Final interview

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/derry-williams-interview-two-faced-records-final-interview-mixdown

Background music for my interview

I decided to use a song for the backdrop of my interview that was relevant to the discussion within that interview. So i chose a song by an artist that my subject talks about, Emperors of ice-cream's "Fires I wish I'd seen" as Derry makes a clear reference to them as a band in our interview and talks about how they will be making an appearance in the near future.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZmr_E4VGvQ

Personal experience

One of the reasons I chose to produce a sound walk through a festival campsite was down to my personal experiences with such events. Part of the task is the research side and I took resource from my own memory. Camping at festivals has been one of my loudest auditory memories and I find that there is nothing more exciting than the sort of environment where so much is going on that you find yourself blocking out half of the sounds in order to focus on the ones closest or loudest towards you

Style of soudwalk

Taking inspiration from both Janet Cardiff's very abstract and unrealistic work and also from Max Neuhaus' very organic and natural work. I decided to use elements from both.
I have used choppy editing alongside lo-fi clusters of natural sounds such as wind, birds, trees to create an atmosphere that challenges my audience in their perspective of reality

I hope that this will remind them throughout that they are listening to a creation and are aware of the piece not being a representation of reality but a reflection of it.

Janet Cardiff

http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/bathroom.html

Looked into Janet Cardiffs work as I like the vocalisation she uses throughout. Her narration gives prompt to the story. In some ways it reminded me of a audiobook. Takes away from sense of realism- you are reminded throughout that you are listening to a piece of art.
I like this aspect and will look to possibly use this in my piece

All questions asked in interview

Did you always want to be a record shop owner?
How would you describe the music scene in Brighton?
Did it provide the right backdrop for setting up your business?
Do you work with the local venues?
Whats behind the name of your shop?
How does your business compete against digitalisation and online streaming?
Do you find that you struggle with record sales?
What do you think is behind the comeback of vinyl?
What attracted you to Brighton?
If you could only listen to three albums for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Interview evaluation

When planning my interview, I was apprehensive about the organisation of the interview as I had originally emailed four record selling businesses within Brighton and got no response besides Derry, who was very flexible and easy to communicate with. One of the problems I faced initially was timing, we had to film outside of Derry's long work hours so it took considerable emails back and forth to finally book in an appropriate date for the interview to take place. We spent an hour talking before the interview began which I found was very helpful in helping me determine what questions would actually be most appropriate and it really helped us to both relax in one another's company which is very important- if someone is on edge you can usually tell through the fluidity of their voice. We were both prepared, Derry bought a small notebook with all of his notes in and I had an extensive list of questions and also was ready to ask any follow up questions if i heard something appropriate which I should ask more about for the benefit of the listeners. 

Derry was very talkative and open in his answers which meant that I came out of the interview with fifteen minutes of recording. This wouldn't have been a problem if the brief had stated that the interview should be just three minutes long! So I knew I had a challenging editing job ahead of me but I was content with the engagement within his answers so I tried not to cut Derry off when he was mid speech. 
One of the most charming things about the interview was derry's strong cockney accent which despite him residing locally within Brighton has stayed with him. I liked that it was clear where he came from and this will be clear to the listeners without even hearing him talk about moving to Brighton. 

Derry interview recording unedited

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/derry-unedited-mixdown

Reverb and proximity effect

Proximity effect

when the source of a sound gets closer to a microphone, the bass frequencies can be exaggerated which makes the bass seem to 'boom' 
-can merge words, making them harder to understand 

-can make it seem unnatural

-intimate sound

to avoid the effects of proximity the advised distance from the microphone

Reverb

Reverberation is the reflection of sound, a large number of reflections merge and then decay as theses sounds are then absorbed by the surrounding objects

-used to create special effects

-to enhance sound

-restore natural sound

Self sourced sounds

-All vocals
-wind
-walking through grass
-vocal buzz
-birds
-zips
-nylon
-lighters
-tin cans
-rubbish on floor
-laugher
-shuffling
-rain on cans/rubbish/nylon/chairs
-fire
-coughs
-portable speaker
-grass rustling
-food eating
-teeth brushing

