Tektronic Visuals

I was asked to make some visuals for tektronic tonight at Stealth. I didn't have long but managed to put this together with some old footage I had of youtube being filmed through a pair of binoculars. I made the logos by opening them in paint and filming the screen and wiggling the cursor around to make them move. Everyhting has a lot of colour keying on to put it on its own layer I made the whole thing in a couple of hours

COSTART feasibility project concerned with computer support for creativity

Here is another paper I found that is quite interesting. It is a survey of artists using digital technology and their relationship with the technology and their design process.

It speaks a lot about how computers can dictate the structure of an artists work through the systematic and procedural behavior of the software. And how some artists choose to use computers as they understand and co operate with this structure and others have to be careful their work is not dictated by it.

Artifact 3 Creativity. Possible ideas

I have had a few thoughts as to possible ideas for my third artifact.
I want to investigate new technologies affect on the design process of creating sound design. And its effect on the creative outcomes sound designers achieve.

Is new technology promoting or hindering creativity in sound design through its affect of the sound design process.

Possible ideas for the artifact are;

1)Interviewing individuals about their relationship with the technology they use to create sound design.
Asking them how they relate the technology they use to the creative outcomes they achieve.

2) Compare two examples of innovative sound design for film. One from a Pre digital era that was seen as extremely innovative at the time compared with a present digital example that is also seen as extremely innovative at present. Then show these two examples to a test audience and ask them to speculate on whether the advances in technology have made the creative outcomes of these two pieces more innovative.

3) Hold a focus group with multimedia practitioners to discuss their ideas of creativity. How they think new technology promotes or hinders this through its affect on their design process.

4) Try and replicate an old piece of sound design using new technology and ask people to judge whether the outcome i can achieve with new technology is more effective than the original.

Creativity? research paper

How can computers be partners in the creative process: Classification and commentary on the Special Issue

This is a peper i would be very interested in reading however i cannot afford to buy it but the abstract seems to outline the question I am trying to test.

The different ways that computers can be involved in creative work are examined. A classification based on four categories of human–computer interaction to promote creativity is proposed: computers may facilitate
(a) the management of creative work,
(b) communication between individuals collaborating on creative projects,
(c) the use of creativity enhancement techniques,
(d) the creative act through integrated human–computer cooperation during idea production.

The idea I am most interested in is point (d) "the creative act through integrated human-computer cooperation during idea production"
Particularly the ideas encapsulated within this and my question of sound design process.

I have sent an email to see if I might be able to get hold of the paper for free. Otherwise I will have to just take inspiration from the points listed above.

Artifact 2 to 3 Creativity?

I have investigated new technologies affect on the design process and method of creating sound design. I found that new technology can make the design process easier and quicker. I now wish to expand on this and begin investigating new technologies potential for creating effective sound design and also its potential for expanding creativity.
This is going to be difficult as I am potentially trying to measure creativity. How can I test new technologies potential for better creativity?
The question I am facing is whether New Technologies affect on the sound design process as I have already discovered (making it quicker and easier) is having a positive, neutral or negative affect on the creative outcomes of sound design.

Possible answers I can imagine are;

1)New technologies impact on the sound design process has lead to lazyness and lack of thought. It has had a negative affect on sound design by making it too easy and everyone just makes the same sound using the same technology at the click of a button.

2)Sound design outcomes have remained just as creative as ever, creativity is the product of innovative thought, not process.

3)New technology has enhanced the possibility for creative outcomes. By speeding the design process and allowing for more innovative effects to be used easily more people are making more creative ideas easily and quickly.

All of these possible answers sound as plausible as each other and could equally be justifiable. I need to think of a way of testing new technologies role on sound designs creative outcomes through its affect on the design process.

Artifact 2 Sound design process initial analysis

I think the differences between the creation of the two effects is clear, however i do not think the implications of what this entails are. The Digital method was much quicker and easier. It took hardly any time at all and was extremely simple. The traditional method however was long and drawn out and required much more planning and resources. So it is clear to say the new method is quicker and easier. However the implications of this are not so clear. Just because the new method is quicker does it neccesarily mean it is better?
In my next artifact i want to look at whether the effect new technology is having on the design process of sound design is having a positive or negative effect on sound design outcomes. Taking in to consideration whether new technology is allowing for more or better creative outcomes or whether it is just speeding these outcomes up.

