Editing Screen Shots
This shot shows how we've had to make a lot of adjustments to the volume in order to make it sound equal and we've also done so because at some points there are a few layers and at different times we may want a particular sound to be more or less prominent than the others. It also shows how we changed the pan settings, this example is when shes using the spray bottle, we changed it to make it sound like she was spraying from left to right which creates more of sense of movement around the cleaner.
This shows all the different tracks we used in order to layer the sounds to create and build up an overall sense of the office space when everything's all going on at once and also how we've used cross fade between two sounds sometimes to make it flow better.
This is another example of layering and also panning as we used pan to make it sound like she was sweeping towards herself by setting it to far left at the start of the sweep and finishing it back at centre as the sweep stops and then half way through we did the same again but from the right so it sounded like she was sweeping the other side, so your hearing it all from her POV.
This is what we had to do in order to create the sound of the computer error - we had to line up each error noise with where, on the recording of the typing above, there was a hit of a key. We had to make sure it was just after and also exactly the same time after for each one to make it sound consistent.
For some of the sounds we had to turn the gain up as they sounded too quiet in comparison to some of the other noises so we needed to balance the levels out. Some sounds are bound to be louder like a hand dryer will be louder than a pen scratching but there can't be too much difference between them in a recording as that would result in the listener having to keep turning the volume up and down all the time to compensate for the difference in volume if they're is too much contrast.
When editing we did not feel the need to add too many effects to the sounds as we wanted it to sound as natural as possible and not smothered in effects which can sometimes take the 'real' sounding quality away from it. We used EQ a little bit just to try and clear a few sounds up if there was a lot of unwanted background noise but luckily everything we wanted to use was quite clear so it was mainly a case of sorting out levels and putting on fades to make the sounds smoother. Quite a bit of our editing included manipulating the pan a lot to keep the sense of movement flowing throughout and also was used to make sure the audience could hear things as if they were the cleaner meaning all the sounds around her as well as the thoughts in her head.
Feedback Tutorial
Today we had a feedback session with the tutor to show our rough edit of Office Space in which we all agreed on a few things that need to be changed. The first major thing was the voice of the cleaner as it came across as a bit mocking and although we want a bit of humour we don’t want it to be too over the top, and we were also not quite happy with it ourselves anyway so have decided to redo the voice and get our actor to say it in her normal tone with maybe a slight monotonous tone to it as its meant to represent the voice in her head. There were also some issues with levels and some of it was too loud, this is something we were going to sort out right at the end when we’ve recorded and added the new dialogue and some more sound effects so we can make it all equal.
Our tutor also felt there wasn’t enough separation between the cleaner and the office so we will try and fix that with hopefully the re-recorded voice and also adding a few more things and tightening it all up, we want to focus on the cleaner as the main thing so we’re going to use a lot more panning and make everything from the cleaners perspective so when she’s cleaning and when she’s walking through the office or people are walking past her.
Schedule
Week 17 - Planning
23/11/11
Meeting to discuss initial ideas.
Book equipment following meeting
Draw up mindmaps and schedule.
24/11/11 - 28/11/11
Source office specific sound tracks - i.e films that incorporate office sound sequences, sound tracks about offices etc.
