Five Things

1. [Notes]

sound structures & genres

[narrative]

introduction, conflict, resolution

circular narrative : begins & ends at same place

nonlinear/a-causal : non-sequential, forces you to piece it together, anxiety provoking

[list]

[montage]

[documentary sound]

[abstract sound]

[voice as an instrument]

monotonous : allows sound to come through

thinking critically about research

[RIM]

recognize good first steps

intuition & analysis

marriage of form & intention

touchstone: what are you doing & why

2. [RIM for my theme]

recognize good first steps

asked questions, expanded my p.o.v., collected relevant sound recordings

intuition & analysis

intuition: i want to bring the listener into the experience of insomnia through sound

analysis: the experience consists of silence, isolation, anxiety, & panic. i should take the listener through each of these steps in my theme sound piece and really emphasize each part so that they are clear in emotion & purpose.

marriage of form & intention

the form should reflect my intention and therefore be hectic, overwhelming, yet be juxtaposed by isolation and uncomfortable silence. i think abstract sound would be best to convey this because i can create and mold sounds in a unique way that suggests certain sounds but are not explicitly labeled as such. the emphasis of beat and rhythm would also be important in my intention because that is a part of the experience.

3. [Examples / Analysis]

my favorite theme sound example that we heard in class was the ADD piece [voice]. it captivated me and made me feel like i was experiencing the definition of ADD [which adheres to the M part of RIM, marriage of function and intention]. it also mirrored the idea of provoking anxiety in the viewer to emphasize the emotional aspect of the theme. on the other hand, my least favorite was the vocal narrative piece with environmental sound. [the first one we listened to i believe?]. i thought it was creepy and off putting how monotonous the voice was; i didn't really want to pay attention, and the environmental sounds were just too obvious that i didn't have to think to understand what they wanted me to think and experience.

4. [Working on Theme Sound]

when i began my theme sound piece today i knew i wanted to stick with abstract sound because a) it interests me and b) is relevant to my theme. this time, however, i want to emphasize rhythm instead of timbre because the feeling of repetition is an aspect of insomnia. i started off with the base of the piece by taking the "lighter" sound which sounds more like a ticking clock; it is repeated [like a clock] throughout the entire sound. then, instead of starting at the beginning, i started at the end because i knew how i wanted to conclude: with an overwhelming accumulation of sound and then sudden silence. this was accomplished by creating a "heart-beat" sound coupled with a siren that quickens exponentially until the end when the piece ends with two last [loud] "tick-tock"s, bringing it full circle. then i experimented by manipulating various sounds to create "psychological" effects to reflect hectic thoughts, torture, and the feeling of being trapped in your head [warping, static, abstract]. then i went back to the beginning, starting with the ticking, and created beats/rhythms around it with sounds of light switches, locks, and doors [the final door slams echo emphasizing isolation]. the piece then moves to silence and slowly incorporates those "psychological" sounds that all climax at the heartbeat/siren combo-sound.

5. [Next Step]

after experimenting with my idea for my theme sound piece, i realized that i should work on emphasizing rhythm because right now i don't think it's that clear because i also use timbre. i also should collect some more sounds including whispers, dripping water, tapping figures, and other similar sounds. then i'll come back to it and see what i can do to perfect it.