Artifact 2 sound design process Digital Reverb

This is the video with the digital reverb. I added the effect in adobe premiere immediately after i had finished editing the video. It took a matter of seconds to drop the effect onto the audio file. I could then very quickly an simply adjust the parameters of the effect to create different types of reverb from a large low Hall type reverb to a small high room type reverb.

Artifact 2 Sound design process Natural Reverb

This is the video shown below with Reverberation added naturally by re recording the sound in a real world acoustic situation. I took the audio from the video and played it in a large hall and re recorded it. I then took this re recorded audio and placed it back onto the video. The Whole process took a lot longer than adding the digital reverb. I had to find a space in which to rerecord the audio and then take the audio from the film and play it very loud through speakers in the space and re record it using a mic. This obviously took more equipment and time. The method of re recording also took longer for me to hear the effect I was creating. Instead of simply listening to the audio and affecting its sound in real time I had to listen back to each recording individually and change parameters such as the positioning of the mic and speakers accordingly this again added to the length and spontaneity of the process.

Artifact 2 New technology and the sound design process

In this artifact I want to investigate New technologies role in the process of creating sound design. Focusing on how new technology can affect the design process by speeding it up and making it easier. And also focusing on the effectiveness of the creative outcomes this new technology can achieve.
I have made a video of a character in the dark so the viewer cannot tell how big the space the character is in is. The audio for this video was recorded as cleanly as I could with no reverberation. I am then going to add reverb to the characters voice in a traditional way by re recording the audio in a large space such as a church or hall to capture the real reverberation of a space. Then I will add reverb to the audio using a modern digital reverberation device.
I want to compare the effectiveness of each method for achieving the goal of making the character in the film sound as though they are in a space. I also want to compare the process of creating each type of reverb. Looking at how long each took to make, how easy it was and also the creative possibilities each provides.
Here is the video with no reverb effect added;

Walter Murch, Worldizing

Walter Murch pioneered the effect I am using in my next artifact experiment. Re recording audio in real world acoustic situations to create the illusion it is in a space. In this video he talks about the technique and draws parallels between this traditional technique an modern digital reverberation effects.

Artifact 1 analysis

Artifact one,
New technologies capability for creating effective sound design.

This artifact is a three minute film consisting of two long shots. The first is a close up of a character on a bus, and the second a medium shot of the character taking drugs on a sofa. These shots were made purposefully long and boring. This was to illustrate that the sound design I created using new technology could dramatically increase the dramatic and emotional content of the film. I wanted to demonstrate the capability of new technology as a tool for creating effective sound design.
The finished film is very effective, with a very tense and emotional feel throughout. I feel it successfully illustrated what I was trying to demonstrate. It is clear from watching it the powerful effect the sound design has had on the film.
The sound design was created using only the sequencer Reason with no other equipment besides a PC and Reason. Reason is a very recent piece of music production software first released in 2000. By demonstrating the capability of this new technology as a tool for creating sound design I think this artifact has illustrated some very interesting research ideas. Such as the capability new technology provides for an individual to create effective sound design in a cost effective way, using very little equipment, very quickly. This also raises a question of new technologies role in the sound design process and the creative outcomes it achieves. These are the research developments I wish to focus on in my next artifact were I will be doing a direct comparison of traditional and new methods of creating a reverb effect in film. Looking at how the different techniques affect such things as cost, time, and the design process and creative outcomes of sound design.

Artifact 1, Extra Edit

This is an edit of the film for my first artifact. The aims of the film as a research artifact are discussed in the posts below. The changes made in this version are that I have used lighting and transition effects to add to the emotional content of the film. However changing the way the film looked subtracted from the aim of the film as a research piece or test. The aim of my first artifact, put very simply, was to take a very boring piece of footage and make it extremely emotional using only sound. This film does not follow that premise as I have made an effort to enhance the visual aspects of the film also. I felt this visual element confused the test I was trying to perform in my research, and I have left it out of the two comparisons seen below.
However I do feel it works much better as a complete piece of work than either of the two versions used as a comparison in this research experiment. This has raised some questions to me about the role of a research artifact as a piece of art as apposed to a test, and the line between these two entities that all creative research artifacts must encounter. I am following a practice based research method as a solution to the problem of testing a creative premise. Am I creating pieces of artwork to test these premises or simply tests? I would say this is an example of the problems encountered in research into creative disciplines. The problem of justifying a creative premise in a logical way through the creation of work.

