Sound Landscape

Create a sound landscape composition based on the conceptual framework presented on chapters 7 and 8 of "On Sonic Art" by Trevor Wishart. The source materials for the piece will be collected in field recordings done by groups.

Groups

The recording part of the final is done by groups using MinDisc recorders provided by DXARTS. Each member of the group should get a disc where to capture sounds. During the field recording sessions the members of the group should turn roles as the director or composer of the takes, recorder and microphone operator, or acting movements arranged by the director. Working as a team should help you make creative sound gathering and experimental takes that would be impossible to do by yourself.

Each member of the group should have a clear script of what should happen during their field recording session, which should be explained clearly to the other members of the group before starting to record. Once the recording sessions are finished you should transfer the selected materials to the computer, this will be done by groups with the assistance of the TA (each group should schedule a time for this).

Composition

Before starting to compose the piece (even before making the recordings) you should have a preliminary plan and structure for your work based on the concepts presented by Wishart on chapters 7 and 8 of "On Sonic Art". Be sure to have a clear understanding of the conceptual framework presented in those two chapters, especially the concepts of "landscape" and "sound-image" which should be central to your work. Charts similar to the ones on pages 170 and 172 of the book could help you classify your materials.

The piece should be five to seven minutes long. Beside any synthetic materials, you should only use recorded materials gathered during group recording sessions. This should NOT be a sound collage piece, your recorded materials must be used as sources for sound processing using any of the techniques covered in class. Except for justified cases, "raw" (unprocessed) materials shouldn't appear in the composition. At least one clear sound transformation (or sound-image "transfiguration") should appear in an important moment of the piece.

Most techniques covered in class this quarter should be used in your piece. You are also encouraged to experiment with basic synthesis techniques covered in 461 in new circumstances (such as the effects of using complex sound sources for modulation, granular synthesis, etc.). You should demonstrate control over stochastic processes as well as solid compositional design.

Submission

You should turn a file containing your SC code. Your file must contain a main call to a function that generates the SC score for your whole piece. Your SC code will be tested by us as part of your grade, so please be sure you comment your code clearly for us to understand it at a glance.

At the head of your file, you should clearly explain how your work is related to the concepts presented in Wishart text (sound landscape, sound-image, metaphor, space, ambiguity, transformation, transfiguration, deep and surface structure, etc.) You should also include a brief comment about the production of the piece (which sources did you used and why, how did you make the recordings, which types of processing techniques did you used, etc.), and any extra comments that could help us understand your work (we should be able to run the code and generate your piece for scratch). During the listening session you will have to briefly introduce your piece to the class before we play it.

Your file should be called "YourLastName_462_final.sc", this file should be in the 462 Dropbox by the deadline.

You should also burn a CDr with a sound file of your piece (called "YourLastName_462_final.aiff"), you should use SC's NRT to render it in AIFF format, stereo, 24 bits, 44100 Hz Sampling Rate. You should label your CD with your name and turn it in to the TA by the deadline.