A Horses Morning

Sound Scapes 1 & 2 for A Horses Morning

Part 1: Foreground & Middle Ground

Part 1: Middle Ground & Background

Part 2: Foreground & Middle Ground

Part 2: Transition & Background

Food then Recess

After the horses eat they go outside in the morning till later in the day.

Since I've already covered the inside of the barn during feeding time I would like to illustrate the difference in calls, outside environment (in the paddocks), and the small sounds that can be heard. Even though we go from a man made environment to a more natural one there are still smaller sounds and people that connect both places.
The textures in sounds also change between horse calls, steps of the horses on different ground (from brick to dirt), and differences in how sound travels (metal roofing versus an outside environment).

Below are recordings that illustrate the direction I would like to go in for the second half of this project. From inside the barn, hooves on brick, to outside on dirt & grass, the opening of gates and the horses running off or walking into the paddock.
The "Full Transition" illustrates what the space sounds like while standing in place. You can still here horse calls behind, to the side, and in front alongside birds which give a sense of a larger space.

The Transition
Leading Horse out of a Stall
Full Transition
Inside to Outside - Side Entrance
Full Space
Barn to Outside - Whole Space

Details & Description of Sounds:
Focus On:
Foreground
Horses Hooves (brick vs dirt)
Horse calls
Eating outside
Drinking

Middle Ground
Horses Pacing
Voices
Halter/Lead rope click
Stall Door clicks
Horse calls

Background
Birds
Trees
Horses walking, running
Horse calls
Electric fence

Avoid:
Wind
Peaking of Hooves
Mic blips while walking
Traffic Hum

Changes:
I've decided to record on Saturday Mornings when my one friend helps out. She has a tendency to talk to the horses which adds a nice layer.
The other issue I noticed was mic placement. A need for holding the cords better, finding the best way to avoid fabric noise, and better ways to capture certain sounds such as the gaits outside, hooves on pavement or dirt etc.

Feeding Time at a Horse Barn

Damn Birds. The birds were the most difficult thing to balance, but I tried to shove them off (way off to the sides).

Otherwise you can enjoy all the other horse calls for food during Feeding Time

Picture #1 Top Layers - Specifics
Horses eating hay, grain in bucket (clunks), and puffing

Picture #2 Top Layers - Volume/Pan Control Edits
I wanted the horse calls to come from all directions same with the eating, to try and replicate following the wheel barrow down the aisle. Also to give more depth.

Picture #3 Middle Layers - Wheel Barrow Moving
Birds, horses pacing in their stalls, pawing and every now and then some grunting. Later towards the end, a girl can be heard opening stall latches to on halters. This gave some depth even though it was quieter after feeding.

Picture #4 Background Layers - Ambiance of Barn
Here there is a very early morning recording before the feeding starts. Birds, horses puffing, horses rustling around in their stalls, the click of an electric fence generator far off and just natural echoes from the items listed.

The Only Reason Why Horses Wake Up at 7AM

I ride at a barn between West Bend and right outside the Town of Cedarburg, out in the country. To the right is my pony Chanel actually, I recorded her eating.

Feed Time at a horse barn is the most lively time of day. The one time all the horses start calling out for their food.

Depending on where I stood, I could also hear the horses eating without being close by (they have a tendency to stick their heads out stall window).

The Sounds I would like to focus on more:
Horse Calls
Horses Eating
Pouring of Grain
Hay, rustle, eating, feeding
Wheel Barrel
Foot steps
Birds
Horses footsteps

Avoid:
Horses kicking stall walls
Hay tractor
Too much talking

Add:
Horses Footsteps
Possibly keep the rain, able to record rain on this day for future recordings/mixing

Change:
Manage horse calls, no peaking
Manage bird calls, not too distracting

Foreground:
horses eating hay
rustle of hay
horse stomping ground
wheel barrow
grain being poured
lower horse calls

Middle Ground:
people talking
horses calling
grain being poured (wheel barrow moves away)
horse kicking stall door

Background:

Birds

Rain

horse kicking stall

latch of stalls (quieter as they move down aisle)
talking (muffled)
rain on side of barn
higher pitched call(echo)

Lighting Class Ridiculousness

Besides blasting Gangnam Style there were other various songs playing causing Perkins to show off his moves (Right).

Mr. Halverson's "Dance"
Because I wasn't laughing enough already in this weeks class...

If you want to see other fun photos from our lighting class (aka reasons why you should take the class) take a look at Lighting 2012- UNedited.

The more professional photos for what really happens in this class are here Lighting Fall 2012

Have a good Weekend!

Damn Wind

Edit Number 1
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/ZOOM120 (Before).ogg

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/ZOOM120 (AFTER).ogg

Edit Number 2
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/AMBIENT4CH (Before).ogg

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/AMBIENT4CH (AFTER).ogg


Edit Number 3
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/AUDIO CU_NT3 (Before).ogg

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/AUDIO CU_NT3 (AFTER).ogg

Edit Number 6
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/WIND (Before).ogg

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Field Audio Sounds Edits/WIND (AFTER).ogg

Recording with a Little Rain

Happy Fall!

