I thought I needed to not only record natural sounds, but I also needed to go and record some of the more unique parts of the city. I remember when I was in primary school when I returned to my hometown with my parents, we would almost always go to the biggest farmer’s market in the area. I’ve never seen many farmers’ markets in the UK; the ones I’ve been to are usually fairs where they sell lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. At that time, I was reluctant to go to the market because it was very dirty and smelled like fish and meat. But it was still very busy. During this trip, I also went to the current farmers’ market. I plan to record the ambient sounds of the farmers’ market and the voices of the shopkeepers.
But the reality actually made me a bit disappointed; this farmer’s market has changed too much, and now it’s not at all the way I remembered it. The stalls in the market have become more neatly divided, and the ground also feels more. I went there at two or three o’clock in the afternoon, probably because of the time of day; there were not very many customers in the market. I heard my father say that the market is usually busiest in the morning at 5 am. Apart from the fact that the stalls have become tidier, another big change is that most of the stallholders also don’t do yelling to sell their wares.
In a tutorial with Ingrid, Ingrid suggested that I could go to a fireworks display and record the sound of the fireworks, as the fireworks festival in the UK is about to start. For my project I needed to record the unique sounds of London and Hangzhou, China. Speaking of fireworks, I am reminded that in China, there is an exceptional type of fireworks called “Ta Tie Hua（Cast iron blossom）”, which is one of China’s national intangible cultural heritages. This is one of China’s national intangible cultural heritage. “Tiehua” originated in the Northern Song Dynasty as a ritual for craftsmen to pray for the blessing of the goddess Laojun and the god of fire for their business to flourish and for peace and wealth to be made. In this event, the craftsmen first build a flower trellis and a shrine, and then the procession marches in a line, carrying the statue of the god Laojun to the shrine, and setting up incense and offerings in the shops along the way to welcome the god. After arriving at the god shed, a ritual is performed to ask for the god’s blessing and safety. In the evening, flower-beating begins, and the participating craftsmen kneel and change their clothes inside the god shed as a sign of respect and to pray for safety. This activity is supported and participated in by Taoist priests who provide venues or contribute money and materials and organize bands to cheer the artisans during the procession. The original purpose of this activity was to showcase the industry and advertise business, as well as to signify prosperity. However, this event is not something that is difficult to come across in my hometown, as artists usually perform it during some traditional Chinese festivals. But I think the visual effect of the fireworks and the ironworks can be applied to my visual part. A fireworks display is a carnival of nature, with bright sparks blooming in the darkness and dreamlike colors intertwining to create a unique night sky picture. Each fireworks display is a moment of poetry, some blooming like flowers, some splashing like a river of stars.
On 5 November, I went to watch the fireworks display in Battersea. The music and the fireworks were very well coordinated, with many of the fireworks following the beat and rhythm of the music, which made the whole fireworks show very exciting. I also recorded the full show with the zoom H5, and when I listened to my recording, I could hear many details clearly, in the area in front of my ear, I could hear the sound of the fireworks and the music. In the back of my ear, I can hear the crowd and the children’s screams. I think many times, sounds are like fireworks, they’re fleeting. But when we record them, their beauty remains in our memory, so I wanted to do the theme of sound memory in the first place.
Mengting Zhuo is an artist from Guangzhou, China who creates situations in the form of performances, participatory installations and concerts. The work is often characterised by minimalism, subtlety and intimacy, involving audience participation to explore themes of connection, communication, chance and distance. In terms of sound, she explores the politics of listening through the use of non-instrumental, unusual noises, readymade objects and physical activity, involving the creation, reception and manipulation of signals, as well as the liminal points at which sound intersects with space. Her arrangements have recently been exhibited at MAO, Turin, Italy, Frieze, London and Cafe OTO, London. As a performer and director, she meets audiences in theatres, galleries and a variety of other spaces including parks, beaches, karaoke clubs, flats and the internet. She studied performance making at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where she also held a position. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
I listened to her collaboration with Li Song, ‘Two Rooms’, which they both played live in London. In the first part, I could hear the friction of stools moving around and the sound of them walking around with the chairs. In the following part, I could listen to some harsh sounds from the speakers and a looping noise. After that it ends with the tapping of a metronome. This piece made me feel that the rubbing of the stools gave me a feeling of inner turmoil because for me personally, the sound made me impatient, but when it was followed by the sound of the speakers and other sounds joining in, I felt my mood become much calmer.
