Hunter College Media 160 Sections 7 and 8 Fall 2015 : October 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Media 160 Lecture Slides

Link to Lecture Slides.

These are on blackboard as well.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Extra Credit Opportunity - Blog Post

Attend the The Third Work symposium on sound at Hunter College on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14th

The symposium takes place on the afternoon and evening of Friday, November 13th and all day and evening on Saturday, November 14th.

Attend one workshop and write a blog about it.

You can find more information on the website here. The full schedule is here. A list of participants is here. There's a schedule-at-a-glance here.

Assignment 2: Audio Portrait of a Person - Due: Lab 9

Your second assignment for the semester is based on an interview with one of your classmates. First, you will pre-interview a classmate in order to define a theme for your piece. As you listen to your classmate, try to identify something unique about their story that “grabs” you. The following week, you will interview the person using questions you have written up before the interview, recording the interview with the Zoom recorder. Finally, you will create a multi-track audio piece in Premiere Pro based on the interview.
When you do your recording, record ample material, but try not to go overboard. 15 minutes worth should work. The final piece should be 3 to 4 minutes in length. Your audio portrait should mix elements including the voice of the interviewee, your voice (if you choose to include it), ambient background sound, music, and other sound effects as you see fit. When you have a finished piece you will upload it so it can be accessed through your blog site.

Remember to identify a theme that will make your piece say something special about the world, or the “human condition.” A story becomes compelling when it communicates something unique that others can relate to.

DUE: Lab 9

Blog Assignment #2: “What I Hear” - 2 Parts

Post on your own blog by Monday, Oct. 26th

Part 1. The Soundwalk
Spend an hour doing a “Soundwalk” around a particular neighborhood in NYC.
“Soundwalk” is a term invented by R. Murray Shafer, a musician and professor at Simon Fraser University. Shafer noticed in working with his music students that most of them couldn't remember even five sounds they had heard earlier that day. He created the soundwalk, a kind of walking meditation, as an “ear cleaning exercise,” a way to increase sonic awareness.
In An Introduction to Acoustic Ecology, Kendall Wrightson writes, “In order to listen we must stop, or at least slow down – physically and psychologically. We need to try to be human beings, instead of “human doings.” So – during your sound walk, do not answer your phone, text, browse, read or do anything but be, and listen.
The goal of this exercise is to “open your ears.” New York offers a rich sound environment. Close your eyes and listen.

Part 2: The Blog
What is the texture of the sound? What are the specific instruments in the city symphony? What sounds are clues to a specific neighborhood? A specific time of day? What are sounds that are unique or meaningful to you? Expected or unexpected?
Some of Shafer's terminology might be useful to you in writing about your experience on the soundwalk:

Keynotes: background sounds
Sound Signals: foreground sounds intended to attract attention.
Soundmarks: sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors
(analogous to visual “landmarks”)
250 words. Due in Lab 7.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Lab 8 Project #1 Assignment - Define a Place

Lab 7 Project #1 Assignment - Define a Place