A new semester, ushering in and enticing new thoughts, experiments and thought experiments. Along with Photography 101 (which I will be posting photos from), and Popular cinema this semester, I’ve also started my first studio, an entirely audio-based studio called ‘Radio’s New Wave’ with the incredibly interesting, intuitive and on point Kyla Brettle who, to be entirely honest, when I heard her speak during first semester at one of our lectorials inspired me about sound, as before that point I never really knew much about radio, or that audio documentaries even existed for that matter. But after hearing one of Kyla’s pieces and being completely encompassed by it, I started to realise the importance of sound.
The first time I really realised the importance of sound was when I saw ‘Avatar’ at the cinema for the first time. I realised just how vital sound can be, as it evokes certain emotions and creates an encompassing emotional atmosphere in which the film takes place. And once you’ve been enveloped by that atmosphere, you don’t care about the plot, you don’t care about what’s happening around you. All that you care about is the emotional world that has consumed you in its eb and flow. Another great, more recent example of this kind of cinematic soundscape is the film ‘Interstellar’.
For me, realising this was a big step towards creating something that could somehow, creatively manipulate an audiences’ emotions into a certain state of being, to a point where I myself have been and want to share the experience and subtext that comes with it. To have the ability to allow someone else to feel the way you feel, or a character feels, or something close to it is something quite incredible and artistically intriguing, as through our art, we are mainly trying to evoke reaction.
I tried my hand at creating a sound piece for my video self portrait last semester, using random sounds I had collected and mixing them to create an entirely new and emotionally discordant piece. While I am happy with the piece I created, I feel that it lacks emotional layering and becomes lost in the noise. Instead of being simple, it became too complex and didn’t focus on what emotion each individual sound evoked. Instead of noticing that the presence of something is just as vital as the absence, the piece became too cluttered very quickly. I did however like the concept and the overall structuring, and feel that with some more experience and fine tuning I will be able to create a more interesting and emotionally complex piece, as I was trying to create.
That, for me, is why I chose this course. I realise the value that sound has in any art form, even just by itself, to evoke and envelop its audience in powerful emotions. But I feel that at my current stage of knowledge I don’t have the ability to tame it and wield it with the kind of precision and delicacy I would like for my films and other relevant pieces.
I really like the idea of using random sounds to mix and match and create something unique and new, so when I was in America, whenever I found a unique sound I used my phone to record it:
Most of these sounds are from Yellowstone, in fact all of them are. It is a truly amazing place due to it being a super-massive volcano and all of the thermal activity associated with that. Here are a collection of unique sounds created by the very unique formations of Yellowstone National Park.
Mud Pots:
Mud Pots 2:
Plaster Mud Pots (this one looked white like plaster and were more water like than mud, but still reacted to the thermal activity like mud, which was pretty cool. Also, it is a name that I made up for it, so good luck trying to find it):
Steam Vent:
Blue Mud Steam Vent:
Vixen Geyser:
Yellow Funnel Spring:
Tower Falls:
Bass Hum of a Local Supermarket (it was so eerie, I just had to. Also, the ATM stopped working mid transaction, so we were stuck there a while):