Double Dribble

https://soundcloud.com/donandsherri/double-dribble

Double Dribble is a 3-minute audio piece centered around the producer and acts as a pseudo exposé into the internal battle that the producer is faced with when recording their material. I decided to structure the piece in its narrative nonfiction state, so that I could further explore the internal struggles that can sometimes plague a producer. Drawing on audio works from ‘Radiolab’ and ‘This American Life’, and employing the type of narrative structure that they utilize, I aimed to deliver a piece that explored the concepts of mental instability and mental insecurity.

After visiting the Atherton Gardens Commission Homes and obtaining all the audio that I could, I discovered that the recordings were plagued by repetition. Be it the constant bounce of the basketball on the court, the infrequent bursts of rain or the children’s screams of excitement and frustration. This constant repetition inspired me to develop the ideas of the unstable mind. Once I had a concept in mind, I then needed to develop a script for the narrative structure of the piece.

After listening to Kyla’s recommended audio feature by Jad Abumrad and hearing how he employs the use of differing voices to build scenes, I decided to script the narrative with a my voice as the external dialogue and having a different persons voice acting as the thoughts of the producer. By having two opposing voices acting as the interior and exterior dialogues, I feel that I was better able to convey the idea of the unstable mind. However, to ensure the listener knew what was happening, I made sure to use similar turns of phrase for the two voices.

By looping the background sounds of the kids and their conversations, I was able to (I feel) further this idea of an unstable presenter. Hearing the same audio on repeat in the immediate background would prompt the listener to reconsider what exactly it is they are listening to and hopefully allow them to see the ‘picture’ that I was painting.

The choice to use the rain as a final scene and to then hard cut the whole piece after the producers inner dialogue eludes to it, was done to leave the audience in a state of bewilderment and an attempt to get them to listen to the piece again. By prompting the listener to hear the piece a further time, I feel that the dual narrative structure of the composition could be better understood and the ideas behind it to be absorbed.

I feel that the piece as a whole is quite strong and delivers the ideas that I wanted to convey to the audience. However, I think if I were to do it again, I would have the concept in mind earlier and try to gain recordings that would help the narrative evolve further.

Bounce

https://soundcloud.com/donandsherri/bounce

The audio piece bounce is a 3-minute audio expose that comprises of both recorded sounds and minor Foley effects, to deliver the listener into the chaotic and childish space that is the Atherton Gardens Housing Commissions.

The recording process: getting the kids to be quiet, battling the weather and getting release forms signed and returned, turned out exactly as difficult as it sounds. Working with children under the age of 12 meant that there was a lot of audio spill, with other children screaming and making sounds in the background. By using a shotgun mic and a H4 audio recorder, I was able to minimalize (as best I could) the amount of foreign sounds spilling into the microphone and gain a slightly cleaner recording. This minor achievement was only to be outdone by the natural elements, having the basketball session interrupted by a severe downpour of rain. The rain initially proved a major inconvenience, as the equipment could not be exposed to the wet conditions; however, I was able to use the sounds to gain a greater effect in the mixing and narrative process. Having now overcome two problems and recorded enough material to produce coherent audio pieces, I faced my greatest challenge yet: getting the release forms signed by the children’s parents. Although not all the kids returned their forms, I was lucky enough to have recorded enough material to only use the audio from the children that did return their forms.

When I first chose the Helping Hoops basketball programs at Atherton Gardens as the space in which I would like to record and display to the listening audience, I immediately conceived the idea of portraying the chaotic and childlike place that it can become. I aimed to achieve this childlike feeling by using a combination of editing techniques and appropriate dialogue. Drawing from the ‘cascading voice’ that I heard in set class listening’s, I aimed to have the childrens voices cascade under the next child voice and further the sense of chaos. Aiding to the cascading voice, I also added filters, pan and volume changes to the voices heard saying “bounce”. This was done in an attempt to have the words of the kids swirling around and gradually getting louder to give the listener a sense of how intense that space can be. After achieving this chaotic sound, I decided to then introduce the listener to the coach that keeps the chaos to a minimum, and to do this, I felt his voice needed to be heard.

Coupling Omar’s (the coach) words with a royalty free piece of music, I felt that the calming positive message he was hoping to achieve gained greater poignancy.

On The Record

recording
rɪˈkɔːdɪŋ/
noun
  • the action or process of recording sound or a performance for subsequent reproduction or broadcast.

After deciding on the location in which I would centre my ’24 Hour Folio’ around, it came time to head down to the “tech office” and rent out the required equipment to capture the sounds I wanted.

 

The list of hired equipment read as follows:

 

  1. H4N Zoom Recorder
  2. 3 Meter XLR Cord
  3. Shotgun Microphone
  4. Wind Muff

 

After obtaining all the equipment, I set out to the Atherton Gardens Commission Homes with a somewhat structured idea of what I wanted to capture. Upon reaching the basketball courts, I commenced the process of setting up the gear and began recording. I was immediately able to capture a multitude of various different textured sounds, however I was confronted with an unforeseen problem that I had no ability to resolve, having the immense amount of background noise from the children seep into every recording. It was at this point that I had wished that I had hoped out an additional lapel microphone ⋋_⋌ . Having only secured the permission to record on the Commission Homes for that evening, I had to role with it and make the most of every opportunity; and, defying every production bone in my body, I would have to ‘fix it in the mix’.

 

Hopefully I am able to separate the sounds enough to create a coherent and balanced piece.

it’s the place to be (don’t believe the hyperbole)

PLACE.

 

After listening to ‘A Sense Of Place’ ‘Poetry Texas’ I was struck with the importance of place and the ability of a presenter immersing themselves in the environment they are wishing to encapsulate and display to the world.

 

Having listened to the two pieces that employ two differing styles of presenting the importance of place, enabled me to gain a more holistic perspective on why PLACE plays such a pivotal role in a story.

 

Poetry Texas’ immersed the listener in the place and displayed the story in a dualistic fashion, juxtaposing the literal place of Poetry, Texas against the word Poetry; enabling a clever lexical interplay of locale to unfold. By having the presenter (Pejk Malinowski) take control of the piece and making himself an equal part of the narrative as the subjects, and interjecting the literal place he is in with the figurative space of Poetry as a concept (imposing his views and memories onto the piece) the listener is compelled to engage with the concepts he is highlighting.

 

IN CONTRAST

 

A Sense Of Place’ acts as a highly expository piece that highlights the importance of a journalists ability to emerge themselves into the place they are aiming to investigate and the differing ways to do so. This piece acts as a sort of direct address to the listener, that places the producer at the front and centre of it. Highlighting the importance of being confident and understanding, the piece further addresses the necessity of the producer to fully engage with the subjects they are aiming to portray while also displaying the tendencies and procedure that will enable you (as a producer) to gain the poignant stories. Encapsulating this notion is the Hurricane Catrina story. A first hand piece that shows the listener the necessity of following your gut and documenting all facets of the story and not being afraid of approaching subjects and connecting with them.

 

Both these pieces have both inspired and frightened me about choosing a place to document for the ’24 Hours Folio’ as I, as a somewhat introverted person, will have to fully immerse myself in whatever location I choose.

 

– donandsherri