This week’s project is as follows,
‘From the image you have selected, reconstruct it but with sound only.
You should record and recreate the photograph as a Soundscape.
Sounds can be layered, found, recorded, edited and treated in software but the final piece must be presented as a WAV or MP3 on a CD.
Length should be 1-3 minutes and suitable for looping.’
To create a Soundscape for an image there are some things we have to think about. The theme is one of them. If the image is quite low key and highly contrasted, an upbeat sound track wont match the image. Objects within the frame is also key. If you have a photo of space, a tractor noise will not be appropriate.
Another thing to think about is how many different sounds occur at the same time, for just on event. If you take an example of a car crash, there are lots of different sounds happening at once. There is of course the sound of the initial impact, but what else happens? Tyres screech ,glass breaks, tyres explode, seat belts lock, people make noises, the engine might catch fire. Will there be eyewitnesses phoning 999? Will emergency services’ sirens be heard far away? These are all things that could happen, and must be fulfilled to make the soundscape realistic.
For my Soundscape I wanted to use one of my own images. This is mainly because the image will be personal to me, so I know what I was thinking, feeling and hearing at the time. It also means a can revisit the location and take ambient noises from the actual place.
The image I chose was the image below, and below that is the sound I put with it.
My Chosen Image
This image is one of a sequence of four, which can be seen here, entitled ‘Home Alone’. The purpose of these images was to show isolation and lonely, despite being in your home. To achieve this, the photos are either black and white, or fairly desaturated. The sound needed to match this.
To make the sound match the mood of the image, I first started recording the clock ticking, and the hum of the fridge. By hearing these throughout, you get a sense that no one else is around making other noises.
A common thing done in our kitchen is coffee making, so I decided to replicate these actions and record the noises. The sounds are quite echoey, again giving the feel of a large, empty space. I am fairly happy with the recording, as I think it matches the mood of the image. If I were to do this again, I would try and record more sounds, such as footsteps, and maybe a quiet radio.
