Music Technology Showcase 2021

Speaker 1 So the original idea for our project was to create an interactive application looking at multiple locations around Portsmouth, comparing the start of lockdown when there was practically no one out to now when things were starting to open up more and there's more people out on the streets. It was specifically be sort of a sound walk using sounds from within the videos and using sonification of the movement within the video. So as people walked past or cars went past, they would change the composition. The interactive application would work so that people would select a location within Portsmouth and it would then play one of the compositions, but they wouldn't know whether it was from the start of lockdown or now.

Speaker 2 Users would then have to selected which video was taken pre-COVID versus during COVID pandemic. Based on the fact that they heard.

Speaker 3 We thought it would be quite interesting. It is very topical at the minute, so it's something I think a lot of people are looking into and looking about. And some people who will have been locked away the whole time will have never been able to see both of them. So it would have been nice for them to have a comparative without being at risk so that they could look at how it was when there was very few people around and then the reopening of it afterwards, even when they're still too timid to go into places. Unfortunately, our project idea was very ambitious.

Speaker 2 Due to certain time constraints and just the volume of work in general.

Speaker 1 So we had to change and adapt our project from the original idea to something that we could manage within the time we had and with the people we had.

Speaker 3 I don't think we actually took into account how much time it would take. I think it's a project which would need quite a few years in the making to be able to do.

Speaker 1 So it's quite easy for us to say that we'll get videos or hands on of fire and we'll make compositions that change based on the movement within it. But to actually manage doing that within the time frame we had and with only the three of us is is very it's another thing completely.

Speaker 2 So instead we slightly modified our project to consist of just a sound walk. Of course, with locations, namely Control Road, go to Portsmouth Train Station and Canoe Lake.

Speaker 1 So then the idea was we would take videos at each of the locations, record the sounds that were interesting there, along with the background sounds we would record, sounds like the Guildhall Bell, the overhead voice on in the train station, things like that.

Speaker 2 Musical compositions would have them being added to these videos as well as the sound. So to create the final artefact, those videos and the compositions would of them being put into an application for the user to listen to and then select each location. My personal role within the portrait was to create the compositions that we used in this album, as well as for quality on location audio.

Speaker 3 My role within the project was to design and create an interface with which the audience would use to be able to see and look at our artefact.

Speaker 1 So my role within the project was to keep everyone organised, keep us all on track with the project, as well as supporting with the patching in Macs and then supporting CEP with the composition. To be as efficient as we could. We worked on the compositions along with the light interface for the application at the same time, which meant it was up to me to make sure everyone knew what they needed to be doing when it needed to be done by so we could get it together and make sure it all worked together with enough time. It also meant that I had to go with Sub to record the videos and capture any of the sounds we might need, and also helping him decide how the compositions were going to sound because that was a little bit more difficult. Now there wasn't the sonification aspect and it also meant sitting with Jay in a Discord call to help him with any of the patching, with the interface design, and just sort of gradually being there to support each other.

Speaker 3 So to be able to create the application itself, we opted to use Max as we've used it before. We have all made a basic app interface within it, so it seemed like the best option and I prefer to use it personally because I know what I'm doing within it. I know that I can put pictures in there and stuff like that. For a lot of the design work of it, I pretty much just went into Photoshop and did sketches, so I opted to put sketches of the landmarks for those particular areas. So Canoe Lake has got a swan paddle board and Commercial Road has got the fountain. And I literally just got a picture up and sketched over the top of them to make it a very simple sketch and placed it on a background. And then that is all put as a jpeg and placed into the app. The design is very simple and sketchy, almost like when you go around walking around a park sometimes you could almost like see these sketches like on a noticeboard as like little features on it to describe, you know, little parts of the area that you're walking around. So it doesn't distract, but it makes a nice little background. So it's kind of designed in that way to go along with a sound or a walk around a park.

Speaker 2 Scott and I went out together to record all the videos and all the audio use of the sound according to general environment and any other interesting sounds that we found, other locations that we thought would be useful to be used in the composition. I recorded all the audio using a MacBook and what you interface, and as some 57 walked around each environment to collect an A representation of the sounds that were present there. Looking back at this though, probably would have been a better idea to have used a Zoom recorder to provide high quality audio as well as being very easily transported around. However, I still must capture some good audio that was used in the final track. I then took these recordings into logic and use them in my compositions, both as a background track and also using individual recordings are made to be used as part of the composition. So I'm telling them, I mean, what an odd way to create interesting sounds. Set some time for me to figure out what's the direction I wanted to take the compositions as I was working on the videos as well as just working on the music, I eventually decided to create a more ambient sounding composition as I felt composing something that was too musically structured in terms of having a sort of verse, chorus, etc. and composing in a popular music genre wouldn't really fit to the project in the best way. Right.

Speaker 1 Ideally, we wanted to have it as a big installation, as is part of the project, as part of the unit normally. Obviously, this wasn't this wasn't achievable in the current situations with COVID. So instead we built it as an application and we sent it to our friends, to our family to see what people thought to get their responses. And then this is a few of the people who were kind enough to send us a video of what they thought.

Speaker 4 Overall, I really like the app. I like how like simplistic it is to go from the main screen onto each of the other screens to go and view the video, which has the composition. The composition is really nice. I like how calming they are, especially the train one, my personal favourite. Those are really like the use of colour and the like. Quirky but simple like drawings for each one so you don't actually have to read what the compositions are taking place. You can simply just look at like the little designs and you can see what you see. Yeah, I quite like it.

