Project 6: Graphic Design

This project will definitely be a challenge for me since my background knowledge in design and drawing is bar none. The development process looks to be the biggest impact for the project and will need to be worked on extensively from initial designs being expanded into different variations, to the documentation being able to support my final product. I first looked at creative examples of packaging and designs for CD covers as well as current popular versions for basic use. This led me onto this flower design which helped me understand that I would like to think of the design and packaging as a single piece of work instead of separately, so that the way the package is made will also compliment and be apart of the design and that they work within each other.

One of the images I based a design on, not completely representing what my concept was.           http://hughstimson.org/2009/09/15/electricity-and-water-flow/

Since this project relates back to the aural terrains work, I have thought it would be good for me to just use my installation as the only piece of sound as it will give me a specific concept I can work with rather than using previous sounds that did not have as much meaning and effort put into them. The first few drawings I had created for possible package designs I began to realise were too fixated on the installation itself of using electricity and water and not the concept that I needed to look at as a bigger picture. Going back to what the initial concept was, I could then dissect it into multiple possibilities that can now be developed further.

Project 5: Presentation and Contribution

After completing a few tests on Friday we were fairly sure it would work on the day of presentation. Since the Audio Foundation was only open Tuesday to Friday 12pm-4pm it gave us roughly around 5 hours of installing the rest of the wires and testing them. I thought that this would be more than enough time to complete the installation but did not want to start having to rush things and screw up a wire connection. To make sure we minimised how much had to be done on the day we put all samples and distortions onto one program with keys assigned so they were ready to be played as well as label all wires to be put into the keyhack. After testing all wires and plugging in the keyboard hack the program was able to work smoothly and did not glitch from the keys being pressed multiple times in such a short period. Without any major problems we could start practicing with the two pipes and seeing if we could get a good duration to pour the water for without the sound being too long or short. An unlikely material that proved useful was the wine bottles, they not only made it easy to pour and a good height on the stairs to collect the water, but also contained an appropriate amount of water to be poured, if done substantially, to last for up to 4 minutes. This means the length of one sound installation will be at the quantity of a full wine bottle of water.

I thought the demonstration went well, the audience were able to be at different points on the staircase watching as the water went down and hear the sounds as it rose from the speaker at the bottom. We were lucky to be able to use another groups speaker since it was louder and more efficient to use one big one instead of putting three at different levels of the staircase.

Here is the sound from the Installation and a video of it in action.

Contribution

Well as each performance went by I would like to think I inputted at least as much as my members did. I would say I helped with constructing ideas and developing them into more depth and looked for ways that helped our team to create sound worth listening to. For the first week I think how we formed our sounds gave everyone a major part to contribute. We all listened to the noises and used them in our own ways which could be attached and synced together. The second project I thought my biggest contribution was the range of tools I used so I could respond to what others were playing instead of just choosing between playing and not playing, I think my response to my the rest of the group as they played really helped and gave a better clarity than what it might have been if we all just kept going. For the experimental instruments I thought my choice in materials and creation of instrument made me stand out from the rest. I saw what my type of instruments my group were making so I went for something very different allowing us to delve into a deeper choice of sounds composing together.

The final and biggest aural project was more working together and trading roles on who did what. We all helped set up as well as practice testing sounds using Ableton LIve. The samples consisted of noises I could find around my apartment that gave the impression, or were, of electricity at work. I thought what gave our group a final finished installation was our determination and commitment to see it work. When working with electronics it is very difficult to know if there is a connection problem especially if there are multiple 5 meter wires. This is why we had to have a lot of patience and making sure we were thorough with testing each wires connection. Things we could have addressed a bit more was how each person was participating within the project. We all volunteered to work on something and to keep up with what was happening but we did not structure on what we had to do or focus on why we were really doing it. If we communicated as a group how we were to go about visualising the installation it could have made it easier to branch out what aspects needed to be partaked in first to make it more efficient of everyone's time.


Graphic Score

Emile Drescher was lucky enough to be the musician to play my graphic score that was made made a few weeks earlier. He played with his own instrument he made and tried to make it sound like what I was listening to at the time I recorded the graphic score.

