Sound Walk

Stairwell: 
Patter of shoes on floor
An echo of coughing
Door suddenly open -- then a loud gasp
Papers shuffling
Door handle bouncing as it opens

Outdoors:
Rumbling Truck
Exhaust from Car
Car hitting breaks
Construction workers banging in background
Car screeching during quick, sharp turn
Girl across the street on her phone
The crosswalk sound
Bus drivers talking
The music at patio cafe

Patio Cafe:
Hum of AC machines
Chinking of change
Ringing of cash registers
"Is this performance art?"
Radio
Woman on the Phone
Man on the phone
Shoes grating against pavement

Outdoors:
Bus screeching to a hault
Pencil dropping and rolling on the sidewalk
"it is So annoying!"

Near Construction Site:
Water spraying out of hose
Spanish speaking construction workers
Yawning construction worker
Chain link fence

Outside:
Faint music from cars

Inside:
Click of doors opening
"Whewww" near IMC
key sliding in and opening classroom door
students dropping into seats

Sound Walk Experience

I really enjoyed the sound walk we went on, it's nice to get a different perspective, rather than zoning everything out like I usually do walking through life. I'm so caught up in my music or thoughts, I miss out on certain things. Not so much the construction noise (although, the different facets of it were sorta interesting) but other things, people observing us/conversing, the water noise in the midst of chaotic street noise, the way different cars sound hitting bumps in the road, noticing how sound cues action around it. All the sounds make mini stories, each one interesting in it's own way, and I think that's pretty enjoyable to listen to.

Stairwell:

Footsteps with reverb

Doors slamming shut

Coughs

Air conditioner hum

Garage:

Subdued sounds from outside

Walking coming from street

Construction sounds (harder to differentiate the different sounds in comparison to right next to it)

Outside:

Whistling

Mumbles of conversations

Footsteps on sidewalk

Various construction

Bikes – peddling and gears

Motorcycles

Cars – varying in size and sound

Low hum of bus

Birds

Leaves

Radio

Littlefield:

Silverware clanking

Footsteps on tile floor

Laptop (clicking of keys)

Conversations

Use of cash registers

Opening and closing of doors

Construction:

Elevator

Boards clanking

Slamming of tools

Welding

Drilling

Sawing

The “ray gun”

Sound Walk

Footsteps.

Conversations.

Opening of stairwell door.

Stairwell resounds with the footsteps.

Filtered noise: vehicles driving by.

Footsteps.

Diesel trucks and normal vehicles drive by.

Screech of breaks.

Light chatter.

The flapping of wings.

(a weird sci fi noise- like that of a ray gun- penetrates the normal everyday sounds)

Footsteps.

CLANK of silverware.

Coke machine dispensing soda and ice.

Soft music.

A cough.

Laughter.

Footsteps,

the sound of someone tripping.

Talk of lunch.

Beeping of the WALK signal.

faucet releasing water.

A conversation. In Spanish.

Construction: Hammers, saws, the weird hum of the elevator lift. Which is also where the sic fi noise originates from.

Sound Walk

In the Stairwell:

Shoe squeaks

Lady talking

Echoes make it hard to tell how many people are inside the stairwell
Beeps and bangs from construction site can be heard, but they are "filtered" through the parking garage area which turns a lot of sounds into rumbles

Outside:

Two kinds of sounds really. Things that blend in to this overall sound and things that stand out. The construction equipment, the hum of car engines, birds, people walking, etc. all blend together.
Bus hisses, people dropping things at the construction site, unusually loud cars, etc. all stand out.

Littlefield:
Walking in there's this sort of relief to escape the loud hum of the street.

Replaced by a higher pitch blend of clinks and scrapes

Walking out there's another relief as we enter a quieter area.

Outside again:

Away from the street the sounds feel relaxed.

Less sound so there's less of a rumbled blend

Sound walk

Inside:
The sounds in the stairwell are reverberated
Heavy footsteps vs. quiet footsteps
Reverb of door closing
The traffic outside against the quality of silence as we wait in stairwell

Outside:
Sound of cars panning
Crosswalk signal, bus beeps
Quick oscillating siren to my left
Parked bus with engine on
Radio outside Patio Cafe
Straw slides into lid of cup, and as I step outside the sound of birds reach my ears
Conversation between man and woman behind me
Water spraying ground, some hitting fence
Low frequencies of construction machinery
Subtle sound of contact between foot and gravel
High frequency of car breaks
The wind into my eardrums

Sound Walk!