Artifact 1, Film with sound design

This is the same film as below but with the sound I created on a sequencer with the aim of increasing the films dramatic and emotional content. To test this idea you can watch both films and make your own analysis. The idea was that I would be able to take what is essentially quite a boring piece of footage and turn it into something extremely dramatic using only one piece of music software.

Artifact 1, Film without sound design

This film is my first piece of practice based research. It is made to be watched in conjunction with the same film but with the sound I created for it seen in the post above. The premise is that the sound I created using new technology has dramatically increased the emotional and dramatic content of the film. If you have time please watch this video and the one above and leave a comment on how effective you think the sound design has been in increasing the emotional and dramatic content of the film.

Artifact 1

My first research artifact is exploring the degree of effect sound design has upon the veiwer, and new technologies role in this effect. My Aim is to create a video that without sound design has much less emotional or dramatic content than with sound design. This sound design also has to be created using only a sequencer as an example of new technology in sound design.

Online Portfolio

I have now more or less finished my online portfolio. I was struggling with the lay out and alignment of the videos and music player and ended up having to redesign the entire website. The squiggly line down the side of the page is a theme prevalent in my digital portfolio also as I have tired to give all my different areas of portfolio an identity.

AlexBurton.co.uk

Research project, more sources

Ben Burtt on Lightsaber Sound Design
YOUTube video. Ben Burrt created the voice of rjd2 and is an award winning sound designer.

Worldizing a sound design conceot by walter murch
YOUTube video. Murch talks about the changing technology used for reverb in sound design.

sound triggered by light experiment

future of sound
VERY INTERESTING Future of Sound is a not-for-profit organisation that provides a forum for the discussion of new and convergent art forms. By creating immersive experiences using state of the art sound technology Future of Sound showcases leading practitioners in the fields of music and audio design, collaborating with artists and scientists.

Sound design and science fiction
Search for new technology

Music, Sound, and the Moving Image

Journal from Liverpool uni that I NEED

A new paradigm for sound design
academic paper interesting and confusing

Research Project, more sources

These are all sources for the web, I will post a link to each with every one and provide an analysis of what the site is, and how useful I think it will be for me.
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FilmSound.org
This website describes itself as a learning space dedicated to the art of Film sound design. I think it is a useful resource for my self for looking over and getting ideas, it has references to film sound design theorists and a few interesting articles.
Here are some pages from within of particular interest.

Film and game sound parralells

New Technology making game sound design easier
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Audio Cook Book
This is someones blog that focuses on the technical and experimental sound design. It is great for getting creative ideas from or learning about strange techniques. NEW TECHNOLOGY
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Artists house Music>
This Website is very useful and this page in particular. It has quite a number of videos of people who work in the sound design industry talking about their work and work process. This video is particularly interesting as Chris Scarbasio is talking about the role of modern technology in his sound designing process.
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Australian sound design project
This website has a large collection of work in sound design and art form across Australia, It is good as a creative spur looking at the very creative work that is on there but I don't think the articles are quite applicable to my research.
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Film sound BlogSpot
This blog has some very interesting interviews with sound designers and is definitely very useful for my research.
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Numerical Sound
This relatively new company seem to be at the forefront of new technology in sound design and are definitely of interest to me, I am considering contacting them to ask them questions about new technology they use.NEW TECHNOLOGY
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Creative Audio
This ameature looking website probably best encapsulates my approach to sound design. Extensive use of free and found plugins for sequencers, using creativity and experimentation as the key to creating good sound not equipment and budget. NEW TECHNOLOGY
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sound design.org.uk
I've not really had time to look at this website much, It has lots of links to articles research reading and radio stations and i have a feeling it is going to be very useful over the next few weeks.
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Mobile Sound
This blog from the university of Sussex is very interesting focusing upon new sound design for mobile media and non linear sound design, the projects on here look very inspired and creative.
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Rumble fish
This company specialise in sonic branding. Giving a company an identity through sound. This is a new phrase for me but one that becomes immediately obvious. I first thought of Nintendos sonic brand, having the same noise on all consoles and adverts. This definitely touches upon NEW TECHNOLOGY.
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Scoring films before and after sequencers
Very short blog on the impacts of sequencer in scoring films. Definitely applicable to NEW TECHNOLOGY although I think when I read it I didn't agree.
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sound design for film article
I should probably cough up the 99 pence and buy this.
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challenges of sound design for interactive media
I need to read this still, but looks very interesting and applicable to NEW TECHNOLOGY.
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Interactive sound.org
An interesting collection of work but not many applicable articles or reading. Good reference for ideas.
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Rsearch Project, research sources

Over the past month I have been researching into my chosen subject area, I intend to keep a record on my blog from this point onwards of every piece of research I find. However i have not been doing this up to this point so I will list and explain them so far here.

