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.