Metropolis soundwalk

AN URBAN JOURNEY

I found an urban sound walk through a metropolis and I found it very influential. I was already very interested in urban culture which is why I chose to create a busy environment in my acoustic portrait anyway (festival campsite). despite the sounds in this soundscape being merging together, you still can depict a sense of where you are. I really like the constant vocal buzz which reflects the vast amount of people on the same path.

https://soundcloud.com/kent-sprague/an-urban-journey

Interview Conclusion

I enjoyed this project, it gave me the opportunity to explore an area I had never considered before. I was able to fully engage with the process from start to finish, from deciding on what kind of topic to follow, to getting to know my subject, conducting an interview and then editing it in post production to fit the brief. I was able to interact with some very interesting people and gain experience in equipment I had never come across before. i tried to keep my piece engaging and provide insight into Brighton as a musical community whilst staying factual. I feel I have done this successfully.

main microphone types

Condenser Microphones 


-greater transient + frequency response
-usually found in music studios
-sensitive to loud sounds
-able to reduce page of sound
-usually require mixing board
-expensive
-high quality

Dynamic microphone
-usually used in performances
-do not require personal power supply
-sound quality less accurate
-limited frequency response
-more sturdy

Acoustic portrait editing note

Originally I started producing this piece as a portrait of a camping environment but as throughout my editing I found that it works better as a sound walk so I'm glad I tested out this option by first recording the sound of me walking through a grassy area

Actual questions being used in final edit

1) What attracted you to Brighton?
2) How would you describe the music scene in Brighton?
3)Would you say that this kind of environment provided the right kind of background for setting up your business?
4) Do you work with the local venues?
5) Whats behind the name of your shop?

Interview recording

My interview with Derry Williams fluid and communication with Derry was easy as he was very laid back and open, this made my life much easier when asking him questions
the only problem I faced was that he wad very talkative and I often had to refrain from talking over him as i didn't want to stop him from being so open and articulate in his answers
This meant that I go a lot of information from him and a lot of material, a whole 14 and a half minutes!
This will be a challenge when I come to edit it

Unedited recording of interview with Derry Williams/ Two Faced Records

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/derry-williams-interview-two-faced-records-initial-recording

Ghetto Life 101

1993 soundwalk/ portrait radio broadcast from two 13 year old boys living in the south side of Chicago, a radio documentary
I like the perspective of this documentary, from two young people who experience the environment they are showcasing first hand
You hear their lives through the radio show, alongside the commentary of the two boys in their separate lives.

A test Soundwalk: The Coffee shop

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/coffee-shop-soundwalk

First Soundscape I created : A seaside

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/seaside

Interview techniques

-Open questions
-maybe warm up with subject first, asking general questions to ease them into the interview
- Find a microphone distance which is comfortable and gives clear sound (make sure to test this before interviewing)
- Make sure you use a pop shield

War of the worlds

The 1938 controversial radio broadcast shocked the US on a national scale
I found the production on this very interesting

New podcast I thought was really cool

https://soundcloud.com/roman-mars/99-invisible-43-music-of-elevators



Lighthearted and endeering, this podcasts focuses on the wonders of escalators. Taking apart the sounds of broken escalators and discussing them with a backdrop of the actual sounds

Thought this was really interesting and cool, theres something very personal and niche about this podcast. It begins with a joke. And talks about how and why escalators are great, which is a strange concept to grasp - you don't find a lot of people sitting around talking about escalators

First draft of sound portrait timeline

Interview Test

Learning to use the equipment in the vocal booths, through interviewing a fellow student on their university experience. This clip is unedited as I feel it is important to look back closely to then be able to spot what parts of the material needs to be edited for example there are a lot of long pauses in this clip and a lot of mumbling and ums and ahs which would have to be edited out to keep the piece nice a tight.


