The Day Before

OK.....here it comes, the deadline is looming.

I feel fairly confident in my project, I have worked hard to create a piece of work which I am pleased with, however I am still unsure of a few technicalities involving synching the tape with the motors. It feels almost like I am trying to synch the un-synchable! I am hoping that this will be resolved in time.

The narrative of my piece has grown stronger throughout the project and I have been continually referencing found objects and combining them with my fictional environment. It has been this aspect of the project which I have found the most interesting. Drawing together pieces, letting them find you, rather than the other way around is a working method I enjoy and will carry forward in the future.

At this stage of the project I have become fully aware of working with magnetic tape. It was a new medium to me and I am pleased that I am now confident enough to use it in further work. I feel that my arduino skills have also improved, I now understand code better although I am aware that there is much room for improvement and advancing onto more interesting possibilities.

The Build

My access to J1.17 or a room of decent size has not been particularly available to me for enough time to experiment with my code and loops, as the deadline looms I am becoming worried that I will not get to do this in time!

I have, therefore, started to build and intend to test after this.

I spent a few days in the workshop building pillars for the loop to run off and also building mounts for the servo's to be placed on. They are all fairly simple and I tried to create them with a 'rough and ready' aesthetic, appropriate to my installation.

Tape Loop

I have successfully edited the tape into a loop and, as I was hesitantly expecting....it is HUGE!!!

This might be a bit of a problem in terms of pulling and putting too much strain on the tape, causing it to distort or become jammed in the tape head. Instead of using a four corner square, which I originally intended to do, I will now loop it as demonstrated in the sketch below:

With this shape, it will hopefully give the tape more support and avoid any nasty accidents!

Here is a video of the tape loop running, in J1.17 using pillars of wood with reels attached to them.



I am pleased with the overall aesthetic of the loop however, there is something almost theatrical about the movement of it, adding another dimension to the sound, an ability to view it as a material object. This is often what fascinates me about older technology, they are extremely hands on and allow for all sorts of experimentation.

Tape recording

I have now managed to record to tape using a tape player that Dennis kindly donated to me! It is a very nice machine and recorded well directly from my mac, which was handy as I was expecting to have to record speaker-to-mic. It is a Uher deck and was used mainly by reporters, It is fairly recent compared to my other tape decks, but also the only one I can rely on to drive a loop as it feeds tape through the head as well as turning the spool, where as the other machines only turn the spools.

Here is the tape player in action (but with some tape I bought from a car boot sale):

Final Sound Piece

I have edited the sound piece that I recorded, this time leaving it as a mono recording. I am pleased with the results and my voice actor's performances, I feel the mixture between Kate's soft and feminine voice and Doug's loud and unusual accent create an interesting juxtaposition that suggests a clash of two cultures. This references the idea that the conversation is taking place years after the event has happened, with Kate as the younger of the two voices.

I am also particularly pleased with the Lo-Fi effect that recording the final line on a dictaphone creates, it feels seperate to the conversation, as if it were a personal note, something he wanted to hide as his own secret. This blurs the line between the actuality of the event and the mentality and perspective of the character.

This can be played below:

Final Code

The final code for the amplifier is as follows

#include

Servo myservo; // create servo object to control a servo
// a maximum of eight servo objects can be created

int pos = 0;
int pos2 = 90; // variable to store the servo position

void setup()
{
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
}


void loop()
{
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (2170); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(6250);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (1183); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(3156);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (908); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(7279);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (532); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(15314);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (2436); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(26211);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (3951); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(625);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (3419); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(28230);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (1006); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 180; pos>=0; pos-=3) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(29512);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 3) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(15);
}
{

delay (24588); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

}


The final code for the Lights is as follows:

#include

Servo servo;
Servo servo2;// create servo object to control a servo
// a maximum of eight servo objects can be created

int pos = 0;
int pos2 = 0; // variable to store the servo position

void setup()
{
servo.attach(9);
servo2.attach(10);// attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
}


void loop()

