Drift 1 Soundwalk

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes. Although a couple of spots at first weren't so good but once we started walking around more we found some good areas.

Was it possible to move without making a sound?
No because no matter what I always heard footsteps or clothing rubbing back and forth. It wasn't loud but I could hear it.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
When I plugged my ears, I heard sounds inside of me and I also heard lower sounds like buses going by. When I unplugged them, I could hear almost everything. There were a lot of sounds like the trees and birds and everything around me.

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
Doors opening and closing.
Air conditioners on the roof.
People talking.
Footsteps.
Echos of voices.
People running through leafs.
The wind through the trees and the leafs on them.
Pants rustling.
Elevator door going ping.
Car doors slamming.
Someone's bass in their car.
Copy machines.
Phones.
Trays slamming.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Yes, although sometimes I'd hear a sound and not really know where it came from either because it was out of reach or hard to get to. (Like on a roof top)

Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Yes, I think I'm pretty good at distinguishing between the sounds. Although I'm sure if someone tried to trick me into thinking one sound was something else I'd probably fall for it.

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
It was harder to concentrate on certain sounds sometimes because there would always be tons of noises going on while I was trying to figure out what sound was coming from where and what it was.

Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
It was easier to hear closer sounds then further away for me.

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)?
I couldn't hear the wind till it hit my ears. Flags would blow and then I could hear the clanging of the ropes on the pole.

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.?
Yes. Our group was hitting a railing and listening to it so we could hear the banging of hands on the pole.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
I would say I didn't learn anything new from this experience but it did remind me about how sounds plays an important role everyday.

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
Hopefully teach me how to use sound well in film and that if I use it right it can be a powerful tool.