Only the Greatest Project Ever

FINAL

2007-06-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

its so great to finally finish my project.

it didn't really work out how i would have liked it to, im not really sure now how janet cardiff managed to control the pace of how people walked. I ran into the issue of peoples' strides being too long and i really have no idea how to get around that. im a little bummed out it didnt work.

doing the final recordings were pretty easy since the weather has been cooperating nicely. i didnt have to fight with the rain like i did for my prototype. looking back on it i think if i redid it i might choose a different path. my original idea was to do a loop but i felt like ending it in red square in the riot worked out fine.

for those of you who didn't get to go through it if ever your incredibly bored and on campus this summer, go ahead and try it out :) i just hope you end up in all the right places.

http://thatonegirl.com/DX202/onlyTheGreatestProjectEver.wav

Phase 2 / yay!

2007-05-24T11:29:00.001-07:00

files have been recovered... 'nuff said... :)

At the moment I am still collecting sounds. I am extremely happy i was able to pull my files off my hard drive because most of those sounds are a lot better than my new ones. Its really not the same when I get stuck on finding the same sound, especially with the sounds i acquired by chance and wasn't really looking for. I don't feel like I've accomplished much in the past week since I was somewhat starting over, but I have re written the narrative. i am still currently adjusting it, so it will be posted later, but it will be up in time for class. I feel like i am in pretty good shape now even with the setback. I will continue to collect sounds through Saturday and finish editing by the 28th hopefully.

narrative:

Just sit for a second, take a moment just one moment to look ahead. In an academic institution I guess that’s just what we do. We are required to remember the past in order to move forward. Its all just information taken in long enough to finish the test. Then like that its completely gone.

Do you ever think about where you’ve been, what you’ve done, where you’ve stood? And maybe if anyone else has ever done the same. And… if anyone even remembers

Stand up, walk forward. Follow the sounds of my footsteps, step where I step, keep in time. Listen…

walk down the stairs

keep going straight

do you ever listen? like really really listen? Its so rare that I ever do. Im always in a rush, just trying to get to class. I always forget how big the campus is im always in my own world I never see anyone, hear anything. But on those rare sunny days, when I avoid class to celebrate good weather, suddenly my world is completely filled and im reminded that im not alone

stop here

see the path a little to your left, follow me down it.

So many things have happened here. The smallest moments to an outsider are always the biggest for those its happening to.

Stop here

Look to your left. See the bench? Sit in the middle. It seems like the squirrels have always out numbered the students on this campus. You should always remember to never feed them… they aren’t scared of you. A guy I knew learned this lesson the hard way back a few years ago right here on this very bench. Every time I sit here I try to picture the moment.

He was eating chips

Then he noticed a squirrel, right there, next to that tree in front of you. And the squirrel just stared back at him.

He tossed a chip to it

< the crunch of the bag, then the sound of the chip hitting the ground>
< sound of squirrel nibbling the chip>

He tossed another just a little closer

< the crunch of the bag, then the sound of the chip hitting the ground>
< sound of squirrel nibbling the chip>

… and then one, right next to his foot.

< the crunch of the bag, then the sound of the chip hitting the ground>
< sound of squirrel nibbling the chip>

the squirrel sat right next to his foot, close enough to touch.

So, to complete the experiment he placed on last chip on his lap.

Never forget, squirrels can climb trees…

…but that was a long time ago. People learn, grow up, and change…

stand up

look to your left

follow the path

< everybodys changing is playing>

do you ever think further back to what this place used to be? Before the bricks, before the grass, I like to think about it on rainy days when theres the unsual silence here.

Its all about time.

See the path to your? Follow me down it.

Doesn’t it seem like time is always the enemy? Theres always too much or too little. We’re either killing it or praying for more. Its as though time is always trying to make life harder.

Stop here

Turn to your left and look out over where we’ve walked. The quad… its one of my favorite places. On a sunny day I feel like time cant win here. People laying in the grass, playing frisbee on the sides… people come here to exist in the present, to enjoy now and not look forward or back because well… in Seattle the sun is a rare thing.

Turn around. Out there is a different place.

Walk forward

Only a few steps and the mood changes completely. This is Red Square. Its always filled with performers…,

…activists

…and bible preachers.

This is more of the place to examine the past and think about the future. I once heard on a tour that

stop here

close your eyes

so much has happened here. I always think about what has been accomplished and changed right here in the very place you are standing.

You must have stood here once before or at least walked past it. You must have been to all the other places I’ve just taken you. To think, you probably have never stood alone… there has always been someone else whos been there or is coming.

