“Using sounds to tell true stories artfully”
For this project brief, it did take me some time to fully conceive an idea that represented the brief of using sounds to tell true stories artfully. But after much consideration, I decided to focus on a fictional representation of a real issue, in this case, domestic abuse. It is an issue that I consider myself passionate about, and I believe that the range of sounds used can thoroughly reflect the emotions that are found in this type of atmosphere. I decided to do a fictional representation of this issue for personal reasons, but I feel it still resonates strongly with the topic on hand. This project relied on both recorded sounds by a Zoom H4N and sounds that were found under the Creative Commons, Attribution and Non-Commercial Attribution act from freesound.org. The 3.5 minute piece was edited on a WaveLab program.
I believe that I have met the brief by relying on both the spoken word and a range of different sounds to reflect tension and anxiety. My format ran through two different timelines, that of diary entries and of the atmosphere that the narrator is discussing. I have storyboarded this by different chapters, which are divided by diary entries and two different sections that artfully reflects the experience of the narrator. By using a diary entry, I feel that I provide the listener with explanations of the events and the more complex emotions that is experienced. I also feel that by the narrator whispering, it also artfully represents the atmosphere, by implying that the narrator is too frightened to speak loudly; thus showing a vulnerable speaker. I feel this also allows an audience to feel a connection with the narrator, as the speaker is sharing very personal events with complete honesty.
In the editing of this piece, I made sure to feature a wide range of sounds to make sure to provide a range of textured sounds. This includes a conversation recording between the narrator and her friend. This discussion is used as a background to a single diary entry, and is intended to further reflect the vulnerability on the part of the narrator. I did this with a stark difference in my tone of voice between talking in natural conversation with my friend and the near-whispering monologue of the diary entry. This type of texture was also used to reflect the range of emotions that the narrator is experiencing.
Throughout the piece, the background sounds such as the nervous tension track and the heartbeat recordings that appears throughout the audio is intended to reflect the uneasiness behind in this type of circumstance. It implies that the narrator is uncertain about how her predicament will proceed. I feel that the two separate tracks of the heart beat is intended to reflect a speaker who is so entirely frightened that she can feel, and faintly hear, her own heart beating, something that I am sure many people have experienced also. Another example is the second chapter with no words, used before the final spoken diary entry; these selected sounds were used to imply how every sound is scrutinised by the storyteller to display how the individual is increasingly fearful with the environment increasingly tense.
For this project brief, I was inspired by Virginia Madsen’s Your Ears are a Portal to Another World. One point in particular inspired me for this project- and it was her quotation of Olive Shapley: “Shapely could even imagine she was creating radio as it should be created, letting people ‘speak for themselves’” (pg. 128) I was inspired by this reading because of this idea, because it allows a quieter individual (such as the narrator) to share their emotions and fear in such an environment. This is an issue that affects many people around the world, and many are afraid to speak up. Madsen and Shapely’s idea of “letting people ‘speak for themselves’” inspired me to create a narrator, clearly reluctant to speak, but allows herself to reveal her daily atmosphere. I also feel that this is an important point to what we have been learning throughout the semester: creating a medium where people can express themselves and share their story to the world.
I was also inspired by the piece of Witold Zodrawski: Death of an Elephant. Since it is entirely spoken in Polish, an english speaking listener would have to rely on the sounds and tones of the narrator’s voice throughout the piece. He does this by speaking on a hushed tone. This hushed tone is relied on heavily throughout the piece, and implies that his tone of voice is crucial for his safety in the jungle environment. The background of animals and an animal clearly in pain reflects the atmosphere. I was inspired by this by creating the tone of voice throughout my own narration in the piece. I feel that I have succeeded in attempting to further imply and create the atmosphere of the piece, through a hushed and careful tone of voice throughout the recording. This implies that the narrator is quiet for her own safety, and does this out of both fear and necessity. The focus on texture and tone of voice was immensely powerful to Zodrawski’s radio feature, as it reflected atmosphere and the emotions of the piece; this was crucial to such as feature, as a non-speaker of Polish could easily understand the context and the reaction. Zodrawski’s work on this particular piece highlights the idea of using sounds to tell stories artfully, by effectively sharing a true event despite the barrier of language. I found this very inspiring throughout project brief 4.
The reading of Hugh Chignell and Key Concepts in Radio Studies: Documentaries and Features also inspired me in creating this project brief. Chignell provides the example of Charles Parker and his production of Radio Ballads, due to his combination of “the speech of working-class people with song and actuality” (Chigell, 2009, pg. 4). Chigell continues, with Parker’s focus on celebrating “the speech of ordinary people, veracular English as opposed to ‘BBC English’” (Chignell, 2009, pg. 4). Chignell’s example of Parker inspired me to record a spontaneous and non-formal conversation. By recording this, I told the actor only the context of the discussion, and let natural conversation flow in the afterward. Although it only made up a smaller piece of the feature than I had originally intended, I felt that it was still important to provide this in this feature; as it allows a wider of variety of sounds included in the unscripted conversation to supply artfully to story. By providing natural conversation in the background of a scripted story-telling, it displays a more of a realistic side of storytelling; as well as providing the audience with more insight to the story.
I feel that I have succeeded in the brief of “using sounds to tell stories artfully”. Perhaps I could of improved on using more vivid range of sounds, but I feel that what I have recorded and selected was important for the piece. I could of improved on the more technical side of the editing, such as perhaps using a distortion effect for a few of the diary entries; however, I thought that this would have affected negatively on the emotions that I was intending to portray in the piece. I felt that I have gained a lot of knowledge throughout the semester relating to “Radio’s New Wave”, and although I have become more confident in using the Wavelab editing system, I feel that it something I can continue to work and improve on. However, I am proud of what I have completed for the project brief 4.
Finally, the photograph I have used was taken myself. The broken plate is used to represent an item found in almost every home, and it being smashed reflects a broken home. The broken pieces positioned in an attempt to regain the plate as it once was, is used to represent the narrator; and her attempt to keep calm in such an environment.
Readings/audio used:
Virginia Madsen, Your Ears are a Portal to Another World: The New Radio Documentary Imagination and the Digital Domain.
Witold Zadrowski, Death of an Elephant
Hugh Chignell and Key Concepts in Radio Studies: Documentaries and Features
Credit list:http://aishastevens.weebly.com/credits.html