In-Class Exercise: Soundwalking

PERSONAL REFLECTION

For this in-class assignment, my appreciation for sound is heightened. I realised due to the abundance of sounds in our environment, I tend to mute out the unpleasant noise so it doesn’t bother me. After the exercise of recording various types of sounds using a Zoom H4N Recorder with Whitney, I’m more attentive to the sounds in my surroundings and I can’t sleep at night because I’m super sensitive to the chirping and clicking sounds of cicada in my dorm area ):

I realised there’s always sound in our surrounding even when we perceived it as silence due to the echoes in a room. There’s only true silence when we’re dead, in my opinion. After the lecture in class, what strikes me the most is this phrase “Films are 50% visual and 50% sounds”. Sound have a high importance in film as it can be used to reinforce or manipulate the visuals.

Foley (named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley) is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality.

 

In-Class Assignment

Listen to the sounds of your body while moving.

Going up the stairs :

 

Try to move, without making any sound. Is it possible?

Whitney’s heartbeat – There’s still a faint rhythmic sound created by our heart pumping:

 

Which is the quietest sound of your body?

Eyeblinking:

Lead your ears away from your own sounds

Listen to the sounds nearby.

Faint buzzing/static sound from the corridor – I didn’t notice that there’s this sound in ADM Level 2 corridor:

 

What do you hear?
What else do you hear?

Other people

People talking/chattering:

 

Nature sounds

Exiting the ADM building – You can hear the mechanical sound of the door and wind gushing in:

 

Mechanical sounds

Rhythmic clock ticking:

 

How many Continuous sounds continuous continuous sounds continuous

Beeping sound from the card reader in ADM:

 

Can you detect

Interesting rhythms

Crunching & Munching:

Regular beats

Typing on the keyboard of a phone:

The highest

Strong static/buzzing noise:

The lowest pitch

Opening of Blue Ray CD Slot:

Do you hear any
Intermittent or discrete sounds

Aircon – Sound of vastness and emptiness of the corridor:

 

Rustles

Rustling of leaves:

 

Bangs

Knocking on metal dustbin:

Swishes

Washing hands:

Thuds

Rubber band smacking:

 

What are the sources of the different sounds?

Flushing toliet – When you close your eyes, it’s really relaxing and you can manipulate into a sound of a waterfall. My personal favourite:

 

Lead you ears away from these sounds and listen beyond—–into the distance.
What is the quietest sound?

What else do you hear?
What else?

Ignition of lighter: