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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Phonographer: Lawrence Barker


The Field Recordist (33:35) This film is a personal reflection of Lawrence Barker's passion for audio field recording over the past 45 years. He notes, “Audio field recordings act as a powerful trigger, transporting me back to the original place they were captured………they are more powerful than any image captured on camera and even surpass those caught on video – they are quite magical!” Source: Vimeo

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Documentary: Archiving Industrial Sounds


Changing Sounds of an Industrial City - Leicester (2:27) (BBC) This news segment focuses on the documentation of the sounds of industry in Leicester, UK. It is part of an Affective Digtal Histories project that "...explores the hidden and untold stores of the people who lived and worked in the former industrial buildings at two locations in the East Midlands: Leicester's Cultural Quarter and Clossop, a mill town in North Derbyshire." Source: BBC


Friday, November 28, 2014

Lecture: Soundscape Ecology: the new frontier in ecology

Soundscape Ecology: the new frontier in ecology  (43:17) Almo Farina is Professor of Ecology and vice-director of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics at the University of Urbino, Italy. This is a video of his lecture on 10 July 2014 at Humbold University, Berlin. “I consider the field of soundscape ecology a true frontier of ecology, offering a new perspective to investigate the complexity of our world. I am sure that educating people in listening to the sounds of nature and those produced by human activity will guarantee a better understanding of the dynamics and roles of living beings.” Almo Farina (University of Urbino, Italy). Read more
Source: YouTube

Monday, November 24, 2014

Documentary: City Sound Composition


Urbaphonix (6:21) "The musicians of Urbaphonix listen to their soundscape and play, live and on-site with the technology, sounds, objects and people they encounter : the faithfully apply John Cage's advice "If a sound disturbs you, listen to it!"

"Directed by composer Michel Risse, Décor Sonore is a unique composition and production tool, aimed at sound creation for open spaces and street arts.

The city is Decor Sonore’s support and material for its dramatic investigation. Its creations indulge in sounds, resonances, harmonies of natural or industrial elements our everyday urban life is composed of, to offer us a unique perception of the world.Its unusual productions invite us to listen to our sound environment differently and re-invent our relationship to music.

Internationally regarded as one of the most innovating French companies, Décor Sonore offers the public uncommon entertainments combining drama, pyrotechnics, poetry, technology, humour, and, of course, musical creation. Its productions range from very intimate forms to huge events, and talks to every audience.

Source: Vimeo


Sunday, November 23, 2014

Soundscape Installation: Listen Sandy

Listen Sandy (2:23)  A public phone serves as a venue for telling stories about the experiences individuals had during hurricane Sandy when it struck the eastern coast of the United States.  This link takes you to a blog page with video, stills, and background information about this installation.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Education: La Contaminación Acústica

La Contaminacion Acustica (13:37) (Spanish) This program supports Physics and Biology education, as well as outreach activities contingent on environmental issues. The decibel scale is illustrated by examples from everyday life,  the different parts of the ear, and the dramatic effects of excessive noise in the sensory cells of inner ear are illustrated. It also describes the various physiological, psychological and sleep disorders effects caused by noise. Using graphics hearing loss by age and noise are illustrated. It ends with the presentation of Chilean standards set maximum permitted levels of noise. 

Source: YouTube

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Soundscape Composition: Industrial Soundscape

Industrial Soundscape (5:20) (Audio Only) Phillip R. Bloomfield writes, This is a soundscape I created to replicate a city industrial site using 'sounds within sounds'. Meaning I recorded real world sounds and manipulated the audio using methods such as reversing, time stretching, pitch shifting, panning etc and the adding of effects resulting in the discovery of a hidden world of sounds inside other sounds" Source: YouTube

Friday, October 17, 2014

Research - Engineering: Sonic Dishes

Sonic Dishes (1:01) Two unique Sonic Dishes are being installed in Tilikum Crossing's east and west abutment walls, as part of the project's Public Art program. The Tilikum Crossing is a new Portland, Oregon bridge designed for light rail, pedestrian, and bike traffic. Source: YouTube

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Documentary: The Soundscape

The Soundscape (10:38)  "This is a short film adaptation of The Soundscape, a book written by R. Murray Schafer. The sound design and stock/filmed footage reflects many ideas from the book, including our relationship to sound, how it has changed over time, and what it can tell us about our society and future." Source: VIMEO

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Documentary: Searching for Sounds

Layred Memories: Searching for Sound With Yosi Horikama (15 mins.)  A documentary about Japanese sound artist Yosi Horikama who makes the World Heritage island of Yakushima his destination for field recordings. The film provides a behind-the-scenes look at how one of electronic music’s most exciting talents transforms the everyday into something extraordinary. Source: Red Bull Music Academy

Friday, October 10, 2014

Soundscape: Sounds of Space

NASA Space Sounds (7:00)  - Recordings and sample sounds of the planets, moons and rings of planets in our Solar System. Source: YouTube

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Soundscape: A Sheffield Sound Map

Inside the Circle of Fire - A Sheffield Sound Map (4:36) Phonographer Chris Watson transofrms the Millennium Gallery into an immersive 'sound map' of Sheffield, England. The sound map used the latest technology to create a sound which changes throughout the gallery, depending on the listener's location. By truly hearing the sounds of the city, perhaps for the first time, it is hoped that visitors gain a new perspective on Sheffield in 2013. Source: YouTube

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Soundscape: Jam Session


Spontaneous Jam Session (3:47) A street busker sings outside a Kroger grocery store and is spontaneously joined by two others creating an unplanned musical soundscape. Source YouTube

Monday, August 11, 2014

Education: Room Acoustics


How Sound Works (in Rooms) Acoustic Geometry shows how sound works in rooms using Nerf Disc guns, 1130 feet of fluorescent green string, and Moiré patterns, and a before-and-after example. Question: How can we made room acoustics sound better. Source: YouTube

Soundscape Composition: Music from Bike Parts


Music From Bike Parts (1:56) "Steven Baber is a designer with a difference. He designs sounds -- coaxing music from some unlikely objects. Baber lets his surroundings serve as his orchestra and his inspiration. Lately he has been doing just that: making music from sounds created by bicycle parts." Source: CBS Television

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Projects: The Sound Of Silence

Can Silence Drive You Crazy? Is 45 minutes really the longest anyone can stay in a perfectly silent, pitch-black room? Many stories have circulated claiming the longest anyone has stayed in an ultra-quiet anechoic chamber is 45 minutes, the reason being any longer would drive you insane. Discover the sensory experience of one of the quietest rooms of its kind at BYU. 

Source:Veritasium, a science video blog, and YouTube

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Projects: The MUNY Application

Music Under New York (3:07).  The MUNY app lets you record the buskers that you come across in the subway, with a geotagged location. Commuters can discover where previous performances at the particular station have taken place through the use of augmented reality. The audience can also access the musicians profiles where they can rate the music and see where the next live performance will take place. This way, the app is both serving true musical experiences to the audience at the same time as it is promoting the talented musicians and help them get discovered. Source: Vimeo

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Soundscape: Sound of Heels

The Sound of Heels (:33)  In a Mind The Beep workshop led by the London based, Japanese Designer, Yuri Suzuki, students were to focus on influencing the soundscape. In this clip we see the design of heels that create various sound experiences. Source: Vimeo

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Education: What Does Sound Look Like?

What Does Sound Look Like? (2:31) National Public Radio explores the visualization of sound waves as they travel through the air thanks to a special photographic process. Source: YouTube

Friday, April 25, 2014

Soundscape: Documenting the jungle forest


Become A Soundscaper (3:08) Dr. Bryan Pijanowski of Purdue University and the GSSN shares what it is to be a soundscaper while visiting the jungles of Borneo. The GSSN Global Sustainable Soundscapes Network's overarching objective is to bring together ecologists (landscape ecologists and conservation biologists), acoustic ecologists (from the creative arts) and acousticians and psychoacousticians (scientists that study sound and how people perceive sound) to coordinate studies in diverse soundscapes around the world.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Research: Hearing Color

What Is It Like To Hear Color? (9 min.) Artist Neil Harbisson was born completely color blind, but these days a device attached to his head turns color into audible frequencies. Instead of seeing a world in grayscale, Harbisson can hear a symphony of color -- and yes, even listen to faces and paintings. Source: YouTube and TED Talks.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Soundscape Composition: Kyle Leeper


Soundscapes | kyle leeper (1:15) A short soundscape video by Joe Pease in which a skateboarder negotiates the obstacles of San Francisco's urban landscape with a soundtrack of field recorded sounds. Source: Vimeo

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Soundscape: Sound Designer

Portrait of A Sound Design Artist (3:43) By Josh Bennett. "A man standing alone in a shed hitting a bath with a mallet could be seen as mad, but in the world of sound design, it's the norm. Ali Lacey is an eccentric sound design artist, and this short portrait allows us a closer look into the world of sound design." Source: VIMEO

Monday, February 10, 2014

Documentary: John Hull

Notes on Blindness (12:15) By Peter Middleton and James Spinney. After the writer and theologian John Hull became completely blind in 1983, he kept an audio diary of his experience. This film is a dramatization using those recordings. Hull is the author of Touching The Rock: An Experience of Blindness, and excellent text on attentive listening. Source: The New York Times - VIMEO.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Education: Tubular Communicator

Communicador Tentaculos (4:49) (Portuguese) The old tin can and a string concept is updated in this playground installation made from flexible plastic conduit that enables several children at one time to communicate from one part of a playground to another. This devices invites curiosity about sound and how it travels from one location to the other.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Soundscape Installation: Quad Generator

Quad Soundscape Generator (8:37) "A realtime soundscape generator for tabletop surfaces. Perceptual classifications of sound and environment are being used to get an holistic management of the sound by the user, being complemented with adaptative mapping techniques commanded by the logic engine. In this way we want to control the whole system away from the rational analysis used daily in the creation and manipulation of sound." Headphones recommended. Source: Vimeo