Back with something old

So I haven't posted on this here blog for awhile but things have been busy as I've relocated from Falmouth to the dizzying heights of Bristol. Anyway I should be getting more active with my sound experiments now I'm a bit more settled. I have a lot of recordings I need to listen through and tag and I've got a few ideas going on, but today I put something together I had been meaning to do for ages but kept forgetting.

   Talkingmakesnosense - Volumes In G (Sicily mix) by miles out in the field

This is the result of a recording I made whilst stopping at an organic farm in Sicily in the summer of 2009, the track is playing out of a small stereo in the kitchen whilst I sat outside. I think my original intention was to use it as an opening for a mix series I was occasionally doing at the time (look at the exploration of ambience stuff on my soundcloud) but I never got round to it I suppose. Anyway it brings back great summer memories for me of the intense midday sun, dusty grounds, hammocks, weather vanes, vineyards, old tool sheds, sleeping out in the open air, and so on and so on. The artist Talkingmakesnosense is also terrific, so do check him out.

Cheers, more stuff soon.

Goonhilly Winds

   Goonhilly winds by miles out in the field

Whilst trekking about on Goonhilly Downs I encountered some rough weather as a low mist descended all around. Sat beside the large fencing that encloses the satellite station I began to record the sounds of the howling wind, whispering grass, and pattering rain.

Tanker prepares to leave port

   Tanker prepares to leave port by miles out in the field

Hydrophone extended ten metres whilst floating opposite Maenporth beach.

Dawn Chorus

The Wildlife Recording Society was asking for dawn chorus recordings a few months ago and they are now all available online. A recording I contributed is entitled 'From the bedroom window in Falmouth' on page two.

Follow this link... http://www.wildlife-sound.org/dawn-chorus.html 

For whatever reason I'm having problems streaming the files on my macbook, but I found by clicking on the dropdown box and selecting save as source I can play the file as an m3u through itunes no trouble.

Lavalier windshield solution

A while ago I purchased a pair of handmade lavalier type microphones from Ian Brady, a member of the Wildlife Recording Society. They are a terrific pair of mics but it's taken me some time to work out a way to effectively shield them from the wind, due to being busy finishing off my degree and finding a solution that was compatible with my student finances!

I instinctively turned to Rycote and found their lavalier furries however these didn't do the trick. I determined what I needed was something like the Baby Ball Gag to create 'dead air' around the microphones, and finally a fur covering to enclose the gag or caging. I firstly found my enclosure for the mics in the form of a tea infuser, I bought mine from eBay, searching for the largest ones I could find. I cut a small hole to pass the cable through and then slotted the mic housing into the space. A coating of duct tape around the mic housing protects it from scratching from the infuser, I'm not totally satisfied with this solution however I imagine I could smooth the edges somehow...

Infuser with mic inside

Infusers with holes cut

 My inspiration for the fur covering came from the Rycote Zoom H2 windjammer I own. I noticed how it fit quite comfortably around the tea infuser, yet did not create a satisfactory seal around the bottom. The next step was to get hold of some fake fur, I aimed to find the longest pile and thinnest backing. So with the help of my mother and her sewing machine, we copied the pattern of the H2 windjammer! However we added an elastic drawstring around the bottom to gather the fabric and create a wind proof seal, also in addition to the thin backing of the fake fur a piece of silk was sewn. This not only provides a further layer of protection but also prevents the infuser from catching on the fur. 

Here are a few more pictures...

Fake fur covering

Inside of fake fur covering with silk lining and elastic drawstring

My fur cover on left, Rycote cover of right.

Stereo pair with mics inside

Hopefully this post might give someone a few ideas, I think the trick is to find what suits your own needs and be creative! Finally here is a recent recording I made using this set up.

  The Lake District, Styhead Tarn by miles out in the field

Recording at Styhead Tarn

A young persons guide to hustling in music and the arts.

An guide written by Lawrence English that gives some good advice.

http://lawrenceenglish.com/post/7443865383/a-young-persons-guide-to-hustling-in-music-and

My dissertation for your reading pleasure

I decided to share my dissertation with whoever wishes to read it. I discuss subjects relating sound, listening, field recording and memory. Anyway here is an abstract which explains things a little better... 

"Place is always moving, like a sleeping cat” 

The potential for sound in shaping perception

'Sound is something that everyone is in contact with during daily life, it is not possible to filter out in the same way as the closing of the eyelid. Due to this fact many take sound and listening to their environments for granted, however listening is a deeply rewarding exercise. Work from musicians and sound artists such as John Cage, David Toop and Chris Watson detail the deeply affecting nature of sound. In the preliminary research for this essay the focus was on those mentionings of an ‘essence’ in sound, also listening and the relationship between that sense and human perception. The key case study in reference to these areas was the Hungarian film Hukkle (Pálfi 2002) as the sound mix presented in this film is unique in its execution. The objective of the following essay it to determine the extent to which sound is a factor in the forming of perception and memory, and explore Hukkle as a transferable mode of listening. The first chapter explores John Cage in relation to his ‘silent piece’ 4’33” and the pioneer of musique concrete, Pierre Schaeffer. After tracing these early steps in rethinking the way sound is heard, the second chapter focuses on Hukkle and looks in depth at the sound mix. The final chapter explores music and field recording before concluding on the findings.'

Download here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21294742/Dissertation%20Miles%20Bowe.doc 

Weekend Retreat

A film I worked as boom operator on last summer now has its own website with trailers, pics etc.

Here is the trailer...


Weekend Retreat Trailer from Brett Harvey on Vimeo.



Check this link... http://weekendretreatmovie.com/

Pixel8 Film Festival

Quick bit of news about an upcoming film festival showcasing the work of my fellow classmates! My film will be screened on the last night of the festival in the place of 'Virtual Duality'. I've been submitting Surface Tension to various festivals, so hopefully more news of it being shown to come soon. 

Surface Tension

Surface Tension from Miles Bowe on Vimeo.


Well here it is, the final edit for my short film piece.

I will be designed some packaging for it to go in and will also be working on a tape sometime after next week.

The video has a password because some film festivals have guidelines against an online 'premier'. Enter: surfacetensionvimeo

Release on tape and future plans...

Coastal Path got installed at the Robotmother storage units in Penryn. There were about ten other pieces dotted around the small dark rooms. I want to thank all the people and my friends who came along despite the pressing urgency to celebrate dissertation hand in! A couple of pics...

I've not uploaded Coastal Path anywhere yet but instead I would like to put a few copies on tape and distribute some to those who want one. I got a cassette deck last year with the intention of recording something to tape because I was inspired by the comeback the format seemed to be experiencing. Unfortunately I never really got round to it. Feedback on this idea would be appreciated, I would probably try and put something new on side b as well.

Editing on the film will begin properly in the next few days, a little more stuff needed to be shot as well next month. Updates to follow soon on how that goes, hopefully when it's done I'll design some nice covers and packaging.

Happy Easter to all!

Miles. 

Possible upcoming installation

I've not posted here for awhile but that's simply because of how busy things seem to be at the moment. The plan was to regularly post updates on my experimental sound project for Uni, but it seems very time consuming to upload and format a decent post on here! Anyway filming and sound recording have been going well, there is not much left to do before I start putting it all together.

One thing I have completed is a short piece for a sound festival in Falmouth at the end of the month called Resound. Information can be found here - http://resoundfalmouth2011.tumblr.com/about

It's called Coastal Path and is the beginning of a theme which will be carried on into my film project, due to be completed at the end of May. Coastal Path will either see radio play or installation at the Resound festival, or possibly both.

Here is a press release cover I designed...

An update to come soon of where this can be heard.

Miles.

Location Scouting For Professional Practice - Update 2

I have visited a couple more locations, the first was Loe Bar (SW 64400 24165).

Aquarian H2A-XLR with contact adaptor on melting ice.

