FIELD RECORDING – Journal

Bird Vocalisation and Wildlife Recording

Whilst planning for my Unit 1 assessment I had the idea of creating melodies with sounds found in nature – specifically, a call and response between my sound piece and the surrounding birdsong at the Chiswick Eyot. Further research into this lead me to Bird Vocalisation. While humans may percieve bird calls as mere melodies, orthinology reveals the complexity of its nature. Longer, detailed songs are associated with territory, courtship and mating, whilst less complicated calls act as alarms or simple instructions for a flock. When incorporating these calls in my sound piece it may be interesting to think of the context they were sung in and how that could affect the theme I decide with upon deeper introspection.

In order to gain more understanding in techniques used in wildlife recording I came upon a sound recordist called Chris Watson whose work spans many programmes including, David Attenborough ‘Life’ series and the BBC series ‘Frozen Planet.’ In a short clip describing his process, he commented on how there is no equivalent of a telephoto or zoom lens for sound. Other ways in which we can amplify sound include an apparatus called a Parabolic Reflector. It effectively works as a mirror telescope for sound. upon striking its surface of its dish, sound is partially reflected. This reflection redirects the sound-waves inward creating a clearer sonic image of a distant sound source, too far away to hear with the naked ear.

References

Bloomfield, Lou. “How Does a Parabolic Microphone Work?” Howeverythingworks.org, Bloomfield Media LLC, 15 May 1997, howeverythingworks.org/1997/05/15/question-1157/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

“Chris Watson.” Chriswatson.net, 2021, chriswatson.net/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

“Sounds of Nature: Making a Soundtrack for Wildlife Films.” Bbc.co.uk, 2016, www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20160314-sounds-of-nature-for-wildlife-films. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Bird Vocalization.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_vocalization. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

‘A little guidebook for home listening’

Conceptual and a more thoughtful approach on how to take field recordings.Training ones ears to understand the motivations behind sound and how they effect us, both collectively and personally. Methods of listening can be likened to meditation. The difference between noises that are impersonal to us and others that have meaning, whether that is emotionally or physically (such as a rooster’s call signifying the break of dawn). This idea of sonic presence. Immersion.

This idea of presence in sound creates a more profound emotional response as opposed to a visual image recording as our senses are always working together

Bob Watts once said he got good art ideas only in the country in “Tree Painting” he left color markers dangling from branches of a tree and just grazing a large sheet of white paper on the grass below at his farm in Pennsylvania. He would set this up one day, then drive off in his Citroën Mehari and return the next morning to harvest the art.

This idea of cross pollinating creative practice with physical subjects, such as nature. Perceived as random but also as the expression of a certain organism(s), whether conscious of their output or not. It reminds of a quote I once heard by the poet David Whyte – ‘The conversational nature of reality’

References

https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1016417/mod_resource/content/1/A%20little%20guidebook%20for%20home%20listening.pdf