Daily Archives: April 21, 2015

Trouble Working with the Zoom H2N Sound Recorder

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Below are two of the sound clips my partner and I recorded during our tutorial using the Zoom H2N sound recorder. After a brief introduction to the equipment, we set out to record a variety of different sounds, including “silence” in different sized spaces, conversations, modes of transport, etc. The aim of the task was to get a feel for recording and to start paying attention to the considerations we will need to make when working to create our own original recordings for project briefs. The thing I noticed almost immediately when I started to pay close attention, is how difficult it is to differentiate between different noises coming from every direction. In our clips, the sound we intentionally set out to record was sometimes muffled by outside noises, and this is especially difficult to control in a public space such as the city.

The major issue we encountered with this task was that after setting the decibel level to the recommended level and taking a sample recording, we couldn’t hear the recording in playback. We tried changing the recorder settings, recording in different locations and trying to find louder sounds, but still had no luck. We concluded that because we couldn’t find the issue, it must have been in the playback not the recording, so we continued, in the hope that all would be resolved once we transferred the sound files to our computers from the device. However, what we didn’t realise was that there was a small dial on the outside of the recorder (right in front of our eyes!) that showed the volume level that would be recorded, and ours was turned almost to zero! This is a mistake I won’t make again, so I’ll put it down to a learning experience.

Below are two of our loudest sound recordings, which are audible but still fairly quiet.

Birds and water:

Trams:

Techniques for Project Brief 3

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In our tutorial for week 6, Rachel went through some basics about coverage and sound recording to help us with the technical aspect of Project Brief 3.

Coverage

  • Interview
    • Camera setup: master camera (see the whole scene), additional cameras focus on specific aspects of the scene
  • Going about daily business
  • What’s going on in the environment
  • Close-ups of eyes, hands, etc. demonstrating a person’s subconscious behaviours

Sound Recording

  • Simplest form – changes in air pressure that changes depending on spatial orientation
  • Sound vs. Noise
    • Sound: intentional, public, specifically listen to it
    • Noise: unintentional, surrounds us
  • Hearing vs. Listening
    • Hearing: surrounds us, may try to block it out
    • Listening: intentional, pay attention, specific source
  • 3 main types of sound (all influenced by our own perceptions):
    • Music
    • Speech
    • Sounds
  • Space
    • 3-dimensional (think about depth, breadth, height)
    • Gain perspective by listening to the sound (decipher where the sound was recorded, the distance of the recording device/microphone from the sound source, how the sound was recorded – type of microphone, sound/noise ratio)
  • Reverb: multiple reflections of the same sound – direct and reflected sound
  • Signal sound should be loud in relation to the noise – largely dependent on the microphone used to record and the environment where the sound was recorded
  • Microphones
    • Dynamic – common, cheap, frequency not great
    • Condenser – much more sensitive, better signal-to-noise ratio)

Collaboration

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In our week 6 lectorial, we talked about the characteristics of positive collaborative experiences, reflecting back on good and bad experiences from the past and thinking about the upcoming group project brief.

My experiences:

  • Good – I collaborated with two people whom I knew were hard workers. We were able to bounce ideas off each other, which helped us to think more deeply about the topic and in turn gain a more well-rounded knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • Bad – I recently worked with a group of 3 others, one of whom did not contribute to or communicate with the group. This meant that the rest of the group (myself included) had to complete more than our fair share of the work.

The characteristics identified in the lectorial as making up positive collaborations are:

  • Consistency – making sure work is of a high standard and that as a group member you are reliable
  • Respect – communicate with others, especially if unable to attend a group meeting or complete a task by an agreed deadline, not wasting others’ time
  • Support – looking out for other members of the group and helping them where necessary
  • Responsibility – each person has their own tasks that others trust them to complete well and in a timely manner
  • Equitability – everyone shares the workload

Being upfront with group members is very important so that everyone knows where they stand and what they intend to get out of the assignment; this forms the groundwork for everything. It helps to map out where your group hopes to go with the project and outline practically how you will work towards this, assigning responsibilities to each group member. Key is having resolution procedures so that if anything happens, it is clear how the group will deal with the situation and proceed.