Shipka and Making Radiolab

Sound Project

        The article by Shipka raises some good questions to ask yourself.  The beginning of a project is always the most difficult part for me.  I usually do not have a clear idea of what I want to do or where I want the project to go.  Shipka raises four points to help students to find out if their ideas can be turned into a good project.  These questions get students to question themselves and to go deeper into their project, and they will most likely help me write out the rationale for the project.  1. What is the your project trying to do? 2. How does the technology or material you use complement your project? 3. What made you decide to chose this project? 4. Did you receive any help in completing your project?"

        I found the example of Dan's project the most interesting to me.  Dan's assignment was to use create music by using data about a word from the Oxford Dictionary,  The idea of creating these purposefully horrible songs to create your project appeals to me.  His though processes also showed good rationale thought.  This wasn't a half-baked idea that falls apart.  He was able to really augment his project with this great use of technology.

         The Making Radiolab podcast was interesting as well.  It did a great job in showing us how the mashing of different sounds together can create something wholly original.  This can be applied to the Everything is a Remix video that we watched.  By mixing in these different sounds, you are able to breathe new life into them.  The example I remember is using the electric sound and the hard "s" in distance and combining them to sound like the beeps of a space craft.  I enjoyed seeing how interesting it can be to mix different sounds together.  

         A long time ago, Star Wars sound designers were having to create the sound of things that never have existed before.  How do you capture the right sound for something that isn't real?  I remember seeing a feature on the sound design of the film.  They interviewed the sound man and he told us that the sound that a lightsaber makes is made from things that exist today.  He used a motor from a projector booth and a TV sound transmitted through a microphone. 

          

Here is the youtube link for the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0WJ-8B6aUM