Figure 1: VOID, (Knight-Hill, 2019)
During this workshop, Andrew Knight-hill showed us the different sound equipment that we could use and how we could use sound within a project. Having very little knowledge of sound and pitch, the articles given to read beforehand brought a foundation level into understanding sound and its effect within a film, which helped me prepare for the workshop. Sound was not something that I had ever explored or looked into, so it was really exciting to play around with the equipment. It was a new experience from the sound of footsteps to creaky doorways to a bottle with sand in it.
When watching Andrew’s piece on the Stockwell building and the different sounds created within the stairwell, VOID (Figure1), it was interesting to hear the sounds paired with footage of the stairs that were almost still like images. When specific sounds were amplified, it had an eerie chaotic feeling but also strangely calming as well. This is probably because I have walked those staircases almost every day, and a few sounds I remember from my experience, although experienced differently. The sudden overlapping of sounds of the falling metal crates added another narrative to the pieces and texture. Having texture to a sound was something that caught my attention. Before this, I had thought of texture to be more tactile but didn’t consider it through sounds and sound also being a material. The paragraph on Gesture/Texture in Andrew Knight-hill’s Article Electroacoustic Music brought inside into how textural music is about bringing the audience’s attention in and leaving an impression of the sound. In contrast, gesture is focused on how the sound is trajected. Time and space within the context of acoustics can represent memory and reflection. I found it interesting how noise, not including speech, is used as another form of communication by highlighting sounds normally not focused on creating a narrative.
Figure 2: Gong, (Knight-Hill, 2019)
Another piece shown was 'Gong' . The overlapping sound of the same gong being struck with the overlapping images created a very grand and ritualistic atmosphere. It's interesting to listen to how the vibrations of the pieces moved and reflected around the room. It's not that I didn't know that sound can be used as a form of communication and how sound itself can create a whole new experience, but more so that the workshop brought my attention to the details of it and showed me how important it is to a space, as well as inspiring me on how I could potentially experiment with it to develop my practice.
References:
Videos
Figure 1: Knight-Hill, A., 2019. VOID. [video] Available at: <https://vimeo.com/369168512> [Accessed 7 October 2020].
Figure 2: Knight-Hill, A., 2019. Gong. [video] Available at: <https://vimeo.com/369172942> [Accessed 7 October 2020].
Comments