Week 1
Questions:
Can sound lead the narrative of the potential film? If there is no script- what is the story? Is it realistic in an era of attention economy to expect people to engage with a non-curated soundscape? Where will it be played. How will I test the audience response?
Distinction between narrative and plot (Barry, 1995 p224): the narrative to journey down the mountain from summit to fell gate? The plot are the events recorded on route. The art of storytelling is contained in the plot: the media used (or not used in my case), pace, ordering, editing etc. What Barry terms as the “whole packaging”. Is this a useful artifice?
Plan (add to over time)
- Set up journal
- Introduction to myself
- Summary of project: objectives and rationale
- Weekly blog on:
o Influences
o Experiments
o Technical learning
o Research Notes
o Outcomes
o Reflections
Notes:
As part of the journey to review the practice of sound recordists, both field and cinematic and how sound is incorporated with video or is a standalone piece.
Use Soundcloud to upload and share.
Add to my website on new page.
Understanding and making use of different microphones and recorders. File management, formatting, storage and sharing
In addition to develop recording and editing skills: field craft, technical knowledge and application and creating a good quality final multi-layered compositional edit. .
To undertake academic research into sound recording and its use in bio acoustics and value to conservation. Capture the learning and summarise.
Undertake a critical evaluation of the learning process. Notes for ongoing development
Technical:
Sound recording requires the use of technical equipment and many recordists will refer to themselves as Sound Engineers. I am not a technical person, and will rely on the expertise of others while developing sufficient knowledge supported by in-the-field trial and error to develop sufficient competence to experiment with natural sounds. Journal entries will make a note of the equipment used and settings and, where appropriate, I will provide a link to further technical information for future reference.
Fieldcraft:
My desire is to record the fullness of a natural environment: in situ and to include the wildlife living there. The recorded sounds will be, outdoor, in a mountain environment during all weathers. I foresee fieldcraft playing a crucial role: getting in position, protecting myself and equipment against inclement weather and the ever-challenging task of being close enough to the wildlife to record their calls, songs and sounds. As a wildlife filmmaker I am fully signed up to and commit to the ethical and legal considerations. All the recordings will have the integrity of having been captured in their natural setting.
Ethics:
I have adopted the BBC editorial guidelines for wildlife filming:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/natural-world
Reflective Practice:
A note on the theory of reflective practice: in The Reflective Practitioner (Schön, 1983) the author found many professionals were reluctant to challenge the common conventions of their profession. Schön’s called for an “epistemology of practice” to formalise reflection-in-practice as a fundamental part of professional learning. Schön’s study was largely organisational based while many creatives are self-employed how does this research apply to them? In her book Mindset (2017) Dweck demonstrated that successful individual learning focuses on the importance of the process by developing a style of self-refection by asking questions like “What can I learn from this”.
A notable example of a leading artist who recorded experimentation and the evolution of his style is the painter J.W. Turner. Brown, (2012) in his article “Draughtsman and Watercolourist” estimates Turner filled over 300 sketchbooks with his work with an estimated 19,000 individual drawings. Collectively they demonstrate a continuity of ideas and interests as well as his experimentations in materials and processes- over his entire life as an artist.
“Turner was always alert to technical developments, whether in papermaking or pigments, and was innovative or improvisatory in his use of them.”