the music of sound

I always flinch slightly when sitting in a mix & someone accidentally uses the term ‘noise’ when they really mean ’sound’. I guess its due to the traditional definition of the word, noise = unwanted sound. As in signal to noise etc… But of course even that kind of noise has its uses and I’ll let you form your own opinions about these next three entities…

First the bit.blob – by the makers of the great anthropomorphic thingamagoop

Check it out here or buy one here – just dont try taking it as carry on lugagge! Its funny, being youtube I literally thought it was going to blow up, when after making circuit bent sounds for a while suddenly @ 0.31 it starts beeping like a cliched bomb count down from some dumb action movie!

Next is a bit of live set by Alva Noto – I saw him play live in Kyoto last year & two words of advice: ear plugs!

Lastly, this is typical youtubery with a little dash of genius, but note you must play it loud or it doesnt make any sense!

I love the ‘noise’ moment, I just think its slightly mis-timed. when I watched it a second time the noise was in a different place than how i remembered it – I think it should have been on the first glimpse/reveal, not preceeding it…

Wow – if only these were real! Well they are real, but made of felt rather than circuitry….
So cute!

Buy them from pul(sew)widths Etsy store

This is beautiful atypical beatboxing, not just because of the thumb piano/kalimbra… check it out & you’ll see/hear what I mean!

This video reminds me of that saying about how despite all the resources being poured into creating interactive content, none tend to surpass the arts that have total interactivity through the audience having zero control. As with film, complete suspension of disbelief & fully engaging with a story is the ultimate interaction with media. Now put the remote down!

Go here to download the video etc

a truly beautiful stop motion ad….

watch the high rez version here

And the making of…

Wahoo! but I have personally lost faith in APRA over this… And their attitude to Creative Commons… Methink they should be headed the same way as the big record labels…

via

Ben Burt was robbed!

I can’t really imagine it keeps him awake at night, and as with any awards ceremony if you dont win at least all that adrenalyn is dissipated instantly (as in; sheesh at least now I don’t have to get up there & make a speech… to a few billion people!!!) & then you get to have a fun night out without any of the endless ego vs graciousness issues that some people maybe handle better than others…

But heres my take on it (and I know I am in a minority since the mpse basically voted as per the Oscar voters) but don’t get me wrong: I have no issue with Slum Dog winning best Sound Mix (if for no other reason than in Hollywood that means production sound mixer as well as re-recording mixers & I haven’t been to India but many friends have & upon returning have described it sonically – enough said… ) And so the ‘mix’ well deserves its accolades… as does the Best Film/Director Awards… respect where due, and it most definitely was!

But those are some cold hearted voters that gave the sound edit award to a bunch of (admittedly fantastic) vehicle effects & a whole bunch of gadget sounds. Yeah yeah… and dialogue, FX & Foley… But how much emotion was in that Dark Knight soundtrack? Were any of those inanimate objects required to emote? I was blown away with the action sequences, but lets face it the same applies to going on a serious rollercoaster ride. And other than fear for ones life, there is no residual emotional impact. Personally the same was true for that film….

Comparitively I felt elated after seeing & hearing Wall E…. and almost cried a few times during… And my niece (5) & nephew (7) felt the same and THAT is quite an achievement, especially knowing ALL of the sound is unreal/(re)created. And I am sorry but can’t say anywhere near the same for Batboy & his mates…. and THAT is what film making is about; EMOTION. End of story.

Methink Oscar frowns on that decision…

If not then I do..

Congratulations Ben Burt!

Ok, ok this is an ad… but apart from the cute furry animals it is the sound effects that adds the wry element…

Hate to think how much footage they had to wade through to cut it…

These are some little sparks of genius: New Math by Craig Damrauer. Heres a few (sound related) examples that made me smile….

Not sure which one I would associate with that dog next door sound effect in whichever commercial sound library that keeps appearing in Hollywood films that can surely afford something a tad more unique (hint: grab your sound kit & walk around the block, kicking the gate of any house with a dog)

Yesterday I went to the supermarket & on the way there, this drone started to blend with the music on my car stereo & it got stronger as I got closer to the supermarket… It was only when I parked & got out that I realised it was someones car horn that was stuck on. It kept droning the entire time I was in the supermarket & was still going when I drove off. I thought afterwards I should have driven over by it & tooted for a while, just to join in…..