The minute long sound clip I chose is the Ambient sound recording with the NT3 & NT4

https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/jaknap/Public/Film%20420%20Field%20Audio/STE-002AMBIENT%20NT3%26NT4.wav

The Leaves are very prominent so much that you can barely hear the ones close by on the pavement. Crows are about the only sound you hear screeching over the wind. There are also smaller birds close by in the tree to the left of me. Towards the end when the wind dies down for just a second you hear water from our pond in the back, very quiet.

The descriptions of my recordings follow, all together there were 15 recordings. Some were done twice, I will chose one recording to represent each exercise.

All recordings were done in my backyard, the house is located outside the Town of Cedarburg. The only sound that might interrupt would be the traffic on HWY 60 far behind the subdivision.



Exercise 1
Recording #1
Time/Date: Sunday Sept. 16th 9:30AM
Location: House, country, facing road in front of house
Zoom On Board Mics 90degree setting
Breeze
Quality is okay, unfortunately the breeze would move the cord ever so slightly making a kind of squeak or rustle.

Recording #2
Time/Date: Sunday Sept. 16th 9:35AM
Location: Same
Zoom On Board Mics 120degree setting
Breeze
Quiet, even with the recording level at 94. It is obviouse that the sound is less directional with the increase of the sound of birds and trees blowing in the breeze to the sides. Towards the end I must have bumped the recorder or a button? Click sound.

Exercise 2Recording #10
Time/Date: Saturday Sept. 22nd 12:26AM
Location: House, country, facing away from road in front of house
NT3 and NT4; Near-Coincident Technique
Wind
The trees are very prominent even though there are farther away. My first recording of this is terrible before changing my position more so to avoid the wind. This recording is sheltered by a car on the right to block the wind.

Recording #5
Time/Date: Sunday Sept. 16th 9:50AM
Location: House, country, facing away from road in front of house
NT4; 4CH Mode
Inconsistent Breeze
The breeze would blow one way then another at times causing some unwanted peaking and the cord to the mic can be hear just a bit. Overall the recording captured its surroundings well even with the breeze.

Soundwalk

Soundwalk with a Buddy

First off, I was accompanied by this little guy who I sat down by for exercise #2
This is a Striped Gopher also known as a thirteen-lined ground squirrel. Fun Fact!

Exercise #1

Rustling of leaves by the breeze
Humming of lawn mowers
Cars on the freeway in the distance
My shoes kicking gravel before grass
My shoes shuffling against the grass
Leaves on the road blowing around
A child to the left and far away
Crickets- some higher than others
Dogs barking across the way
Birds Chirping
Squirrel barking
Fly passing close by

Lawnmowers have a continuous hum alongside the occasional struggle point maybe around a tree. Alongside the crickets, one may start then another responds at times. The cars were more an interruption based on the other continuous sounds.

Exercise #2

High Frequency: The Crickets were the most dominant due to their high pitched chirps. The birds as well, sounded like there were some in the bird house to the left and behind me. 

Low Frequency: The dogs were even further off, hardly noticeable, easier to concentrate on the rustling of the tall grass. Maybe another ground squirrel in the grass to the right and behind. The traffic hums also faded away, to right but very distant. Alongside the many lawnmowers, they almost seemed to stop.
Tiny Sounds: It seemed that I had moved further away from the domestic sounds and closer to the natural sounds of the path. The bees and crickets were now the loudest sounds. Rustling of the grass or the creaking of either sticks or dried up flowers could be heard. And finally the gophers swooping back into his little hole. The only real prominent mechanical sounds would be the slow hum of an airplane. With a surprising slam of some type of wood object? But the chirps and smaller cracks were easier to hear. The lawnmowers were now behind and distant.
The path was in back of a domestic subdivision, far enough away more towards a field leaving the larger subdivisions behind. There are many low points as seen the picture if I were to walk further along- which I did. Nature ruled over all the other typical domestic sounds such as a child, mowers, cars, and dogs. A few steps further into the path and it almost stopped. Easier to shift between plains. All together, a rather calming drone of sounds. Continuing down a right turn...

Exercise #3
This was not the same droning sounds when together. With new nature sounds there were more distinct plains of sounds.

I went down this curve and to the left. A small pond fresh with new mud with frogs. Splashing, plopping, tall grass moving, Sand hill cranes in the field, and either a distant cow or horse. Hard to get them confused I know, but they were pretty muffed the increase of the new closer sounds.

Below is my last image, certainly more entertaining.

Summer 2012

Long Time, No See!

Photo by Animator Brooke Duckart

 

I say hello since this blog will be looked up on in a few weeks!

Over the summer I was Assistant Director on a few projects.

Such as The Cucaranchula by Kate Balsley

http://www.facebook.com/Cucaranchula

The film is currently in Post Production.

Congratulations to Brooke Duckart for her latest animation "cat WACO," Screamin' Cyn Cyn & The Pons music video making it into the Milwaukee Show of the 2012 Milwaukee Film Fest!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKgEuQawxZU