ONES – week 2 – sound

2 women
2 voices
2 countries
2 disciplines
2 intuitions
2 rhythms
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1 installation
Miku_falling©ANNE•_2014

 

 

 

[16-02-15 UK] Anne Point:

Thoughts on location 2:
Japan sounds – precise and rhythmic ‘submerging with the body of dancers into the world created on the digital canvas.’
UK sounds – echoing rhythms ‘following the lines in a hard vs soft distance’

This week Miku and I both had a longer list of sounds. It almost seemed that location 2, being at the sea sight, directed us automatically towards water sounds. It is funny however, that the both of us collected mechanic water sounds or water that seems to have been contained rather than natural water sounds.

The question if we want to emphasize either the body or the space with the sounds, led our conversation onto interesting paths of how we watch and remember our footage. Example: ‘If we have a hard surface within the location on the canvas, would we rather use echoing sharp sounds to emphasize this or would we want to use muffled sounds as to give a juxtaposition to the expectation of sound to what you hear?’

A lot of the sounds were open to interpretation, thus helicopters and frying pans made their appearance in our minds eye were there were non. This made me very aware of the potential to manipulate the expectations and the perception of our footage for future spectators. Here my fascination for playing with what we know and what we think we know in order to come to a new experience is getting another major impulse.

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[16-02-15 Japan] Miku:

Anne’s sounds = many of them have material / object / man made kind of edgy, sharp and hard sounds. Nature vs man made objects. Characteristics of the city. However, some of the sounds have both qualities of hard and soft, which reminds me of my body (soft) vs buildings / objects (hard) during the shooting.
Miku’s sound = softer, blur, abstract, round sounds. Many of them are water related sounds. Although, the second location was by the seaside, I was interested in using the sound of different forms of water to create a friction between visual and audible.

Questions
– Using the sound that is related to the object in the frame… Is this too literal? Does it pull away the audience, or does it emphasize the idea / theme?
– Do we always need to use the sound that is not literal? How much friction do we need between visual and audible?
– Am I choosing sounds according to my visual memories or kinaesthetic memories of the location?  What would be the difference if I chose visually or kinaesthetically?

More Thoughts
– Mix of natural sounds and man made sounds can be an interesting mix of quality. It causes friction. It creates the elastic world (non-fixed, ever-changing imaginational world)
– Choosing sounds according to the location’s quality, such as the quality of the objects/materials, spaces, lightings, density, colours, and more…
– Unexpected non-related sound has a possibility to re-shape the location differently. Visual effect could emphasize OR it could ruin the whole picture.

Blurred Lines – Carrie Cracknell

blurred_lines_poster_1On 13 February I went to see the play Blurred Lines by Carrie Cracknell in The Shed, London.

Damn it!

Three feet under in a matter of seconds. Simple words, clear set, everyday clothing costumes, harassing lights, catchy beats and I’m stuck. I can’t escape. In one way or another you’ll recognize the performed. Question: question femininity. How not to put words in anyone’s mouth, but still trying to say the thought out loud? Dare!

In a fluent rhythmic motion the roles of the characters were passed on between the actresses telling us many sides of this story, the story of value. It hurts to see how easily emotions are swept of the table as a non-valid argument, how women get to hear over and over “get a grip, don’t be so hormonal!” and how the little constant things make you confused and doubtful on what choice to make.

It must have been frustrating as a man to watch this piece because it seems that they are pointed out as the big disruptors in women’s life’s, but a few minutes into the play it becomes very clear that it is not pointing a finger at man: It is pointing to everyone who takes it upon themselves to disrespect another human being, male or female.

blurred lines set photoANNE•Mind you, it still wasn’t a joyful piece to watch since there are so many mistakes made out in the world and they chose to show us a lot of them, but it was clear from the start of the piece, even the flyer, that what you see is what you get. Just before the piece ended it threw in a nice twist in which the audience got totally confused whether the play had finished or not. To every painful side there was a humorous side, and it was this contrast of strengths that made you watch till the very end.

set photo by ANNE•     Keep an eye out for this production and its creators!