Review at least 1 sequence
Week 18 - recording sounds
28/11/11
- Get equipment out
29/11/11 - 01/12/11
Record and log sounds
Week 19 - editing track - rough edit/final edit
5/12/11 - 7/12/11
- Rough editing
Week 20 - Contingency time and Presentation
12/12/11 - 14/12/11
Contingency editing time
Plan presentation
15/12/11
Present
Timeline
Other Listening/Research into Sound
The Curious Ear: Meat Factory Ear Worms
This piece is a man recalling his time working in a meat factory and it uses many layers of sound which help recreate the ambience and noises from that time. The main layer is the dialogue of the man reminiscing about his time there and then built around that are background noises of the factory like the machinery and you’ve also got this scraping of the knives, there’s also music and then the main focus which are the ‘ear worms’ the songs that used to get stuck in his head while he was working. What stood out to me about this piece was how it doesn’t flow like it has been scripted or anything, it’s quite disjointed, which makes it feel more real because the man is one minute remembering and talking about something and then all of a sudden talks about something else which gives it a more personal quality. I think this is because that is how our brains actually work one minute we’re thinking of something and then we remember something else. The pace is always changing as well which I think is to mirror the fact sometimes he has fond memories and some are a little more sombre, this is shown by sometimes it just being solely his voice and other times there’s other background noises and music as well. I noticed that throughout when the music is playing or he’s singing along to his ear worms that all of a sudden it’ll be interrupted by the factory noises which I think shows that although he had these songs in his head to help him get through the day, he still couldn’t get away from the factory and the job as killing animals and slicing them open isn’t just something you can easily shut your mind from. Something else that stood out was the stark contrast with the music and songs compared to what was going on as they were quite soft nice songs and then you’ve got this man talking about ripping cows apart over the top of them. What I liked was about it was because of his accent and he described things you could conjure up an image in your head of what the factory might have looked like and the area and landscape around it which makes it easier for you to get immersed in what’s happening and being said and with the ear worms it also reminded me of being at work and listening to music to try and make the day seem not so dreary and make it go quicker and my job was completely different which shows it’s something a lot of people can relate to. For me I didn’t find it too interesting though overall but I can appreciate what they’ve done, making it a very personal piece and the way it’s done in terms of it not being an easy relaxing thing to listen to as that wasn’t the nature of his job, his job was manually hard and sometimes quite gruesome and he wanted to get that across to the audience which I think was achieved.
Tunnel Vision - Pejk Malinovski (2001)
Out of all the pieces we listened to in class this was one of my favourites, it was more the comedy side of it that grabbed me more than the sense of space as that just seem to fade into the background to give it context rather than be the major part. There were the usual tube noises in the background like the doors closing and then the train stopping at the end and I think the tube journey with the music did direct the story and help it flow but it was the amusing little anecdotes that these men had to say about their encounters and being on the tube that kept me interested and really drew me in just for how open and frank they were about quite intimate thoughts. I don’t think everyone’s thoughts go as far as those men’s did and I don’t think most people act upon it if they see someone they like the look of on the tube but it was interesting and amusing to know and I think most people can relate to actually seeing someone they like the look of when travelling on the tube because you’re all trapped in this confined space for a short period of time. I think if these people hadn’t of bared all, that it wouldn’t have been half interesting because it felt like you were listening to things you shouldn’t be hearing or shouldn’t know like over hearing a conversation on the train.
Rare Soundscapes of Vanishing Habitats:
I found this page and automatically knew I’d like it as it had sounds on to do with wildlife in different habitats, except it was sad to read next to it that the habitats recorded are no longer there so when you’re listening it makes it feel even more poignant that those sounds probably cannot be heard anymore as the animals are extinct or the habitats gone.
While listening I could really get immersed in these places and wish the recordings went on for longer or that I could be transported to the places so I could experience the full effect of the atmosphere and all the different sounds. I particularly liked the ones where you could hear the rain storms as you could hear the definition of the drops close by and also the ones in the distance that all merge together to sound like one continuous noise. I also like all the variety of bird noises that can be heard in the trees and how you can tell some are close by as they are more prominent and then you just hear these quieter ones coming through in the distance which gives a sense of how big this space is and how many creatures must be or have been there. This isn’t something that has been layered to create the piece like all the others as by the sounds of it it’s just one recording but it still gives you a real sense of space.
Listen To Nature
Again this is another selection of wildlife sound clips, I like listening to these because I think animal noises, and birds especially, is a noise many people don’t hear but not because it’s not there but because they never take time to really listen to what even their own garden sounds like. This is something I like to do a lot particularly in spring and summer when you can actually hear a lot of different wildlife sounds just in the garden like flies, bees and other insects and different species of bird and even the atmos of the wind blowing through the different trees which also makes different sounds. When you’ve listened to it for long enough you start to notice and tell which bird is making the noise as they are all quite different, people would be on a farm and easily tell the difference between each animal but probably not even between the most common birds that you see and hear every day. For me a lot of these tracks make you really take note, listen and realise that forests and woodland habitats don’t all sound the same and that animals especially birds all sound very different and individually play a big part in what a habitat or ‘space’ sounds like.