I always think about where other people have been, what they’ve done, and where they’ve stood. Whenever I learn something new I always remember it.

Just sit for a second. Just enjoy the moment….

one last effort

2007-05-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

im about to head to the apple store to have my my hard drive removed... please keep me and my hard drive in your prayers....

alright... i just need to get this done

2007-05-22T15:12:00.003-07:00

so, i;ve been optimistically waiting on my hard drive for all the sounds i spent days to record; most of them which were recorded from 1-4 in the morning out in the quad or downtown in a crowded mob of people.

i havent been able to really recreate my narrative, i'm having the hardest time trying to think up something. at this point i think i'll just keep going with what i originally planned. I'm going to use the next 4 days to recollect sounds, then edit. im going to see what i can do with the 7 min prototype i have. There are a lot of changes i would have made but there also a lot of sounds i want to use and know i wont be able to recreate them...

so, we;ll see, i think im in ok shape.

new script

2007-05-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

i am rewriting the script. I dont think heather liked my prototype, but it is just a prototype so theres still time to improve it. I think i will take more consideration in making all the different stories one big cohesive story...

the one thing ive found about attempting to create my own janet cardif like piece is finding a way to do it better... u really cant beat good stuff... but luckily none of u have experienced her work :) so i guess im ok. but the goal isnt to just make it better, it's to make it mine and to express my thoughts (literally i guess). i'll see what i can think of in the fastest way possible since we dont have much time left... but i tend to work better anyways in fear and under pressure.

start over

2007-05-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

my poor hard drive is in critical condition... i might have to start over again... this sucks

prototype

2007-05-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

heres my prototype

running time 7:20 min, its only a portion of it.

DL it and try it out. PROMISE me not to listen to it until youre in he quad and ready to go through it. it starts on the bench between the art & music building. sit in the middle, get situated and press play.

use your ipod and good headphones. try to experience it when the quads fairly empty

right click the link and click "save link as"
http://thatonegirl.com/prototype.wav

protest

2007-05-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

so i wanted to created the feeling of a good old 1970s protest in red square. I got some really good stuff yesterday downtown for mayday... unfortunately a lot of the chants where in spanish, i hope i can muffle it up a little so its not clear that its not english. but theyre great recordings.

but this weather is killing me, i've been trying to do some recordings in the quad late at night so theres less sound. hopefully i can pull this together for tomorrow. i HATE planes.

recordings a bitch

2007-05-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

when the hell do planes ever stop flying over the quad...

other than that alls good

sneak peak

2007-04-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

heres just a sneak peak of the intro... just the voice, im still working on collecting sounds... its just a test run, i'll have a better recording later. i had a better one but i was having a hard time not picking up background noise. i'll definitely record this later in a recording room or just a sound proof area. i recorded this sitting under my comforter so if it sounds stiff it was because i was trying really really hard not to move. but yah this is just an example of where im going with this.

in response to the comments from the previous and other ideas

2007-04-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

I suppose i'll just try to get together a 2-3 min clip then decide. I actually plan on making it available to the public, it wont be anymore work than preparing it for the class. im just going to have ppl sign in and maybe give me their student ID so they dont take off with my stuff.

see im really unsure about if the time of day matters. part of me wants it so that people going through wont always know if what theyre hearing is being played for them or is actually happening.

new idea...
so i was thinking and i want the participants to be able to have something tangible when they go through. so i was thinking of making a little polaroid but instead of it having a picture i wanted to use like a clear damaged plastic that will make things look black and white or maybe give it a sepia affect just to stress the idea that its memory. then as the person is guided through, whenever the voice talks about a memory, it will tell the person to hold up the polaroid to see what they're looking at in an aged photo and then they'll hear a camera taking a picture. it might be cheesy and stupid, but im gonna try it out and see how it feels in the piece... just a random idea. im just need something to really have the participant interact more.

presentation

2007-04-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

im debating if it will matter what time of the day i present my project. i feel like a full quad will add to the affect that what is being heard is really happening, but on the other hand, an empty quad might be just as affective. since the class is so late in the day im pretty sure the campus will be fairly dead... unless its sunny.

"ok i have it!" continued....

2007-04-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

so where was i...

top of the quad... bench... hmmm, i dont really remember where i was going with this. i dont want to give a play by play or anything, so im not really sure why i started explaining like that.

