Reading Response #3

I chose Stephen Joel Trachtenberg's article "The Art of Instant Gratification" initially because the title intrigued me. What got me interested in film was photography, so I was interested in an article about photography. I really like how Trachtenberg structured his article. It's almost like a time line-- he talks about film and darkroom work, moves on to photo labs developing the images and the development of cameras, then he speaks about when Polaroid came out in the 1940s, and ends with a description of today's photographic technique: digital imagery. Because of today's advanced digital technology, many people do not even have material photographs any more; most are on their computers and often, on the internet. Another thing I liked about this article were the descriptions that Trachtenberg used. The way he writes about the darkroom process illustrates for the reader how the darkroom process works. I noticed that he used much more beautiful descriptions when writing about photography in the darkroom than photography as it evolved and became more and more instant. This appealed to me because, although I do enjoy digital photography, I love working the darkroom and the satisfaction that comes with actually creating the image.

I think the main point of Trachtenberg's article is that the "art" of photography has been lost because of the "public's thirst" for instant gratification. The "almost biblical [...] early process of creating an image" clearly was not quick enough to satisfy people's desire for an image here and now. Trachtenberg writes much more highly about photography with negatives and in the darkroom, stating that now, with digital photography, the "intimacy of the touch is gone." No longer is photography a "mystery," something to be pondered-- now it is simply a "wonder," and requires little thought. Trachtenberg brings his point to a close on a rather rhetorical question. Essentially, he is asking readers how they think the photographs themselves feel about being reduced to digital technology. This closing furthers his main argument, that photography with film and images created in the darkroom have a much more "sacred" and "loved" quality to them than a simple digital image.

Trachtenberg's ideas are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because they encourage me to keep shooting film while I can. This article reminded me of how much fun the darkroom process is, and it encouraged me to create images in the darkroom while it is still possible. Even though I love shooting digital, this article reminded me of the simplicity and the "instant gratification" that it is, and that makes me want to shoot film more, so I have more control over the image itself, creating a deeper "intimacy of touch," as Trachtenberg might say.

Video Hardware/Software Response

My experience with the Olympus digital camera was good. In my experience, Olympus makes good point and shoot digital cameras. I own a newer version of the same camera, in fact, and while it has a bigger megapixel capacity, it's features were quite similar to the camera used for class. The camera was comparable to my camera, but obviously incomparable to my DSLR Canon 40D camera. Nevertheless, I liked the camera we used for class. I was easily able to successfully implement my Image Capturing Strategies with the features of this camera because it was compact and easy to carry around to take some quick shots or takes. In an ideal world, my camera would be really nice quality and be a video camera that is capable of taking nice DSLR still shots as well. I don't know how that would be possible... but it would be in my ideal world!

For video editing, I used Quicktime because it was recommended and because I bought it at the beginning of the semester for this class. I despised it. I have never used it before, but I think I was expecting something more like Final Cut Pro, which I have used very briefly. I hate how on Quicktime you can't see the line-up of cuts and sound cuts like on Final Cut. It was really hard to re-edit (like take out a short clip, like a still image) after the video was done, because you can't really select it easily. I will not use Quicktime again for future projects. I would rather use Windows Movie Maker, the video software that came free with my computer, than use Quicktime again.

Reading Response #2

I selected Phillip Lopate's article "On the Aesthetics of Urban Walking and Writing" because it had an interesting opening paragraph. In it, Lopate compares walking to writing, and I enjoy writing a lot. The article in engaging, and as Lopate develops his argument, he draws the reader in, making them feel a connection with his words despite the fact that he is writing about solitude and the self, both being sort of lonely topics. One thing I really liked about Lopate's article is that he makes great use of his imagination and encourages other walker-writers to do the same. I also liked that he used examples from his own walks around Manhatten to show readers how he changed his walks from simply habit to a passion and even an art. Lopate writes of examples he has experienced on his walks that make him feel connected with people but also separate from them, and I found these experiences funny, interesting, and quite observant. Even though Lopate's walks stimulate his writer's side, they also relax his mind, and his article encourages readers to find the same relaxation and contentment in walking and writing.