Here is what I heard at each loaction:

Stairwell:

air conditioning

rustling of brown paper bag

breathing

pipes

bus breaks outside

Street Corner:

Bus exhaust

Beeping from the crosswalk

Bulldozers

A fly

Construction workers yelling

Cars passing

Footsteps

Littlefield Cafe:

Radio commercials

Cash register

Clinking of metal dishes

Air conditioning

Cashier talking

Cash register

Refrigerator buzz

People walking on the tile floor

Coffee machine 

Construction Site:

Metal pipes falling

Chain link fence

Bulldozing Machine...like...thing

Workers talking

Birds singing

Metal scraping against metal/concrete

Breaks beeping

SoundWalk_srv

Bottom of stairwell:
-muffled ambient construction sounds
-darker echoes

Garage:
-echoes more open and "airy", brighter
-low hum from construction

Intersection:
-bus hum
-cars squealing and whirring by
-high beeps from crosswalk
-music from speakers at Cream Vintage

Littlefield Cafe:
-crappy radio speakers playing pop music
-a/c noise
-kitchen sounds, cups filling with ice
-radio chatter on walkie-talkie
(patio)
-birds and people chatting

New Comm building construction site:
-gate moving
-high freq. beep/sci-fi noise
-someone's watch alarm
-low hum from (generator?)
-chatter from construction workers
-birds
-saw, elevator

My Own Sound Walk

Having been stricken with an illness, I was unable to join everyone in class on Tuesday! It was definitely not ideal but when I found out that you did a sound walk (thank you friend for giving me the low-down!), I took my puppy on a walk in Town Lake for my own sound walk. Starting by the “watering hole” (The area by first street’s bridge and the water coolers), I walked a small loop around a portion of the lake. I began along the bridge and heard:

• the determined “flick” of my decaying sandals along the pavement and the rattling of my ice in my cup
• my puppy’s paws on the trail with his dog tags gently clicking
• runners in passing - their footfalls, breathes, sometimes sighs and coughs and/or headphones
• birds chirping and sometimes their wings flapping
• dogs barking in the distance
• the chorus of cars passing - squeaky tires, rubber wheels turning on the pavement, honking, music blasting... etc
• the wind over the see
• thelooming “ROW... ROW... KEEP GOING!” Coach (?) of the crew team on a megaphone, trying to encourage two teams of rowers on the lake
• Walkers and their foot steps on the dirt trail
• bikes passing
• People talking on their phones
• Jingles of other dog collars and the thud of their paws while they run

I highly suggest that some gives this walk a go! It’s the small 1.5 mile walk starting from riverside and first (dog park area) and then goes to the pedestrian bridge.

PS I feel like I wrote this post very strangely. I am writing way too many papers and reading way too much poetry... My apologies for any pretentiousness!

Soundwalk Sounds

Soundwalk notes:

Conversation in a room down the hall
Feet shuffling
Water fountain hum
Doors opening/closing
Echo of footsteps
Beeps
Cars passing
Birds chirping
Breaks
Metal dropping
Car engine hum
Car rev
Hammer hits
Truck backing up beeping
Tire Squeal
Crosswalk beep
Bus hydraulics
Bus beeping
Car engine start up
Music from a radio
Register open/close
Ice machine hum
Ice falling into cup
Elevator
Car clunks
Water from a hose
Gate open/close
Alarm sound
Sandpaper
Whistle
Sawing
Motorcycle
Vending machines

Sound Walk with the Class

I have always though that I am pretty observant of my surrounding environment, but this exercise definitely forced me to listen harder than normal. Here is what I heard:

Shuffling of feet
Flip-flops flopping
Doors squeaking
Doors slamming shut
Echo in the stairway
Muffled sounds of traffic
Hum of air conditioning
Construction trucks backing up -beep, beep, beep
Squeaking breaks
Cars zipping by
Diesel trucks taking off
Metal pipes dropping/clanging
Pounding/hammering on metal
Squealing tires coming to an abrupt stop
Engines humming
Hydraulics on buses lowering/raising
Crosswalk signal beeping
Buzz saw or something of the sorts
Birds chirping
Music outside Littlefield cafe
Register beeping and closing
Ice falling in someone's cup
"Is this performance art? Yeah it's gotta be."
People talking on cellphones
Outside AC units
Water spraying out of a hose and dripping into a puddle
Some sort of alarm going off at construction site
Keys jangling
Rocks being kicked
Whistle blowing
Staple gun
Motorcycle

Sound Walk Notes

Walking

Doors opening, closing, creaking, slamming shut

AC/Electric/Pipe hum/sounds

walking echo in stairs

traffic outside

Louder traffic

Cars, trucks, suvs

Buses accelerating and opening doors

Construction

Cross walk

People talking

Music

Cash register

Food prep

Utensils

Birds

Construction elevator

"Backing up" heaps

Elevator 'alarm'

Metal clinking

Banging

Hammering

Sawing

Sound Walk

Sounds from Tuesday's Sound walk:

Doors squeaking
Shoes tapping on concrete
Hands sliding on the rails
Beeping from trucks
Rumbel of the door sliding against the concrete
Engines outside
Screeching of breaks
Buses passing
Engine of a moped
Hammering from construction
Metal hitting the cement
Electric Saw
Reverse signal beep
Coughing
Water spraying from hose
Horns from trucks
Walking signal
Exhaust from bus
Laughing
People talking
Birds chirping
Sandals flopping
High heels clanking
Accelerating cars
Music from the radio
Plates, trays, and pots being moved
Cashier
Electric hum of vending machine
rattling of metal
Watch alarm
Siren buzzing

The Rhythm of our Sound Walk

Chattering among the hall

then the elevator beeps

someone stops to get a sip at the water fountain

steps, doors opening

as I walk down the stairwell

water running among the wall

buses shouting through the door

beep beep beep of trucks back up

bikes zoom by, you hear the metal

tire schreeces as they barely miss the stop

the boom of the manholes being driven over on

bird chirping, asking for water

bus cranking, the driver complains

"It's been doing this for the whole week!"

top 40s hit blasting on the radio

into Littlefield Cafe, we go

fridge is humming, silverwares clinking

someone says "Check this out, it must be one of those performance art!"

out the doors we go

someone drop their pen

pitter patter of student's feet down the sidewalk

"It's so annoying" they said

Bird chirping again, this time for food

Ah-choo! Excuse me!

Spanish is exchanged among the construction workers

Clink! When the man closed the metal gate

Are we on earth? beep beep beep beep beep

Alien noises on the construction site?!

Oh, its just an elevator going down

concrete is falling, metal is falling

bam, ding, cling as they hit the ground

someone whistles a tune

de de de de de de de the sidewalk says

letting us know that we can cross the street

creaking and bam, we open the door

longer footsteps as we slowly climb up the stairs

the sound of feet dragging, letting us know that our trip has ended.

Sound Walk

all of the sounds in chronological order:

office chatter

a hand sliding across the wooden railing in the stairway

electrical hum

busses and traffic through the walls of the stairway

squeaking shoes

keys

construction

high pitched electrical sound

metal pipes

exhaust

vending machine hum

a bird flying very close overhead

metal manholes as cars pass over them

girl on phone

crosswalk beeping

construction elevator zapping sound that turned into a constant tone

many birds chatting in trees

a small radio playing music

fountain drinks

plastic wrap

sneeze

clattering of utensils and dishes

constant low hum and tones in the very faint background (outside)

bus high pitched braking whines

hydraulics of stopping bus

girl with jangling necklace

saws

drills

water hose

workers chattering

a metal grating noise (drill? saw? something else?)

a girl saying "you exposed me!"

Sound Walk

Sounds I heard on the Sound Walk, in no particular order:

-Stairwell. Empty at the time, but would create great echo environment
-Transition between the stairwell and the outdoor garage. There is still an echo that the garage produces but there is a distinct difference when you open the door.
-Traffic. Both inside and outside of parking garage. Varies by type, speed, and flow of vehicles.
-Crosswalk. Stop and proceed signals allow listeners to track the direction of the walk.
 -Construction noise. The mixture of machine noises, workers talking, and traffic passing provides the ideal construction site soundscape.
-Dining. Littlefield Patio presented a great soundscape for a small cafe or restaurant: people talking, cash registers, appliances, kitchen, and even music.
-Water. Although I didn't necessarily hear it, I could smell it, and it reminded me of what water might hear like. Of course, water is capable of making a variety of noises, but one specifically came to mind. For some reason, the smell of water reminded me of a pool, or a large body of water, which is what I am planning to work with in my next project.

Sound Walk

In order of appearance:
Click of doors opening
Hum of water fountain
footsteps in stairwell  - including flip-flops
squeak of door
mumbles echoing in stairwell
high pitch hum of light
pencil on paper
sound of bus through wall/ movement/idling/rumble off
Car start
Cars passing
Car accelerating through turn
scuff of feet
rattle of construction - drop of pole
hammering
beep of crosswalk
guy on phone
bus driver talking/keys rattling while walking
Fuzzy speakers radio "Rolling back prices..."
AC
Register closing
Scoot of a chair
Sneeze
Air vent blowing
Bicycle passing, cruising
Trash hitting bottom
Cars driving over manhole
Hose spraying
grackles talking to each other
warble sound at constructions
Spanish being spoken
Music from a car
Buzzing construction
motorcycle
cars driving over a bump in the road
Vending machine hum
Cough
Paper turn

More sound and place work

Ward 2 West, TRT 24min

http://soundportraits.org/on-air/ward_2-west/

This American Life, 443, Amusement Park.  Wildwood, 13 minutes.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/play_full.php?play=443&act=3