It was a very pleasant, sunny Sunday morning, not a cloud in the sky, these are ideally the conditions I would like for this location. It had been a very cold night, temperatures reaching below freezing. Patches of ice had formed down the sloping cliffs, I was able to take advantage of this.

Placing the hydrophone on the melting ice patches revealed the incredible sound of the melt water, popping, cracking and bubbling. 




I'm unsure at this point whether these sounds will be included in the film. However so far I've been impressed with the Aquarian, which I've only had a couple of weeks.

Further down the beach at the sand bank I surveyed the area from both sides, getting an overall sense of the space.

View of the sand bar. Sea on left, Loe Pool on right.

Loe Pool reed bed.

I also went down to the lake to make some further recordings with the hydrophone. A cold wind was blowing from across the lake causing large ripples to break against the shore. I made two recordings in a reed bed, and one with microphone fully extended on its cable from the shore. Searching for microsounds in the sand proved unsuccessful, what I am hoping to find is a sand shrimp scurrying in the sand. I recorded an example of this creature during the summer. Perhaps it is as of yet too cold for them...

View from Loe Pool shore.

                              The next day I visited another location after work, located just a little further along the coast is Kynance Cove (SW 68395 13271). I was able to assess the suitability of much less this morning due to a miscalculation with the tide. When the tide is out at the cove a whole new area of beach is exposed, allowing access to Asparagus Island. Scrambling up onto here and round the side is the opening of an underwater cave where the sea is pushed through with incredible force. There is the powerful sound of air being drawn through a small hole in the rock face and spurted back out again, often spraying a cloud of mist with it. 

Underwater opening of cave.

Getting a clean recording with the hydrophone in these waters proved difficult as they are so active, extending the length of cable might be a solution. However I am not too concerned as the really impressive sounds are heard above the water. I also experimented capturing the sound of limpets feeding in a small pool, I made a note to explore this further.

The sun rose, shining light on new areas.

View of cove from underwater cave.

The plan was to explore cave areas more which can be seen from the photo on the right, however as I left this location and came back down the Island I realised the tide had come in stranding me! It was a case of taking my boots off and rolling my jeans up and feeling a little embarrassed as some walkers looked on from the headland. Much more attention will be paid to the tide timetable in future.

In other sound related news my involvement with a couple of my friends film projects is coming along. Information on the ten minute short set in a dystopic future can be found here: http://marlboroughroadfilm.blogspot.com/ This should be a fun shoot, me and the director, Alex, have had a play around with the induction coil microphone, so there is the potential for some interesting sound design there. The other project I am involved with is a series of experimental shorts, the first being a dance film. No link to give, but should be gathering atmospheres at some point.

More soon.

Location Scouting For Professional Practice - Update 1

Work for my next project has begun! Having conceptualised my piece and decided on locations today I took the first images for the photographic storyboard at locations:

The Lizard Lighthouse - Grid Reference: SW 70381 11594
Dean Quarry - Grid Reference: SW 80014 20564

The Lizard Lighthouse.

Sheltering from the wind at The Lizard Lighthouse

It was one hell of a cold day, and I was struggling with numb hands and feet! The wind was blowing at speeds of up to 20 mph. However these are the sort of conditions I want whilst recording at Dean Quarry, a little less wind would be preferable though. I also visited The Lizard Lighthouse which will feature within the film.

Docking bay at Dean Quarry

Dividing walls

Electrical generators

At the quarry I am hoping to capture the desolate environment of this forgotten place, the quarry has long been out of action however a lot of buildings and signs still stand. A quick google gives you links to urban exploration forums, whilst walking around I found a way into a room with old electrical generators inside. It truly is a great space to explore, the seashore consists of pebbles, which rattle and rumble as the rough sea recedes.

View through concrete channel

I don't want to give too much away at this early stage but I've uploaded a short sound sample which helps convey the mood.

  Rusted Hole In Metal Gate by miles out in the field

More updates soon.