Lopate's main point in this article is that walking (and having a writer's awareness) can connect an individual more intimately to a city than he may have thought. One way this connection is made is between the individual walking and other classes. A walker-writer observes differences between social classes that can open one's eyes to realities. Lopate encouarges one to use his imagination during these times-- writing that a "walker-writer can turn a corner and imagine being in Prague, say, or Montevideo." Another connection that an individual can gain through an aware walk is between himself and his senses. He can hear new noises, see new sights, and feel new sidewalks under his feet. These new things make one feel "purposeful, wary, pointed, athletic," Lopate writes. A walk can also make one feel a unique type of peaceful calm. This can connect an individual to his own mind, making him aware of his thoughts and therefore making him a writer of sorts. Lopate convinces the reader that through these connections, he can truly see a city, connecting him with the city more intimately than he could imagine.

The topics and points Lopate makes in his article are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because they encourage me to be aware of all people and things. Lopate reminds me that during a walk, I can't have a closed mind because then I might miss something revealing about the city. I have to walk with an open mind and be willing to experience all sorts of new things. The article encourages me to break out of my comfort zone and perhaps explore places that may be different from what I am used to.

Audio Hardware/Software Response

I really enjoyed building microphones. Initially I expected the process to be rather difficult, but it turned out to be more detailed than difficult. Learning to solder was really fun, but it took a lot of patience and precision. During my Drift walk, my microphone rigs worked really well, except if I happened to move the microphones during the recording, they picked up a muffled sound that does not sound good. Nevertheless, I was so surprised with how well the microphones picked up sound! I was able to pick up overall ambience, like traffic noise or wind noise, but I was also able to pick up extreme close-ups, such as the flapping of birds’ wings. With unlimited time and money, I don’t think I would change anything about my microphones, in fact. I think they work really well, and I like the idea of homemade things. I suppose that with unlimited time, I would just spend more time on my soundwalk, seeking out the extreme close-up sounds, because I really like the feeling they give.

Overall, my experience with the MiniDisc recorder was positive. It took me a bit of time to figure out how to set the audio to “manual,” but once I got it, it was great. I don’t really mind having to set the audio to manual every time; however, if I had my ideal recorder, I would make it so I wouldn’t have to set that each time. I don’t have a whole lot to compare the MiniDisc recorder to, considering I haven’t used a whole lot of other audio equipment. I was really impressed with how good the sound that the MiniDisc recorder sounded, though. Ideally, I would change the screen of the recorder so it was easier to get around all the Menus, but other than that, I was happy with the MiniDisc recorder.

As for audio-editing software, I chose to use SonicStage and Audacity. Prior to Drift 1, I had never used either of these applications, but I found them to be pretty easy to figure out and use. I chose these primarily because they had good demos, but also because a lot of other people were using these applications, so I could get help if I needed it. I like how easy-to-use Audacity is; this characteristic of it helped me to accomplish my creative goals. For future projects, I will continue to use this software.

Ten Questions

1. Would it be interesting to record dialog of people chatting?
2. Could I find interesting sights or sounds indoors somewhere?
3. Could people be the subject of a drift- whether this includes dialog or noises people make as they walk down the street?
4. Could I base my drift on only one color? Yellow, for instance?
5. Could I find more sound differences between night and day?
6. Would sounds be recorded differently if I was in a tunnel?
7. Is there a place I can find where there are NO car noises?
8. Can I find deeper sounds, sounds that record more than one noise into each individual microphone?
9. Are there any train tracks nearby?
10. Is there a place downtown that I could classify as the "quietest," and to contrast that, a place I could classify as the "loudest?"

