Walk 7: Headphone Assessment and 30 minute Audio

Conclusions:

The 30 minute walk feels much less rushed. People have time to walk leisurely and look around. The addition of the poetry and music balances the rest.
My new narrative sections are shorter and punchier than before.


I tested Sennheiser headphones, sound limiting Sony headphones and earpieces.
The sound limiting headphones were best. 


At certain times of day there is a lot of external traffic sound. Some external sound is fine as it adds to the experience but too much means that any subtleties on the soundtrack are lost.

Creating the Accompanying Book for the Walk

Editorial decisions:

• Large clear font, for ease of reading in situ, by anyone.
• Minimal description, listen to the audio.
• Incorporate the map, inside and back cover
• Additional laminated map for use in bad weather.
• I investigated several book publishing sites and chose Photobox

How should the Audio Sound ?

• Informative and interesting
• Sad but not nostalgic
• Thoughtful and thought provoking
• Atmospheric and immersive
• A juxtaposition of social history, music, comment, poetry, instructions, ambient sound.

There are constant reminders that life goes on despite the inevitability of death and decay. We may rail against the vandalism and the litter but then we get on the train and go home. The dead have to share their world with the living.

Stephen Vitiello : Savvy Traveller

http://www.stephenvitiello.com/?page_id=7

The sound artist Stephen Vitiello talks about his time spent with the Yanomami people and the sounds of the forest

http://www.stephenvitiello.com/?page_id=5


'All those vanished engines'
very haunting sounds very much in the John Cage tradition but more melodic


http://soundcloud.com/stephenvitiello

The Uncanny, by Sigmund Freud translated by David Mclintock, 2003

Schizophonic Sound

The association of place and the feeling of the uncanny or strange. This also links to the idea of schizophonia where sounds which have no connection to the visual can produce uneasy feelings.


http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~amtower/uncanny.html

More Recording

Additional Music and Poetry

The beginning and the end of the Doors track 'The End'

Poetry reading from 'V'

Re-edited the audio, and increased the time to 30 minutes

Walk 6 Photographs

In poor light conditions I took photographs to document the entire walk. 
I have decided to use a book format for the map,photographs etc

 

Interesting Juxtaposition

walk 5: Assessing my first 20 minute audio cut

Conclusions:

• The audio felt very rushed, it needs to be much longer, possibly 10 minutes, mostly at the beginning.
• I need to start from the site of the chapel as it is too noisy near the gate.
• If I was new to the place I would need some time at this first point , to orientate myself and to absorb the atmosphere. 
• The volume was fine and  I was pleased with the quality of the sound.  
• No firm conclusion on the headphones yet: I need to carry out further tests, with and without sound limiting headphones.  
• I had a sense of disorientation at times when strange noises occurred. I experienced the binaural effect, particularly the metro and train sounds and the digging sounds. 
• I felt that some music between the chapel area and the area of the Bird and Gillott graves would be appropriate and a way of extending the time. Also I think this would be an appropriate place to have some of the poetry reading.  
• One suggestion for music ; 'The Doors' track 'The End', very melancholic.

Guy Debord and The Derive

The Derive was a word coined by Guy Debord a revolutionary thinker and film maker to describe aimless wandering through urban space. The term is often used in Psychogeography.

Definition :  dérive: literally “drift” or “drifting.”

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm

Hamish Fulton

Ikon Exhibition and Talk

I have extensively referenced Hamish Fulton previously. Seeing his work in exhibition was a different experience. The work was more powerful than I had realised partly because of the scale. The simplicity of the graphics and the use of colour is very arresting. There is a rhythm to the images which mirrors the rhythm of walking. It was interesting to hear him talk about the reasons for his use of colour and his use of particular words. Most interesting  was the reasons why he walked and how he saw this as an artistic experience.

Hamish Fulton Exhibition

Image courtesy of Ikon gallery

http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/Repository/Media/0BB33067-15E8-461E-8F08-9610BE48781A/0BB33067-15E8-461E-8F08-9610BE48781A_t_6.jpg