I have been reading these books for the past month, flicking between the two. I feel they have given me a very insightful and effective understanding of sound design in a film context.
Audio Vision, sound on screen by Michael Chion discusses in depth what Chion describes as the Audio Visual Contract, this is an in depth look in to the way sound and image compliment each other in film and in real life. He creates a lot of his own terms to describe his ideas giving his work an almost philosophical feel to it. Ideas such as added value
"The expressive and informative value with which a sound enriches a given image so as to create the definitive impression... that this information or expression "naturally" comes from what is seen, and is already in the image itself."
I have taken this idea on board as Chions attempt to articulate the strange effect sound has to image in film, subtly and sometimes subconciously enhancing the film away from the viewers gaze but directly in their conscience and awarness.
Other ideas i have taken as areas of interest to my own research are his comments on sounds effect on film historical or the effect of the introduction to sound in film and ideas of perception of audio and vision such as difference in speeds of perception and the temporalization of image with sound.

Chions Audio Vision complements my next book very well as both touch upon similar ideas, but with Chion providing a more philosophical indepth approach to the exact correlation between sound and image whereas David Sonnencheins Sound Design the expressive power of Music, Voice and sound effects in cinema contains a more technical and possibly applicable approach to sound design. Still containing much theory of sound and its affects upon our perceptions of film but looking more to the process of creating sound design, giving guidence and ideas towards reading a film and understanding how to create good sound design. I think Sonnencheins understanding of creative process and the creation of sound design is immence.
" In a kind of trance with music, our lowered threshold of belief is essential to watching films and being immersed inside the story. As in nonverbal therapy, music provides a suspension of judgement and a lack of intellectual resistance that gives power to the emotions over rational words."
I think this quote will definatley come in useful when writing my report.

I have more sources to add but will place them on the next post to break things up a little.

Research Project

This is the title and summary for the first part of my personal research project; the literary review i will be writing over the next month.

How is new technology affecting the art of sound design?

In this topic I will be reviewing the technical and aesthetic value of new technologies in sound design. Studying how these technologies have changed the process of creating sound design and how they are affecting the possibilities and capabilities of creation in sound design. Investigating the way computers have radicalised the sound design process, through new technologies such as virtual synthesizers, samplers and effects. To how new technology is changing the aesthetic of sound design, allowing new possibilities in sonic creation, pushing the boundaries of communication in multimedia allowing more expressive power over mood and ideas.
I will research the history of sound in film, its technical processes and what they meant to the aesthetic of sound design. I will also carry out research into new technologies and how they are affecting sound design, through their change of process and outcome.

Client project, Brewhouse Yard Museum

I went and met with the design manager for Nottingham museums today to discuss the possibility of me creating some work for museums for my client project. The meeting went very well and I am considering the possibility of taking this work on. I have been asked to create background sound for various different displays at the Brewhouse yard museum. These could include sound effects for a dining room from 1870, a shop from the 1900's a traditional kitchen a childrens bedroom and parts of the caves. The sound would be on a loop and could include ambient sound to add to the display or the possibility of a scripted element a sound recording of a conversation. The possibility of hiring actors was also discussed.
I need to decide whether this project is suitable for my client project and whether it is worth leaving the project possibility i have with New perspectives theatre company.

Simulated client project visualisation

Here are the preliminary visualizations for my simulated client project idea.

The two people watch the advert about climate change

The discussion begins of how an individual person cant make a difference





The discussion continues trough different locations and different characters





The light switches off making the screen black, becoming the background for the titles.

Simulated client project idea

I am going to make an advert for TV Internet and mobile phone distribution, a video no longer than one minute. It is addressing the issue of client change but also peoples attitudes towards helping the cause.
It begins with two people watching a boring advert on television telling them to switch off the lights when they leave a room and a conversation begin about insignificant turning one light off is and how one person cannot help climate change. The same conversation is then carried on by two different people in a different house watching the same advert, and then again by two more people and then more and more. the idea is to show as many people as possible carrying on the same negative conversation about how they cannot change the world on their own, but this conversation is being said by thousands of people everywhere and if the all listened to the advert then it would make a difference.
The idea is not just about telling people to switch off the lights but more about trying to create a sense of unity in working against climate change, maybe it feels like your on your own but your not and lots of other people are also helping to fight the cause.