Emile

Graphic Score Played



Representative sounds

Here is 3 sounds that I thought really related to my work in the projects:

Squeaky
Circuit Bending Performance
Swallowing

Project 5: Penultimate

After a lot of thought and discussion with the group we have decided on keeping the original water and switch idea, but now have simplified it to only one long plastic tube that will allow easy access for the water to move in. Since this has created an easier construction it means we can build it on the staircase without it becoming time consuming to make and distracting from the actual sound. This is also cost effective and will not require anything else other than wire and tape. A big concern was how long the voltage would be able to last in such long wire and was one of the first tests we did before proceeding, our longest wire should not be any longer than 15 meters which is well under the 50 meter wire test we trialed.

Around 30 meters of plastic tubing

From further discussion we later thought that having only one tube would hold its own problems of how much creativity and variation there would be from the sounds. Fortunately from the amount of tube we had we could go down 3 flights of stairs with two tubes, allowing us to have the interaction of when and which tube the water was to go down. From this we will have one main sound that is altered by the switches to become electronic in one tube and samples of electronic noises produced from our surroundings in the other. There was some concern of if the Ableton Live program could handle multiple keys being pressed or held down or if it would freeze up. We tested on the laptop keyboard and did not find any problems as of yet but could be something we faced after setting up.

One of the tests we did to confirm how long the water would run for

 For our samples I was able to go use the Zoom and record everyday sounds around my apartment. I recorded both water and electrical noises incase we wanted to mix it up with what we played. Here is one of the electrical samples.

Our rolls of wire that are the length of each switch, will end up having four times this amount

Project 5: Sound Installation

Our main and final project for the aural terrains that will be presented to the audio foundation is to create a sound installation in the audio foundation building. This time we could form our own groups of four but have had to collaborate an idea very quickly to get confirmation that it will be possible to do this. My group and I first wanted to understand what a sound installation is and define what it is we would like our audience to understand from our sounds. That is why we looked up multitudes of different work and how others had reacted to their work. I thought this would be useful as the first thing to know since most of the last few weeks have been about understanding different ways of perception and adopting to new outlooks in sound.

Nic measuring the length of the stairwell to see if it is coherent with our idea.

We constructed an idea of having a variation of combinations of sound by allowing a variable to mix up the sounds. For this we would have a flow of water that acted as the catalyst to initialise the sound from switches that connected when the water touched the two wires. There could be multiple paths that the water could take or possibly be directed by an interactor of some kind to choose what sounds would play. For us to play the sounds when the switches are on we will create a keyboard hack and connect it to a program that will allow for sounds to be played on command. This was our preferred idea because it allowed us to visually see the sounds being made in a way that combined two elements that would not normally be seen as being able to work together. I thought from here we would be able to produce some in depth and meaningful metaphorical context.

Looking up at the stairs at the Audio Foundation

Looking down the stairs at the Audio Foundation

Unfortunately after a few days of developing this idea we have had problems giving understanding for its meaning. After talking with the teacher it has become clear that we did not completely understand what a sound installation is and that we need to utilise the space and understand that a big part of the installation is the environment surrounding it. When going to check out the Audio Foundation we have found restrictions in the space suggested for our installation, a lot of what we are concerned about is getting sufficient amount of materials to flow our water without it losing the initial concept, it would also be very difficult to attach the installation to anything and keep them in place while keeping the area a safe passage to walk in. While still continuing with our idea we have done some testing with the water and fortunately it can work quite well with the switches and keyboard hack but only if we add salt to ionise it. The flow of the water will also be an impact on how long we want our sound to last as it can travel very far in a long distance. If it is possible we are willing to put our installation into a meter size box which would solve all physical problems but will contrast on how its location and surroundings will be relevant to the project. For our group this was a major setback and made us realise that we would have to think about how we can keep in with the rules of the sound installation while keeping with our idea that we all saw as having potential. I thought that it was better to finding a solution to this problem rather then starting again. This is because I feel like starting over is the same as quitting which I am very stubborn in nature at doing.

Over the weekend we will all determine if we want to stick with our original idea and how we will construct it into the building or consider a new idea that would be concerted around the environment first. 

Project 5: Problems and Performance

One of the major problems with creating sound for my instrument is how quiet the noise could be. This was to do with quite a few things, the wood base did not help institute a loud vibration of sound because of how solid and overpowering it was. Also the tubular plastic was not echoing well and was starting to lose its elasticity. I was able to overcome these problems by using a large plastic bucket to amplify these sounds which also helped keep my instrument in place and balanced. The plastic tubes I turned into a pan pipe instrument giving me a wind sound to go with my key and elastic sounds.