{
{servo.write(pos);
servo2.write(pos);
}

for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1); // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{


for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(50); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}


for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(30); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(60); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{
delay(70);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}


for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(150); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}


for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
{delay (70);
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(290); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(10); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(290); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}


for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}
for(pos = 0; pos < 90; pos += 1) // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees
{ // in steps of 1 degree
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(290); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

for(pos = 90; pos>=1; pos-=1) // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees
{
servo2.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos'
delay(20); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position
}

{
delay(29000);
}
}
}

these both sync to the sound although I have not tried them together, or with the tape loop....which is yet to come

Amplifier Motor

I have recently completed the code for the amplifier, adapting the Sweep code available on the arduino environment, adding delay's that correspond with the audio file.

This works well, although due to time and space constraints I have not been able to yet test it using a tape loop. I am still, in fact, unsure how to record to magnetic tape but intend to seek help from Dennis (the electrical technician) and Gary (the radio technician).

Below is a video of it working, it rotates fully in one direction, pauses while the audio plays, and then rotates in the other direction.

( the video does not include the audio )

Speakers

I found a beautiful pair of old speakers in a shop in Nottingham last weekend. They will be perfect for my installation's aesthetic as they are battered and nostalgic. I will be using them to output the main soundtrack (the conversation). Because of their fairly large scale and prominence they will hopefully reinforce the idea of two individuals talking to one another by occupying a sense of space around them.

They are made by Dynatron, so are of solid build and are reliable.

Rough edit

Here is a preliminary first edit of the soundtrack, I have panned the voices to (roughly) show how it will work in the installation, obviously when it comes to recording it to tape it will have to be done in mono. I'm happy with the way it has turned out and with a bit of editing, feel that it will be a success.

Sound Bite

I found this sound clip from Woodstock 1969, it is of the notorious 'brown acid' announcement, warning the crowd about some bad acid circulating. It is an interesting insight into the laid back nature of the psychedelic scene and a shock in terms of strict policies involved in today's music festivals.

I could maybe incorporate it into my piece somehow, as it relates to the script's content.

Here is the announcement:

Brown Acid Warning sound bite  Big Bucket O' Random sound bites

"To get back to the warning that I received. You may take it with however many grains of salt that you wish. That the brown acid that is circulating around us isn't too good. It is suggested that you stay away from that. Of course it's your own trip. So be my guest, but please be advised that there is a warning on that one, ok?"

Code

I have been looking into the relevant coding for me to control both the speaker balance and the lighting. For the sake of ease I have made the decision to use two arduino's.

Arduino 1 will be controlling the speaker balance. I will attach a servo to the balance pot on an amplifier. For this I will need to use careful timing that is relevant to the soundtrack to flip the balance from left to right at the suitable moment.

The preliminary code, which I have tested, and works, is as follows:



#include  

Servo myservo;  // create servo 
                
int pos = 0;    // variable to store the servo position 

void setup() 
{ 
  myservo.attach(9);  // attaches the servo to pin 9 
} 


void loop() 
{ 
  for(pos = 0; pos < 180; pos += 3)  // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees 
  {                                  // in steps of 3 degrees 
    myservo.write(pos);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' 
    delay(5);                       // takes 5ms to get there
  }
  {
    
delay (5000);    // waits 5 seconds (this will be altered accordingly)
  } 
  for(pos = 180; pos>=1; pos-=3)     // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees 
  {                                
    myservo.write(pos);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' 
    delay(5);                       // waits 5ms to get there
  } 
  {
    delay(5000); // waits 5 seconds (this will be altered accordingly)
  }
} 

This code can obviously be altered to match the timing of the soundtrack on the reel to reel player.

Arduino 2

Frieze Art Fair

This year me and a few others decided it was about time we went to Frieze.

The experience was a good one and I would definately go again, I left feeling extremely influenced as a large amount of work was particularly relevant to my interests and working style.

Many old techniques and technologies were on display, such as film loops, but more in keeping with my project, reel to reel tape.