https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/interview-1

US Radio podcast

Cool radio show 'Song Exploder' where an artist pulls apart one of their songs and describes and explains how they created it and the ideas behind it, very interesting to listen to

http://songexploder.net/baths/

Radio Broadcast discovery

I came across a radio show called the moth, which is an american radio show, where real people tell their stories in broadcast. These are brilliant, live story telling, the fact that it isn't a video makes it more more enjoyable as my imagination was much more stimulated throughout. One in particular caught my attention

http://themoth.org/posts/stories/a-dish-best-served-cold - This podcast was hilarious and well produced

Interview questions: Initial question ideas

• Did you always want to be a record shop owner?
• What motivate[d] and inspire[s/d] you to do so
• Do you feel that the music scene in Brighton offers the right kind of environment for your business?
• How would you describe the music scene in Brighton?
• What kind of atmosphere does this create? 
• What is it like running a business in such a vibrant, diverse place? 

Radio Shows - FIRE IN THE BOOTH

Charlie Sloth runs a Friday night show called Fire in the Booth, where he showcases and interviews some of the upcoming UK artists. Aired on BBC Radio 1Xtra. On the show Charlie Sloth, creates comedy through obvious and stiff sounding scrips which mock todays youth culture in a light hearted way. One of my favourite shows of his includes a comedy skit group from London, who run a Youtube channel with all of their sketches. They are very clever in the way that they address the audience, using comedy which relates to the youth culture of today. This style of interview is very interesting to me. The interaction between the interviewer and the interviewees takes place during their performance as part of a sketch. I really like the laid back nature of this radio broadcast and how the features were having fun and it was clear, there was no set questions it was very conversational.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fel6u0WaKJI

Soundscape research

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7s2FOBfM5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnVGObxGrYQ
I looked into some vlogs of festivals and focused on the sounds being picked up to get an idea of some of the sounds I would need to recreate

Sounds to consider:

-talking
-shouting
-laughing
-birds
-rain
-distant music
-nylon tent material in wind
-zips
-gas fires
-smoking
-campfire
-walking through mud
-walking on rubbish

Interview Idea

Resident records- http://www.resident-music.com/aboutus
I would ideally like to interview the owner of Resident records, which is an independently run LP shop in the North Lanes. I am personally interested in records and I thought given Brighton's vibrant and music loving nature. i thought this kind of interview would be very fitting.

Here is the email I have sent them asking if they would be interested in being involved in my 3 minute interview.

Hello Derry,

My name is Ella Dowling and I have just started a media degree at Sussex university. 

One of my first tasks is to produce a short interview with a Brighton resident who will have an interesting perspective on how Brighton as evolved in recent years. 

I want to put a bit of a spin on this and focus on  Brighton's music lovers. Having been subjected an upbringing of punk, reggae and new wave vinyl and many trips to Sister Ray Records in Soho over many years this feels the natural way to go.

Your passion for music and Brighton make you the ideal subject and I would love to explore your statement "Brighton couldn’t have been a better place for establishing our business – culturally rich, loads of live music venues, bands forming in every pub corner – the perfect environment for us 2 music lovers to get back to what really makes us tick" and how you have seen this evolve and change over the decade you have been established.  I would also be very interested to hear your views on what is behind the resurgence of vinyl.

The thought of interviewing someone who has managed to maintain the integrity of the independent record shop for over a decade against a backdrop of competition from soulless chain stores and Amazon seems very exciting so please say yes. 

It would be really great if you could help me with my first project and I promise not to be disruptive! I would be very happy to come along to the shop and discuss in person if that would help my case.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ella 

Festival camping idea

After watching various camping videos and clips from festival camping, and from memory of my festival experience, I am looking more closely at this initial idea

From one festival (Boomtown) I have found a few walk through styled clips which have really helped me to visualise and understand what I am trying to produce in my soundscape.

