Basic Information
Project Title: Farewell
Producer: Harry Lee
Concept
Winter, 2010, at the train station.
My friend and I were walking through the railway, pedlars are selling snacks and food, passengers are hurrying to move and talk. Everyone has his own important thing at this train station. For us, it is our farewell.
We stopped at the side door of the train, the sound of the train, the passengers the pedlars seems to die down. What came into my mind is our joyful times together, we laugh by the river, enjoying our childhood… I can hear my heartbeat and my breath, getting stronger and stronger.
The whistle of the train broke the silence. He grabbed his bag, trotting into the door. I saw the train slowly sped up, I saw him at the window. I ran a little bit, stopped. And stay at the empty train station, alone.
Process
Recording and Materials Collecting
My recording process can be generally divided into 2 parts – indoor sound sampling and outdoor train-related sampling. Below are some of the interesting sounds that I recorded.
[Footsteps] To minimize the noise, I recorded my footstep on the carpet in the academic building. I tried different grounds (marble, wood floor, and carpet) and then found that the sound of walking on the dirt is similar to the sound of walking on the carpet. So I recorded the sound of myself walking on the carpet.
[Transitioning Sound] The transitioning sound (starts at 15s of my work, before the laughter of the kids) originates from the sound of piano strings. I used my nail to sweep through the piano strings, with the delay pedal on, so that I could get a continuous combined sound of different strings.
[The Train] I recorded all the sound of the train at Shanghai railway station. I bought a ticket to Kunshan so that I can get into the waiting room and the platform. In the train station, not only did I recorded the sound of the train passing by fast, but I also recorded the sound of the whistle of the train, the sound of bell ringing, the sound of people moving with their suitcase, the sound of the waiting room, and the sound of the train slowly speeds up.
[Matirials and Clips from the Internet] I found and used 4 resources from sc.chinaz.com, their links are listed below:
- http://downsc.chinaz.net/Files/DownLoad/sound1/202004/12821.wav
- http://downsc.chinaz.net/files/download/sound1/201209/2080.wav
- http://downsc.chinaz.net/Files/DownLoad/sound1/202010/13498.wav
- http://downsc.chinaz.net/Files/DownLoad/sound1/201909/12018.wav
Editing Process
Originally, I used AU mostly for modification of music and human voices. So the remake and reproduction of soundscape is also a challenge for me compared to my previous work with PS and AI. Below are some of the most significant parts of my editing process.
[Use of Noise] In my soundscape, noise is important and also inevitable since the setting, the train station itself is a crowded space. However, two things about noise raised my attention: 1) We cannot remove all the noise within one audio clip. 2) The total amount of noises should be constant, regardless of how many clips are playing simultaneously. As a result, my solution of this problem is to add additional noise to the mixdown, and adjust the additional noise according to how much noise other clips are contributing.
[Piano Strings] FTT filter is really a useful and powerful tool. When I was coping with the sound of piano strings, it sounds a little messy since the frequency of the strings is not in a harmony – as a result, I used the FFT filter to “tidy up” the sound. What’ more, I also added some reverb and delay effects, turning the sound of piano strings into a transitional sound effect.
[Powerful FTT Filter] The use of FTT filter is also helpful in noise reduction. For example, when I was dealing with the noise of the wind, it is not effective to use only the noise reduction effect. Since all the wind noise is below approximately 80 Hz while the “meaningful” and useful part is above that level. I did a lowcut – removing all the sounds below 80 Hz. And this solves the problem of extreme wind noise.
I also used the same technique in extracting the bell. Since the sound of the bell is hidden in the loud background noise of the train station, I used the FTT filter to extract the sound around 2.9 kHz and raised its volume – this is more effective and pure.
Conclusion
Improvements
If more time is given, I would improve in the following aspects:
- Re-record the clips from the train station – using two shotguns, with windshields.
- Record a more natural sound of kids laughing.
- Adjust the speed of heartbeat, according to the real-time emotion and pace of the sound. For example, the heartbeat could be faster when I run, and slower but stronger when I was standing with my friend.
Feedback
- Prof. Leon: the sound of the heartbeat could be more natural, otherwise it would be a little distinct from the soundscape I produced.
I think it is true that the sound of the heartbeat is a little “strange” and confuses the audiences. So I would try to record it myself and adjust its speed, tone, and EQ to be more natural. - Jin Tian: more layers are suggested to form a more lively scenario.
I agree that more layers would make the soundscape more real. I believe it is a good idea to add more sounds such as the ticket man speaking, more sound of the suitcase moving on the floor… A more detailed design is required.
Image of Audition
The image of my Adobe Audition Multitrack Session