Reading Response #3

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I chose the article “The Art of Instant Gratification” by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in which he goes through the history of the camera from its modest and mystical beginnings in 1839 all the way through today where photography has become just an ordinary daily activity. I chose this article because I really enjoy photography and find all the different forms of photography from film to Polaroid to digital and its different effects that these styles of photography have.


2. What are the main points of the essay?

Trachtenberg’s main point in his essay is that photography has lost much of the reverence that it once had. When cameras were first produced for personal use, it was still a mystical process that took processing and time and left you with a tangible final product. As photography technology advanced, the process became faster and faster and soon there was the Polaroid camera, which took a picture and developed it all at once. With the digital revolution of photography, the process lost much of its mystic. Many times there are no tangible pictures made from digital pictures and you don’t even have to wait for a Polaroid to develop to see a picture, you just have to push a button immediately after taking the picture. Pictures are also more expendable now that there is no physical representation of them. According to Trachtenberg, digital pictures are too easily deleted.


3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

I found the article very interesting and it made me really want to print all my digital pictures that I have on my computer. For art purposes, I have never liked digital photography as much as film and this article helped to solidify that view. With digital all the challenge of capturing and developing a picture is taken out with technology. It is interesting to learn about early cameras and to see the advancement of the field. Knowing the history opens up new things to experiment with. I really enjoy the challenge of using old or unique cameras such as pinhole cameras, and this article has given me new ideas and cameras to try out such as the Brownie camera from 1900.

Reflections on hard and soft wears

1. How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?

The Olympus digital camera that I used to capture my video and still images was very basic but it did accomplish the task at hand. I was impressed with the focus of extreme close-ups but disappointed that I couldn’t zoom when taking video. In some respect, the basic qualities of the camera helped in limiting how much time I spent capturing one thing because there were less options of how I could capture something. This camera was defiantly older than other cameras I’ve used and had many less options but like I said, it did the job and it made it somewhat of a challenge to work within the cameras abilities. In any world, even an ideal one, I would just ask for a camera, any camera. It makes it a challenge when the camera can’t do everything for you and you actually have to have ability to get a great image.


2. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I chose to edit my video using iMovie HD 6.0.4 which I have used on many different video projects in the past. Unlike the new version of iMovie, this older version has a separate audio tracks and the ability to individually adjust the volume levels of clips. I find iMovie to be very user friendly with many editing options although I didn’t use to many of these in this project. I would defiantly use this software again for future projects if I am able to choose and don’t know of anything better but it would also nice and interesting to learn other software and see the differences and what others have to offer.

Reading Response #2

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I chose the article by John Cage entitled “The Future of Music: Credo” published n 1958 which was originally a lecture he gave in 1937. Cage describes his thoughts on what music will become in the future. When prospecting on future advancements, many ideas are often misunderstood or considered absurd but Cage is able to describe his imaginative ideas in a clear, understandable way. I chose this article because I thought it would be interesting to see if any of Cage’s ideas on what music was going to evolve into have already come true.


2. What are the main points of the essay?

Cage sees music of the future being composed of any and all sounds through electrical means but to fully utilize new technology in making music we have to break away from the old style of music that was made for instruments. New music must be written that is suited to these new electrical instruments. Cage also points out that in this new way of making music sounds will be infinite as well as the time that they can be placed in; this transforms the composer into more of an ‘organizer of sounds’.


3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

As a media artist this article has opened new doors that lead to a whole new medium to delve into and explore. Cage’s ideas provide a springboard of a new way of viewing music and sound that sends the mind spinning with new ideas of what can be recorded and produced as music. As a media artist it is important to always be exploring and testing the current limits of mediums.

Audio Hardware and Software Q&A

1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.

I really enjoyed the experience of building my own microphones. It’s something that I never thought I would do and I thought that it would be really hard. It turned out to be not that hard though. It took time and some patience but luckily and didn’t have to redo anything or start over completely. I was surprised at how clear my recordings came out from my drift walks but I think that I was only able to get more ambiance than closeup sounds. On my next drift I want to experiment with the settings to try to get more closeup sounds. Ideally, if I had bunches of money, I would pay someone to do the sound recording for me with really nice equipment. However, if I was doing it myself with all the time and money in the world, I think I would still find in fun to use microphones that I had built.


2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?

I found the MiniDisc pretty easy to operate overall, maybe just a little cumbersome though. It was a pain to have to set it to manual gain each time and it was difficult to figure out how to hold the mics and operate that all at once. Sometimes I missed some sounds because it took me too long to get the recorder out and set up even though I already had it on pause/record. I haven’t really used any other specific sound recording equipment before so I don’t have much to compare this experience before. This experience did make me appreciate the all-in-one features of modern technology where the mics are built in right the camera/recorder which just makes everything easier to hold. My recorder of choice would have the microphones in the recorder and would always be able to pick the right settings by itself.