In the Resonance FM section, there was a piece that involved a tape loop created by the artists who run the radio station. It was set to be on record with a microphone picking up the specator's voice, go through a laptop (where they were applying some sort of effects I presumer), then it was played back to you through a heavily distorted echo.

I found this interesting as I did not realise that tape loops were still used and was pleased that they are. I still feel they are a great way of visualising sound, and experimenting in an analogue way, the possibilities of the medium.

Lighting Control

As well as controlling the movement of sound from left to right, I will be controlling two lightbulbs within the installation. This will be in correspondance to the sound, for example, when sound is coming from the left speaker the light on the left hand side will brighten. This will enhance the audio visual experience, drawing attention to the use of stereo-style sound to create an immersive atmosphere.

I will be doing this by using servo's attached to dimmer switches. This will require the same code as the reel to reel players, so it should be a fairly simple task.

I have found a product which enables the dimming of any lamp, perhaps I could use vintage lamps to reinforce the idea that the installation was once a living space (until it exploded). The product is pictured below:

final sketch

Script

Woman: What happened here?

Man: The old man used to make fireworks in his attic, you would only see him once a year.

Woman: Once a year?

Man: On the 5th November.

Woman: Guy Fawkes.

Man: He would invite all the local children to his garden for a firework display,  the old man was considered a local legend.

Woman: Did you ever go?

Man: Every year, without fail. I would walk over here with the whole neighbourhood of children, we were like a cult, worshiping this old man and his creations, it's funny how we looked up to him like that.

Woman: (sighs) It's so cold here

Man: Here (pause) have my coat

(pause)

Anyway…It happened when I was about sixteen, by then I had developed a taste for the American West Coast Psychedelic scene. My older brother was a roadie and toured with all the greats.

(rummaging through pile is heard)

Look, this picture is from my first time here. We're burning the guy, you can tell that I was nervous.

Woman: That's you? I wouldn't have guessed. You look….weird.

Man: Thanks.

Woman: Sorry. You were talking about…west coast?

Man: West Coast Psychedelia, you know, Love, Kaleidoscope, The Doors…. My brother had just come back off tour and I remember sitting in my room with him the night it happened, listening to The Grateful Dead and dropping his leftover Acid, hoping mum wouldn't come upstairs. I figured the old man's fireworks would somehow be enhanced by this experience.

Woman: And were they?

Man: I didn't see them, I passed out in my room to a backdrop of Cold Rain and Snow. It felt like I had missed out on something incredible.

When I recovered I could smell smoke, even though I was 10 houses down. The old man was getting older and I guess he was losing his touch. He obliterated the place, taking fifteen children with him.

(rummaging through pile again)

Man(as a really lo-fi tape recording): I remember finding all these burnt out playboys, that dirty old man. It felt weird to take them home with me, but I did. I swapped them with a boy at school for his Jefferson Airplane T-shirt.

Tape Player number 2

Stereo Speakers Not Available

I have recently realised that the idea of playing with panning is not possible because of the general price of stereo reel-to-reel recorders. Therefore, I will be using Mono recorders and playing them back through a stereo connection on an amplifier, the sound will be manipulated via a servo attached to the amplifiers balance pot.

I feel that this method will still be effective in creating a three dimensional soundscape and also is an interesting concept in itself, as it is an elaborate and slightly eccentric method of achieving what can be done at the click of a button in todays age of MP3 and stereo sound recording. This will also accentuate the archaic nature of the reel to reel players within the installation, drawing attention to the fact that they are a defunct medium within consumer audio technology.

At this stage I have decided that I should be focusing my thoughts on creating the work and not obtaining tape machine (which are surprisingly hard to find at reasonable prices in working order!). For this reason, I will be using only two machines attached to separate amps, manipulating the balance.

Player 1

This tape machine will be playing the scripted conversation. The woman’s voice will be heard in the left and the man’s in the right.

Player 2

This tape machine will be playing ambient noise, both relating to the background noise of the conversation in Player 1 and also abstract sound that relates to the themes discussed. For instance I will play sounds of fireworks, psychedelic music and children.

