Category: Planning

This week I took out a Zoom H4n recorder and a SM58 to record some sounds. I learned that dynamic microphones lack the sensitivity required to record specific sounds at a distance. I had to have the record level of the machine as high as possible, and even then I struggled to get the desired -12 dB signal level, even with sounds as close as a metre away. This surprised me, because the microphone built in to the device did a much better job of picking up sounds. For the recording it would be best for us to use condenser microphones where possible, because of their superior ability to pick up quieter sounds with greater clarity than dynamic microphones.

We met up to discuss the matter of the presentation. To make the presentation more feasible, I suggested that we separate the components that needed to be in there and work on them individually. I decided to focus on the “Style, Mood and Genre” aspect of the presentation. The intention of the soundscape was to inculcate memories and thoughts within the listener, so I based my notes around this understanding. Drawing on my knowledge of Romantic program music, I realised that the soundscape would form a sort of Tone-Poem, but with found sounds rather than traditional notes on an instrument.

We all arranged to meet up and talk about what we wanted to say in the presentation, and then divided up the workload. I went away and completed a rough draft of my slides, and uploaded it to Google Drive so other group members could add their own. Once this was done, I took their material and made bullet points for the slides, keeping their notes intact in the notes section below. I hoped this would give our presentation a bit more quality, as we wouldn’t just be reading off the screen. I then added some colour and scene transitions, and Dec sent over his slides, along with the test recordings we did on campus. We then reviewed the final presentation, to see if anyone had any differing opinions, before saving it ready for presenting to the group.

On the 22/10/14, we met up as a group and experimented with the zoom H4N. We started by testing different gain levels against recording at a mixture of distances away from the sound source.
One of the main sound sources in our soundscape will be footsteps as it is based on a journey through the memory/nostalgia related to the beach scene. We decided in our test recordings to start by recording mainly the footsteps and to record the transition between different surfaces.

The first sets of footsteps were of the transition between concrete and slate to represent the sound of walking from the path onto a cobbled part of the beach. We decided on recording at a distance of 1Meter behind the source at a gain level of 62 on the zoom. This effectively recorded a clear sounding transition from the concrete to the slate however, when we listened back, the sound of the shoe could have been more defined by the choice of shoe worn. It also recorded the sound of the footsteps of the person recording at the time. We saw this as a problem as the story is of one person’s journey through their memories of the beach.

We then decided to try recording the sound source from different angles including in front, behind, to the side and from the perspective of the person walking. We found that if we get the actor to record themselves walking, it will represent exactly what the character is hearing, putting the audience into the head of the character. We thought this would make the sounds more realistic rather than staged or exaggerated.

I met up with the rest of the group to discuss what the soundscape was going to include. The idea of doing a soundscape about a seaside town had previously been agreed upon, so we comprised a list of the sounds that one would typically associate with a day at the beach.

The sounds we want to capture include:

• Sea and waves
• Amusement arcade
• Buckets and spades
• Sand
• Donkeys
• Seagulls
• Fairground attractions

We agreed that the soundscape would represent a typical day at the seaside from a first person perspective. It was decided that to make the listener feel as though they are the one going an journey through town, there should be the sound of footsteps to give a sense of movement. Making a distinction between different surfaces is of importance, because it will help give a sense of where the listener is at any one time. The other sounds will of course indicate location, but if the floor sound doesn’t correspond to the environmental sounds then it will sound wrong. For example, if the sound of walking on sand can be heard at the same time as the amusement arcade then the illusion of place will be lost. Furthermore, the transition from one surface material to another would indicate to the listener that the protagonist is moving between different parts of town.

The walking surface sounds we want are:

• Sand
• Concrete pavement
• Wood (pier)
• Carpet (arcade)