“This unit offers you the opportunity to specialise developing critical, creative and technical excellence in specific areas of sound art practice.” “This unit also explores sound installation and more broadly the position of sound in a gallery, museum or other public art contexts.” – From BA Hons Sound Arts Handbook
Code, Data and Network Audio
Week 1: No Class
Monday’s Code, Data and Network Audio class was cancelled which was a shame because it was the one I was anticipating the most. I have several ideas for sound pieces and other works that I believe leaning code could help realise so this is most likely an option I would choose despite not knowing what it fully involves.
Week 2: No Class
Monday’s Code, Data and Network Audio class was cancelled which was a shame because it was the one I was anticipating the most. I have several ideas for sound pieces and other works that I believe leaning code could help realise so this is an option I am finding myself relying on despite not knowing what it fully involves.
Week 3: Introduction
- Sharing practice
- Intro to TidalCycles
- Networked Live Coding Jam
In this class we found that the Code Data classes will be online which is a great shame. I got to the university thinking we would finally start and unfortunately the whole class will now be less than half of what I had imagined it to be.
Week 4: Live Coding in SuperCollider Part I
- Introduction to live coding culture and practice
- Getting started with SuperCollider and ProxySpace
- Live Coding Synthesis
This class was good, we learnt more about how each code works and effects one another. I do still find the online lectures difficult because there is such a disconnect between us and the lecturer. I appreciate that Shelly Knotts has created documents that go over each of the lines of code and writes about what they do. I believe these are the most valuable part of these classes.
Week 5: Live Coding in SuperCollider Part II
- The Algorave Community
- Understanding SynthDefs
- Making beats with the Patterns Library
- Working with Samples
Week 6: Working with Data
- Introducing OSC and MIDI
- Sending Data between applications
- Sending Data between machines
Week 7: Data Sonification
- Mapping strategies and considerations
Week 8: Work in Progress: Mid Term Crits
Week 9: Networked Audio
- Tools and techniques for audio streaming
- Networked audio practices
Week 10: Machine Listening
- Tools and techniques
Week 11: Working with Visuals
- Audio reactive visuals
- Live coded and generative visuals
Studio Praxis for Sound Artists
Week 1: Pre-production 1
- M108 induction
- Ideation
- Sharing our current creative work, interests and aspirations.
In this class we were introduced or reintroduced to our other classmates as the past year didn’t allow us to do this much. We were also introduced to the class and what to expect. This class seemed to be very open and inviting in the sense of what is taught, with this seemingly being the most ambiguous class I am rather inclined to take it as an option.
Follow-up Tasks
- Conjure three possible project ideas – share these on your blog – tag them with Specialising and Exhibiting: Studio Practice
To find a direction with the interests in my head I decided to create a mind map. I have never known how to create one successfully though I found that like with writing; the more you get down on paper the clearer things become.
After getting my main “Sound Project Ideas” points down it lead me to write each of the blue labels;
Sound for Fashion Showcasing
– A look into the music of Vivienne Westwood
When researching the audio artists that work within the fashion industry I found a few people that had created music or mixed different tracks for Vivienne Westwood. One of these people is Jerry Bouthier
– A Look into the music used in British fashion
Political Sound Pieces
Consumption
Colonialism in Music
10 different project ideas
- Write a short statement of your interest in the topic and what you hope to learn.
- Find 2 learning resources from the library or the journals (Sounding Out, norient &c.) that are relevant to your interests. Update your blog with a short commentary upon them.
Week 2: Pre-production 2
- Bring your Sounds!!!
- R&D
- Group Experimentation
Week 3: Pre-production 3
- Futures Thinking
- A.I. | Internet of Things | Blockchain | Cloud | Big Data
- Intelligence
- Technics – German Media Theory
- Kinships – human / non-human (machines, animals, plants, ecologies)
- Group Project Development: Storm
Week 4: Production 1
- Collective Spontaneous Sound work
Week 5: Production 2
- Student-led Group Performance and recording
- Emergent Practice
Week 6: Production 3: Turbo Tutorials and Works in Progress
- One-to-one tutorials, presenting and discussing work in progress in small groups.
Week 7: Post-Production 1
Week 8: Post-Production 2
Week 9: Post-Production 3
Spacialisation for Installation and Performance
Week 1: Sculpting Air: Introduction to Spatialisation and Multi-channel works
- Mono, stereo, pan laws, speaker positioning, discerning spatial positions
- Uses of spatialisation e.g., gaming, cinema, home cinema, sound sculpture, installations
- Early stereo recordings, recreating performer positioning in relation to microphones
- Microphones- different types and polarities and their uses (e.g., binaural, hypercardioid, omnidirectional, hydrophones)
- Listening to examples of work of this type
- Scoring for Multi-Channel works
- Students to create a short piece of work using these techniques.
This lecture was really informative, we were told to write up our idea of a score or script for a performance piece. This gave me a solid idea for the positions of microphones and placement of instruments within a gallery space which can be adapted to multiple works I have in mind.
Draft of a performance score:
The idea for this score is for a melody or spoken word piece to be projected by two vocalist who move around a space in a set path at a certain speed, in the same way models walk on a runway. The microphones are positioned as such to give lesser or greater volume to their vocals in specific areas which would then be replicated through panning when mixing. I would write vocals for the performers which would utilise this spacing to give emphasis to certain sections of the audio piece. The fact that there could be two voices from different people at once also gives opportunity to create variations in friction and harmony within the piece. So this class has been very interesting for me and I’d like to see how it follows on over the next week.
Week 2: Performance Lab Technical Inductions and Multi-Channel Improvisation
- Technical Inductions to performance Lab including updates
- Performing examples of groups improvisational scores within a multi-channel studio
- Students to create short multi-channel improvisations in groups
Week 3: Integrating live and recorded sound within Multi-Channel Performance
- Acquiring assets/ field recording /bit depth/sample rates
- Using field recordings with live performance
- Induction into Spatialisation field recording equipment
Week 4: Site Visit: Shilpa Gupta at The Barbican
Week 5: Acoustic principles in Multi-Channel Installation & Performance
- Immersion and 360 degree Sound Design
- Aesthetic and practical concerns of multi-channel production
- Exploring multi-channel sound design for A/V performance and installation
Week 6: Work In Progress: Turbo Tutorials
- Each student to present work in progress for a 10 minute tutorial
- Prepare to work on your blog research and audio work in progress when not discussing your work
Week 7: Spatialisation for Different Platforms Part 1
- Introduction to FB360 plug in
Week 8: Spatialisation for Different Platforms Part 2
- Introduction to FMod
Week 9: Site-Specific Practice and Public Art
- Exploring approaches to site-specific multi-channel work
- Production and documentation considerations for Site-specific installation and performance
- Walking tour and discussion
Week 10: Diffusion performances and group feedback
- Presenting work for 15 minutes and diffusing for live interpretations
- Group feedback
- Finessing for hand-in