Radio’s New Wave – Page 2

Sound as Texture

Alaine Thompson on July 29, 2015September 16, 2015

Sound texture plays hand in hand with connotation, it’s what you feel through the sound. Mix quality, fidelity, layers, direction, non-verbal information, location, stereotypical generalisations. All of these come through the sound’s textures, we can hear the connotations in the textures cuing us into this new and unique world the sound is creating. The idea that sound can create texture, that it’s something tangible, that you can almost feel the unique timbres of each sound as they vibrate against your eardrum, is quite peaceful and embracing.

This textured quality of sound allows information through every vibration, surrounding you in a world you may not realise you’ve created until you’re in it.

For me the most interesting sounds, with the most interesting textures are definitely the field sounds you hear everyday, like the train, the tram, the railway gates, the sound the green man makes when he’s flashing at the lights, all of these sounds have unique emotive timbres and connotative values that effect the piece through their own unique textures. The thing that most interests me about these sounds is the idea of taking such sounds and removing them from their environment, taking them out of context, and using them for their emotional tones and qualities.

Radio and its Potential: An Intriguing Discussion

Alaine Thompson on July 24, 2015July 31, 2015

In our studio last week we had a lot of in depth discussions about radio and various ideas surrounding sound works in general.

There were a lot of things that I found interesting, such as the way that sound can establish underlying ideas, objects, codes, conventions, even create stereotypical generalisations. Simply through one small sound you can glean so much information. You can understand distance (space), location (and possibly the time, e.g. crickets can establish that it’s night), emotion (intonations, volume), whether it’s scripted or off the cuff or somewhere in between. There is so much that our brain subconsciously processes through sound that just goes unnoticed.

It was also interesting talking about how different countries handle public mediums such as radio, how they often have their own styles and niches and how in some countries the level of censorship is so high that the public radio stations are run by the State Governments. That’s where another very interesting point comes into the discussion, as most public broadcasters need to keep the information they create and distribute popular and easy to consume, containing the common social values of the time so as to not offend most of the listeners. Because of this ‘politically correct’ content, more niche audiences are reaching out to the internet to both find and create their own content. The internet really is a place where creatives from all walks of life can just about do what they creatively want.

‘The Letter S’ in particular accentuated and emphasised the importance of the pregnant pause and how its effective placement can enhance a piece so much more. It emphasises the idea that the absence is just as important as the presence, in this case sound. In particular, it was interesting listening to the framework of the piece and hearing as it established the base for the sound work and then flowed in and out of the layers, fading which ever layer had reached irrelevance, and sometimes, when attention was needed, stopping all layers to focus on one abruptly. The layering in such professional pieces as ‘The Letter S’ really creates an atmosphere, and the use of both verbal and audio motifs enhances the subtext and meaning of the piece with very little effort.

Professional sound works and radio have often been called a ‘blind’ medium as they can’t be seen visually but instead have to be imagined through the mind’s eye. Because of this such pieces often create emotionally connective and visceral experiences, driving you deep into the atmos of the piece. However, with the quick adoption of the internet into so many of these pieces and the limitations on technology becoming less and less, sound pieces are becoming an increasingly more visual experience. The other interesting thing about such works is that because they exist in a solely imagined space, there is this overlying stigma that radio pieces can’t be truthful in the way that film can, in this way radio pieces tend to be more experimental and use a unique combination of sound, rhythm and words to create a space more intended for difficult truths and conclusions to be made by the audience themselves, as it is them imagining and being enveloped by the situation. I guess in this way the audience also must be more active as they have to create the visual, as opposed to being given everything on a silver platter of sorts.

New semester, New Found Randomness

Alaine Thompson on July 22, 2015July 31, 2015

A new semester, ushering in and enticing new thoughts, experiments and thought experiments. Along with Photography 101 (which I will be posting photos from), and Popular cinema this semester, I’ve also started my first studio, an entirely audio-based studio called ‘Radio’s New Wave’ with the incredibly interesting, intuitive and on point Kyla Brettle who, to be entirely honest, when I heard her speak during first semester at one of our lectorials inspired me about sound, as before that point I never really knew much about radio, or that audio documentaries even existed for that matter. But after hearing one of Kyla’s pieces and being completely encompassed by it, I started to realise the importance of sound.

The first time I really realised the importance of sound was when I saw ‘Avatar’ at the cinema for the first time. I realised just how vital sound can be, as it evokes certain emotions and creates an encompassing emotional atmosphere in which the film takes place. And once you’ve been enveloped by that atmosphere, you don’t care about the plot, you don’t care about what’s happening around you. All that you care about is the emotional world that has consumed you in its eb and flow. Another great, more recent example of this kind of cinematic soundscape is the film ‘Interstellar’.

For me, realising this was a big step towards creating something that could somehow, creatively manipulate an audiences’ emotions into a certain state of being, to a point where I myself have been and want to share the experience and subtext that comes with it. To have the ability to allow someone else to feel the way you feel, or a character feels, or something close to it is something quite incredible and artistically intriguing, as through our art, we are mainly trying to evoke reaction.

I tried my hand at creating a sound piece for my video self portrait last semester, using random sounds I had collected and mixing them to create an entirely new and emotionally discordant piece. While I am happy with the piece I created, I feel that it lacks emotional layering and becomes lost in the noise. Instead of being simple, it became too complex and didn’t focus on what emotion each individual sound evoked. Instead of noticing that the presence of something is just as vital as the absence, the piece became too cluttered very quickly. I did however like the concept and the overall structuring, and feel that with some more experience and fine tuning I will be able to create a more interesting and emotionally complex piece, as I was trying to create.

That, for me, is why I chose this course. I realise the value that sound has in any art form, even just by itself, to evoke and envelop its audience in powerful emotions. But I feel that at my current stage of knowledge I don’t have the ability to tame it and wield it with the kind of precision and delicacy I would like for my films and other relevant pieces.

I really like the idea of using random sounds to mix and match and create something unique and new, so when I was in America, whenever I found a unique sound I used my phone to record it:

Most of these sounds are from Yellowstone, in fact all of them are. It is a truly amazing place due to it being a super-massive volcano and all of the thermal activity associated with that. Here are a collection of unique sounds created by the very unique formations of Yellowstone National Park.

Mud Pots:

Mud Pots 2:

Plaster Mud Pots (this one looked white like plaster and were more water like than mud, but still reacted to the thermal activity like mud, which was pretty cool. Also, it is a name that I made up for it, so good luck trying to find it):