Test soundwalk

First soundscape

Here is our first attempt of a sound scape. 

Final interview

https://soundcloud.com/ameliajanew/interveiw-mixdownfinal-wav

Bacground music for interview

For my interview I decided to add in some background interview music trying to connect to my target audience of young adults. I only used this as an intro so it would not distract or take away the important information that Glen is giving listeners.I also repeated the track and placed the same track at the end of the interview to sign off and show the end of the segment.

The track I used was an instrumental song, which I found on youtube. Radio intro song I liked the beginning of this track due to the radio signals that are used. I used this to act like someone was tuning into my radio show, creating a unique effect that i thought would stand out to my audience.

Radio show 2 (Radio one)

Radio 1 interview
This is another Radio I looked into was Radio 1 interview. Within this interview, it was also very colloquial like my first one I analysed but also very off subject talking about other meetings and experiences both people have, which is interesting for a listener interested in the person being interviewed gather information about their life.

Radio shows 1 (Capital)

Capital radio interview

When planning and looking into more aspects of my angle for my radio interview I started looking into different radio interview and looking at the styles and how they interview the different stars. I choose the capital interview to look at first. During this interview, both interviewee and interviewer are relaxed and colloquial creating a comfortable atmosphere between both them and the listener. I wanted to create the same casual tone in my interview due to my target audience being aimed at young adults.
 

Other peoples sound walk 2

Fast food restaurant soundscape

Another soundscape I have looked into was again from youtube. However, this one was different style to a soundscape I intended to do. This soundscape is in a fast food restaurant so sounds are different. For example, you can hear a lot more food frying then the first one as well as clusters from the baskets showing a faster movement within the background. Dialogue is also more into the background than the first soundscape making it more realistic to a listener.

Other restaurant sound walk 1

Restaurant soundscape

Here is the first sound walk I looked into. This was found on Youtube, when listening through this piece I picked up some good aspects that I will use as well well as other aspects that I thought were not as good. For example the background sounds of the glasses being touched together created a soft gentle sound in this soundscape as well as the murmured general chat in the background. However, I thought that the dialogue used was a little too loud making it sound unrealistic making the piece unreadable and hard to listen to.

To conclude, I belive that the background track of this piece was well put together and realistic, but the dialogue ruined the realistic sound and made in uncomfortable.

Final questions asked in the interview.

- So Glen how did you become an owner of an inderpendent business?
- Would you say owning a flower business is something you have always wanted to do or was it something you carried on because it was a family tradition?
- What are the positives with working with your inderpendent business?
-  Any weaknesses with your business any scares you have faced with your family or business?
- I know and have read a lot about inderpendent business and i know you need help from the community so has the community helped you in any way to keep going?
- I understand some events are happening for inderpendent businesses do you think the local community does go and does show up to give you their support for the businesses in Brighton?  
- Is their anything you would change about your career you life the business the way its run where its placed is their anything you would change?
-

Different Mic

Here is a condenser microphone, which is similar to the one I used when recording my final interview project. This microphone is sensitive to loud sounds so I will need to be carful with it so I do not get booming sounds when recording. This Mic is very high quality and will give u the best sounds when recorded but is also very expensive.

Also this certain Mic is found in Music studios and requires a sound bored.

 Here is a dynamic Mic, Which is similar to the microphones used on the Marantz which is a recording system we used to record out sound scape. However, this one does not need a power supply and is normally found in performances is sound quality is less accurate then the Condenser mic.

Personal experience for soundscape

Because of working in a restaurant environment I found using the sound scape in the waitress perspective easy due to the lingo I used and added. I tried hard to create the movement of the waitress within the other sounds i have used to create the American diner sounds.

Editing note for sound scape

Remember to think about how each sound comes out to the listener, make them sound realistic by using different effects on Adobe audition and play around with the Ep and reverb for better sounds when playing sound scape through.

First sound walk created

Feelings of Interview

When in the recording stage of my interview I thought that the process went smoothly and professionally when coming in contact with an interviewee. The questions that were asked I believed it allowed Glen to talk openly about his business, which created a better flowing subject for a listener.  I could tell that Glen was a little nerves when we started recording which came across in the recording showing a more mono tone feeling on Glens voice which is not what it wanted when thinking about my interview feel.

First interview non edit

Interveiw-mixdown

Here is my first edit of my Interview.

my final idea and why

For my final idea I decided to go for the restaurant soundscape, this is because I believed I would get more out of this with the different sounds you will find in this environment. Another reason is that I as a part time job used to work as a waitress at a seafood restaurant back in London. With this I intend to use this soundscape from the waitresses perspective.

Few ideas for soundscape

A cafe/restaurant:
- I would focus on different aspect used in the kitchen such as food cooking and chopped up.
- I also could focus on a waitress and what she does during the day when working. Using certain lingo when recording.
- Record everything in single sounds and put them together, for example, record a bunch of people talking and then put the as general back chatter.

 An exam room:
- Even though this soundscape is normal silent due to exam conditions I wanted to focus on the smaller sounds that go on throughout with the students.
- Recording small sounds such as a pen clicking or someone coughing or the turning of a page
- I would focus on a student who is doing the exam and the sounds that they would hear
- This would be a simple soundscape

A retail store:
- I could focus on many sounds for this idea like the music playing and general chatter
- Look into what other sounds you can hear at a retail store.
- I could focus that of a customer coming into the store or as someone who works a shift there.

Recordings that went wrong

Crackling in mic

When recording my separate sounds I found that when pressing record I would find that the mic would start to crackle and ruin my recording. Shown above is an example of this when in the recording stage of my project.

First bits of Feedback to improve on

unedited soundscape


When starting my sound scape I showed my first draft to get some feedback on how to improve and better my work to make it more realistic for a listener. The improvements I got told was that each sound was a little harsh to the ears and that i should tone down and work on the reverb for a better finish. Also I was that my Elvis music i used in the background was to load and the main attention of the sound scape, which was not allowed because it was not my own work However, i was given the idea to use the music as a sort of motion and movement in my soundscape by changing the volume from place to place. The music was also changed through effect and ep by making it sound more like it was thought an old radio create a more realistic sound.

Other expert work I have looked into

When first looking into using the idea of a public space as my main idea for my soundscape i looked around for information that experts have said to help me correct my mistakes. Here is a article by Bernd Rohrmann who Wrote this article called 'Soundscapes - types and impacts of music imparted in public spaces' 


'Research issue: Public places - such as markets, pubs and restaurants, music venues, cinemas, theatres, teaching venues, shopping centres, sport venues, transportation facilities - have a particular 'soundscape' which affects visitors' perceptions and behaviors. For example, people in a restaurant encounter three kinds of soundscapes: the sounds created by other customers, the sounds from outside (the street), and the sounds provided by the music systems which are run in most public places; none of these soundscapes are under the control of the visitors. Thus the question arises, what do they actually desire, and do they like what they experience in this kind of environment? '

'People-environment context: Almost all people going to a restaurant or shop or gym do so for a practical reason, e.g., eating or buying something or exercising; hearing music is not their primary aim. The music imparted there may entertain or disturb. So far, pertinent research mainly looked at two issues: impacts on the venue's function, and noise effects. Quietness as an environmental feature has obtained less attention.'

'Empirical investigation: In socio-psychological field studies, demands and appraisals of supplied music were explored, surveying what sound levels do occur inside venues, whether customers want music to be present or absent; the desired content and level of music; their perceptions and evaluations of the actual music situation, and how the existing soundscapes relate to the purpose of their visit. In the first study, "Influence of music in cafes & restaurants" , 6 cafes and restaurants were looked at, and data collected through personal interviews of customers (N=72). The study "Sound levels and social interactions in music venues" , dealt with 3 types of venues: pubs, restaurants and gyms (3 each); N=32 qualitative interviews were conducted, plus enquiries with staff and management. A further study, "Music levels in Melbourne University eateries" , is underway In all studies sound measurements were carried out, recording both peak and average sound levels.' 

Site i found with similar style work

Cafe/Restaurant generator

Here is a website that I have found that allows u create and use sliders that make or takes away sounds you would usually hear in this certain soundscape. When playing around with this generator I picked up sounds to use in my own that i have missed out and are a big part of this certain environment like the cutlery being used and the noise they make when scraped on each other and a plate, Also the sounds of cutlery being washed and moved about in the background.

Sound used in soundscape

Here are a list of sounds that i have used to create the sound of an American diner.
- Door bell
- Desk bell
- Bacon sizzling
- Pouring of kettle
- Spoon in teacup
- Chopping of food
- Moving of chairs on hard floor
- Mobile phone ringing
- Elvis Music in background jukebox
- Light switch
- Alone footsteps
- Multiple footsteps
- People laughing
- Music load through headphones
- plates being put on table
- Newspaper being touched
- Slurping of drink
- Use of ketchup bottle
- General background noise of chatter


Using all of these individual recorded sounds I will re order and place each sound in a certain order to create sound scape that sounds like an open to close day at an American dinner.

proximity effect and resolution

When going through the recording stage I wanted to make sure that I produced a professional sounding piece when listerning back to my interview. In order to create this, I will make sure I look out for proximity effect by staying a certain distance from the microphone. If you do get to close then the bass frequencies can be exaggerated creating a booming sound within the interview, which could possible merge words making it harder for listeners to pick up and understand what they are staying and make seem like the interview is unnatural and harder to follow

Practise of an interview with classmate

Practise interview

Here is a practise interview i did to become familiar with the equipment and the style of an interview, which will allow me when starting the interview project to become confident and expand my understanding for when next recoding with my chosen interviwee.

Evaluation of interview

Planning and first thoughts of interview
When first contacting and organising the production aspect of this project I thought it would turn out to be stressful and sloppy even though I tried to plan and put it all together in a professional and organised manner. However, when finding an interviewee (Glen Huges) of a young age I found it easier to put together and plan because of his cooperation and enthusiasm to participate and help me with this project. Glen also came prepared with answers he planned for the questions I sent him before hand over email to. Also to benefit me and this project he made up his own questions (Like how the community help him and how he helps the community) that he thought would work well with the theme of my interview, allowing me to expand and looking more into first hand experience with someone who owns an independent business.

How well did the interview follow my initial plan?
In a blog post before hand i stated that i would like this interview to be lighthearted an to use colloquial language from both the interviewer and interviewee allowing a listener to film comfortable when listerning. However, during the production stage Glen came across as serious when talking creating a mono tone voice through the interview, Which was different from the angle I wanted to use. Glens answers were very informational using past experiences and stories about the community, which goes with another theme of expressing different aspects of help he gets from different people.

Contact with interviewee

Here is a contact email from me and Glen preparing dates and times that are suitable for both me and him making the interview stage to flow and be more organised. Other types of contact were made in person when I went to his flower shop in Western street asking him then and sharing contact information.