworks building experiments - in my own house, recording various parts of my house like doors, windows and other misc to capture their resonant responses to sound intruding their space. I'll have this uploaded soon. One of the main features of this was the door that's near my big amplifier, it's an old door and it rattles like crazy from the force of the sound. I mic'd up the door from the other side to where the sound source was and the effect is quite interesting. The doors vibrations harmonise the source in a lot of different ways depending on the note/volume/attack etc - it kind of sounds like a really cheap distortion or octave effects pedal, or something along those lines. Anyway that'll be up soon. Gotta run to work. agh.
Last night I started working on a recording using similar techniques to that of the gasworks building experiments - in my own house, recording various parts of my house like doors, windows and other misc to capture their resonant responses to sound intruding their space. I'll have this uploaded soon. One of the main features of this was the door that's near my big amplifier, it's an old door and it rattles like crazy from the force of the sound. I mic'd up the door from the other side to where the sound source was and the effect is quite interesting. The doors vibrations harmonise the source in a lot of different ways depending on the note/volume/attack etc - it kind of sounds like a really cheap distortion or octave effects pedal, or something along those lines. Anyway that'll be up soon. Gotta run to work. agh.
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