Reading Response 3

The article I selected was Stephen Trachtenberg's "The Art of Instant Gratification". I picked this article because I enjoy photography very much and this was interesting to read. I do see the main points and think back to the way things were, it was much more difficult to make sure you got the shot you wanted the first time. I purchased a digital slr a while back and thinking about how many pictures I took with it to learn the correct modes to be in and what the iso should be set at make me wonder how much film I would have gone through and how much harder it would have been to figure out what I am doing wrong. With digital I was able to snap the picture, look at it on screen and then either move on or re shoot.

The essay begins to talk about how portrait paintings where the first methods of photography. They were the only way people back in the day were able to capture a moment and have it forever. Next came a camera that allowed people to take pictures, send in the camera and a receive the camera back with film and their set of pictures. This took a while be people still loved it. Cameras then moved on to being able to take the film out yourself, and then something that allowed people to instantly see what they shot. Polaroid came out with a camera that would spit out the picture seconds after it was taken and users would then have a picture in minutes. Now we have cameras that display the image on screen in seconds and printing pictures isn't as common now. Most are displayed on ones computer or online. Things have changed extremely.

3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?
I guess what I get out of this is that things with media and technology are always changing and it's always good to know both technologies. Digital is great but it does have it's downfall with the possible of losing imagines easily due to faulty hardware. With older technology such as film, you have the negative which is something that cant be deleted like a picture on a computer. I guess another thing maybe is not to always take a picture and look to make sure it turned out. Maybe jus keep shoot and look later and what you get is what you get.

Video Hardware/software Responses

My experience with the camera was alright. It was very slow and I had a lot of trouble knowing if it started recording or not. I got a lot of shots of my feet walking with out knowing it. It also didn't react well to cold and fresh batteries would only last about 10 minutes. My other digital camera that I have is a little bit easier to use. To start and stop the recording is much better. I was able to use my capturing strategies but I had to tear apart a little car and rubber band the camera to it in order to get smooth shots. In an ideal world the camera would have a nice pop out lcd screen, more sensitive buttons, fast start up times, and high definition recording.


I used iMovie to assemble my video. I have used this program before for various other projects that I have done. I was going to use final cut but iMovie makes viewing each clip much easier. I would use iMovie for future projects but I will probably use final cut more often now that I am learning it.

Reading 2

I read the article by John Cage titled "The Future of Music:Credo". I chose this article because it shows the progression of music. Music is changing and always has been and with technology it's changing even more. The abilities musicians and composers now have are much more extreme than before.

The article begins talking about how we hear sounds daily and some sounds we tune into and some we don't. Almost all the sounds that are heard are recorded some where and can be altered in multiple ways. Cage then talks about the inventions of electric instruments and how it gives the musicians full control to alter the sounds that are produced from the instrument. It also goes on to talk about how composers used to require musicians to play for them to compose music. Now they are able to do that without the players. Later Cage talks about how music writing has changed from a "keyboard influenced music to the all sound of music of the future" Music and the way it is created will keep changing and by using new and different techniques, musicians will create new and interesting sounds for its listeners.


This article makes me want to explore music and the ways we now have to alter and transform sounds into something that people can really enjoy. It also makes me want to explore new ways of altering music. This article reminds me of a musician I like. The artist is BT and he is an electronica artist. On his latest cd he used a technique called circuit bending, which is where he takes childrens toys that are electronic and alters the circuits to distort sounds he plays through it. Techniques like that are just so creative and are really paving the way toward new music.

Audio Hardware/Software Repsonses

1. I thought building the microphones was fairly straight forward and easy. I thought soldering was going to be much harder than it turned out to be. The hardest part was stripping the rubber coating off the wire. The wind screen was also a tricky process. After the build, I thought my microphone performed very well. The sounds I was able to capture were very good. I was able to get ambient sound along with extreme close ups and just simple foreground sounds. Ideally I would like some nicer wind screens. I think that the microphones we made and used were good enough for what we were doing, and for the money they were defiantly worth it. If I had unlimited money I'm not sure what I would buy because what I had got the job done.

2. My experience with the MiniDisc was O.K. It did the job I needed it to do but wasn't the easiest to use. It was annoying how you would always have to re-enable the sensitivity after finishing a recording. Another thing that bothered me was trying to start a new recording. The MiniDisc created new groups every time instead of new tracks. It got very confusing. The only other recording equipment I have used was camcorders and I though this was nice that it had a sensitivity control. In an ideal world the settings would be saved throughout the time of use, along with making it easier to make new tracks and digital recording.