One of the first essential sounds I will  need to record is the sound of people in a mildly busy outdoor place. I will use this a base for my soundscape. One of the things I think will be important to consider in this project is the consideration for difference in the distance between the microphone and the people whose voices I am planning on recording. It is very distinct in the clips I have been watching.

By watching clips I am just gaining insight in the kinds of things going on, the clips are not audio clips, so the quality of sound isn't as effective but it still provides a feel for what kinds of things I'm looking to recreate.

Initial Ideas for my portfolio: SOUNDSCAPE

For my Soundscape/ audio portrait, I have come up with a few key ideas:

- A football match
I could attend a few football matches and pick out small elements from this to record such as individual conversations, people arguing, chants, a vocal buzz from the crowd
I would also create the sound of the ball being kicked around
- Could make it into a sound walk and move into the inside of the stadium where people are ordering drinks and the TVs are on
There would be quite a few problems with this as its quite a loud and very busy environment so it might be too hard to create and not very effective as a sound walk, audio portrait

-A Fairground 
This is quite a suitable idea as there are lots of things going on in this kind of environment that would be interesting to explore in creating this as a sound walk.
I could build into the elements of the fair ground rides, people walking around, ball games, music, circus atmosphere
-making some of these sounds from scratch will be quite challenging though, as they are mainly machinery

-Camping at a festival
This could be just a soundscape portrait or it could be a sound walk of someone waking up at a festival in the campsite.
This kind of environment is brilliant for this as there is so many elements
-I would build up from a vocal buzz of all the other people in the campsite and work on little elements like the crackle of a campfire, the sound of nylon moving in the wind, tent zips, sleeping bags shuffling around, laughter, faint music, somebody's portable speaker, shouting, a gas cooker, frying of bacon, the boiling of a kettle, birds tweeting, opening of beer cans.
-quite challenging to create a realistic recreation of this environment

Everyday environments

Something that has  interested me is how the sounds of everyday actions and routines can very easily be understood by a listener. I recorded a part of my everyday routine such as brushing my teeth and turning on the shower.

I found that I could very easily recognise sounds such as running water and the sound of a toothbrush moving along my teeth. This is how soundscapes work, through human auditory recognition.

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/morning-routine-teeth

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/shower-turn-on

Video gaming sound

i recorded one of my flatmates playing an aggressive fight scene in a video game 'Grand Theft Auto'. You can hear the characters interacting through the speakers and the fast, hard clicking of the controller buttons which are key note sound, unconsciously the listener already will know that they are hearing someone play a video game. But what I found most interesting in this sound clip was that you can hear him sniffling because he had a cold. This can be heard clearly and I hadn't realised my flatmate even had a cold before listening back to the recording, so the sound of his sniffing acted as a signal of an element of the environment, the gamer himself.

https://soundcloud.com/user-35970585/video-gaming-sound-1

Signal sounds

Whilst sending iMessages on my Macbook, I noticed the sound of my typing told me a lot about my mood. I recorded it and played it back, what I realised was that the pace of my typing reflected in the audio told me reflected a feeling of urgency and frustration. The strokes of my typing sounded hard and fast. This sound clip alone provides information about the environment, it provides a signal letting the listener know that I was using a laptop and typing.

Contrapuntal sound used alongside film

Whilst looking into pre world war one films, i found a youtube clip of the film 'Le Voyage dans la lune' which had a really interesting 21st century soundtrack alongside it which conflicts against the primitive visual created.  I found it very interesting to be watching this very old depiction of what it would be like to visit the moon against a modern day sound with a metallic feel to it, very  reminiscent of a science fiction soundtrack at times. This was completely contrapuntal to what I was seeing which reminded me of the kind of methods seen in some of Tarantino's work where the non-diegetic sound was contrapuntal to the onscreen forcing the audience to consider how they felt and how to react rather than relying on the sound to provide auditory cues for them. This soundtrack is a modified version of Paradise by Air. In the future I would like to look into the use of metallic sound when creating a mood and representing a time period or situational factors through sound. Contrapuntal sound is definitely something I would like to experiment with throughout my work