Reading Response: The Art of Instant Gratification

For my final reading response I have chosen to read The Art of Instant Gratification by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. It's a very intriguing article which discusses the transition from tangible photography to digital photography. I chose this article because this transition has always interested me since I have always been someone who enjoys having a hard copy of my pictures, music, videos, books, etc. I also chose it because I thought I might learn a little about when different photographic technologies came about.

Overall, this article discusses a couple main points. First, it describes the way people need and want instant gratification. When Polaroid cameras were invented they became popular because they produced results faster than other cameras. Likewise, when digital cameras were invented, sales grew because not only could they produce a picture instantly but they also made it possible to send these pictures throughout the world with a click of a button. The second main point the article discusses is how modern digital images are much more susceptible to being deleted or lost than tangible photographs. Unlike years past when a chest of pictures was a treasured family keepsake, entire photo libraries of years worth of memories can be lost forever in an instant.

The ideas discussed in this article are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because they make me appreciate the technology that allows me to get instant gratification from my camera. I appreciate this because it makes it much easier for me to identify whether or not I have obtained a usable photo or video. Also, this article enforces my belief of always having a back-up hard copy of anything of importance. It has made clear the vulnerability of new technology.

Video Hardware/Software Response

My experience with the Olympus digital camera was less than what I expected it to be. It worked fine and I was satisfied with all the images I captured but I noticed flaws in the camera which affected my drift. Overall, the camera seemed to function slower than most other digital cameras I have used. Also, the screen was quite small and the button layout made it tricky to handle at first. Even though my experience wasn't great, I was still able to implement all of my image capturing strategies with this camera. In an ideal world, my digital camera of choice would respond quickly to my actions and feature an easy to use button layout paired with a large display screen.

I decided to use Final Cut Pro to edit my drift videos because I had been using the program for a couple years and wanted to get some more practice with it. I will definitely be using this program in the future.

Reading Response: The Future of Music: Credo

I chose to read and analyze the article titled, The Future of Music: Credo. This article was written by John Cage in 1937 as a lecture, but first published in 1958. I chose this article because it seemed to include some very abstract ideas for the time period in which it was written. Also, I thought it would be interesting to see what John Cage thought the future of music entailed as of 1937. This article proved to be a very interesting read because I was able to compare John Cage's predictions on the future of music to what has actually happened since the article was written.

In the article, John Cage discusses a few main points regarding the future of music. First, he describes the difference between what we perceive as "noise" and what we perceive as "music". He argues that noise is only noise when we ignore it, but when we actually listen to it we realize its' beauty and want to capture it. Cage also makes the point that noise can be captured and used as a musical instrument, not just as sound effects. The article describes how he believes that this will lead to the use of electrical instruments to make music. Overall, Cage leads the reader to believe that in the future, the line between noise and music will be blurred as a result of the use of electrical instruments and other non-conventional sounds, such as field recordings.

The ideas Cage presents in his article regarding how these field recordings of "noise" can be used as a musical instrument by itself is extremely relevant to my own practice as a media artist. It's relevant because I am often presented with the task of recognizing "musical" qualities in sounds I have recorded in the field. Also, the concept of using electrical instruments to create music relates to how I use editing software to manipulate recordings and create music. All in all, this article helped to open my eyes to the possibilities of field recordings, electrical instruments and recording software in general.

Audio Hardware/Software Response

1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.

My experience with building the microphones was great. I was very excited to get to do some hands on work and actually be able to build my own mics. The microphone building seemed to be easier than I thought it would be. This was probably because I took my time and triple checked everything before moving forward. I made sure to be very meticulous because I wanted my mics to perform well on my Drift walks, and they did. I captured a wide variety of sounds ranging in pitch and volume and was able to record ambient sounds just as well as close-up sounds. The only issue I had was that occasionally the wind would interfere with the recording. If I had unlimited time and money I would buy high end microphones with an array of different booms and other stands in order to position them better. I would also spend some time and money experimenting with different materials to use as wind screens.

2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?

The MiniDisc recorder functioned great, but I thought it had a terrible user interface. I haven't really used any other audio recording equipment so I can't say it was any better or worse than other recording devices. If I had my way, I would redesign the recorder so that it was much easier to navigate through the menus and adjust things like equalization and mic sensitivity. The recorder would be much easier to use and adjust on the go, unlike the MiniDisc recorder which forced me to stop paying attention to my drift in order to adjust the settings on the recorder.

3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I used the free audio editing program named Audacity to edit all of my recordings. This wasn't the first time I had used Audacity so I was fairly familiar with it and knew how to do all basic editing with it. I chose this application because it's free and most people I had talked to seemed to like it a lot. Audacity worked great with my recordings and gave me the ability to make very precise edits. I will definitely use Audacity again unless I obtain a higher quality editing program. SonicStage also worked very well, but I was frustrated that the only way to digitally get the recordings off of the MiniDisc recorder was this one PC based program. It would have been nice to have more options to choose from.

