=C2=A0
> Doesn't this depend first on what you are trying to accomplish? If your
>intentions are journalistic then fidelity of circumstance is required and =
things
>should be as they are. If your intent is to create a work of art then by
>definition it has a point of view and thus is edited from its inception. A=
>soundscape without anthrophony, by whatever means, is a perfectly good goa=
l if
>that's what you elected to do. In any case truthfulness in intent is, I th=
ink,
>what's important. Today we can embed metadata. When I have manipulated som=
ething
>in some way, I detail that in a note.
Very good point. I might say that even journalistic intent edits for conten=
t to
convey a point of view. Intent though really strikes a chord. Basically, th=
e
recordist can do whatever he/she pleases with regards to manipulation and
annotation for whatever goal they see fit. The act of recording itself is a=
manipulation. And art most certainly involves communication and expression=
first, not necessarily fidelity of representation.
Sometimes manipulation is implied, like in blockbuster movies. I think here=
the
audience knows what's going on to some extent - "Avatar" or "Harry Potter" =
is
very clearly fantasy (to most adults). I am not sure that this is the case =
with
nature sound and field recording, regardless of intent. I am also not sure =
that
it should be :)
Related to intent is outcome. Is what was intended achieved? Is it even
measurable, or does it even matter?
Purposeful minimization of anthrophony in nature soundscapes is a shared/gr=
oup
aesthetic that to seems to extend beyond personal choice or intent. When I =
began
recording, this was a given - it is what you must do to be a nature recordi=
st
(unspoken but implied). The absence of man defines the genre and defines th=
e
topics of discussions on this list. Together we have created and elevated a=
body
of work that removes the presence of man by any means necessary: 1000-2000 =
hours
in the field, careful spectral editing, time collapsed compositing, etc...
Many of us on the list, including myself, have a very strong affinity to
biophony and soundscapes in general. The "natural" ambience of a space. Its=
part
art, part documentation, a sprinkle of science. I just often question why m=
an is
purposely and almost universally excluded when he so deeply shapes it's cur=
rent
state.
On a related topic, Martyn's work has begun to incorporate man as a player =
-
though not necessarily related to his nature soundscapes. This thread of
activism is very refreshing!
> I've been working on a project for several years, cataloguing and editing=
of
>videos of primates. The audio is often very bad: talk in several languages=
;
>crunching feet; not-so-distant cars; the recordist breathing; camera strap=
s
>whacking against the tripod. Since my intention here is for the viewer to =
see
>the animals and not a documentary on the recording of the video, I sample,=
cut
>and paste audio to create a background that's "authentic" if not perfectly=
>truthful and, as far as possible, is without humans. With my own video, I=
>usually record long audio passages in the field so that I have a sound tra=
ck to
>fall back on when I edit the video.
> Marc
Thanks for this perspective. I indeed appreciate this editing as an audienc=
e
member. It conveys alot more meaning that the unedited work, which I would=
probably be distracted by the noises and handling.
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