During the talk, Mengting played a game for us; when she clapped her hands, three volunteers needed to sit down in order according to the approximate time of 15 of this clap. In the first round, the clap was almost 1 second in my feeling, so I counted almost 15 seconds in my mind and realized that the first volunteer didn’t sit down, and then almost 5 seconds later, he sat down. I think this is very interesting because everyone has a different concept of how long applause lasts. Based on this, I think people’s concept of time may also be related to their age, and I feel that time passes more quickly as they get older. When I was a child, the world was full of curiosity, where are fresh, the outside world is full of all kinds of new stimuli so that every day is very long; with the growth of age, the outside world has lacked too much of a sense of freshness, more just a monotonous repetition of stimuli, rich experience so that the nerves for the life of the information processed extremely quickly, and gradually entered the “adaptive” state, weakened not only the concept of time, but also the concept of time, and the concept of time. Slowly, the nerves process the information in life very quickly and gradually enter a state of “adaptation”, which not only weakens the perception of the passage of time but also retains an incomplete memory of the information, which makes it appear that the day has passed without notice. Often, when you look back, a year or ten years have flown by. As a result, the older you get, the faster you feel time is passing.
Carrie Giunta is an associate lecturer in Philosophy at Central Saint Martins. She also mentors at Bournemouth University, and will supervise students this year on the BA Sound Art at LCC. She has worked as a professional sound editor for film in New York and in London, where she was part of the BAFTA-winning sound team on Casino Royale. Carrie completed a doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Dundee, partly funded by a Royal Society of Edinburgh network grant for the Humanities. Her thesis, ‘A Question of Listening: Nancean Listening and Resonance in the Work of Charlie Chaplin’, explores Charlie Chaplin’s silent character, through philosophies of listening and the work of Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Derrida, Gayatri Spivak, and African philosophies. She co-edited the book Nancy and Visual Culture for Edinburgh University Press. She has published articles on Philosophy, Comparative Literature, the Post-Literary, and Cinema.
In her talk, she showed the sound production team she worked with on the film Casino Royale.I took sound for screen in my second year elective, so I was very interested in Foley and recording for film sound. In the film clips she showed, I could feel the finesse of sound for a big production film. First of all, the first half of the film is outdoor scenes, and then there are some indoor scenes. For me, I think the sound of the outdoor scenes might be more difficult to record because as a student, I don’t have a very professional team and equipment to do some high level live Foley.
The talk also touched on Guerrilla foley (location foley) and studio foley, each with its advantages and disadvantages, but one of the main advantages of recording foley in a studio is the complete control of the sound quality and the environment. Using soundproof rooms, soundproof panels, professional microphones, mixers, and other equipment, you can capture the sound you want without being affected by noise or interference. You can fine-tune volume, equalizer, reverb and other effects to fit the tone and emotion of the scene. Also, use a variety of props and surfaces (e.g., shoes, fabrics, metal, wood, gravel, etc.) to create a diverse range of sound effects. There are a number of shortcomings to miming in the studio. Firstly, renting a studio, hiring an artist and setting up equipment is expensive and time-consuming. Second, it can be challenging to recreate the sound and atmosphere of the original scene, especially if the scene is complex or unique. For example, in scenes such as forests, beaches, or crowded streets, it is impossible to perfectly replicate the natural sounds and atmospheres of these places in the studio. Thirdly, synchronising foley sound effects with video is difficult, especially when the action is fast or subtle. It may take several attempts to film, or edit the sound later to synchronise it with the video. Of course recording foley live has its advantages. The most notable is the ability to capture the true-to-life sound of the place where the scene was filmed. By using props and surfaces actually used by the actors, and recording the sound in the same context and perspective, the sound is more closely aligned with the actual scene. At the same time, it is possible to benefit from the unique acoustic environment and atmosphere of the location, such as the sound of wind, water, traffic or birdsong. In addition, recording foley on location saves money and time as there is no need to rent a studio or hire a foley artist. There are some challenges to recording foley live. One of them is having less control over the sound quality and environment. There may be interference from different sources such as noise from people, animals, weather or vehicles. Limitations in permissions and availability may also affect your access to locations or the use of props. In addition, flexibility and creativity in experimenting with different sounds and effects may be hampered by real-life conditions. Carrying and setting up bulky equipment may also become a hassle.