More Than Just Houses, from Georgia Moodie and SALTcast, 15 min.

http://podcast.prx.org/saltcast/?p=1355

 

Rabbit Hutch, 8min

http://placeandmemory.org/index.php?title=NPR-Rabbit_Hutch

Tacoland

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=113892215&m=113911942

Sound Walk

1. Sounds I heard while listening during our Sound Walk:
In the Stairwell:
- Doors creaking, opening fast and closing heavily
- A couple of people walking up the stairs and away from us
- The pouring of feet down the stairway and the trickling down to just a couple of feet to the bottom.
- The hum of pipes within the walls
- cars inside the garage outside, squeaky brakes
- A truck backing up (*beeep. beeep. beeep.)

Garage:
- Outside traffic echoing inside garage

Outside:
- Birds chirping
- Crosswalk dings
- People talking to eachother, and on the phone
- Wind
- Tree leaves rustling
- Bus notices "por favor, no cruce en frente del autobus"
- Moped buzzing by
- Trucks diesel engines when accelerating
- doors opening and closing
- the rubbing of jeans as people walk

Construction
- Elevator buzz
- pipes hitting against eachother
- Gravel falling to the ground
- Men talking to eachother
- Various drills/equipment

Patio
- Outdoor music
- More birds
- More people talking
- The sound of feet walking on wooden boards
- wind

Littlefield Cafe
- Pots and pans and plates landing on eachother
- Utensils on plates
- People eating
- Cashier buttons beeping
- customers talking to cashiers
- TVs in the background
- Music in the background

Courtyard
- Ms. Dixon on her cellphone
- Several people chatting



2 Bonus: My Sound Walk

Go on 29th and Guadelupe around the later evening. Walk into Toy Joy from the Cafe entrance. Walk from Hello Kitty section into Toy Joy and go into each separate room. Leave, stand by the bus stop, Go into Buffalo Exchange. Walk in and turn to the right, go counter-clockwise around store. Come out of store.

Listening Is An Act of Love Reflection

The excerpt from Listening Is An Act of Love was absolutely heartwarming. It was astonishing to read how intimate the stories were and how easily people opened up. I was also surprised how often some participants returned to record. The story of the couple, Danny and Annie, brought me to tears and reminded me how moving a story can be. For someone who has a strong interest in history, it is great to know that the extraordinary stories of ordinary people will live on in their own voice. Through StoryCorps people will be able to learn more about their ancestors and what life was like for your average American.

Listening is an Act of Love

I recently saw a comment online about how someone wasn't really listening but waiting to respond. It's a hard thing to truly listen to a person without thinking of yourself. I was really struck by the part of Listening is an Act of Love where the author described that while recording the first Ghettolife 101 the microphone gave LeAlan the license to ask questions. While the microphone does this I think that it also gives or forces a person to listen. When you are unable (or not supposed) to talk for a period of time it eventually forces you to stop thinking of responses and just start listening. It seems that other people in the article felt the same way. Many of them ended up bringing person after person into StoryCorps to hear what they had to say. Perhaps then interviewing will help force me into listening instead of waiting to respond.

Ghetto Life 101

We stopped about 21 minutes in today.  We'll finish next week, but here it is if you can't wait that long.

http://soundportraits.org/on-air/ghetto_life_101/

Reflection of Listening is and Act of Love

“listening is an act of love”

I have to admit, I am a bit of a romantic and just the title of this reading strikes me. I mean, how often do we think about listening? I have to shamefully confess: I am a better talker than I am a good listener. I just want to tell everybody what I have to think about things even if they don’t want to hear it. I later apologize after talking forEVER to whomever I have managed to catch attention but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I have just worn my listener out with my gibber-gabber nonsense talk. I just talk to talk. Upon reading this article, I see how selfish that is. I mean, it’s not like I already didn’t know... I would apologize to my listeners... and I don’t think it is bad to talk. It’s just that I want to listen first.

I can say with confidence that I really try to love everybody. I fail so hard. There are some people that when I see them on campus, I literally run the other way. (Shame on me but I really can’t stand to breath the some air as some people... Wow, that sounds incredibly mean but I just have to be honest). One way that I can show other people that I care about them is to listen. It is so simple and it is free. More importantly: it is super interesting! Everyone has a good story! Everyone is so different! Everyone wants someone to hear. At least that is what I gathered from the reading. When the author admitted that he/she had realized “how many people among us feel completely invisible, believe their lives don’t matter, and fear that they will someday be forgotten,” I had to pause. Alone, we are forgotten. It is only when we share our lives and experiences with one another will we ever make an impact on this world through the lives of other people. It is only when you are willing to listen can you can listen can you give someone the opportunity to change and impact you.