Speaker 5 Okay, here we go. Okay. I think that the compositions were generally very nice. The interface was very easy to use, although I think it would have been better if you'd had more places with a more fluid walkaround video rather than just a static if you had a flow through walk. I also thought that the composition of I would get very interested, but I don't think they quite always fit in with the actual videos.

Speaker 4 It's a nice application with a really good design class. It's easy to use, but it would be great to see more places. I found the application really easy to use and also very enjoyable. I also found the compositions were relaxing and helped me get into the zone whilst I was using the app.

Speaker 1 Overall, I think it's a pretty good project. I like the compositions. I like the idea. We have the design of the interface. The light sketchy feel is I think I really enjoy it. However, there are some points that I think the compositions you can sort of tell that we want the it's very subjective, but it was very much how the video made set feel, opposed to sort of a more objective way such as the sonification would have been. I do think it is really a shame that we couldn't do the sonification because I think that would have been such an interesting thing to see, to see the differences between. I think we've managed to make something that's actually pretty good and I quite enjoy it. I think it's fun to see and I like the design of it. Overall.

Speaker 3 I think our project is simple. Not horrible. I feel we could have done more with our time. We were very slow getting into the projects, so we were having plenty of meetings, but not a lot was happening with the meetings. I do feel that has been affected by not being able to be with one another in the same room as if we were in the same room. We feel more that we are wasting our time by not doing any of the project. Whereas more so, whenever we are on a video call meeting each other, it wasn't so much to do anything. It was to chat because we can't all see the screen. We were sharing each other's screens and things like that. You still felt quite isolated at home doing the project on your own. So myself and Skye would sit on a video chat while I did the interface so that she could help me with any problems that I came across. But we could brainstorm together how to get over something and to just make sure that we all working is very easy to not work. When you were set up, I was literally with me every week and a bit like a coffee morning in a in a silly way, because we wouldn't go ahead and be like, Right, let's get to work. It would be, you know, how have you been? Just every week meeting. We didn't have that constant contact like we have in our first or second year to be able to see each other every day anyway. And then when it came down to like this hour is for this particular unit, let's do this unit.

Speaker 2 I really enjoyed taking part in this project, being able to create compositions and record on location all year, project turned out quite well and the application is very well made and I really like to see all the illustrations used in the application. The application is simple, but it does work well and each video is ready to be viewed. Given more time, I would have liked to have made more compositions as well as made them longer and creates more original sounds. But I feel like I'm happy with the work that I made and I'm happy with how it sounds overall.

Speaker 3 Bye bye.

Speaker 1 Original. Ah, try that again and more hands on off. Hi. So I have a passion for Dragon.

Speaker 5 A dragon oh two to do.

Speaker 1 And then. And then? And then. How do I not know? I'll try that again this time. Or know the end of the sentence.

Speaker 2 This isn't even my bedroom. Who does come into my room? I've never. So I'm just reading what I wrote. Or you can do this for like, to sync audio and video. I think I'm a professional. I need to make a call on this topic. All right. Pretty much thing, huh? You can cop all of this. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And it was too. I can't even remember.

Speaker 4 Someone's sky. There are so many dogs who don't go free.

Speaker 3 I think that's it.

Speaker 4 Sky, I deeply apologise for the camera work. Those are really pretty.

Speaker 3 Place they look at. Yeah.

Video showing how 'Sound Toy' works - the final year project of BSc Music Technology student, George Pack. The recording shows a user playing with 'Sound Toy', moving around the audiovisual space to create different sounds and timbres.

Video showing the final project of BSc Music Technology student, Elliot Whatson. It shows recorded gameplay of a pinball machine-style game, in which each object or surface the ball touches triggers a different sound.

Speaker 1 They see me. One, two, three. That's the best route to pass through the churchyard to cheer. You'd be you up, God supposed to say.

Speaker 2 Oh, let's go. What the. Oh, my. Audio receptors gone jank. Oh, that's just great. Going out to finish this mission in mono, I guess we should keep going.

Speaker 3 Oh, we learned an awful lot from here. Here.

Speaker 2 I think this is this thing for real. The market that we saw in the way and I bet they have some spare parts lying around. So how do you buy those and be looking for spares going in? Take a look, stranger. Is that all stranger.

Speaker 3 And or fraud or is that the circumstance.

Speaker 2 So interesting to down to to go. Halfway there. I'm sorry. All I hear is your music. Turn it off. Because I'm about to lose my shit. Hey, guys, I better. Oh, I can't tell you how much better that feels. I think the code is like 4 to 0. So, like, do whatever you want. Look at that. I think that's the left control panel. He played music. Can I hear her? You need me to play something, buddy? Oh. It's her. I almost forgotten her the way I can't see to do you. You should remember that. Excellent. Nice work there. I do have.

Unidentified A lot to. Oh.

Speaker 2 Show yourself. I know you're watching me.

Speaker 3 Oh, oh, oh, sure. Things are a year ago.

Ellie Ball's fashion film - 'Armed Femininity', set to music and showing a model posing in the grounds of a castle.

Rita Rodrigues's fashion film - 'Enough', set to music and showing a model posing in a series of industrial and urban locations. No dialogue.