Author: Harry Charlton

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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SOUND ART: LITERARY REVIEW/SUMMARY

‘Sonic Diegesis: Reality and the Expressive Potential of Sound in Narrative Film’

The essay opens by outlining the birth of music concrete, and how Pierre Schaeffer and Luc Ferrari’s pioneering work paved the way for our modern outlook and processes in cinematic sound design, proposing that mimetic sounds hold emotional and musical value. Andrew Knight-Hill states that analysing sound in film purely from a perspective of signification is a misstep, ‘within this context sounds can never just be- they must always be something. And as such they are denied the opportunity to reveal their full potential.’

Knight-Hill then goes on to investigate the relationship between reality and diegesis in cinema, and how reality is often subverted in favour for narrative. He provides examples, one of which being ‘Gravity’ 2013 in which if reality was favoured there would be no sound in the film at all. Instead, the sound designers weave the mimetic sound into the underscore, each composed with the same orchestral methods (tones and glissandi). Through this the score becomes inseparable from the diegetic/narrative world, and the mimetic sound becomes inseparable from the narrative. This relationship between mimesis, diegesis and underscores is contradictory to our traditional notions of cinematic sound. Traditionally the underscores occupy a separate plane to the diegesis, from which it provides commentary on the story, scores take on a life of their own, they become a ‘discourse that frames the story’. The underscore provides a ‘stream or layer of information that the audience negotiates in parallel to interpret meanings from the film’. This analysis of underscoring is extremely limited and in certain cases completely wrong.

The essay goes on to suggest that an underscore can act as an indicator and occupier of narrative space. Again, Knight-Hill provides an example, ‘Dunkirk’ 2017. The score in this film is interweaved with the diegetic sound. It represents unseen antagonists (the approaching Nazi forces), it also drives the narrative intensity (The score does not represent the narrative intensity, it is the intensity), lastly it acts as a modulator for the drive and trajectory of the film (The ticking watch is constantly changing tempo driving the narratological intensity, this is described as ‘intensified sonic continuity’ highlighting the self-consciousness of the narration).

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MA COLLABORATION

Initial overview of project/Mechanical bird plan

The majority of the sounds required for the game are foley and ambient sounds, although important these sounds do not, for the most part, lend themselves to creative licence. As this is the case, we have created lists of sounds from the documents provided for us separating or highlighting the creative sounds from the ‘necessary’ sounds. This way we can each take on the responsibility of recording some necessary sound, whilst also having a creative sound to dive into more deeply.

As of today our team has conducted two foley sessions in which we recorded sounds for levels 1 and 2. These mostly included footsteps, interactive sounds such as picking up and opening books and folders, and ambient elements such as typing and chair creaks. With such a large collection of these sounds being required for the game, this foley process is turning out to be repetitive and tedious, therefore I don’t think I will be talking a lot about it, in short the process is record, edit file, send to MA students. Instead I would like to focus this project on the more creative sounds.

I have started with a sound in level 2, the mechanical bird sound. In this level the player is interacting with the space from the perspective of a mechanical bird, so far the size of the bird hasn’t been specified but I’m assuming it’s approximately the size fo a sparrow. The main elements I have to keep in mind whilst creating this sound is the proximity to the character (almost inside the character, as the character is the bird) and the size and weight of the bird (this determines the pitch of the sound and also the frequency of the flaps).

I would also like to make use of a lot of layering with this sound, I think the challenge is going to be seamlessly merging the mechanical with the biological. I believe that the sound of the bird should retain a strong biological essence, as the level is about a fond memory situated in nature, this to me suggests an organic quality to the sound.

This is an extract from my research on Dune in a previous post, I believe it’s relevant here and I plan to do more in depth research into exactly how the ornithopter sound was created.

‘Denis wanted the technology of this world to be grounded, as real as possible, so it didn’t become a distraction from the story. He wanted the audience to embrace the technology spontaneously. An example was the ‘Ornithopter’, it was based on insects, he wanted the vehicle to function like an insect and look like a military vehicle. The sound, Denis said, should be close to the spirit of a helicopter, in the same family but not the same. The sound team used recordings of beetles and other insects to create a helicopter sound with a natural quality. 

