“noise begin to alias: An Experiment in Using Ambient Sound in Film” (2023-2024)

In 2020, I left New York before the end of the spring semester because of the COVID lockdowns. I never finished my final essay and failed my writing course. I then spent two years in Korea struggling with depression and a lack of creative motivation, but eventually finding a sense of inner peace as well as inspiration in silences and slowness. In 2022, I came back to New York with renewed confidence and a stronger sense of identity, but retaking a course I had failed was not an easy task. I was plagued with previous anxieties, haunted by the stresses I failed to endure during the harrowing spring of that harrowing year. But with a great instructor, Christopher Wall, and a wonderful class of inspiring freshmen, I was able to overcome those anxieties and focus on producing meaningful work. 

noise began to alias as a film was conceived of and developed alongside the essay, the research and writing process informing the filmmaking and vice versa. Before this project, I had been experimenting with extreme digital image processing, crushing and mixing pixel and digital visual data into impressionistic and abstract collages, but this was my first time experimenting with blending multiple ambient recordings into a sound collage. The process of actually writing the words down on the page was fairly straightforward. Outlining my shifting thought processes was important because a large part of the film was created instinctually and emotionally rather than with a clear plan. 

Some of the works I was inspired by directly or indirectly but not mentioned in the essay were: 24 Frames (2017), Aftersun (2022), Güeros (2015), Mirror (1975), Coda (2017), The Chopin Project–Ólafur Arnalds & Alice Sara Ott (2015), Async–Ryuichi Sakamoto (2017), Instrumental Tourist–Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin (2012), and Blómi–Susanne Sundfør (2023).

Elle Jung is an undergraduate film student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a composer/producer. When the global pandemic hit, she returned to her home in Seoul, South Korea, and spent her time focusing on music and sound design, fostering a newfound passion for ambient music and field recordings. Coming back to New York, she brought that passion to her film program and began incorporating her original scores and ambient recordings in her films, including noise began to alias.