Audio Assignment

Audio Assignment: Tym's Interview

Here is the first version of this audio assignment. An updated / improved version can be found on this blog!

The Soundwalk

            It is 2:02 pm on a sunny Wednesday afternoon.

I am sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village.

A quiet, relaxing space, although quite restraint, so a lot can be heard in the background from the noisy madness of the city.

           

 The audio foreground is a mixture of voices of people passing by or sitting at a certain distance and discussing, along with the continuing chirping of the birds. I can notice the crispy sound of the plastics wheels of a stroller rolling on the concrete covered with small branches and other natural waste left by the snow that has just melted.

           

In the background I try to distinguish and identify each individual sound from the constant superposed layers of sounds of urban activity. I can distinctively hear a dog barking for a few seconds and can tell it must be far from my position, although it might be inside the park.

Unrelentless traffic noises are the primary layer of sound in the background. Too many different juxtaposed sounds that seem like a constant sort of wind blowing from which emanates some specific, recognizable, familiar sounds every other second. A police or ambulance siren whistling, cars honking, at times loud noises of probably heavy objects hitting a hard surface, I imagine some construction work is taking place nearby.

A new foreground sound is noticeable as a person sits on the same bench, a couple of meters away, and unfolds a wrapped sandwich. That noise masks the background sound, which disappears as soon as some sound that my brain evaluates as closer can be heard.

 I assume that being now used to the urban jungle, my brain processes the audio background as silence subconsciously, which allows me to rest more easily in a noisy environment.

Define a Space Assignment: Haunted Auditorium

Here is my take on this first assignment (Vimeo link above). 

Artist statement

I am a rather curious person and have always nourished an interest for what was going on in every aspect of society, at a national or global level.
Politics, economy, musical scene, cinema, societal issues, I like to keep myself up to speed, and if not an actor in most of those domains, have the capacity to understand and relay the information.


My educational background is law, communication and journalism.
I believe my new American / NYC experience is constantly challenging / re-shaping my worldviews, as it is the first time I have the opportunity to live abroad, away from the country, city and quite restrained circle of people I have always been used to, which is I believe a chance to acquire a sense of seing phenomenons through different perspectives, as well as a sense of criticism.

Music influences largely my inspiration, mainly through a specific sub-culture: the metal scene.
To me, it represents the only "against the grain" genre, both lyrically and instrumentally. The difference. The kind of music that most people who say they listen to a bit of everything cannot stand.
It directly relates to straight forward expression to me and helps release creativity.

Not only through extreme music, but I also find great inspiration in extreme sports. Isn't creativity about pushing limits? Snowboard, race motorcycles, FMX, BMX are among activities that fuel my creativity.

Now the only, but crucial personal issue that still needs an answer is: in the world of Media, what is the technical tool, the way of expression that is the best fit for me, and marketable?
I nourish the hope of finding this out by discovering and exploring Emerging Media, as I don't picture myself as a film-maker or a pure journalist.