Drift 1 Assessment

While I was out on Drift 1, I got a little bothered when I couldn’t seem to find any noises other than car noises. I felt like everywhere I went, there was a car in the background of my recording. However, as my soundwalk brought me into neighborhoods and away from major streets, I realized that this was not worth being bothered by, because I ended up recording many sounds that did not have cars in the background. Another thing that kind of stressed me out during Drift 1 was once when I ended up in a neighborhood (on the other side of Oakland) that I didn’t know anything about, and everything was really eerily quiet. I got a little scared, so I purposefully had to turn around and go back towards Oakland.

I felt more emotions than simply bothered or stressed during Drift 1; I also felt at peace and contemplative at times. As I walked through the park in Shorewood, the sounds of nature caused me to think a lot about how people rarely stop to just listen to what is around them. This contemplative mood was good, and heightened my awareness to soft noises or potential noises, like the wings of birds, for instance. Another time I felt really at peace was when I turned off of Maryland Ave (at the beginning of my soundwalk) and entered into the neighborhoods there. The noises of cars died down rather abruptly, and I felt really at ease at how my project would turn out.

One thing that really surprised me while I was on my soundwalk for Drift 1 was when I was on Cramer Street, and all of a sudden my microphones started picking up a noise. I couldn’t tell where the noise was from, and I was pleasantly surprised by this! I stood still for a few minutes and just listened into my headphones to try to decipher what the noise was. It turned out it was the bobcat that I ended up recording a few seconds later! Another time I was surprised during Drift 1 was after I recorded myself stepping on fallen crabapples. I thought this noise would be really neat, but when I listened to it, I was surprised to find that it was actually pretty boring! On the other hand, a noise I thought would be really boring—when I patted on the yellow bouquet of flowers outside of Sendik’s grocery store—turned out to be a pretty interesting noise! This surprised me, and taught me that sometimes, subtle noises are more interesting than quick and kind of “loud” noises.

My absolute favorite experience from Drift 1 was definitely in the park when I recorded the birds flying out of the big bush. I wasn’t sure if the microphones would pick up their wings, although this was my hope. Even with my headphones on, I couldn’t really tell if the wings were recorded, so it was a wonderful realization when I listened to it on my computer and found out that I could hear the wings really well… and that they sounded really good, too! This made me feel really proud of my homemade microphones and of the sound that I had found while on my soundwalk. This experience affected me because through it, I learned that many of the best sounds I’ll pick up are soft, and I learned that my microphones do an awesome job picking up these soft noises.

Reading Response #1

I selected Joseph Hart’s article “A New Way of Walking.” The article drew me in as a reader because it was not only interesting, but engaging as well. It seemed to speak to its audience rather than at them, proving that Hart is passionate about psychogeography. I like that he uses specific examples from his experiences exploring the secrets of certain cities. I also liked that one of the cities he wrote about was near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, because I live there! It made me think about the fact that I could find so many awesome sights and sounds in my own hometown- I don’t have to go far! Hart’s article made me think and got me excited about exploring wherever I am.

The subject of Hart’s article, psychogeography, is a term which describes various ways one can explore and come to a new awareness about a city, and he zeroes in on algorithmic walks and the secrets they can reveal. On his walk in Albert Lea, Minnesota, he used an algorithmic strategy (first left, second right, repeat), which forced him to explore areas he normally would not go, and therefore discover “secrets” of the town. Hart writes positively about the algorithmic strategy, stating that it is “neither goal-oriented nor random” and that it is “structured but always surprising” (1). Hart’s main point in “A New Way of Walking” is that wherever you are, if you walk with purpose but without a destination in mind, your “consciousness of what was important and unimportant, beautiful and dull […will be] completely altered” (Hart 2).

The topics in Hart’s article are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because as an artist, I should be aware of all types of sensual stimulation, whether it is sights, sounds, smells, or visually interesting artifacts and locations. Hart’s article encouraged me to be aware of my surroundings wherever I am, and to even go searching for interesting and unknown places. Being aware of techniques such as the algorithmic walk and a having a sense of openness to sights and sounds will further my success as a media artist.