Without knowing exactly what the final sound piece would sound like, today I ventured out to sample some sounds. In order to do this I borrowed a directional shotgun mic and plugged it into my Zoom H4n. After some awkward standing around in the rain and looking like a fool, i managed to record some samples of pedestrian signals ticking. I then put them onto the computer in the editing suite and considered the way in which i wanted them mixed. I quickly realised that I would need the entire sound, from the slow ‘waiting’ sound, to the more rapid ‘crossing’ sound. This meant that I had to once again go out to record. I stood on the corner of Lygon street with my microphone pointing at the pedestrian signal when a man passing by in the car yelled out something which got me thinking: “SICK DUBSTEP BRO”. Good idea.

In the final version of the sound which can be found here, I did actually end up putting a dubstep-esque ‘drop’. It builds up with the sound of a motorcycle going past and then the signals go into rapid ticks. The sounds start on the furthest right and left channels and they build up until eventually they both ‘drop’ onto the middle channel. The idea of this was to utilize the whole sound walk. and create an overall more sensational listening experience.

Although the sound does not at all link with my obsession on windows, it is true that the often overlooked ticking of a pedestrian signal is a very private experience. Thus, i think it will link nicely with the idea of intimacy.