Mark Mangini states that we can be more successful in our sound design when we start with natural recordings. He thinks that the reason for this could possibly be that we have a psychoacoustic response telling us that the sound is real, the time arrival to the ear and the acoustic environment in which a sound lives might be a subconscious identifier for reality. Whether this theory is correct or not, I think he is right. The brain responds to natural sounds differently to synthesised sounds, I’ve created synthesisers out of vocal recordings and they are very un-natural as an acoustic sound, but retain an organic natural quality. These natural sound ‘ingredients’ are all in service to quickly and effectively suspend the audiences disbelief. We can present sounds that are decontextualised from what it really is, present them in a new context and your brain doesn’t have to understand what the original sound was it just recognises that it’s real.’

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VISITING PRACTITIONERS: PAMELA Z

ARS ELECTRONICA 2008; A NEW CULTURAL ECONOMY: Sonorous Embodiment- Gro§e Konzertnacht; Brucknerhaus – Pamela Z: voice and electronics. Foto: rubra

Pamela started her career as a composer/performer, expanding to many different facets of sound making later on in life. She is best known for performances in which she manipulates her voice using wireless gesture midi controllers. In the mid 1980’s, Pamela started manipulating her voice with outboard rigs of processors. Following years of spending lots of money and effort on transporting this rig, Pamela decided to patch her processors into software using MAX MSP. This method of manipulation is constantly evolving, adding and subtracting tools, however the manipulation essentially remains constant.

These voice manipulation pieces began life as 3-7 minute songs, as a means to begin concerts. The pieces eventually evolved into evening long works, often held together with visuals, allowing Pamela to explore different areas of manipulation.

‘Baggage allowance’ explores the concepts of baggage in literal and metaphorical senses, it was a multimedia installation containing sound, visuals, objects and a browser. This piece also took the form of a gallery installation, including video, ‘sonic luggage’, draws with sound, video and objects. Opening the draws would trigger different videos to play next to them.

‘Sonic gestures’ is a site specific installation in a very large room, it included 10 HD screens and 16 channels of audio. The piece became dormant due to galleries’ inability to present it, requiring lots of screens and multiple computers. Recent advances in technology have allowed the piece to be played from a single computer, making it easier to exhibit. I find this very interesting, how the life of a project can change and even be resurrected by changes in the world of technology, perhaps this could be true of culture and politics also.

‘Memory trace’ is constructed from interviews about memory Pamela conducted, the audio is chopped and stacked, it results in a chaotic experience for the listener, the conversations move in different directions very quickly. The different voices are binded by a synchronisation of expressions such as ‘Hmmmm I forget’. The piece was developed for a commission in which the voices are accompanied by a string quartet, repeating expressions and mimicking the melodic shifts of the speech. I appreciate the organic qualities of the chaos, voices interrupt each other. This reminds me of the director Noah Baumbach as they highlight the idea that natural speech is messy, people talk over each other, this subverts the feeling of a performance, and brings the organised narrative into reality.

Pamela’s work resonates with me because of her use of layering. She negates isolating phrases, instruments or voices in linear space, rather allowing these phrases to overlap, interrupt and conflict. This technique gives the audio a natural quality, imperfect and real. This organic quality is evident in her methods of manipulation, opting for gestural midi control, allowing for natural imperfect movements of the hand. Thirdly, it is evident in her emphasis on the voice, an instrument which lends itself to portamento and naturally negates harmonic segregation.

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ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE SENSES

This field of study emerged in the late 80’s, the area of academia posits that senses are culturally conditioned. The values that we attach to sensory perception are not universal, even the number of recognised senses differs around the world.

In Western culture, staring is considered rude. However in some cultures this could be read as respectful. The way we perceive such a simple thing as the direction of someone’s eyes is directly informed by our culture.

Ocularcentrism/Visuocentricim

These terms refer to the cultural prioritisation of the visual.

