Sunday, April 17, 2011
Soundscape for "Shock"
In addition to posting my own soundscape, I have critiqued several of my friends' soundscapes as well. These soundscapes can be found by using the following links:
Ian Bullington's "Affection" Soundscape:
http://blogofthebullington.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape.html
Gabe Marchetti's "Anxiety" Soundscape:
http://mdia203marchetti.blogspot.com/2011/04/soundscape.html#comment-form
and
Joey Buccini's "Jealousy" Soundscape:
http://mdia203joeybuccini.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-playlist4.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Brendan’s soundscape is for the emotion of shock and I think he did a good job of portraying it. The beginning of the piece lulls the audience into a false sense of security with soft, calm noises such as the water flowing and the steady croak of a frog and hoot of an owl. Following these familiar nighttime noises come gushes of wind that translates into heavy rain and thunder – breaking the calmness of the scene. Then there are footsteps in the water that sounds as if they’re walking closer to you into the water and then leaving, after that there are hushed voices and the echo and reverb have been manipulated in these audio clips to add depth and directionality to the soundscape. Chaos seems to ensue after these voices and reach a higher pitch until the audience almost wants to turn the video off and then they suddenly stop. A shrill horn is played at the end to literally show the emotion “shock” on the audience. Overally, the tempo of the piece goes from serene calmness to sudden rushes of different sounds, altering our sense of time and pacing. Brendans soundscape does a thorough job of portraying the emotion shock.
ReplyDeleteThe emotion of shock is well-represented in this soundscape. The serenity in the beginning lulls the listener into not really paying attention to it eventually, until the wind, thunder and other more tense noises start sounding. Space is represented well as the footsteps in the water come closer and closer, and the voices rising in volume makes the listener feel confined because they seem to be all around you. As the audio progresses, it grows increasingly chaotic, with the pictures matching theme and speed of the introduction of sounds. The calm pictures correspond to the beginning of the soundscape, and they become more chaotic and frightening as more and more sounds enter the scene. This is a very good use of several Gestalt Principles, and it makes the audience put them together to connect better with the piece. If I had not known ahead of time that the emotion was shock, the horn blaring at the end of the soundscape probably would have made me jump, giving that much more emphasis on the shock emotion. Overall, I enjoyed this soundscape, because it had many layers of deep sound, and the surprise of the horn was just an extra touch that added a lot to the sound.
ReplyDeleteThe sounds and pictures used in this soundscape depict the emotion of shock as if a dark, disturbing, and upsetting event had just occurred. As the soundscape begins, the peaceful water and animal sounds put you into a calm and relaxed state that quickly changes as the wind picks up and a thunderstorm approaches. The thunder crack is shocking, because it catches listeners off guard and prominently cuts through all of the other sounds. The sounds of rain and thunder are then replaced with whispering voices, and layers upon layers are then added on top of each other. The overwhelming layers of sound (including babies crying, people coughing, a heartbeat, sirens, gun shoots, a clock tower and a ringing bell) build tension and leave listens with an uncomfortable feeling of surprise and shock. All of this comes to a sudden stop, and listeners are left with nothing but silence until an unexpected and shocking air horn sounds at the end of the soundscape. What seemed to be a peaceful day quickly turns into a scene of devastation, in which I am left with an upsetting and disturbing feeling of surprise. Space is manipulated by the sounds in the beginning, which help to create a visual sense of depth. The animal sounds listeners hear are distant, the water is flowing, and the wind swiftly moves into listening range. Time is also manipulated, as the sounds of frogs and animals you imagine in the day change to the sound of crickets and an owl (animals you relate to night). And of course the change in weather helps to manipulate time passing. I believe this soundscape accurately and creatively depicts the emotion of shock. I also feel a lot of attention was put into the video, as the pictures relate well and are timed to the sounds.
ReplyDelete