SoundScapes
On this page was a piece of sound playing that was of the seaside and next to it were boxes with each noise that you could hear playing and you could turn them on or off to play or not play the sound. I thought this was a really good experiment to see how an individual noise can affect something and really make a difference if you took it away or added it. It made me think about my own project and how I will use the sounds throughout to show how noise ebbs and flows and is constantly changing during the day. By leaving just the sounds of the waves, the windsurfer, hum of the boat and seagulls it made it sound very peaceful and tranquil but as soon as I started adding the child’s laughter and dog barking it gave it a very different feel altogether with just those 2 sounds.
Sound List
Sounds we may want to include:
Office atmos/talking
Typing (different types/speeds)
Phone ringing
Printer/Photocopier/Fax machine
Vending/drinks machine
Computer noises/whirring
Human sounds (coughing/sneezing)
People gossiping
Kettle boiling
Pouring liquid into a cup
Eating food (noisy crisps)
Opening the window (outside sounds)
Cleaning sounds (hoovering/mop & bucket/sweeping/spraying/wiping
Toilet sounds (toilet flush/tap running/hand dryer
Doors opening/closing
Echoey stairwell
Lift
Switches on/off
Footsteps (heels)
Our idea is to show our spaces progression through time, from starting midmorning in an office setting through to the evening when the office becomes a cleaning ground and finally the buzz of machines left on overnight, with a light switch being turned off to signify the end of the track.
So far, we have thought of varying stages through the day where an office’s sounds may fluctuate such as, tea break, smoking breaks, lunchtimes and then when the day would be busier such as peak call times just after lunch. We also think the atmos track can be made of two layers, the sounds of the machines - typing, whirring and the sounds of workers talking - on phones and to each other.
To introduce the piece, there will be a solitary phone ringing and then we want to use a female voice that announces “Good morning, you’re through to (name) at (company name)” then fade up the atmos around her. She will be the main voice throughout the piece to situate the viewer at points in time, such as cigarette breaks and asking if anyone wants tea followed by a kettle boiling. Although she will be the main voice, we would like to include snatches of conversations, i.e two office workers talking about another worker etc.
We want to try using the hydrophone to capture some interesting sounds of “tea” being poured into a cup. Also, following our workshop on Monday, we want to use the cover to try capturing ‘below the surface’ noises such as machines whirring.
Other noises we will include will be close up sounds of typing, photocopying and phones ringing. Also, we could have the sound of refilling paper in a printer, accompanied by beeping noises it makes due to a malfunction which introduces room for our main voice to say “Stupid thing” and start rattling the drawers/banging on machine. We could also use fax noises, like the sounds of incoming fax.
We’d like to introduce the boredom of the space too, by using sounds of a clock ticking and then a pen tapping on paper in the anticipation of lunch which would be made clear by the voice declaring lunch time after the ticking of the clock. At which point we were thinking to fade out the voices to indicate them leaving for lunch and then just having a silent point in the piece. This would signify the intensity of the office environment and then the break from the stresses of the busy day that occurs there, we want this to make the audience feel the relief of the room, as if it gets a break too.
Could also have a window opening and the noises from outside coming through, such as traffic noises, which later could be closed when a worker complains of cold? Giving a sense of temperature to the piece.
During a break where some of the office leave - such as cigarette break, the quieter environment of the few office workers left can be punctuated with close up sounds of a crisp packet being opened and then the crunching of eating them.
The end of the day will be signified by goodbye’s and then the whirring in between cleaners arriving, then spraying sounds of cleaning solution being spray, then hoovering and finally emptying bins before the ending light switch. Might include the finality of relief from a worker signified by a lighter being used and then a deep breath inhaling and exhaling
Tutorial
After having a tutorial today it was suggested than rather from an office workers point of view that we maybe do it from an office cleaners POV instead as they would have a very different view and take on it as the day goes by they might have their own little internal thoughts that could add an outsiders view on things, like the people in the office or some of the things in it. To me this is quite an interesting way to go with it as I have been a cleaner and an office worker so I can see both points of view and have a lot of inside knowledge of maybe the mind and thoughts of a cleaner and also the workings and goings on in an office.
Ideas
Ideas
Below are two mind maps of our initial ideas for the 'Sense of Space' audio project. Our first idea was to do a journey that started out at a noisy house forcing the person to leave in search of peace, it would take them through a bustling town centre full of people chatting and traffic etc and then they would make it to the countryside which would be full of more relaxing sounds and more calm.
