Field Recording -- Drift

Field Recording 1: 10/23/2009, 12:30PM, 2825 N Downer Ave.

Field Recording 1 (Clip-MP3)

Field Recording 1 (Info-MP3)

Field Recording 2: 10/23/2009, 1:30PM, 35th & Burnham St.

Field Recording 2 (Clip-MP3)

Field Recording 2 (Info-MP3)

Field Recording 3: 10/23/2009, 2:30PM, Downer & Belleview.

Field Recording 3 (Clip-MP3)

Field Recording 3 (Info-MP3)

Field Recording 1 (Clip-MAC)

Field Recording 1 (Info-MAC)

Field Recording 2 (Clip-MAC)

Field Recording 2 (Info-MAC)

Field Recording 3 (Clip-MAC)

Field Recording 3 (Info-MAC)

Field Recording 1 (Clip-PC)

Field Recording 1 (Info-PC)

Field Recording 2 (Clip-PC)

Field Recording 2 (Info-PC)

Field Recording 3 (Clip-PC)

Field Recording 3 (Info-PC)

Joseph Skow

Film 116

10/23/2009

“Field Recording -- Drift”

Field Recording Clip 3

10/23/2009 2:30PM

Intersection of Belleview & Downer (construction site)

My original drift strategy involved circling three different locations on a map, isolated to the general East Side area. One of the places I circled happen to be Shorewood Park (“Atwater”), and on the way I ran into something even better! On the corner of Belleview and Downer there was a construction crew cutting brick, and placing the pieces in the median of the road. At approximately 2:30PM I separated the microphones about a foot apart and clipped them to the inside of a nearby trashcan.

At the beginning of the clip you can hear the faint rumbling of the chainsaw about fifteen feet in front of the microphones. A buss takes off fifty feet southeast. As the saw continues to rattle one of the construction workers walks up behind the trashcan and throws away a plastic bag, directly behind the clipped microphones. He mumbles something in Spanish to another worker.

Twenty seconds in the saw begins to speed up as the construction worker slices into a piece of brick. After he makes the cut he turns off the saw and drops both of the pieces into their spots on the median. You can here the faint thump as they’re dropped into place. Another buss stops at the intersection. After all is said and done the workers question each other on the quality of their work.

I was especially happy with the depth of interaction that takes place. From the direct foreground where the man throws away his trash, to the cutting of the brick, and onto the traffic in the distance, each sound comes in at it’s own direction and intensity. The formula was luck. I had no clue the man would need to throw something away, nor do I think he saw my equipment, but when all was said and done it seemed to work out for the best.

"Tati Writing" Assignment

Assignment Link...

Clip 6 Link...

Tati Writing

Mon Uncle, Clip 6

(03:47-04:17)

Using clip 6 from Jacques Tati’s film, Mon Uncle, I feel the specific purpose of his sound-scape is to facilitate pace. Through the use of musical soundtracks, environmental sound effects, panning, duration, volume and intensity, Tati sets a pace for the world in motion, as well as the world in preparation. He blends them together through exchange of setting, and population within the environment of the frame.

The musical soundtrack sets the pace for our characters while in motion around the city. During the scene at the house, where the man is getting ready to leave, the tempo of the fluid motion is provided by other character interaction-based sound effects. For instance, the single, quick paced movement for every action made by the woman. All of the sounds collectively seem to tell a story without words, and stress the importance of timing, tempo, rhythm, and pattern.

One of the more interesting depictions of pace comes into play as the man starts to drive his car down the driveway, and the boy runs out of the house to catch up for a ride (03:47-04:17). As the car pulls down the driveway, into frame, the sound of the engine becomes more intense, and seemingly closer to the viewer. The man begins to reve his engine, implying the boy to hurry up; that he was already running late.

It paints a picture for the viewer, knowing the tempo of the world our characters are about to enter, and that cliché imagery of a child holding onto a schedule through procrastination. By watching the pace of the characters while getting ready for their day, we know they’re not urgent due to a state of emergency, but rather the urgency to be in the car, ready to take on the congestion of commuting. The sounds of the engine indicate this to the viewer without words.

The mother is the only character with the same repetitive sound for every action, movement, or emotion. It's a sound of moving, a sound of scuffling, a sound of doing, and at times, even her voice. She opens and shuts the door for the boy as he gets in, maintaining her “do it all” pace and trademark sounds. The revving of the engine continues, and takes on the essence of the mans voice yelling, “Hurry up!” The woman continues to squeak the car clean as it drives away. The sounds of the mother moving and cleaning continue as the car drives off into the distance. The engine bleeds out and we hear one more, squeaky clean, “do it all,” goodbye from the mother, waving goodbye, as if she saying the words while waving. There’s a slight silence, and then the musical soundtrack picks back up as our characters enter the hectic, constantly moving, world around them.

This section of the clip shows the “real time” tempo, as well as intended pace of our characters through the sound-scape. The growl of the father’s engine, the scuffle of the woman, franticly moving to get her husband and son on their way. Both of these examples transform the concept of pace into a dialogue form, which helps maintain the theme of preparation in our daily lives.

Through the entire length of Clip 6 the sounds suggest pace and timing in environmental space, as well as dialogue/character-like consistencies. By using sounds as more than just background noise, Tati tells a story involving tempo with purpose, surrounded by unspoken dialogue. The sounds aren’t present for creating a realistic environment, or realistic film experience, but rather telling the entire story. The sounds are the background noise, the environment, the people, the actions, the events, and the dialogue. It provides emotion, narrative and perspective, to the piece.

"Aural Map" Assignment

Assignment Link...

"Aural Map"

Locust & Farwell

1:30AM

Tettigoniidae

White noise all around me, but not close enough to touch.

The noise that never stops, so can’t begin because of such.

Still, what if such a noise did stop, and you could hear a pin drop?

Would you then recognize the sound you drowned beneath you when your feet walk?

It would really be weird.

Something had to go wrong.

So thank you crickets for the noise, that keeps em’ calm to walk along.

Old Window

The window three feet behind me pulled itself out of a scary movie. It creaks, it shakes, and it makes you jump. Is someone there? You think it every time… nock, nock. It starts slow and works its way up to a rattlesnake vibration. Someone needs to fix this window. Who knew the Romans invented the modern window, and when you Google “scary window” all you get are stupid Flicker pages?

Slow Down, Buddy. Lets Go Grandma.

Motored transportation flies twenty feet in front of me, right to left. Its partners in crime speed, and burn rubber in all directions around town. Others cause traffic that make the patient restless. The city really never stops. People never stop. These drivers…will never stop. Ok, GREEN LIGHT! I better speed up so I can hit that red light up there, and do it all over again! God, that would be perfect! These fools win every time. Apparently speeding makes you a winner, and the speed limit makes you my grandmother.

A Hot Mess.

Ahhhhh (shriek)!!!! Blah, blah, blah, some young, sexy, two houses down. Grunt, snort, hustle and bustle, meat heads in the west. These are two that take the title of tonight’s hot mess. They fight the front door, beat down the porch, scream about an insect, and burn a camel torch. Go to bed. Your mom’s sick of paying for the base and the movement. Stop letting the door hit you in the ass on your way out. SCREAM, SHOUT! And yet after all this you still manage to make your way closer. These people are having the best night of their lives.

The Ocean

(crickets, wind, cars, and base)

When the crickets, wind, cars, and base swim in a circle they create an ocean. The cars, motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters, are their boats, jet skies, kayaks, and flippers. It’s forth of July on a pontoon boat. The beer is cold and the people are cheering. Crickets are the water. Wind is the waves. Base is the mixing spoon. You (the reader) learned something new today, base travels in circles.