My soundscape was inspired by my experience of evening sessions on a rainy day but it can also be interpreted as anything that displays as a process of going through disturbance or difficulty and eventually conquering it. The main aspect I wanted to convey was the sound combination of both outdoor (wind, rain, trees) and indoor elements (pen, paper, desk, bottle, footsteps etc). Because this is a series of sound that I often experience in high school and something that I think most people could relate to, plus it is also a concept that can demonstrate the time and spacial difference through sound, so I think this is a memory suitable for the project.
For outdoor elements, I incorporated the sounds of wind, noise of cars on the streets and many different types of sounds of water. I first experimented with water as I recorded sounds from taps, shower, water pouring out of buckets, sprays of water falling on plastic bag and even boiling water. Initially I thought the sound of sprays on plastic bag would be most similar to the sound of rain but then I realize the sound of boiling water actually sounds most authentic. To recreate the sound of wind, I used the recording of the noise of cars rushing by on the street. I was going to abandon that recording at first, but it worked surprisingly well in imitating the sound of a rainy day. And because I also wanted to create the sound of extremely strong wind blowing through corridors and widows, I tried to imitate the sound myself by whistling in a low tone and it also turned out to be useful recordings. Also, I discovered to recreate the sound of heavy rain drops slamming on glass widows by scratching uneven plastic surface and had a great time collecting these different sounds.
Indoor elements were a lot easier in comparison as I could just create the sounds I need directly. I recorded sounds that can commonly be found in a classroom, such as turning pages of books, chairs scratching the floor, doors and widows opening and closing, people walking around, squeaks of thermos bottles and the sound of pressing the tip of a pen. Interestingly, I did not plan to make the pen-pressing sound a main element that would be audible throughout the entire one minute, but as I was editing I noticed it is great for indicating the pace of the soundscape and making the changes in emotions more obvious.
There were also some challenges that I’ve faced during the process. For starters, the two days that I was able to record with devices borrowed from ER were depressingly sunny and windless (since it has been raining the several days before), so I had to recreate the sound of a rainy day by trying out different sounds that has nothing to do with rain and not knowing if they will work int he end. Also, the devices ER gave me seems to have some small issues because there is always a very uncomfortable sound that resemble a electricity leakage when I plug in the shotgun and it is very loud with no way of getting rid of it. Eventually I have to give up using the shotgun and record using the Tascam directly. As a result, I have to always be very careful with how I hold it to avoid making unwanted noises. It was also very difficult to find somewhere quite enough around the residence hall as we live right next to a highway haha.
On the day of presentation, after I’ve explained my inspiration and concept for the project, one of the classmates commented that I should add some voices of people talking if I am recreating a scene of an evening session from high school. Actually this element was on my recording list but because have spent most of my energy trying to create the sounds of a rainy day I had forgot all about it and when I realized this I had already returned the devices back to ER. But after further consideration, I think it is actually better not to include these chatting sounds for two reasons: One, the sene of a evening session on a rainy day is only the inspiration, but my job is not to recreate it like a bad writer who includes everything that it had done and happened in a journal, Two, there are already plenty of different sounds in this one minute especially during the middle and the second half. Adding more elements might make it sound messy and confusing. Additionally, I don’t want my project to be too concrete to an extent that everyone is able to picture almost the same things in their mind. Sure, I can explain to them what I have in mind when I am creating and listening to it, but I definitely don’t always get to do that with everyone and I want the audiences to have their own interpretation. Adding human voices would just make it more concrete and limit the room for imagination.
