A main part of our class on granular synthesis was on paralleling three fragmented clips from one video source in one common output and mixing them in interesting ways. The assignment focused on experimenting with sounds which are the results of fragmenting the chosen video. In accomplishing the assignment, I added effects and filters to each three individual audio outputs and added a fourth audio input through inserting a sequencer, which I planed to use as a base layer.
In the first stage, I played with the twisters controlling the selected fragments and the length of them in order to look for a possible rhythmic line for further development. I chose a short sample from the broadcaster’s speaking voice for the first video input, a sample of repetitive noise for the second input, and for the third input, I went back to the broadcaster’s voice but slowed down the speed to create an extended voice effect. After trying different modules, I decided on a few for the submitted patch — the RETUNER module for the first sample from broadcaster to make him sound digital and robotic; the REVERB 2 module and a low pass filter for the second abstract sound sample to make it sound deep in space and clearer without the disturbance of noise; the FLANGER module to make the extended broadcaster voice sound more like a soundscape rather than a recognizable human voice. I only created a simple ground layer because of having no clue of how to incorporate a relatively complicated sound into the already fast-paced, busy, and overwhelming layer of sounds. I used a SEQUENCER, a KARPLUS oscillator, and a comb FILTER to make a typical synthesized sound which repeats only one note after a certain interval, enriching the pre-exiting short samples of sounds. I find myself constantly looking for sound effects which drastically alienate the familiar broadcaster voice from the original footage and transform it into something heavy and eerie, that’s probably what makes granular synthesis so exciting — completely altering something through approaching the materials with a different scale.
Link to GitHub: https://gist.github.com/HoiyanGuo/a52409458567e4bfde65626580504aec