Ambient audio

As the installation isn’t entirely about the visuals, particularly now i’ve got the monologue (in which i’m in the process of getting it recorded by a professional voice actor). Along side the narration, it’s important to add a sense of other auditory space to it. Music is usually with traditional video pieces to compliment the images etc, so i’m working on that similar level, and sorting out an ambient track.

Over the summer, via social networks i found out about a remix of a Justin Bieber song ‘Baby’, but slowed down by 800%. The effect it had genuinely amazed me, turning this pop track into some ambient piece, with sea sounds and reminiscent of the soundtrack to Bladerunner. And that was done with a free piece of software called Paul’s Time Stretch - http://hypermammut.sourceforge.net/paulstretch/ . You can slow sound down by a ridiculous level… here’s one example i did with Danse Macabre

so that’s a million million years for a note, or something like that….

Anyway, having a go with this, and thinking back to my Performance Video days from the Fda, i got round to experimenting with Public Domain music. Essentially, music that’s out of copyright, which typically is a lot of classical music. This aspect also works well with the narrative i’ve built, a future where all information that ever was, is and will be is shared, and everything is seen as public domain. So, searching for a classical piece with that has that familiarity, and a odd uplifting nature, I went for Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. Specifically by Franz Schubert, as there’s another version that sounds different by Bach/Gounod…

The lyrics themselves reflect on a latin prayer to the Virgin Mary, so there’s a biblical context associated with it as well as innocence, themes which perhaps run concurrently with my narrative.

So, a pass through Paul’s Time Stretch, slowed down by 800%, and I’ve got this to share with the world…

I’ve done a test to hear what it sounds like with a bit of speech, specifically with the Voice Actor I’ve in contact with. Her name’s Beth Mayoh, and I found her from voicespro (via castingcallpro.com). Her profile - http://www.uk.voicespro.com/view.php?uid=174865 . To test it a bit, to get a feeling of how it could work, I’ve listened to ‘Nun Audition’, mostly because it’s her delivery of that that has impressed me so much, the monologue would sound fantastic if it was done near-enough like that. Feel free to do a test yourself of course…

And yes, I’m genuinely excited about the audio.