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.