I am still confident that the project will be a success even though it seems to be in a slightly simpler form now. Following this idea will allow me to concentrate on other areas of the project however, such as aesthetic and concept.

Doseone

One artist that has inspired me with his use of analogue sound recording is Doseone, an underground Hip-Hop artist and poet affiliated with the Anticon collective.

"anticon is a collectively owned record label dedicated to scrounging up quiet ideas and tiny epiphanies wherever they might be found. To this end, we make up poems, sing raps, lift drums, and invent albums. So that we might do the impossible and make a living out of following our curiosities, we mass produce our music, pin price tags to its shrink-wrapped surface, and float it out into the world." - Taken from www.anticon.com

Doseone's album, The Pelt (2003) , is the biggest influence in terms of my current project. It is a release that constituted of a book and a CD containing poetry and stories. The CD corresponds to the book and is designed to be listened together. The audio is made of Lo-Fi style tape recordings, utilising the various qualities that tape can offer, such as speeding up, slowing down, tape hiss etc. I like the fact that Doseone uses his method of working as a device to enhance the audio experience, it feels as if it is a personal recording which the listener has stumbled upon. This is the effect I intend to create in my installation, as if the spectator is eavesdropping on a personal conversation. I think that this will enhance the immersion of the audience into the piece, making it seem like a real life event, rather than a staged performance.

An MP3 from The Pelt can be played on the player below:

Tape Player number 1

I picked up the first (working) reel-to-reel player!

It was from a retired grenadier guard in Hertfordshire. His house was an inspiration for any future work, his collection of antique audio equipment showed that he had a serious passion for it. We exchanged emails and I am considering getting into contact with him for further research.

Narrative

The narrative of my piece will be of a conversation between a man and a woman. The man will be explaining to the woman about an old man who used to live near him when he was a child. The old man used to make fireworks in his attic and invite all the local children to watch a fireworks display on the 5th November, until one year it goes wrong and he ends up blowing up his house.

I have developed a script for this (which I will include later in this blog).

The story will correlate with the layout of the installation. I will scatter burnt wood, photographs magazines etc to create a rubble which resembles the aftermath of an explosion. These will be referenced to in the dialogue itself. The relevance of reel-to-reel technology will also be referenced as the story is set in the 1960's where this technology was prominent in the domestic environment.

Another relevant concept in terms of reel to reel tape is the fact that it is an extinct media (outside of the professional studio world). The notion that the man 'cheated death' by not attending the fatal fireworks display is mirrored in the idea that perhaps the technology itself has cheated death by appearing once more in a gallery space, celebrated for it's nostalgic quality, instead of ending up being discarded.

Character Profile

The Old Man

The old man is based on a photograph I found at a car boot sale. I bought it because it intrigued me that something so personal could be sold for so little (50p!).

When I first saw it I also liked the amateur look it had, with the old man off centre in the picture, but then I opened the back of the frame to reveal that the photograph is of him with a woman but she has been 'edited' out by folding the photograph in half. Why was she eradicated from the picture?

I started thinking about reasons for this and they mostly revolved around loss and obsession. I came up with the idea that the man's only social interaction was with his wife, and when she passed away, he was left alone. Eventually he developed an obsession, in my narrative it is building fireworks. This could perhaps explain the 'mishap' that causes him to blow up his house. Perhaps it was intentional, to reunite with his wife, so he could finally unfold the photograph.

Man

The man, who narrates the majority of the piece is one of the children who regularly went to the old man's firework displays. However, he was fortunate enough to be elsewhere on the night of the explosion.

His story relates to the era in which my narrative is based, at the time of the explosion he was in his mid-teenage years and had a keen interest in West Coast psychedelia. His brother was a roadie for American West Coast bands when they toured in the UK and would often involve him in his off kilter lifestyle, such as taking Acid.

In my narrative he in his late 50's, reflecting on the event and how he and his older brother avoided death by ironically having a bad Acid trip.