After our VR students completed most of the visuals, I set about creating the sound effects. For the initial interface menu of the game, I designed two sound effects, the first being the sound when we navigate through the menu is crossed, while the second is the sound of a click. This is because I observed that many games have a sound when the menu bar is navigated but not clicked so as to add to the richness of the game’s menu sound effects.
The first act of our game was a very peaceful and comfortable indoor scene. So I recorded the sound of birds chirping outside the window and the corresponding sound of the characters stepping on the wooden floor. I also sampled an upbeat jazz track, setting up the scary atmosphere later. For the footsteps, I used mix pre6 to help me record a higher-quality footstep sound.
When the character finishes drinking the water, the scene changes to a nightmare scene. I added some samples of crow calls and some thunder samples. And in the indoor space, I recorded some footsteps with creaking wooden floors. And I turned the upbeat jazz into a staccato recorder sound. I knew that the steering and position of the character in Unity would affect the size and orientation of the sound heard from the vocalist, so I added some pan and volume automation to the DAW to make the video presentation fit the sound better, and so simulate the realistic effects of the game. However, it is much more complicated to do this automation directly in the DAW than in Unity or Wwise.
For the subsequent skyscraper scene, I recorded some ambient city sounds and some wind sounds. This creates the impression that the character is in a very high environment, making the player feel more in danger. This scene has many different textures of footsteps, such as wood, glass, and iron. So I have recorded three different types of footsteps. I think footsteps are very important, especially in an adventure game like this. Because the realism created by the footsteps makes the player feel like they are in the world. Unfortunately, in the group’s version, footsteps were not included in the game due to time constraints and technical complexity. Let’s be more efficient and expand our technical capabilities.
For the later playground scenes, I recorded a lot of footsteps on the grass and recorded some natural ambient bird calls. I used an alchemy synth to create a few dark and low tones for the background music. I also sampled some waterphone and cone tones to add to the creepy atmosphere. I think the most difficult sound to record and produce for this part was the sound of the clown crawling past because at the beginning, I didn’t imagine what kind of sound to overlay or how to record the fast crawling sound directly. Because I tried to record a few, but none worked very well. So I recorded the sound of a quick shaking of clothes, which was similar to the sound of a clown crawling.
For the final confinement phobia section I followed the previously recorded concrete footsteps and sampled some pick up and throw away sounds. I didn’t do much with the sound effects in this section, as the other group members’ background music was already the best in this scene to make the game more puzzle solving and meaningful.
Anyway, I put all the sampled and produced sounds into the film, and I think the result is still excellent and we can continue to work on the game if we have time. This project also gave me the experience of working with students from different disciplines and prepared me well for my future career direction.
There are many screams in our games to create a sense of terror, and adding screams can create a scare effect. There are many places in our games where clowns suddenly appear, and screams are one of the sound effects that play an essential role in these moments. The sudden high-pitched sound of screams can make our games even more terrifying.
In final Crits, Ingrid told me about the Wilhelm scream, a familiar sound effect used in film and television, which has been used in over 200 films since the 1951 film Distant Drums. The sound effect is often used when a character is shot, falls from a height, or is thrown from an explosion. The most likely source of the scream is actor and singer Shelby Woolley, named after a character, soldier William, who is hit by an arrow in the 1953 western The Charge at Feather River. Although the film is the third in history to feature this sound effect, this is the first use taken from the Warner Bros. sound effects library.
After listening to this sound effect, the scream might be more suited to a comedic film than to create a scary atmosphere. And having sampled the William scream to fit in our game, this William scream may not be suitable.
In VR, we must abide by the same moral theories as in reality, although it allows us to enter a virtual world. I remember some previous news reports of criminals committing violent acts against others in the virtual world and even molesting women. Back in 2005, someone was arrested by the Japanese police after using software to beat up virtual people and loot their belongings in a virtual game of life and then selling them for real-world money. I remember a story from last year that was much discussed on the internet about a female VR character being raped by another male character while sleeping. While the victim didn’t physically cause some effects, there can be colossal damage psychologically. I have checked some information, and there is no clear law written out about what penalties are received for some criminal activity in the VR world. Nick Brett, a lawyer at a London law firm, has commented on these phenomena, saying, “If a woman is sexually assaulted virtually, that in itself should be illegal, but it isn’t at the moment.”
