The memory I chose was about a time when I had insomnia that was so severe that I had to take melatonin medication to fall asleep. Due to the medication, I actually had a short interval between when I was ready to go to sleep and when I went to sleep, and the dreams would become very strange. At first, it was psychedelic and calm, then it became agitated in the middle, then it became bizarre, filled with whispered murmurs, and finally, the drug stopped working, making it somewhat indistinguishable from dream and reality…
During the recording process, I visualize a bedtime preparation to sleep process through a series of sounds made by bedtime preparation actions (light switch, footsteps, quilt rubbing, pill bottle rattling, drinking water and taking medicine, and calm breathing). Then I suggest the beginning of the dream by ringing the bell, by overlapping the different sound materials to create the first dream sounds, including the subway through the tunnel, background music, bells, etc… Then, through the loop of water sound effects, showing the dream world switch, then there is the roar of motorcycles, camera shutter sound to switch film and music to interweave a more psychedelic crazy atmosphere, and then transition to the eerie piano sound and nails scratching wood intense sound effects and people whispering to form a spooky and scary atmosphere. Finally, the sound of the radio and the wind chimes convey a comfortable everyday atmosphere, making people think the dream is over, but then a bell rings to realize that the dream has just not ended, forming the first echo effect.
The difficulty I had in editing the audio was that when I used a certain effect, I needed to adjust each tiny converter many times because the effect of these converters was so abstract. I found it difficult to control every little variable in the process.
During the presentation, I received feedback such as “the transition into the dream state is not clear enough” and “the volume of the sound of the medication is too low”. So I made a lot of adjustments in this area, including re-recording the sound of drinking and adding the sound of sleep breathing to express the process of entering the dream state.
If I had time to polish my project, I would like to make the transitions in the different dream states a little smoother and tenser.
