AA1 - Semester 2 - Week 5

Sound Installation

Like always, my VERY first step in the research journey! Was Wikipedia, and I came across THIS which I strongly recommend everyone to have a look at; however, I ended up analysing someone’s art which was not mentioned in that page, blame it on Youtube.
Lionel Marchetti (as it is mentioned in the first Google search for his name) is “…a composer of musique concrète. First self-taught, he discovered the catalogue of Musique Concrète with Xavier Garcia. He has composed in the CFMI of Lyon 2 University between 1989 and 2002, where he still organizes workshops focused on the loudspeaker, the recorded sound and Musique Concrète, both on practical and theoretical levels. He has built his own recording studio, and composes also in the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM) in Paris since 1993...”
I analysed one of his sound installation projects which I found on Youtube; you can check it out below:

Use of music technology:
Apparently Marchetti is famous for his works on and with loudspeakers. This particular video is showing the application of his idea of transforming the electrical energy to the kinetic energy of a loudspeaker and again delivering that to some stones and finalising the act with the natural sounds of the stones.

Sound Mediums:
According to my understanding, the main mediums through which Marchetti is sending the sound(s) are stones and soil. The video is not very clear but I think there is something going on with the plants and their leaves as well; nevertheless, the main sound-makers are stones, which are collaborating with loudspeakers!

Type of artist:
Apparently Marchetti is known the best as a “Concrète Musician” (I just came up with this word; I hope it exists in the glossary of music technology.) but the work I have analysed –to me-is an example of sound installation. Many other installations that I watched, however, had mainly used sound and light. Yet, this work could be categorised the same. Marchetti is also a poet.

References:
- Christian Haines 'Audio Arts 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 20/08/2007
- Lionel Marchetti, Wikipedia (translated by Google from French to English) [Accessed 26/08/2007]
- Lionel Marchetti, ElectroCD [Accessed 26/08/2007]

CC1 - Semester 2 - Week 4

Cubase

The first interesting uniqueness (as far as I know) of Cubase is the algorithm of dealing with MIDI. Usually –and typically- softwares just need inputs and outputs set to proper ports and channels; then different plug-ins, VIs, VSTs, etc apply. In Cubase, you are ought to send the MIDI signal THROUGH the VI or VST that you want to utilise.
The other interesting fact I came across in Cubase was that you have all your different devices, instruments and effects organised in various folders and they are always accessible. I can’t comment whether this is good or bad; but it sure is different. Its positive point could be the fact that you always know your MATERIAL, and the bad side of it could be that you have to divide your mind into two, one to manage your actual sound and the other to keep an eye on the effects’ (or VSTs) folder.

Here is the MP3 of my final result:



Here is the Cubase file:

References:
Christian Haines Creative Computing 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 15/08/2007
- Cubase, Steinberg media (www.steinberg.net) [Accessed: 20/08/2007]
- VST - Virtual Studio Technology, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology) [Accessed: 20/08/07]

AA1 - Semester 2 Week 4

Carlton Draught

In this ad, the famous music piece “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff is used to support the video scenes of two group of people running into each other in a big field.
In general, most of the techniques are conceptual. The lyrics have changed and are (in a funny way) repeating the massiveness and the sophistication of the advertisement.
However, the process of synchronising the music and the video is notable. When the music is soft and –relatively- quite, the two groups of people have slow movements; they walk. When the music begins to be loud and the choir singers begin to raise their voices, the two groups run towards each other. By the end of the music, the camera zooms back and covers the entire scene and it becomes clear that one group were acting as the beer and the participants in the other group were serving the role of the consumer.

The ad is mostly utilising diegetic sounds and overdubs for the actors’ voices.


Sony.

Sony has used the Pilipino band Rivermaya for its ad. The ad is promoting the quality of sound and vision in Sony products. Throughout the short-film, there are many uses of hyper-real and ambience sounds like tearing the tape around the products’ boxes, the sound of boxes being moved, etc. Like many other ads, we hear a short narration being said at the end.
One of the notable characteristics of this video is that sounds build-up gradually and small sounds (of packing and un packing the product) result in the main point which is the actual band, playing the music in the highest quality possible. The evolution of these sounds is an interesting fact to me.

References:
Christian Haines 'Audio Arts 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 13/08/2007
- Carmina Burana, Carl OrfF, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana_%28Orff%29) [Accessed: 19/08/2007]
- Rivermaya, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivermaya) [Accessed: 19/08/07]

AA1 - Semester 2 Week 3

Requiem for a Dream

The exercise for this week is to analyse the soundscape for a hollywood movie.
I have taken 4 minutes of the film “Requiem for A Dream” from 29’ 30” to 33’ 30”.
Unfortunately, mostly as a result of copyright issues, I am unable to put the movie up here but down here is the film’s trailer derived from Youtube:


Analysis:

Music/Non-diegetic sounds:
- In the robbery scene, the background music gradually takes off and adds to its elements; however, when Jared Letto and Jennifer Conelly talk, it is heard as just a rhythm.
- When Harry’s mom (Ellen Burstyn) is experiencing the effects of Ecstasy pill and is dancing, a Balkan music is being played in the background.