Some VR games have also added necessary measures to protect women from new forms of harassment. Meta’s Horizon Worlds, for example, has gone live with a “personal space” feature: each avatar is given a private space with a 2-foot boundary to prevent overly intimate interactions.QuiVr, a game in 2016 where female players were chased and harassed, also features a ‘power gesture’: the player simply crosses their arms to move from the current space. The creators of some games need to keep up with the times and make them more comprehensive and safe. That’s what game designers have to do.
I believe that a good VR game is not only a great experience in terms of graphics, sound, and story but also needs to have mechanisms in place to protect the user’s privacy. And to avoid unethical content and behavior, such as virtual violence and sexual assault to ensure that users can play legally.
Equally, decolonizing VR is important. Colonization is the process by which a country or region is dominated and influenced by the political, economic, and cultural power of another country or region. In the VR field, the concept of decolonization implies reflecting on and addressing issues such as racism, cultural hegemony, and Western centrism that may be present in VR technology and content. It emphasizes the importance of marginalized and oppressed voices, cultures, and perspectives and promotes the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion. The goal of decolonizing VR is to promote multicultural participation and representation, foster creative work and storytelling based on non-Western perspectives, reduce prejudice and preference for Western culture, and provide more platforms and opportunities for oppressed communities and non-mainstream perspectives.
In my sound work, I have combined the topic of my dissertation, which is the relationship between nature and sound.
My sound work can be divided into four parts, the first part is when nature was not yet destroyed, and the second part is when nature was destroyed due to the outbreak of war, industry, and technology with the advent of the industrial age. The third part is when mankind is involved in cutting down or destroying the natural environment. The fourth part is when mankind has done this damage and nature has taken its revenge so that environmental and natural measures are taken.
In the first part, I used some harmonious synthesizer sounds, representing the most pristine untouched sounds of the natural world. In the second and third sections, I added some sound effects, such as the sound of some bombs and artillery. This represents the world going to war as the human industry grows more and more ambitious. In addition to some of the perceived sounds, I also recorded some thunder, which can represent the beginning of climate change in the natural world, representing the occurrence of some natural disasters. In the last part, the music turns back into harmonious synthesizer sounds. This represents mankind starting to value the harmony in nature and to make up for the mistakes they have made, by using technology to develop products that are better for the environment rather than mass warfare. And it is partly a vision of a better future for mankind.
Cathy Lane is an artist, composer and academic. She works primarily in sound, combining oral history, archival recordings, spoken word and environmental recordings to investigate histories, environments, our collective and individual memories and the forces that shape them. She is inspired by places or themes which are rooted in every day experience and particularly interested in ‘hidden histories and historical amnesia and how this can be investigated from a feminist perspective through the medium of composed sound.
I listened to her work Hidden lives, in which I could hear a lot of voice repetition around the left and right channels. This left me with a feeling of overwhelm and a gradual reduction of the lower frequencies of the sound. In the synopsis, Cathy Lane’s inspiration for this piece was the repetition of domestic tasks performed by women around the house, and I think the repetitive musical sounds may have come from the command of the male gaze. In different times women have been the ones who have taken on this invisible work in the home. They are confined to the house and don’t spend too much time outside or away from this confined life.
After listening to this piece, I was very moved by it. Because in our family too it is my mother who does the various chores, and we some times take for granted that we will leave this matter of housework to the women in the family. We men sometimes don’t even do the housework, or even complain about the women in the family because of some work pressure or other pressures, which is also a sign of male gazing. I think we should reflect on this.
AUDREY CHEN is a 2nd generation Chinese/Taiwanese-American musician who was born into a family of material scientists, doctors and engineers, outside of Chicago in 1976. Parting ways with the family convention, she turned to the cello at age 8 and voice at 11. After years of classical and conservatory training in both instruments, with a resulting specialization in early and new music, she parted ways again in 2003 to begin new negotiations with sound in order to discover a more individually honest aesthetic.
I listened to the piece In The on Audrey’s album and I was amazed at how much she could transform her voice and do so without post-production.The interplay of vocals and cello in Chen’s piece creates a powerful sonic impact. She pushes the vocals to their limits, from a low growl to a whisper-like whisper that becomes part of her work. At the same time, her approach to the cello is unique, utilising a variety of unconventional techniques to explore new sonic expressions from this familiar instrument.
After listening to “In the,” I had the feeling that I had entered an unknown forest, where every sound was like a creature of the forest, some low, some murmuring, some silent, some wild. I was lost in this forest of sound and found a new self in it.
