WEEK 7- RETURN FROM BREAK / READING RESPONSE

Returning from the break, I recieved my formative mark; boarder line of B+ and A-.
I'm personally pretty stoked with it, and I have decided that I will continue working on my piece and try and take it to it's full potential. My formative mark showed that I could improve on concept and music production - since my piece is in that direction. With that in mind, I have decided that I will try and take on an orchestral approach to really emphasise the entire track. Now that we can use presets and other programes, I plan to add in other stringed instruments, such as the harp, as well as possibly some wood wind instruments.

In class we were also introduced to the additional parts of the brief, one of them being a 30 second sound design piece. I have decided to take a more narrative approach for this piece, and I have started working on a track that documents someone walking outdoors - and going through the different sounds that they encounter on their stroll. I knew that I had wanted to work with natural outdoor sounds so I think this is something that could turn out well.

Part of the brief also requires a response to the reading, Sound as a Virtual Image by Bill Fontana.

Response - Sound as a Virtual Image by Bill Fontana

After reading this, I became a lot more aware of how much we underestimate what we hear, in comparison to what we see. Our mind takes in what we see instantly, where as sound seems to take longer and its as if we have to focus harder because we can’t determine where it is coming from with direct senses such as sight or touch. A lot of the time we don’t really take note of every day sounds we hear, such as the wind or foot steps when you’re walking, to a point where we don’t really think about it and our mind practically blocks it out. It’s not something an average person would necessarily appreciate. But to then think of what it would be like to be deaf, is frightening. I thought the Sound Island project was quite fascinating, again it was something I never would have thought about. It’s quite intelligent that the idea uses a piece of sound design to disguise the sounds of the chaotic traffic – which you’d think would be undisguisable. When I first read this section, I thought of when a section of an action film goes in slow motion, and the sound stops as the sequence plays out – e.g. an explosion or a race – when everything is slowed down, they don’t play the chaotic background noises that you would naturally expect to hear. Overall I think it’s a weird yet wonderful way that sound works with your mentality and how it can alter perspectives along side your other senses.