Sonic Research Practices | Field Study Assignment

Sonic ethnography: These assignments have two goals: to give you experience recording and editing both wild sound and the human voice in isolation from images; and, by doing so, to encourage mindfulness of sound during your later audiovisual practice. You will edit your soundscapes and interview using Adobe Premiere CC (those of you looking for more functionality might also experiment with Adobe Audition CC). The assignment has three parts, two of which involve “wild sound” and one the human voice.

1. Deep listening – In your chosen field site, spend an hour or so listening, first through your ears and then through the microphone without actually recording. Next, record for no more than one hour, using the list of parameters discussed in the tutorial and Pisaro’s Framing Considerations to guide you formally. You may make recordings in a single space, or across two different spaces within the site. From this material, edit a soundscape of no more than 3-4 minutes conveying something about how you experienced the site. For those using recordings from two spaces, you may clearly distinguish or mix the two for specific effect. You must include both loud and quiet, “soft focus” ambiances and discrete sonic events, wide and close “shots”, etc. For this part of the exercise, use only the hand-held stereo recorder.
2. Interview – Make a 10-20-minute interview in situ with one or more informants about the sounds of your field site, and then edit this into a 2-4-minute piece. What do your informant(s) pay attention to, and what do they ignore? How does sound affect their experience of the place, positively, negatively, or functionally? What sounds, for them, define the place itself? For this interview, use only the external mono mic. Don’t forget to record some “room tone” (or, if outside, static ambiance) to aid you in the editing process.
3. Directed Listening – After recording the interview, re-explore your field site, using the hand-held stereo microphone to record specific sounds/ambiances mentioned by your subjects. As with the first exercise, use the list of parameters and Pisaro’s Framing Considerations to structure your approach, recording both loud and quiet, close and wide-angle, sharp and soft focus “shots”. From no more than 1 hour of total material, edit a 3-4-minute soundscape representing the space as experienced by your subjects. Once you have completed the three exercises, export them as a single file with the following order: exercise 1, exercise 3, exercise 2. This is to ensure that your peer reviewers hear both soundscapes before they listen to the interview.

Meta-commentary: All assignments must be accompanied by a brief written reflection (200-300 words max) that provides a ‘meta-commentary’ about the student’s intentions with the assignment’s selection.