R2: Sound

I have always thought sound to be an extremely important but I had never considered in some of the ways that I was exposed to through the readings and videos I viewed. I like the concept of exploring sound in nature and focusing on separate and unique sounds. I never thought of pollution in the form of sound, but now I will notice it often. I completely agree that we live in a world supersaturated with noises that we never ask for. I love the concept of preserving areas that have natural sound and I never even knew that was possible. The only thing I thought about during Justin Boyd: Sound and Time was how much I admired his skill for recording sound. One thing I have always wished I knew more about was sound recording and he seemed to take it to a level I wish I could. My favorite part of Listen was when he held up the sign that read, “Listen” and held it there for about a minute. I began to closely listen to my surroundings and noticing all the small sounds and trying to figure out what was causing them. I began to wonder what it would be like to experience absolutely zero sound and if that is even possible. It made me reminisce to the media fast where I began to notice how amazed I became at the sound of driving with no music or speaking. It made me feel like I was just sitting in a quiet room and happened to be flying through the air at 60mph. This lead to other strange thoughts about cars in general but that is a topic for another time and place!

Synesthesia (R1)

Synesthesia is a phenomenon that has not only interested me but has made me wish I had the power to do so! I feel this correlation of senses can be valuable when creating various kinds of art. This predisposed pattern that naturally occurs in the subject's mind can develop a specific style of thinking that can be constant in their works of art. I never knew there were so many types of Synesthesia and I feel research on this ability is vital in understanding what makes people talented in certain areas and how people think in general. I think a lot of people have very weak forms of synesthesia and might not realize it. For example, When I listen to music I visualize certain shapes to certain notes sometimes but it is not as strong or consistent to classify as synesthesia. I'm sure others have this blending of sense to one degree or another.

72 hour Media Fast

During the time I spent participating in the 72 hour media fast I was mostly sick. This caused a large part of the fast to spent sleeping and enjoying the freedom of loosening the tight grip that technology has on us at times. I was able to relax and not have to respond to anyone because I was forced not to. The biggest difference I noticed was how impulsive and involuntary it had become to check my phone. It was strange to realize how often I tried to check my phone for no reason at all! I also learned that the sound of my silent car as I am driving is not only calming but very self reflective. I enjoyed driving to the store to pick up medicine and hearing a muffled white noise sounding environment around me. I can only imagine the growing dependency our society has on technology and I wonder how integral and second nature it is to the generation being born today. I want to know what it would be like for children in middle school today to do a media fast.

First Blog Post "Film Screened on 1/12/15"

The film reminded me of an old film where the artist would paint directly on the film and flash the images very quickly in front of the projector. The film gave me a feeling of excitement and also hurt my eyes due to the flashes of light. I was heavily reminded of "Fantasia" because of orchestral music paired with animation and correlating to the rhythm and notes. I want to understand the process behind this effect of matching the music to the animation so well. I want to know which part was created first. I want to know if the film was directly painted and if there was any deeper meaning behind these choices.