Audio Hardware/Software Repsonse

1. My experience with building the microphones was a little troublesome. It took me awhile to get it soldered, it was difficult to smooth out the solder and not take it all off at the same time so I got a little bit agitated by that. When I was finished the mics turned out fine. I was able to capture ambiance and close-ups of more interesting sounds. I guess the experience was good so if money were no object then I’d just buy more soldering guns so everybody can do it at once.

2. Working with the mini disc recorder was a breeze and had no trouble getting it to work. I haven’t had much experience working with audio so I can’t really compare. My ideal recorder would have a better screen to show you the different functions you were on.

3. While working with audacity (for the first time) I found it was similar to most audio editing software. It wasn’t complex to work with at all. I chose this app because it was given to us. I will be using this application for me drift 2 as well.

10 Questions

1. How much different would my sound walk be if I did it at night? at sunrise?
2. Was there cool sculptures or art near/on the church I passed?
3. Is there any roof access to any of the buildings I passed?
4. Would filming calm tress with windy audio and visa versa be a cool idea?
5. Was there any plans for construction on any of the roads I walked on?
6. What's the most unique view on my sound walk?
7. What's the most common view on my sound walk?
8. How many different animals did I see and how often are they insight?
9. Is there good streetlights on the route.
10. Will crunchy foliage add to the wind problem?

Drift Assessment

I did not come across anything that aggravated me too much other than the wind was blowing on and off throughout a lot of my sound clips and having just a little bit of wind sound is enough to turn it in to a weaker clip, I knew that my church choir sound would have been even cooler and more peaceful without the little bit of wind. I did get frustrated with the soldering but I guess that can be considered technology related, so my only stress was the whether could have been better. Like I was saying before I was feeling at ease or peaceful during the church choir singing but only at the time of recording, when I listened later I found myself worrying about the wind. There wasn’t too many instances that I would call unusual peacefulness, usually when I walk outdoors I am listening to nature and feel at ease with my mind, I can think more have ideas bounce off each other in my head. I do not own an iPod either so it is always common.
I was surprised with a lot of my sounds. When I went on the walk I knew I had two pretty good sound bites I was excited to hear: the water fountain and the church choir. But when it came to listen and edit all of them I heard much more levels and layers of sounds. For example when I was recording the “Kickin the Can to Sweet Child of Mine” bit I didn’t even recognize the dog bark that comes in at the end or how cool bus air breaks sound from a distance from the water fountain bit, it really added to the contrast and levels it out somewhat. My favorite place was the church choir voices, it just came in so soft and I walked up to it like it was drawing me in. I guess this had an affect on me because I was exploring my surroundings for the first time. I just moved here this semester so walking a rout that is different from my normal routine walk to campus was eye opening and ear opening