Hyper-Real sounds:
- Robbery scenes have sounds of cash-machine chime when it’s valet is being opened. The sound is similar to the sounds Pink Floyd used in the track Money (the Dark Side of the Moon, 1973, Harvest/Capitol)
- Security alarm beep is heard in the background in robbery scenes.
- When the main actors are taking magic mushrooms and cocaine, the sound of their pupils being opened is heard. It sounds very artificial to me and in fact, I don’t think a pupil makes THAT sound when it is rapidly opened. (It would be great if anyone tells me if it made any sound at all). The same issue is there with the sound of blood running in the veins, containing loads of drugs.
- The sound of cocaine being sniffed is a reverse of some other artificial sound; it might not be the real sound of the action but in my opinion it makes sense in the context of the film.
- The electric noise of the lamps in the robbery scene is good; as a necessity of the design extremely exaggerated.
- When Letto and Conelly kiss each other, there is just ONE sound of kissing, which is weird. (The positions are different, I don’t think all the kisses sound the same; they sure don’t feel the same though!)
- When Conelly is making (it looks like) a wallpaper, some reverse sound is serving the effects and it totally doesn’t make sense to me; however, it might, again in the context.
- When Burstyn is taking her pills, again we hear an ultra-exaggerated sound of popping-up!

Diegetic sounds
- Doors are being slammed few times during this 4 minutes, again, the issue is that they sound more or less the same; despite the fact that they are different doors.
- One of the main quotes of the film “Purple in the morning, blue in the afternoon, orange at night..” is said by Harry’s mom when she is organising her timetable of taking Ecstasy pills.

References:
Christian Haines 'Audio Arts 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 06/08/2007
- 2000: requiem for a Dream (film), IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180093/) [Accessed: 12/08/2007]
- MDMA (Ecstasy), Erowid (http://erowid.org/chemicals/mdma/mdma.shtml) [Accessed 12/08/2007]

CC1 - Semester 2 - Week 2

Another Bidule project;

This time the circumstances were pretty different from the last week. Having experimented a bit with the software and also after reading an instructive writing on the net, life was easier.
I came up with this result:

..which its Bidule file looked like this:
..and it (the Bidule file) is HERE to download.

There were several issues that I encountered but overall, since Christian explained the system through which such an "open-ended" software works, the bugs became more understandable. Still, I have to experiment more to actually find out how to generate "what I want". Unfortunately, the software gives zillions of options from which you can choose your sound (or rather choose the "way" you want to generate your sound.) My aim however, is to come up with a sound which I can possibly use somewhere else; in collaboration with other softwares. I didn't really get into the "re-wire"ing side of the software but I think it is very possible to work with Bidule while it is cooperating with other programs.

References:
- Christian Haines 'Creative Computing 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 02/08/2007
- Martin, "Bidule Tutorial", Front and Back [Accessed 06/08/2007] .

AA1 - Semester 2 Week 2

Forum - Semester 2 Week 1

Victorian Synth, as I understand (and of course as a result of my readings) is to come up with components of a synthesiser with several electronic and/or mechanical devices.
This week’s forum or rather Music Technology Workshop) of ours, gave us the basic understanding of the use, application and coordination between such devices. The aim was obviously to create a musical patter; (I strongly believe in the fact that there is NOTHING such as noise in the sense of an unpleasant sound. Music IS subjective)
We initially broke simple computer speakers apart and used their elements for our study of Victorian Synth.
The process was not sophisticated in the first place. Having the electric current coming from a 9V battery, we momentarily connected and disconnected our wires (also connected to two phases of the battery) to a speaker. This provided an electric spark and a sound (the same sound that small sparks have! I don’t know if there is a particular name for it in English).
The experience was to have several things on top of the speaker, in the middle of the electric current, on the surface on which the connections were made, and so forth. We also used objects such as classes to dampen the sound or/and change the environment of the sound source hence the quality of sound.
As obvious in the 3 different videos of Victorian Synth that I have put here (all derived from Youtube) the whole process` requirements are simple. It just needs a bit of creativity to think of new sounds and ways of making those sounds.

The piece I have put here is consisting of 4 parts. 1^st part is just momentary connections of two electrodes; second part is what is called “Electric Feedback”. The short distance between the centre of the speaker and the point of the connection (of electrodes) provides a magnetic field from which the speaker would be affected again, and the result would sound like what you hear! The 3^rd part is having the momentary electric pulses, and pressing the surface of the speaker in a very sentimental manner! (It would break for f***’s sake) The effect is the change of the pitch, and the reason for that is the change of the pressure from the back of the speaker’s diaphragm. The fourth one is simply scratching one of the electrodes to a Lighter Stone (Is it called this in English?) and check the result.
Cool, huh?

References:
- Christian Haines, Stephen Whittington 'Music Technology Forum' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 26/07/2007
- Bowers, John. Suborderly (http://suborderly.blogspot.com/2007/03/suborderly-music-victorian-synthesizer.html) [Accessed 1/08/2007] .
- "The Victorian Synthesizer". Field Muzick. (http://www.fieldmuzick.net/17.237.0.0.1.0.phtml) [Accessed 1/08/2007]