3. For this project I used Audacity. I have never used this program before and thought it was alright. I chose Audacity because it seemed to be the program that instructor was encouraging us to use. The program offered all the features that I needed and helped me create good sounds clips for my drift project. It could be a little more user friendly and have a better interface. I think I will use this software again just because I now know how it works and also because I don't know which other program I would use.

Ten Questions

1. Is there more traffic in the morning, afternoon or night?

2. Is there construction going on during the weekend or just the week?

3. Are there certain sounds that associate when its raining rather than when its sunny out?

4. Are there better sounds in urban or rural areas?

5. Is there somewhere in the city I can avoid traffic noise?

6. How many water features can I came across?

7. Is there anywhere where visuals that are very bright in color?

8. How many clocks can I record in the city?

9. Can I find a noise that will make me tense up?

10. Is there anywhere I can find sounds that echo interestingly?

Drift Assessment

1. One thing that really bothered me on the drift was not being able to find an area on my walk where there wasn't at least one car that went by. No matter where I recored there was at-least one car that went by. Another thing that made me nervous was recording something and not knowing if it was going to sound the same once I got back to the studio.

2. The first sound I was recording was very relaxing. I was sitting on the curb listen water running and just watching cars going by. It was an interesting situation. The sound was very peaceful and relaxing but the action I was watching was very "busy". The next situation that i found peaceful was the wind chime recording. The rhyme of the chimes was very calming and very easy to listen to.

3. The first thing that surprised me was how much construction I ran into on my random path, all of which gave me interesting sounds that were all different. Another thing that I did not expect was people to be so nice about letting me record them. In this day and age I would think most people would be very hesitant to be recored by a total stranger but all the people were very open. The last thing that surprised me was the amount of sounds there really were on just my walk. If you really aren't on a sound-walk looking for sound, you really never notice how many sounds there really are going on around you.

4. My favorite experience of drift 1 was being able to have super sensitive hearing with the microphones. Listening through the headphones made listening to the world a different experience and just made everything sound better to me. It changes the way you look at what's around you just because everything seems so closer and more clear.

Reading

I read This America Life Anne Whiston Spirn. I chose this article because it takes the five sense that we use daily and shows how people focus on one of those sense to become better aware of things that surround us. It made me think about how when I walk around I never really focus on one sense and just observe around me. Like touching things, when I walk down a street I may run my hand along a cement wall. I never really think about how that texture actually feels and analyze like the artist in the article do. I just made me think to be more observant with my senses.

For seeing, Denis Wood went around drawing maps of just simple things that you wouldn't think of mapping. He went around mapping power lines and sewer covers. Its seems like it wouldn't be to interesting of a map but from artistic stand point it looks like a very interesting piece to hang on a wall. Jack Hitt focused on sound and recorded just simple sound in everyday things. Nancy went around CA mapping smells which is very interesting. Deb Monroe made a map of her body just by touch. Jonathan Gold mapped through taste on the streets of Los Angeles.

This article made me think about even the simplest things can be art. It also made me want to me more observant in my everyday life and be more in tune with my sense and the things around me.

Sound Walk

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes. All of the places we went had lots of sounds to listen to.

Was it possible to move without making a sound?
No. When we were walking on the grass there was the sound of leaves crunching and on pavement the sound of footsteps all made noise so it was not possible. There always seems to be some sort of sound.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
When my ears were plugged I could hear the sound of my heart beating and not much other sounds except for a few car horns. When they were unplugged I couldn’t hear my the sound of my heart anymore but all of the other sounds of nature and civilization.

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
Buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters,(accelerating, decelerating, exhaust, idling, breaking, honking, tires squealing) airplanes flying over, footsteps leaves in the wind leaves on the ground, cicadas, bikes chain, bike tire, car stereo (bass), people talking, laughing, keys, bike lock, door squeaking, door slam, grate banging, birds, food wrappers, water bottle crunching, money change, radio, high heals, pen knocking, hand clap echo, ticket dispenser, truck door rattling, metal pole rattling, coffee maker, keyboard typing.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place? Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Yes, all the sounds I heard I had a pretty good idea of where they came from. By being able to see around me I was able to detect where the sounds were coming from and what was making them.

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone? Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
One sound that really stuck out to me the whole time was the cicadas. Their high pitch noise was going on for most of our sound walk and was just so noticeable.

What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
On the walk I experience a lot of leaves in trees blowing along with leaves on the ground blowing rattling against each other.

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
At one point we tapped on metal railing, which caused it to resonate. It gave kind of a “bong” sound, which slowly dissipated.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes and no. Living around the same area (and type of area) for the last 3 years I was very used to the sound of city traffic and buses along with some nature sounds (trees and bushes).

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I think it will help me with making sure to add good background noise to the pieces I create because it is something that people hear everyday but may not pay attentions to.