‘Planning recording session’
I have decided to use footsteps as a means of diegetic underscore as they are present in a large quantity of film and television, they also offer an opportunity to compose with rhythm, chaos and synchronisation.
The purpose of this entire practice/experiment is to find a less intrusive way of influencing an audience, maintaining their suspension of disbelief. Footsteps permeate everyday life, we hear them constantly, this makes them an excellent candidate for manipulation. Through manipulation/choreography, this sound can go from its natural chaotic state, to a synchronised rhythm. provided this synchronisation is gradual enough, the audience won’t notice the transition from close to remote audiovisual correspondence. Technically the audiovisual correspondence or synchronous integrity of the sound cannot be destroyed, as the sound source could be constantly present in a scene (People in a train station), and it is not impossible that people’s footsteps would synchronise in that narrative world, unlikely but not impossible.
I think it is necessary to use 3 types of microphones in the recording session to maximise utility of the sound. Firstly a binaural microphone to capture a realistic spatial recording of the space when this synchronisation happens, this will especially emphasise the immersion and experiencial connection between character and audience. Secondly a condenser microphone to capture an overall perspective of the room, I think this is necessary as I believe it’ll be easier to use in a mix. Thirdly a contact mic (maybe more than one) to capture the impact of the feet on the floor. These lower frequencies could be useful in a 5.1 mix, for the LFE to drive more impact into the mix. I’m considering using an ambisonic microphone for the possibility of implementation into VR.
I will be conducting the piece in two ways with varying levels of interference/choreography. The first will be minimal choreography (Fig. 2), I will ask the participants to walk normally (as if they were walking to catch a train, maybe even ask to avoid synchronisation), then after 40 seconds ask the participants to synchronise. This will result in unpredictable results as it’s impossible to know how long it will take them to synchronise, but with result in a very organic transition.
The second level of choreography (Fig.3) is separating the people into groups (for groups see Fig.1), after 30 seconds I will signal group 3 to synchronise, then at 45 I will signal group 2 to synchronise, then at 60 seconds group 1.
An important aspect of this recording session is the material of the floor, obviously carpet would be too quiet, but the material must also match the materials present in film scenes. For a train station I think the ‘Black Box’ room is the best option, it has a slight rubber texture to it (Fig. 4). It’s a little quieter/softer than I would have liked, but it is usable.