Testing sound
I've shifted to a mono recording set up with an extra pre-amp, which has allowed for clearer and more detailed recording and less wind noise. Most field recordings have been done with my usual contact mic still, but I've also started using a hydrophone I picked up at the same time as it - although it's designed for use in water, it also works well and is strong enough to be buried in the sand and under rocks on the beach. In terms of editing, I've been continuing to mix mono tracks into stereo mixes of one or two individual sounds from the same location or space, however am also enjoying the clarity of the individual tracks by themselves now that quality has been improved.
In terms of installation, I've been continuing to work with the same speakers from the last seminar, however suspect I will need to find higher quality ones for EOY (which have better range). As they are connected to my amp with long cables, it's been curious moving them around the DEMO space - it always surprises me how much sound can change an environment. Last time I was there, on a particularly stormy night, the room shifted from a cold and somewhat spooky place into a bubbling rock pool as soon as I switched them on.
Video
After talking with Sonya, I tried testing out a combination of video and audio (although unfortunately forgot to record in a high resolution for the first one!). Not exactly the style I would go for if I was to run with both, just something quick to see how they sit together... (I don't think the current combinations here work).
After not working with projectors for a while, I had forgotten how much time and pacing shifts when a video is scaled up - what seemed slow moving in person appears far faster and almost overwhelming when projected onto the wall. I think in future I will need to be careful in selecting what to film, as the combination of detailed sound and detailed video is too much - I think it would lead to overwhelm rather than encouraging people to spend time with it.
(Current audio for each is set up for installation, so sounds quite unbalanced on headphones)
Current recording set up:
It's been a difficult month and I still feel far behind where I need to be but getting out of my head and into a testing space has been really helpful. I also had some weird mould-looking entities as studio companions for a few days which had sprouted out of the concrete (one of my friends tells me it's a kind of mineral or salt leeched from the material).
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