My instrument as a final product

Before we performed, just like last week, we had a few rehearsals to understand how our instruments would work in harmony and in sync. To make sure all sounds are heard Jo and I had to choose when to start and stop so we don't drown out Rachel's music as hers is much more quieter and dormant. Also to not drag our sounds out we would give signals to each other to know when we will start to conclude our piece.

My band performing live

I have found this weeks exercise to be very experimental in what we were to create as a team and individually. I personally did not want our group to all have the same instruments so we can stand out in our own way and not be grouped as one sound but still to be seen as one band. The types of materials I have used has been a big impact into my instrument. I know a lot of other students work have similar structure whether it be using a string with an amplifier or some stretched rubber attached to a plastic tube. That is why I wanted to go for what was different and I could do this by setting for something quite simple like a few vibrations on wood yet very different to what others were making.

Here is my performance from friday.

Project 5: Musical Instruments

In the next step of our audio experiments we are to construct our own musical instruments out of the not so usual objects. For them to be defined as musical instruments they have to have certain elements about them to form the sounds. I wanted to first construct my idea of what I intend my instrument to act, sound and look like before focusing on the guidelines. I was able to get a few ideas from such websites and applications about what materials I could use for the instrument. I have decided to create multiple noises since it will allow for more choice in sounds that will enhance the music I make. I also will make these noises to have different tones and depth that will bring a special aptitude for my team.

My source of materials found from recycling bins

From here I felt that having wood as my base, I could make a simple keyboard using different sizes and materials for keys to create the different tones. I went for ones that could bend easy while also having a bit of elastic pressure to help bring the flick motion of the keys flicking up or down to create the sound.

I was very surprised with the reaction I got from what music videos Richard Mcfarlene showed us on Thursday. It was not as unusual as most of the stuff we have been hearing over the past few weeks, even though there were retro and ambiguous attributes to them it really uninterested me. It might have been from how calm and sensual a lot of it was causing me to relax and unfocus but I think I have become asserted to wanting to listen to more flamboyant sounds to help open up my passage of what is considered music. I do not think that Mcfarlenes music did this. 

Project 5: Clinton and Performance

Before we presented on Friday we were able to get another example of sounds from a musician called Clinton. He used repetition in both sounds and pictures to try and get different experiences and thoughts for the audience when going through the same piece. He also used sounds that reminded him of certain things such as rain or colours. I really enjoyed his work as I could see where it could be used with in certain settings, as if to say it is what might set the mood if I was to walk into a forest or down an alleyway. It also reminded me of this application called 'I-doser'. I-doser is a compression of audio content that apparently gives the listener a simulation of a specific emotion. I don't know how well it works but I do think it is possible to cause an impulse of an emotion from using specific sounds for the brain to recognise and react to.

My group performing live

After our performance I think we played considerably well for the time we had, although we did end up using loops I still didn't know what was to be played with the other performers and tried to pull back when I thought it was necessary for my sounds to be quiet and not cloud our music. I found this weeks trial to be more useful as it gave a more interactive approach as well as an improvisational impact to our work. It was more of a team based project too, allowing us to work together instead of just separately editing. I would like to see these sort of sounds go further than just coming from instruments. It would be interesting if the sort of interactions involved in creating the sounds would be a big part and bring more meaning rather than just strings and jars banging together. Like what these people are developing.

Our performance for circuit bending can be found here.

Project 5: Thoughts and Testings

After testing with certain instruments I found it is very effective to create unique sounds by combining the instruments together. Also the position of my piezo on an instrument could create both low and high sounds. My team have been given set roles on what they will use to create their sound, we have practiced a little bit to get a feel of what the live performance will be like and to allow us to try flow together in collaboration.

The instruments used to create the musicians sounds

I found the musician from Wednesday to be very unique in what he did. It would seem for him to synthesize he would to have spent a considerable amount of time which he said he has. My main concern is what effect it might have on him mentally and physically and what that might cause to his work, from what I learnt last week about the defects sound has on the hearing, even listening for just 30 minutes could damage the ears. I also consider doing multiple testings with sounds that are alike could confuse and tamper with his work. Just like other senses, hearing is one that is different to all of us and I have found with this project that it is good to understand what each sound represents for others who do not know where it is from.

One of the groups that performed on Friday

Here is one of the sounds we tested with :Door handle squeak