FIELD RECORDING

This weekend I went back to the location to record ambient sound. Even though it was only one week after the shooting, the atmosphere was incredibly different. I had forgotten how sound could capture the essence of the environment just as well as video, if not better. There are as many audio microcosms as there are people and things to point a microphone at.

The main idea was to construct without scripting. Just like for the video, creating a setting and letting the content emerge from the environment.

I recorded from the actual shooting location, along the canal and by the lock. Sometimes it sounds like it could be anywhere, even in the jungle at some points because of all the birds. But if you listen carefully, it is the sound of home. Wild and tame.

I also recorded some tracks inside. Sounds of intimacy and non-linguistic verbal exchanges (which have become a focal point of my piece). The sound is the inside looking out, as opposed to outside looking in, in the video. Hopefully, the superposition of both will provide an interesting contrast.

For the presentation, I am thinking of having the sound separated in 8 channels (4 stereo channels split between opposing monitors). Most likely half will be of the actual location and half of the more personal recordings.

Uhhh. Yeah. This is getting techno heavy. Shite.

I am trusting my instinct on this one.