So my new goal: to become a better listener! It will be fun! Also, a bit easier on my vocal cords.

A Fisherman with a Million Questions

Applying the ideas discussed in Creating Powerful Radio to the upcoming project one, many lines resonated as potent and stark truisms. With my first real interview coming up I’ll admit I’m a little nervous whether or not I’ll ask the right questions, control the interview in a professional manner, and most of all create a quality end product. Geller’s book however is a guiding light in these areas and I know I’ll be applying these great concepts to my conversation. Two portions of the book really struck me. One was the fisherman analogy, as the host must use different “baits” at times to get an answer out of an interviewee. Sometimes rewording the question might be the answer or using a different tone altogether, but as the book states it is all about listening and getting a quality response. Reading through the list to interviewees was also helpful as it puts the interviewer in their shoes and will ultimately allow me to tailor my questions so they can feel comfortable and provide solid answers to my inquiries. All in all a fantastic read that has me looking online for the book as I write this.

Powerful Radio

Powerful Radio is almost like a how to guide for radio interviews. I found it very interesting approaching the interview from the aspect of both the interviewer and interviewee. Trying to make an intriguing interview is always the goal of the interviewer, but I have never really considered strategies to make sure this actually happens. Especially interesting was the idea of asking “dumb” questions to lead a dodgy interviewee into actually answering a question. It is a very clever idea for getting out the information an interviewer wants to get out of his or her questions. Another was the slightly more stealthy technique of ending the interview, but “accidentally” forgetting to turn off the recorder. My first impression was that this sounded malicious but the allowing the interviewee another chance to be more comfortable was a perfectly suitable response to this. Looking from the perspective of the “civilians” also helps me feel much more comfortable interviewing. The reading brought up many interesting ideas and information about the people being interviewed to make me feel like I have a much more well thought approach at interviewing than I would have had without thinking about these things.

Act of Love

"Listening Is an Act of Love" has left me feeling completely inspired. This reminded me that one year for my grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary we videotaped them talking about how they met and their marriage over the past fifty years. This reading made me think about that and how nice it was to be able to view the footage after my grandfather passed away. I was not even half way through the reading when I contacted my dad about working on our own at home interview with my grandmother. She is eighty-eight years old and we never know how much time we have with her, so we are going to try to do this as soon as possible. I only wish we would have done something more like StoryCorps for my grandfather because he was such an interesting and charismatic individual.

This reading, as well as this class in general, has inspired me as far as a possible career path. Up till this point I never really considered doing documentary style work. This type of work is so important in keeping the history of individual families and the American public alive. I think it would be so rewarding to work on projects like these.

Radio/Love Response

Wow. What a powerful story that the "Listening As an Act of Love" reading spelled out for us. I find that I agree with everything that was said in that piece in accordance to even my own life experiences. Crazy good things can happen when the soul is tapped into, and often times that is done through just giving time, attention and loving care to those who are bereft of it. It's so liberating to hear these stories--they are are walls being torn down, chains being broken, and masks torn away.

This reminds me of why I love to produce works of audio. Music has such a powerful affect on our emotions, and words have a way of tweaking them even further. I shout with joy at the sound of certain words, and when you put a powerful speech to music, it can blow you away with the emotion it's aimed at planting in you.

This is all important though, in that it is a very clear picture of what it looks like to tap into the soul of another person. Such intimacy can't be found in normal conversation. I love what they were saying about the power the two boys from Ghetto Life 101 had when the microphone got in their hands. Reading this makes me want to pursue that project myself! I personally have never done this kind of interview work before, and I would really love to give this a go. I deeply value intimate one-on-one conversations with people, so I think this would be such a great fit for me.

Creating Powerful Radio/Project #1

Reading "creating powerful radio" I liked it from the beginning with that quote, very true. Also there was a part in there that got me thinking about this first project, pick something you're interested in rather than something you think others will find interesting. This makes me lean in the direction of interviewing a lifeguard on their experiences on the job; the good, the bad and the ugly (and hopefully some hilarity as well.) I also appreciated this article because it got me to think about the issues I might face in interviewing my subject. After lab tonight, I realize that the project interview needs to be much more structured and thought out than what we recorded in our first exercise. Will definitely be referencing this article again when constructing my interview questions and topic ideas.

