Having completed the visual construction and exporting that, I then moved to Logic and began composing the audio for the piece. As I have previously mentioned in another blog, the sound sources for this work came from Radio Aporee. Specifically from the area of Bergen, Norway – the exact location in which my Norwegian ancestors are from. Therefore the contextual relation to the research conducted on this project evidences itself more through the audio than it does in the visuals.
There were 5 main recordings which I used to compose the audio for this piece, these were;
- The Bells of Mariekirken Bugården, 15, 5003 Bergen. – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=40186
- Organ practice and soundcheck, Fjellet Sør, Bergen. – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=26488
- Passenger boat, Bergen harbor, Strandsiden. – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=26486
- Rain hitting the window, Nygard, Bergen. – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=26487
- Ferry Terminalc hildren waiting, Strandsiden, Bergen. – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=26483
I decided to focus my choice of recordings to the port location of Bergen, relating the sound material to, not only the exact area of my lineal existence, but also to the historical roots of the family name Erlund. Linking the foreigner aspect of migration through boat, which also connects to my family history in other ways. My great great grandfather was the port master in Bergen and so it felt incredibly fitting to use these recordings, as well, my Norwegian family later immigrated to America via boat.
With these original 5 recordings, all but one, I put through a sampler on logic, using Midi to then manipulate and transform the audio. This worked even better than I expected, the diverse range of sounds it supplied to me was vastly inspiring. I was able to achieve practically any desired sound through one of the recordings as they were all different scales. This structure of sourcing all the sonic material before even beginning the composition edit is something I haven’t done before, and I did think it may become a bit restrictive, however it did not, and in fact it felt much more open, having a prolific result. This is a method of creating audio, especially to accompany visuals that I will be using again in future work as it made for a much more productive, smoother composing process.
The one sound I chose not to put through the sampler was ‘Old passenger ferry leaves for the other side, Strandsiden, Bergen, Norway’ – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=26486. I chose to leave this sound running thoughout the track, entirely unedited. The reason I chose to do this was because this sound source had a beat to it, a simple beat, but a very interesting noise creating that beat. Therefore I instantly thought to use this as the kind of foundational layer to the work, the speed of the beat matched the motion of the animated quilted frame, and because this frame doesn’t stop moving, I thought it best to have a sound match this motion.
I think this worked very well, there were times where the boat sped up a bit and it matched the speed of the visuals so well. It also created this under-current of bass and gave me sounds to work off of with the other sources.
Initially when I began composing this work I wanted to purely use the Radio Aporee Bergen recordings, which I mostly did, however there were around 4 extra sound sources that I used which were not from the location of Bergen. These were:
Water drips – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=32523
Forest Ambience 1 – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=71723
Forest Ambience 2 – https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=72054
Wolf Howls – https://youtu.be/Gwfke3f3f0M?si=h4uYNWRsK0Ek50Wv
The reason I found myself using these 4 extra sources was becasue I wanted to include specific sounds to accompany speicifc visuals, which I tried to use sounds from Norway for, however couldn’t find the right noises.
These 4 sound sources were used mainly to create atmosphere, especially the 2 forest ambience sounds, they both played out raw, unedited through the length of the piece and added a really simple but effective natural tone to the overall sound. The water drops were particularly useful in creating a sound which matched the pixelated digitalised elements of the work. I really like that I was able to create this digital sounding effect through a natural audio.
Although, I would have liked for this composition to comprised of just the original 5 recordings, these extra four really elevated the piece and without it would’ve sounded slightly empty. This kind of adaptation is a process that often occurs during the production phase and is an element that can shape the work for the better as it adds a fresh, intuitive aspect. Therefore, although it was not part of my original plan to include these extra sound sources, I am glad I ended up using them and I continue to keep an open mind throughout the creative process of my work.
As my practice continues to grow and develop, the desire to publicise and share grows with it. Through working with interdisciplinary artists like Mimi, it has brought to the forefront of my practice an enthusiasm to create work using a diverse range of mediums, wanting to collaborate both sonically and visually with like-minded people. I am aware of the relational importance between sound and film, and having a good structural knowledge in both, I feel I am able to create unique work that acknowledges the significance of how one effects the other. I therefore feel I could be a good asset in working an audio/ sound role within the film industry, which financially, can be a well paid, stable creative job.
Through working on this collaborative project and projects alike, I have come to an understanding of how and where to situate my own practice within an existing world, realising how I am able to create a career through my personal aspirations.
I feel the sonic work of this project is strong, and I found the production of this composition to come much more easily than my previous sound work that didn’t have visuals accompanying it. There was a clear flow in the direction of sonic movement and I think having these kind of visual prompts and cues for integrating sound really helps me in composing a layered, sophisticated piece of work. Consequently, this is a format or creating that I would like to continue working with, involving myself with more visual artists to create interesting sound pieces.