During the last 12 weeks I have learnt about different production forms. It did not come without mistakes. Firstly how to come up with an idea to create an auditory piece of absolutely self-obtained recordings, slowly work on it and watch it evolve into a creative concept that represents something. We produced a sonic piece that is nothing more than definition of uncertainty in life. It is a regular walk-from-work of a regular person. The unexpected chain of events that is being unleashed by a superior medium is beyond our control. It stands for the unknown and is suppose make audience question their routine and following social norms imposed from above.
We have recorded mainly in the campus and its neighbourhood gathering quite a few different sounds, both from the inside and outside of different buildings. I improved my skills of recording with the help of H4n Zoom. I incorporated the technique of recording with headphones. Being able to use recorder as I want to and use all the functions that it has to offer has become much easier to me.
While working on the project I have become more aware of audio editing on MAC and PC. Using Pro Tools on both system is now something I can do. Even though I had a problems first with running the software on my own computer I managed to install it and get it to work (it was a time consuming experience though, as connection between Pro Tools and Focusrite soundcard on Windows 10 must not have reached its full stability. I would recommend working on Win7 now and previous version of Pro Tools as I am coming across new problems with Windows updates being installed automatically every now and then).
From the workshops I learned how to add different effects and manipulate the recording with various plug-ins. This project made me feel very confident in terms of editing the recordings. I identify the need to continue developing new skills and improving previous ones especially in the “mixing view”. I understand now that getting used to all the shortcuts is very time efficient. Some people neglect that skill. They obviously remain capable to edit and mix their work, but they will have to come back to the shortcuts sooner or later as they are essential and it may be more difficult to learn them later.
Adding reverb and compression plug-ins played an important role in our production. During the workshops we have been introduced to them and showed the techniques how to incorporate them into our work. The project helped me to understand them better and get to know how to operate with their help in practice. Using EQ can have a massive effect on a track and even though we did not use it at this occasion I had a go at it. The amount of possibilities in the creation process is virtually overwhelming and it takes time to know how to use them in accordance to your plans (this is very interesting if you are into experimental sort of audio production and need a lot of modulation for other work, probably creating your own sound effects for sci-fi productions. The range this can be applied to is amazing).
Even though the beginning of the work on soundscape was hard I am glad I was part of it. We tried to work together as a team and all of us contributed some vital material to the concept in terms of content and idea behind it. Participating in this module helped me to realise how many things we can do in sonic world. I look forward to learning more.