Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Production Strategy
For my third trek, I want to further explore the park area just Southwest of Oakland Ave. and Locust Ave. I found this area to be the most peaceful yet content rich area that I found on my treks. There are a lot of scenic images and rich sounds to be found nearby. I will limit my image capturing by capturing images of patterns and sequences in nature and of close-up textures. For sound, I plan to record sounds that manifest physical textures and sounds that are soothing as well.
10 Questions
1. Would the playground be so rich in sounds at night when there are no children to be playing or people walking?
2. What is beyond the tree line at the edge of the park?
3. If I go to the park at sunrise or sunset, could I get some really interesting shadows off of the playground equipment?
4. Where does graffiti stop being graffiti and start being art?
5. If I was to sit at the playground recording sounds in the same spot for an hour while kids are playing there, would some kind of narrative develop?
6. Do some of the shapes of the playground equipment resemble anything in the nature that surrounds the playground?
7. If there is snow in the park when I am there, could I get some really interesting light interaction off of it?
8. How much do the sounds of the park change with the seasons? Could you tell the season from just a sound recording?
9. Where is the epicenter of the sound environment at the park? Can you discern each of the sounds from this point?
10. What kind of interesting sounds do the playground equipment themselves make? Squeaking from rust, etc.?
2. What is beyond the tree line at the edge of the park?
3. If I go to the park at sunrise or sunset, could I get some really interesting shadows off of the playground equipment?
4. Where does graffiti stop being graffiti and start being art?
5. If I was to sit at the playground recording sounds in the same spot for an hour while kids are playing there, would some kind of narrative develop?
6. Do some of the shapes of the playground equipment resemble anything in the nature that surrounds the playground?
7. If there is snow in the park when I am there, could I get some really interesting light interaction off of it?
8. How much do the sounds of the park change with the seasons? Could you tell the season from just a sound recording?
9. Where is the epicenter of the sound environment at the park? Can you discern each of the sounds from this point?
10. What kind of interesting sounds do the playground equipment themselves make? Squeaking from rust, etc.?
Trek Assessment #4
My favorite experience from my first two treks would have to be on my trek 1 when I was at the park on Oakland Ave. and I saw three children playing around on the playground equipment while their mothers watched over them and talked amongst themselves. It was very nostalgic for me. It made me think about my own childhood and the simplicity of life when I was that age. All I cared about was playing with my friends and exploring. I wished I was still that age and that I wasn’t out on this trek doing homework to get a good grade in this class that would eventually lead me to a degree so I could get a good job and save up enough money to retire around age sixty and live comfortably until I died. Ignorance really is bliss when you’re young and you don’t think about these things.
Trek Assessment #3
One surprise I encountered on my second trek was very startling. I was out shooting some graffiti near Farwell and Brady and I witnessed a homeless man harassing and chasing customers as they left a Wallgreen’s nearby. I just stopped recording completely to watch the action unfold. I situated myself around a corner so as to not provoke the man myself. He seemed to be just screaming gibberish and I couldn’t understand it at all. Eventually an employee came outside to try and stop the man and asked him to leave. The man refused to left and even screamed at the employee. Eventually the employee threatened to call the police and then went inside and the man ran away. I will always remember that because I am a very passive person and to see that kind of conflict really made an impression on me. I recently moved here to Milwaukee and that incident made a bad impression for me.
Another thing that surprised me during my treks was a situation on my trek 2. I was exploring graffiti around Brady and Farwell. There was so much graffiti everywhere. I was surprised at the volume of graffiti just near that intersection, but I was more surprised at how much I enjoyed the graffiti. Some of it was clever and I think I appreciate it more as a form of expression and now I think of it much less as a crime and more as art.
I was also very surprised by the different neighborhoods I encountered during my trek. I started out at Farwell and Brady. It wasn’t a very good neighborhood. It’s the kind of neighborhood I wouldn’t want to be caught in at night. But then I made my way north towards Shorewood beach and found myself among multi-million dollar homes. I wondered how only a few blocks could separate these two neighborhoods. There is something wrong with that.
Another thing that surprised me during my treks was a situation on my trek 2. I was exploring graffiti around Brady and Farwell. There was so much graffiti everywhere. I was surprised at the volume of graffiti just near that intersection, but I was more surprised at how much I enjoyed the graffiti. Some of it was clever and I think I appreciate it more as a form of expression and now I think of it much less as a crime and more as art.
I was also very surprised by the different neighborhoods I encountered during my trek. I started out at Farwell and Brady. It wasn’t a very good neighborhood. It’s the kind of neighborhood I wouldn’t want to be caught in at night. But then I made my way north towards Shorewood beach and found myself among multi-million dollar homes. I wondered how only a few blocks could separate these two neighborhoods. There is something wrong with that.
Trek Assessment #2
During my first trek I had a lot of contrast in my own feelings while on the trek. I had started out in the middle of the city, there was a lot of frustration because of all that was going on and because it was interfering with my progress. I eventually had to leave that area out of frustration. I then found a great spot. I arrived first at Shorewood beach. I made my way out onto the pier to record some waves crashing. It was wonderful because there weren’t many people at the beach while I was there so it was just the lake and I. I felt very calm and the sound of the waves was soothing and seemingly ate away at the tension I felt while recording in the city. I actually took a few minutes after recording to just sit on the pier and relax and I closed my eyes and just listened.
After that I made my way over to a park on Oakland Ave. It was great to be around some nature for once. I don’t usually get a whole lot of that. I felt very calm just sitting out there on a bench thinking about what I could record. There were people walking through the park talking and people biking. It was very calming.
After that I made my way over to a park on Oakland Ave. It was great to be around some nature for once. I don’t usually get a whole lot of that. I felt very calm just sitting out there on a bench thinking about what I could record. There were people walking through the park talking and people biking. It was very calming.
Trek Assessment #1
During my trek one I was very annoyed with the wind. I did my trek 1 at the intersection of Farwell and Brady, so I got a lot of wind off of the lake. My wind screens for my microphones did not work very well at keeping the wind interference minimal. I was also bothered by the abundance of ambient noise. It was difficult to get solid sounds without them being interrupted by car horns or the sound of construction. I wished I would’ve picked a more remote location. Luckily, I was pretty close to the beach and a few parks so I managed to find some quiet.
I really wasn’t frustrated with trek 2 at all. I had a lot of material to work with in the spot that I had picked. Overall it went very well.
I really wasn’t frustrated with trek 2 at all. I had a lot of material to work with in the spot that I had picked. Overall it went very well.
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