Basically I want the voice to be the thoughts of someone else in the participants head. Its going to start of with a few thoughts just about life, nothing too deep, but just thoughts to bring the participant to a stronger awareness of his or her surroundings. the campus is a beautiful place where so many things happen daily, yet after a few years of being here, most of us rush past it all trying to get to our next class. The participant will walk to the pace of the voice's foot steps to make sure he or she is where he or she is supposed to be. The thoughts will bring up incidents and events that have happened in the very spot the participant is standing. Using ambient sounds, the user will feel like the even is happening right in front of them, yet they cant see it. It will feel like a ghostly presence of people who used to roam the campus just like them. I also want to stay true to the time period of when each thing happened, so i will try to use sounds that indicate that. i am attempting to pull somewhat of a pulp fiction where everyones connected in a way, but im not trying to make it too obvious but more of an underlining thought that the participant might leave with.

writing this is a little hard. i've been trying to sit outside and use the setting for inspiration, but the weather is just retarded.

this narrative is going to require a lot more research and interviewing. but its pretty fun so far.

i hope that all makes sense

ok i have it!

2007-04-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

ok, so im compeletly realized what i need to write about when i was walking home.

the narrative is not going to be linear, it'll be a mix of thoughts and stories and incidents that happened in whatever place i decide to guide the participant through. its going to pull back anf forth between past and present. its going to be thoughtful, reminiscent and hopefully a little funny. i have some good stories of stupid little things that have happened to people I know and i also know the history of the campus pretty well. its pretty interesting, i did a bunch of research on it awhile back just for kicks, theres a lot that has happened.

so how do i plan to do this. im going to start on that bench at the top of the quad, the one next to the art building....

i have to do something ill finish this later

new inspiration

2007-04-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

so lily allen is my new favorite.

the song LDN has provided me with some great inspiration for my narrative. its kinda messed up but i love it. go download it.

but uh... yah

so i was thinking about why the Janet Cardiff's piece was so great in NYC. it was because no one who actually lives there would stop to for even a second to chill and think. I mean when i moved back to washington i could hardly sit still and relax. The chillness of washington drove me crazy, but i love it now. anyways i feel like people in seattle are pretty passive. this is just a generalization, i mean its not like everyone in NY is insanely honest.. but then again those who aren't would be called tourists or NYU freshman. anyways, what was i saying... o yah, um.. i think i want to aim my narrative in the direction of "the things we dont (want to) see"

trust me on this one, it will be great :P

issues

2007-04-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

so...

i need portable CD players. if anyone has old an one that still works laying around that they wouldnt mind lending to my project please let me know.

i need a bad ass narrative. I want people to not only be engaged but i want people to really enjoy my piece. i want them to treat it like an amusement park ride and jump back into line to go through again.... uh, that will be hard

i need to somehow find an easy way of figuring out timing while recording my sounds. Im planning to just keep track of the timing of the footsteps and then work everything else around that... if anyone has any better ideas let me know.

Concept Architecture

2007-04-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE to enlarge

Proposal

2007-04-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

THIS WHOLE THING IS KINDA A MESS OF TWO IDEAS. I WILL FIX IT SOON

Aesthetics lay on the surface of what we know. It is the first thing we come in contact with, the top layer that is only a shell for the great stuff within. However what is on the inside is hardly ever discovered. It is odd to me that culturally the outside is considered unimportant and that "you can't judge a book by it's cover" yet at the same time people try so hard to create an identity for themselves through their hair, clothing, mannerisms, everything that can be picked apart by only an objective view. Everything that is consumed comes in a nice attractive package and the ones with the best package tend to sell the best.

I want to bring this reality to the surface and examin the fact that sometimes it what lies on the surface that matters. Not to say that the outside is everything but that it is in fact something that drives us and is essentially the first impression. With this project I want to show how human it is to look first and understand later and how it is just a part of our culture.

I want to create an audio walkthrough of the UW campus that will engage the participants in a thoughtful look at their environment and themselves. The piece will help people achieve a new sense of their world and culture and how they as individuals fit into the whole.

Irony

2007-04-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

inner beauty might be little bit of bullshit

2007-04-09T20:59:00.001-07:00

i want to do something that will essentially engage me for the quarter...

i've been thinking about the shallow aesthically driven culture that i live in.

people will kill spiders before lady bugs when they're both still bugs.
ashlee simpsons popularity pole rose after the nose job and she still cant sing.
cute japanese trinkets that have almost no purpose sell like crazy and still.... do nothing

just a thought.

inner beauty might be bullshit... but is that a bad thing... maybe... maybe not...

random

Posted by amburrr at 3:18 PM

2007-04-09T20:58:00.001-07:00

im a retard and have been posting in the wrong blog... soill just repaste everything...