3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I used Audacity to edit my sounds for this project, which I had never used before this project. I choose Audacity because that is what was recommended and I found it pretty easy to use although somewhat limiting in the editing options. For the basics though it was defiantly sufficient and straightforward to use. I found the unlimited undo button very helpful and the enveloping tool for bringing down really high spots. The ability to zoom in really close to the sound wave helped a lot for editing out little parts where I accidentally hit the mics and to clean up the sounds in general. Now that I’m pretty used to Audacity it would probably be my first choice for editing sounds but I would like to explore the other options to see if there is anything that I like better.

Inquires

Here are some questions that I came up with that hopefully I will be able to answer on my next Drift.

1. Where can I go that has an even mix of city and nature?
2. Where can I start my Drift so I’m not in neighborhoods the whole time?
3. What types of buildings can I explore on my Drift?
4. How can I position the microphones to make an ordinary sound an interesting one?
5. What sounds are unique to Milwaukee that I can record?
6. What time of day has the most people active to record?
7. Is there a time of day when there would be almost no people out to interfere with my recordings?
8. Can I get people to sing for me and record it?
9. Where would I be able to record someone dancing?
10. Is there anyplace where I could accurately record silence?

Reflections on Drift 1

1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)

One of the things that bugged me on my Drift 1 was how populated the area was where I was drifting. It was necessary for people to be present for some of the sounds that I recorded but there car noise was everywhere and it seemed almost impossible to get away from. Well car noise was part of the environment that I was in, I wanted to record things that people usually don’t pay attention to instead of the most obvious noises.

I wasn’t overjoyed at how my drift strategy worked out either. I was really excited to see a lot of interesting places that I hadn’t seen before. Unfortunately my drift strategy only kept me going one general direction within the East Side neighborhood. The neighborhoods had interesting sounds at first but then the sounds of each block began to seem the same. Even on my second drift that I went on to try to get some different sounds, was still somewhat disappointing.


2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

The walk down and then back up Lake Drive felt very peaceful to me. I found that I really liked just walking around without a specific destination or purpose in mind. It was a very therapeutic experience that wasn’t just about getting sounds but clearing my mind as well.

On the second drift that I went out on, I ended up by the bike path. It was the most different place that I came across on either of my walks. It was woody and there were almost no cars or people around (although my microphones still picked up distant car noises). I was able to feel really calm in this place because it is most like where I grew up. It reminded me of how much I miss living in the country and well I enjoy all the opportunities of living in the city, I miss the peace and quite of the woods.


3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)

In the days that followed going on my drift, I found that I really listened to things more whenever I was walking outside. I never use an ipod or listen to anything usually on my way to class but I never listened to my surroundings either. After having gone on the soundwalk and discovering how many things there actual are to listen to, I started to tune myself into those sounds and I am now enjoying my walks more.

On the Drift itself, I found that it was really hard to find continuous noises that could be recorded. Before I went I thought that there were plenty of noises in the city that were recordable. But as I was out there on my Drift I realized that a lot of what I heard didn’t last very long and unless I was recording the whole time, I would miss it. This is what taught me to record more often and longer than you think you need to because you never now what might suddenly happen.


4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

For one of my recordings I positioned my microphones in a dumpster to see how that would affect the recording. The sound didn’t turn out that great but right at the end of the recording a car came up to the opening of the alley that I was recording in. I don’t know how long it was sitting there because my back was to it but it must have been at least thirty seconds judging by the peeved look on the ladies face. I quickly tried to move out of the way but ended pulling my microphone out of the dumpster and dragging it along the ground. It was an embarrassing experience but it gave me a good laugh to imagine what that lady thought I was doing. I think this experience helped me to be a little less self-conscious the rest of the drift because people didn’t pay that much attention to me as long as I wasn’t directly in their way.

Reading Response

The article "What is 'Sense of Place'?" by Jennifer Cross had an impact on me by changing the way I view different places and identify with them. Cross identified and then categorized the different ways that people are attached and relate to the places where they are from or where they lived. Its something that people never take into consideration, yet where someone is from or where they live plays a big role in shaping that person into who they are. By studying Cross’s six different ways that people relate to places, one is able to consciously recognize and understand their sense of place.

Cross looks in depth into the issue of sense of place by looking not only at the different types of relationships that one can have with a place but also the different levels of community attachment as well. After defining the different ways that people relate to places scientifically, Cross breaks down the relationship to place into six different categories and gives specific examples from people she interviewed living in Nevada County. In the second part of her article Cross breaks down the level of community attachment into five different categories showing the different ways people are involved in their communities and making a correlation between how involved they are to how satisfied they are with where they live. By looking at these two different aspects of sense of place, Cross states that “we can create a more meaningful understanding of people’s attachments to places”. This complete look at sense of place helps us to understand how places affect people both long and short term throughout there life.

Any artist working in any medium, weather consciously or unconsciously, expresses part of who they are in their work. Through Cross’ article we can better understand who we are through identifying our sense of place, thus helping to explain motives for certain art pieces or common themes seen in ones art. With some art projects you would want your sense of place to come through strong but in others it would be better if there wasn’t a personal sense of place in it and without knowing your own sense of place there is no way to censor it from your artwork. If a media artist is attune to issues of sense of place they can manipulate their work to create different feels for places viewed by their audiences as well as adding depth to characters by giving them a believable sense of place.