“Only the briefest survey shows the presence of visual metaphors and meanings.When one solves a problem he has had the requisite insight. Reason is the innerlight. There is a mind’s “eye”. We are enlightened when informed by an answer.Even the lightbulb going on in a cloud over the cartoon character’s head continuesthe linkage of thought with vision.” (Ihde, p8)

Ihde, Don. Listening and Voice: Phenomenologies of Sound. 2nd ed. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press, 2007.

This prioritisation is evident in our speech, ‘I see’, ‘the whole picture’, ‘thats just hear say’. The latter even expressing a negative connotation, as if sound is not a reliable source. In the history of academia there is a division between higher and lower senses. Higher senses are associated with ‘visions’ or the mind. Lower are associated with smell, touch and taste (Bodily senses). There is a Western hierarchy of the senses.

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SOUND INSTALLATION: GALLERY 46

‘Proposal’

Work type-

Multichannel loudspeaker spatial installation.

Tech Specs-

Definite

  • 4 loudspeaker drivers
  • 4 XLR cables
  • Wall mounts for Loudspeakers
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Soundcard
  • Amplifier
  • Power source

Possible

  • Weather protective casing for loudspeakers

Concept-

The piece will be investigating material audio quality. I have taken Ryoji Ikeda’s concept of hidden worlds and applied them to a different facet of reality. He made binary information audible, I want to make transient audio qualities of materials constant through the use of granular synthesis. In the same way the visual qualities of something (eg. A stone wall) are most often constantly visible, I want to take the audio quality of the object out of potentiality (We can only hear its audio quality when it’s interacted with) and make it continuously perceivable. I want to then install speakers playing the synthesized noises next to their respective materials.

Gallery Location-

Garden (entire or partial depending on other installations)

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SOUND INSTALLATION: GALLERY 46

I’ve drawn out a floor plan of the garden, this way I can plan out the installation considering material. Ive identified 4 materials in the garden:

  • Gravel
  • Stone Wall
  • Plants
  • Metal Fire Pit

I need to go to the location and record these materials being struck/rubbed by a similar material. I will then extend these transient sounds into constant sounds using granular synthesis, I will create approximately 4 distinct versions from each material. I can then merge between these versions to implement variation into the installation and keep the visitor’s attention. These 4 material recordings will be assigned a singular channel each in the multichannel installation. I am debating whether to have one speaker per material or more to create a more immersive experience.

Soundgrain- Software I intend to use

Possible loudspeaker schematics:

1- Minimal

2- Multiple for each material

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SOUND INSTALLATION: GALLERY 46

‘Zimoun’

Zimoun is a Swiss sound artist that creates mostly site specific installations, he utilises motors to rotate everyday objects causing them to emit small sounds. Repeating the technique of rotating an object many times results in a grandiose sound comprised of lots of small sounds. Zimoun uses these sound making objects as an architectural material, shaping audio sculptures and environments, sometimes rooms that the subject can enter engulfing them in the sound. This is similar to Ryoji Ikeda’s installations in the way of surrounding the subject, however Zimoun takes a more physical/material approach both in method of creation and subject matter. This is evident in the naming of his works, naming them only by the materials used to create it.

Zimoun uses minimalistic methods to provoke the objects into audibility, these are objects that usually remain in relative silence when left un-interfered with. The constant movement or interaction with other materials unveils the audio quality of the material, subsequently Zimoun can saturate a large room with the sound of cardboard, or any material he chooses.

I am interested in the audio qualities produced by Zimoun’s works, it’s a constant, rich, textured sound. The listener is presented with a blanket of sound constructed with tiny tiny parts, and those details from the construction remain evident, one can recognise and tune in and out to singular sources. It might be advantageous for me to implement this idea of layering to my piece, it could result in a more textured and information rich sound. However, using multiple interactions with the object simultaneously could detract from the idea of documenting one object, one transient sound extended might conceptually be more compatible with my work. An idea I will definitely be taking into consideration from Zimoun’s works is the approach of ‘sound architecture’, using multiple sound making objects to sculpt sound in space. If I am to install my work in the garden of the gallery I might think of the approach as more of a ‘sound gardening’, using natural materials and turning them into sound making objects with the use of loudspeakers, the piece could be an auditory investigation into the dynamic of natural and man made material in a garden.