Ten Questions To Ask Myself While Drifting

1. Are there any areas or objects that could be used to produce an interesting soundscape?
2. Where is the most interesting/beautiful natural landscape?
3. How can I manipulate the microphone placement to better capture the particular sounds of the area?
4. How can more natural and interesting sounds be revealed?
5. How can moving faster affect the sounds I capture?
6. What's the most unusual place in the area?
7. Is there anything that looks boring from far away that is interesting when extremely close?
8. What is the most annoying sound in the area?
9. Is there any moving water in the area?
10. What's the most intriguing man-made sound in the area?

Drift One Assessment

Overall, my first drift was very enjoyable, but there were some frustrating moments due to people, places, and/or other random things. One of the most frustrating situations for me occurred when I was crossing a bridge on Humboldt Ave. I heard a sound far off in the distance that really peaked my interest but I just couldn't pinpoint what it was or where it was coming from. I honestly stood on that bridge for twenty minutes trying to figure it out but ultimately could not. It was one of the more frustrating times of my first drift. The second frustrating situation that comes to mind while thinking about my first drift happened when I was trying to capture the ambient sounds of an intersection/open air bar. It sounded really good and was very interesting except for the fact that I could not find a microphone position that captured everything I wanted without capturing the annoying sound of the wind against the microphone. Ugh! It was so frustrating I don't even like to think about it.

One of the most peaceful situations of my first drift occurred when I was recording the sounds of leaves under my feet. The crunching of leaves was so natural and crisp it seemed out of this world. For those few minutes it felt like the leaves had my full attention and wouldn't let go no matter what. The worry-free feeling that occurred as a result was one that I hadn't felt in a long time. The next time I walk down East Kane Place right off of Humboldt Avenue in the River West area of Milwaukee I will try my best to recreate the situation. The second situation I found extremely peaceful happened when I was trying to record ambient street sounds from inside a newspaper mailbox. The sounds themselves were not necessarily peaceful in any sense but I became extremely focused on where I was placing the microphones within and outside of the mailbox. This put me at peace because once again I was extremely focused on one single task. I also liked the way I could manipulate the sounds with the simple movements of my hands.

I was pleasantly surprised at the beginning of my first drift when I decided to record the sounds of metal being crushed at a construction site for just a little longer than I thought necessary at the time. In the extra forty-five seconds that I recorded an interesting sounding motorcycle drove by and created a pleasant natural fade out that I really enjoyed. From then on I really made a point of being patient with my recordings. Another surprising situation that I really like occurred when I was recording the hum of a large electrical box outside of Pick n' Save. Midway through my recording and much to my delight, a skateboarder came by and began skating underneath a large overhang attached to Pick n' Save. The skateboard hitting the pavement created large thunderous cracks that echoed under the overhang. This made the recording a lot more interesting and stimulating. In a third situation, I was pleasantly surprised while listening to a recording I made of a mailbox. Upon playback I realized that there was an interesting clicking noise far off in the background. I was happy to find this because it gave the recording more depth and filled some empty/boring space in the recording.

My favorite experience from my drift was recording the sounds of a construction site on North Avenue. I didn't even realize there was construction going on until I heard it through my headphones and quickly turned my head in all directions to find where it was coming from. I felt amazingly lucky to come across such an intriguing sound without even trying. Immediately my heart swelled with joy and I hit record. This experience had a huge affect on me because it happened at the beginning of my first drift and thus, gave me a positive and upbeat attitude during the rest of the drift. It's my favorite experience because it caught me off guard and gave me a great recording right off the bat.

Reading Response: On A Clear Day I Can Hear Forever

For my first reading response I chose an essay titled On A Clear Day I Can Hear Forever, by Gary Ferrington. This essay was a great choice for me because I absolutely love how he goes into detail about the various sounds he hears from his high rise apartment. Instead of simply saying that he can hear the wind, he relates the sound to how the wind carries storms from the coast and cools the air heated by the hot pavement. I also chose this article because I like how it makes the point that sometimes the best time to listen is when it seems like there is no sound at all.
This essay has a few main points. One of these main points is that an absence of sound is far more impressive the an abundance of sound. The author details how in the winter when kids are not playing and people are not out and about he can hear the Willamette River in the far off distance. These far off sounds are only heard during this time when the normal sounds are nowhere to be found. Another main point of the essay is that not all ambient city sounds are bad. Even though they are abundant, things like cars and the low hum of human conversation can still be interesting.
This essay and the ideas it contains are relevant to my practice as a media artist in many ways. It relates to how I try to completely identify and visualize what I hear. I feel that the author does a good job of showing how this is possible when he goes into detail about how he can identify what train is passing based on the sound it makes. As a media artist, I can see myself trying to do this with many things other than trains. To me, this ability to put an image with a sound is very important. This essay is also relevant to my practice as a media artist because it describes all the sounds in a very detailed manner. The ability to express sounds in words is an amazing skill that is useful to any media artist.