Stories of the Past

What I found really interesting from the Listening is an Act of Love is the connection they draw between personal oral histories and the impact that everyday people have on the nation. It's not just the big names and phases that we know that create, innovate, and change this country, or the world. It takes everyday people to do the menial labor that is so important to accomplishing the big picture. If it weren't for people sharing their personal histories and stories, especially the individuals that had a hand in historic events, we would perceive these things in a completely different way. To me, what makes things like the StoryCorps interviews so interesting, especially from a sound point of view, is that hearing someone tell their own story makes it all the more meaningful and interesting. We can read a story and be entertained; but when we hear someone telling their life story, we are connected to another human being that has experienced the same trials and triumphs that we have faced, and we are captivated. The Listening is an Act of Love reading really drives home the point that sound, especially the human voice, has a profound affect on how we view the world, on the history we know, and the ideas we hold. Sound and the human voice, the human story, is impactful no matter whose voice or whose story it is.

Interview Project Ideas

I am very glad that these articles were given to us as resources, especially the "Creating Powerful Radio Interviews" reading. It was very helpful and informative and also offered a lot of important tips and strategies for a successful interview. My favorite pointer was the "ask dumb questions" tip. It's actually quite brilliant to approach your interview with such a strategy (if necessary of course.) But more than anything, this article really got me thinking about how I will be conducing my interviews, what I will need to prepare, and what I will have to do, depending on the situation. Great article to get me to start thinking and visualizing my first interview project.

"Listening is an Act of Love"

This was a very interesting article for me, as I have a compulsion to archive pieces of audio.  In high school, if I got the rare chance to have a clandestine party at my parent's house, I would try to set up microphones around the house in ways that wouldn't be immediately noticeable.  I think my friends would have thought I was spying on them or something, but I only did it because I was convinced I might want to listen to the results when I'm 50 and old and lonely.  Even just 5 years later, it's still satisfying to listen to the voices of my friends as they once were and recall how I felt at that time.

This article gave me a bit more perspective when it pointed out the possibility that great-grandchildren, or anybody else in a century, would be able to listen to our voices and know us as more than pictures of strangers.  This is a privilege that's only been available to us for about 50 or 60 years, and we should make use of it as much as we can.  It also made me wonder about how the archival process of our lives might change as technology advances.  It seems we might be capable or greater fidelity in the preservation of our lives as time goes on, which is strange to think about.  Regardless, I thought this effort to log our population into the Library of Congress was a great idea with some serious potential benefit for future generations.

Project 1 Ideas

I was having a really hard time trying to think of people to interview for our first project. The truth is: everybody is interesting and everyone has a great story to tell. It is so cool! It does not make this decision any easier though. I decided to do some research to find some of the unique things in Austin. Where did I do this research? Why... The Austin Chronicle of course! I found some pretty awesome stuff but the event that stood out to me the most was a domestic cat circus. I think it would be really fun to interview one of the trainers. I am not sure if I can do it, but I hope so! Plan B: I would love to interview a barista/baristo. Coffee is amazing. Anyways, there is a link to the cat website if you want to check it out! It looks absurd (in my humble opinion... which is really wonderful to me).

Project 1 Ideas

My first thought was to try and interview one of the servers at my restaurant while they're working and ask them questions about how they feel about working in the restaurant industry. I'm not so sure how it would work out with my managers, though. I will have to ask. If I can pull it off, though, it would be really interesting to see how I could expand it for other projects, adding in ambient noise and recordings of sounds while they're working so it has an energy to it. It basically has potential!

My other idea is to work with Zach Jones on an audio mockumentary. But more about that on his post...

powerful radio

This week's reading was really helpful as I'm preparing to interview for our project. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the balance of control between the interviewer and the interviewee. On one hand, the interviewer asks all the questions, records what they want to record, and ultimately decides what is in the piece, on the other hand, in order for a interviewee to feel comfortable and open to answering questions, he has to be able to have enough control over his audience to make sure they're listening. This constant give and take is really interesting and I can't wait to be a part of it in real life. While interviewing people, my biggest fear is always forgetting a question or not knowing what to ask next, however I've found that when I give my subject enough control and attention, they can often guide me to my next point.

Listening is an act of love

While I was reporting on the wildfire in Bastrop last week, I came across Margery Marshall, a "spiritual and emotional grief counselor" from the United Methodist Church who was volunteering at the Bastrop Convention Center.  Marshall was providing victims of the fire with logistical resources -- here is where you get free clothing, this is the form you should fill out ect.  But she was also providing those victims a chance to be heard. In the midst of that chaos, where local residents had only a list of addresses to confirm whether or not their homes had been destroyed by the fire -- whether or not they were suddenly homeless -- Marshall said, "listening is helping." 

Later when I was talking to another victim of the fire, John Ricke, he broke down, tears falling onto my microphone.  "I'm not on video, am I?" he said.  "My buddies will really rib me for this."  Ricke was relieved when I said that I was only getting audio. But once again, listening was helping.  He admitted the the full affect of the tragedy was only hitting him as he talked to me -- as I stood there quietly listening, hardly interjecting with follow up questions. "It helps to talk about it," Ricke said.

Listening is an "act of love."  This is such a simple truth but one that we forget, I think.  And listening as an act of love is not only confined within the parameters of radio or journalism.  It applies everyday -- between mother and daughter, father and son.  With radio and multi-media journalism, we are able to tap into that special source of empathy and connection.  That is what I hope to do in my radio journalism.

Project One Portrait

Hi all,

I have not yet set an exact person to interview but I know where I want to go. I would like to interview someone who is blind. Sound IS their main sense of direction and I find that very interesting and so I am going to go forth with this project idea and hopefully within the next week find someone to interview.

Project One Idea

Hey everyone.

For my first project, I am interviewing a 21 year old named Rebekah who writes a lot of poetry. I'm interested in her not only because her poems have a lot to do with identity, but because I feel that poetry is a written art that is slowly disappearing. She's very kind and open hearted and I'm sure she would make for an insightful interview. I'm not sure when she would be available for an interview, but I'm open to help if any one is interested! Please let me know, I'm hoping to start as soon as she can meet me in Austin.

Creating Powerful Radio

I really enjoyed this reading. It put into words my experience as a radio listener and deepened my understanding of what both the interviewer and interviewee are doing. I thought it was interesting that interviewers, in a way, manipulate information out of their guests by pretending not to have done their pre-show work or "playing dumb". I notice this tactic a lot on Larry King, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report, but often dismissed it as them being humorous - but it truly works! The article has taught me that there is some sort of balance between the interviewer and his or her guest: who is controlling the interview, when and how.

For my project, I am interviewing a 21 year old woman named Rebekah who writes poetry. In terms of my interview, I'm hoping to delve into her character and find out how she came to love poetry - a written art that, in my opinion, is slowly disappearing. However, some poets need to go to dark or personal places to get their material, and I understand I need to be careful in the direction of my interviewing and help make her comfortable enough to open up to me, or to not let the conversation stray away from getting to the essence of who she is. This article has helped me think about how i need to be careful yet diligent in getting to the point of the interview: creating a portrait of who Rebekah is and what makes her tick.

Project 1

I know someone that works at a new recording studio in Austin. It could be a recording of a tour of the studio or something similar. Since it says in the requirements no music there would not be any actual music but I am sure there are lots of interesting sounds there.

Creating Powerful Radio

I think this reading was good in giving advice on how to give good interviews. One of the main points I took from it was that there is no right way to give an interview, how an interview goes depends a lot on the person being interviewed. It is the task of the interviewer to truly listen to what the interviewee is saying. The person interviewing also has to control the interview and steer it in the right direction. At times the interview may become boring, and if the interviewer is bored, the audience will be as well. So controlling the interview means to ask questions that lead to something interesting.

Project 1 Idea

One idea for this project is to interview one of my friends who has cancer. She has had cancer for a couple years, and it is her second time having it. I think it would make a good sound project to hear her story about cancer and how it has affected her and her family.

drewcampbell67@gmail.com

Life as Narrative, Morning Edition

A great story this morning on NPR, so relevant to our reading and discussions about interviewing right now.  Worth a listen.

For The Dying, A Chance To Rewrite Life 

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140336146/for-the-dying-a-chance-to-rewrite-life

project 1 idea

for project 1 i was thinking of interviewing a coach or athlete at UT or a local high school . i would build this for projects 2 and 3. i would hope to record their background story as well their life now, and eventually record them in a sports environment if possible.

Guess!

So I stumbled upon this sound and decided to record it, clean it up and post it. Let me know what you guys think it might be, you might be surprised to find out! Enjoy.

Listen Hear

Ive always considered myself a good listener. When ever I meet knew people and hear their stories of where they're from or an old family story, I instantly feel a deeper connection to that person. I feel that we have shared something intimate just between us, I feel I understand that person better and can empathize with them. Same thing goes with telling a story, if I have a good listener, someone who genuinely cares we will share if nothing more a moment in time. But I never really thought about what it is that makes listening such an intimate act. An act that care shows how much care and dedication is put into something. After reading these two articles, especially "Listening is an act of Love" I feel I understand why listening is an "act of love." Why listening can be an shared just between speaker and listener. I think its time, trust and a "human connection" You're willing to take time out of you day to stop everything and listen, just sit down and hear what the other person has to say. Maybe this is why relationships are based on listening? I know Ive gotten into arguments with my girlfriend about not listening. The other end is trust, trust that the other person will keep what you said confidential or you trust the person not to think anything of you etc.
But listening is also way to transfer history and knowledge. In "Listening is an act of Love" you are informed about historical events or about peoples lives, and the only way to truly connect with the speaker is to listen. Maybe that why spoken word stories are passed down from generation to generation. Listening is the main way humans interact and communicate with each other, the one way everyone is connected on some sort of level. I never realized what listening entails, but its more then just being quiet. You have to have interest, patience, respect, and a deeper human connection, an understanding. A way of sympathizing or empathizing with the speaker so they know you care about what they are saying. After reading these articles I feel much closer to the people I know knowing what it takes to listen and for them to listen back.

Giving a Voice to the Community

Immediately after reading the excerpt from Listening Is An Act of Love, I went to storycorps.org and spent my Saturday evening listening to emotional and inspirational stories that people shared with the public. I enjoyed reading the history on Storycorp and how David Isay found his love of radio. He was able to take memories from his childhood and use it to create something big and phenomenal. Isay talked about searching for the audio tapes that he recorded of his grandparents and remembering how he wished he had them. He created an outlet for anyone to generate their own memories and have it archived and shared.

Sound is especially powerful in telling a story. If you think about how history was passed on before technology, before widespread literacy, it was told orally to generation after generation. A voice can carry a colorful tone and wide range of emotions and feelings and it can effect the listeners in different ways.

I think Storycorps.org is invaluable to American culture. It takes a different approach in preserving history. Like Isay says, non-celebrities, people like me, should have a chance to tell their stories. As a journalist, I aim to tell the stories of under-reported communities and using audio as a medium is something I would I intend to do. This may sound cheesy but I want to literally give a voice to the community. Isay was able to provide a voice to ordinary people and archive it in the Library of Congress forever for future generations to access.

As I was driving to work this afternoon, a piece from Storycorps was featured on NPR as part of the 9/11 Commemorative. A woman was describing her ex-husband’s last moments before he died because his building was hit. When she said that he called to let her know that he’s always loved her, her voice was breaking up and she started crying. It really effected me. It’s amazing that her voice travelling on radio waves was able to reach me in Austin,Texas.
This is her story: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/11/140378332/obama-visits-shanksville

response to creating powerful radio and listening as an act of love

In my junior year of high school, I joined the school newspaper as a writer; having had no previous journalistic experience and being a textbook introvert, I had a few hurdles to leap. How was I expected to interview multiple subjects and then compile it all into a coherent and thoughtful story when I was too shy to approach my editors to receive my story assignments??

Reading "Creating Powerful Radio Interviews" harkened back to my early years' dilemmas. I remember my first interview with a professor who acted/directed in a local theater company. In the days leading up to the interview I labored over a list of 20-ish questions that I was to ask him, and come interview time I read them in consecutive order, not daring to stray from my safe, predetermined path. It wasn't until I had been through the process a few times that I finally began to understand my role was not one of a stenographer, but an interactive, thinking human listener. I still write out a list of questions before every interview, and I study them well, but come time for the real interview I stash them in a pocket or backpack and generally never look at them ever again.

I've found that if I don't have the safety net of a questions list, I am forced to be engaged in the subject, because if they stop talking I have to instantly figure out something to say to prod them further in our interview; otherwise there's an awkward, wasted pause of empty space. Momentum is lost. When I force myself to be in a situation to think on my feet, the end result is generally more interesting than anything I could have planned out beforehand with my paltry list of 20-ish vague questions from before I ever even met the interview subject.

"Listening as an Act of Love" talks about treating interview subjects with care because they are sitting in front of you, spilling their emotional guts to the audio recorder; this is not a one-way service. It's a give-and-take relationship, so I try to give as much as I can during an interview in hopes of taking the most usable material away on my recorder.

I have added enclosure links

FYI, I have changed settings on the blog to add enclosure links so that you all can post audio if need be.  The basic idea is that your audio needs to exist somewhere online.  That can be archive.org, probably UT webspace, wherever.  Here are some directions.
 

1.            You will need to establish an account at:

Archive.org, which gives a free, permanent URL address to your audio files.

 

2.            Convert audio files to MP3:

Save your .wav export as an .mp3 as well, either exporting to a different format in your audio editing application, or converting your .wav in a free conversion application like SWITCH (http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html)

  

3.     Log onto archive.org. 

a.     Click SHARE in right upper corner.  Upload mp3 file to archive.org.

b.     Keywords:  youth, radio, documentary, etc.

c.     CC license:  Noncommercial, no derivative/modification, international.

d.     Note or copy file name URL.  Important:  this link ends in mp3—look at VBR MP3 link on your archive page, and copy the URL (copy link location) ending in MP3.  This is NOT the main archive page URL; it is the URL for the actual audio file.

4.     New post at blogger.  Add enclosure link and then copy mp3 location.  

We'll see if this works.  It works for podcasts I've set up before (and in fact, these are the beginning directions for setting up a free podcast).  So hypothetically it should work, but of course that means nothing.