Reading Responce 1

Gary Ferrington’s, On a Clear Day I Can Hear Forever struck a pleasant remembrance of my childhood. Back in the days of grade school, I spent early evenings at my grandmother’s house in the small town of Kewaskum. Her house was off a major freeway but still tucked within the inner section of the township. In comparison to my house, grandma’s was like playground of noises. My home was hidden gently in the woods, and traffic noise was non-existent. As night came closer, the traffic became louder, and more traffic, meant mom and dad were close to picking me up. Overall, the trends of traffic could remind me of the time on the clock, and in early mornings, I always knew when I had to wake up. This article tapped into these memory gems, and gave me moments of enjoyable daydreaming.

In the article Ferrington discussed the noises of his city, his enjoyment with them, and the subtle differences while the day and season progressed. Ferrington poetically describes the noises of his city which include the traffic noise building through the early morning and the birds chirping at the first signs of light. However, Ferrington shows great attentiveness to his city noises, and during the article informs readers he can distinguish what airplanes are leaving the nearby port. Also, throughout the article words like “enjoy” and “safe” make appearances showing the writers affinity for these sounds. His overall expression is that these fluctuating noises are moments to be admired. Finally, Ferrington discusses how the changing seasons and progression of the day produces different sound. Early morning there are subtle moments of quiet life through the window as birds awake and cars begin to hum down streets. However, the birds begin to take a back stage as people fill the streets. In the end, Ferrington describes his favorite time to listen, during the winter. He mentions that when the snow falls, the sounds become dulled and quieted. Gary Ferrington’s article detailed noises of the city, the enjoyments of these noises, and changes among sounds in his article On a Clear Day I Can Hear Forever.

As a media artist, I can take a lot from Ferrington’s article. If I wish to direct films, I need to take into context every element of the setting. By understanding what impressions different elements give, I can control what I want my viewers to understand. Also, I understand that there are always noises around us, and when recording I need to be conscious of every object emitting noise. This awareness will allow the editing process to go much smoother. Overall, Ferrington’s article has great nuances for everyone, but for a media artist, there are many ideas to hold onto and remember.

Mitch Keller

Soundwalk Responce

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes. Outside Mitchell Hall on the lawn was an excellent environment to listen to both human sounds as well as natural sounds.

Was it possible to move without making a sound?
No. Even without movement out bodies are emitting sound. Whether it was rustling of clothing or stepping on the ground, our bodies generally have trouble silencing movement.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
I heard sounds closer to me and realized they weren’t as far away as I originally thought. I also noticed overall tones and constant noises I did not hear before and noticed higher frequency sounds that were absent when my ears were plugged.

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
Bus engine. Bus breaks. Coughing. Talking. Laughing. Wind in leaves. Human footsteps. Moped. Truck backing up. Airplane overhead. Cicada calls. Bells.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Most noises and sounds were generally recognizable and I was able to place them to a tangible object rather quickly.

Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Laughing, coughing, and talking were regularly present. Also, sounds people made such as walking through leaves and on pavement happened frequently. Mechanical sounds from buildings had multiple sounds and motor vehicles were ever present throughout the exercises. Wind created a constant noise and birds, squirrels, and bugs added different scurrying and calling noises as well.

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
Yes. The generator outside of the UWM Union had a high tone that rang in my ears; however, there were wind like sounds that also came with it that were very fluctuant.

Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Sounds from out group included footsteps, clothes and backpacks rustling, talking and sneezing/coughing, people writing in notebooks, wind overhead in the leaves, people walking past. Bells were heard in the distance as well as car horns and airplanes. Occasionally one could hear human voices behind building or across the street.

What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
We could hear wind in the leaves, wind caused noise with the paper we were using to write, it created whistling sounds when doors were opened and closed.

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
We created echoing noises in the parking garages by clapping and we also knocked on metal handrails and took notice of the noises that resonated inside the bars.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes. I never thought about winds present on sound or have fully listened to all the activity around me until today. Noises I once ignored I can no longer look past.

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
As a filmmaker I believe I will be more away of distracting noises as well as using the noises as characters and as an element to my films.

Mitch Keller

You Found It (Flattered for those who were looking)

Welcome to Mitch Keller's research blog. Here you will be able to view my first adventures into recording, editing, and composing media. I am generally laid back and most of my artistic responces will entail a quirky and oddball point of view.

I look forward to blogging with you.