Client Poject, New perspectives

On friday I went to new perspectives theatre company in Basford so I could watch a practice run of the play I am filming this weekend in Huddersfield. I found it very interesting, as I arrived early I got a chance to watch the play being directed as they worked through the last scenes of the play. The communication between the actors, sound designer and director was very interesting, getting to see artistic desicions be made and played out.
Filming the play is going to be a difficult task. I intend to use two cameras one in a fixed position capturing the whole stage and another at the side following the action closer my hope is that i will be able to produce something that looks good quickly by editing the two togeather. I have explained to my client that this is a very short amount of time to prepare for filming a play and that the product I produce will not be perfect. They agreed and showed me pevious videos of the same nature they had made themselves which made me less worried about the final quality of this video.

Client project, intitial thoughts

The brief for my simulated client project is to produce a piece of multimedia that can be used to support a public information campaign on one of the following:
Climate Change
Sexual Health
Sustainability
Healthy Living
The first two things that came to my mind were two adverts I have seen on television. I think for me these are the most poignant public information campaigns I can think of at the moment. They are both quite similar in style and I think this is why they have been so effective in my mind.

I feel this advert is very effective for myself because at first it is quite alluring it takes my attention and I want to know what it is about. Then as I slowly start to realise what it is about, I also realise the video that at first grabbed my attention and made me want to find out more, actually has quite a nasty grimey aesthetic that I didn't notice at first. And also a nasty grimey point. It works very well.




I think this commercial is so effective and stuck in my mind because of its powerful use of imagery and sound. zooming in on the world from space and showing very beautiful, colourful landscapes in time lapse it has a very epic feel. These beautiful images mixed with quite disturbing footage of hurricanes and global disasters etc then leads to a computer visualization of global warming in a physical form. The sound is also quite intense with very powerful music and quite strange sound effects almost representing the idea of global warming as a physical thing as in the computer visualisation. This advert does make me worried about global warming. I think this is because it is so well made, the mixture of powerful imagery and sound bringing this almost physical presence to what is essentially a concept. This advert works well because its scary. However it is just that; scaring me into worrying about global warming. Although I do think this needs doing, if i had to criticise this advert it would be that it in no way tells me what i can do to help, but gives me an slight sense of impending doom.

Client project

Eager to begin work on my client project I have been contacting various companies offering them my services as a multimedia practitioner. I have been focusing on Theater groups and museums as I would most like to create a sound based project. I am imagining creating a either sound effects or sound design for a play or similar for an installation in a museum. So far I have had a meeting with New perspectives theater company, based in Basford, they are a traveling theater company that tour rural areas putting on plays in villages and towns around Nottingham. They discussed the possibility of creating a promotional documentary for them that captured the feeling of their company and showed the kind of work they do. I have agreed to go to Huddersfield on the 25th of this month to film their latest play to create a very short promotional clip of this play to put on their website whilst the play is touring.
I have also heard back from Nottingham castle museum who say they have potential sound based projects I could become involved in. I do not know much about what they have to offer me but I have arranged a meeting with them next week. I now have two possible client projects running and I am slightly concerned about having to let one of them down. However this will only happen because I am trying to keep my options open and find the best project for myself.

Portfolio

Over the last month o have been working on creating a portfolio. I wanted it to be interactive so I started making it on flash but after having spent quite some time creating it in flash i decided that it was not an appropriate format. I had tried opening it on different computers and it did not always work. The last thing you want from your portfolio is for it not to work. So I have decided to create it as a DVD this way it will be playable on any computer or TV with a DVD player and also it would be possible to display it using a projector. The layout is a short intro video at the beginning taking you to animated menu's where the viewer can navigate around my work.



This is the intro to my DVD porfolio. I created the wiggly lines by filming a spectroscope and using colour key in adobe premiere and various other effects to create the black and white effect and allow me to place writing underneath. This spectroscope follows through the whole dvd menu continuing to move on each menu.

Back to Church Sunday

I have been filming an event called Back to Church Sunday in with churches from the C of E across England encourage those who have stopped coming to church to start coming again. The purpose of the filming is to promote Back to Church Sunday next year. I have also Interviewed various vicars and the bishop of Chester.

Here is a link to more information about the event. Back to church sunday
There is a little picture of me at the bottom!