The man stems from found tape which I have aquired with various tape machines. Some are labelled with bands such as 'The Grateful Dead' and many were recordings of John Peel sessions with records by many West Coast bands being played. I had in my head how different that person must be now, perhaps they are feeling the strain of taking Acid as part of the hippy scene of the 60's, I figured that I could tie this together nicely with the narrative and also the medium of the tape itself so developed the character of an ageing hippy, reflecting on days gone past.

The Woman

The woman serves as the outsider to the piece, she listens to the man's story with keen interest. She is of a younger generation and this fascinates her, the relationship between her and the man is left open, but I picture her as his daughter.

Why has he taken her to this place? He is getting old and the Woman is now in her late 20's, surely he would have shown her before. Perhaps he was scared of the fact he had cheated death? He felt guilt that he couldn't have helped because of attending to his own wants (ie Acid)? This is left uncertain and puts the spectator in the place of the Woman, she is unsure as to the relevance this burnt down building has to the man and why she has been taken there.

The Woman is probably the closest character to myself. I did not live in these times, so I can only find out through older generations, books, films and the internet. I will never experience what it is like to have the latest technology, and for that to be a tape machine, and I will never experience the psychedelic scene in which I have so much interest. This is a factor to which I am drawn to this era.

Postmodernism and Consumer Society

In Fredric Jameson's essay Postmodernism and Consumer Society, Jameson discusses the notion of the postmodern aesthetic in terms of the re-exploration of older styles, particularly that associated with low or consumer culture.

He explores postmodern aesthetics as an 'erosion of the older distinction between high culture and so-called mass or popular culture' [p.112].  This applies to my use of consumer grade tape machines in my project and how I will be using them to create a commentary on the 'death' of analogue and mono recording. It will evoke a feeling of a time passed, a previous event that is now redundant.


Also, Jameson describes the use of older styles and form as 'Pastiche' [p.195]. His explanation of the term is that it is 

'the imitation of a peculiar or unique style, the wearing of a stylistic mask, speech in a dead language: but it is a neutral practice of such mimicry, without parody's ulterior motive, without the satirical impulse...pastiche is blank parody'[p.195]

I feel that my piece is in fitting with Jameson's pastiche theory because, again, it uses older styles, that of magnetic tape and mono recording, but not in a way to mock or make a joke out of older technology in contrast with the new. Instead I am honouring and admiring the technology, for all it's Lo-Fi stylistic qualities.

Wolf Vostell

When I was in Berlin over summer, I went to the Hamburger Bahnhof and saw a kinetic sculpture/installation by Wolf Vostell which both influenced and intrigued me.

The piece, entitled Elektronicher dé-collage. Happening Raum (Electronic Decolage Happening Room) was first exhibited at the 1968 Venice Biennal. It involves 6 television monitors attatched to various eccentric contraptions that drag objects across a floor of broken glass. tuning in and out of imagery and static.

The sound's that the installation makes are haunting, the glass, static and whirring of the motors all contribute towards the atmospheric soundscape being created. The version that I saw was different to the one in the video above, as it seems like this one has had ambient sound added on top, although I could be wrong. Also, I have since read that parts of the installation involve interactivity, the technician, Peter Saage, with whom Vostell collaborated with on the work explained that;

'In communicating with the electronic dé-coll/age happening room, you change it. Your position in the room is reported to a computer in the form of electrical pulses derived from the photocells. During your absence, your behaviour is temporarily adopted by self-excited pulse sources in onanic anal-ogy. If the dé-coll/age happening room is overcrowded, then the analog computers work in the nonlinear range, which results in a temporary failure of the control pulses.'

-taken from http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/elektronische-decollage/images/3/?desc=full

Although this statement is fairly confusing, it points out that the audience has an active involvement with the work itself. An early example of new media interactivity and a pioneering artwork using technology to create meaningful work.

I am mostly influenced by this piece's concentration on aesthetic and sound to create an immersive environment, which relates to the technology being used itself (the nightmarish and Orwellian quality of the imposing control of the media through television broadcasts). I intend to adopt a similar style in my work, but adding the idea that the aesthetic and sound are driving a narrative as well as mood and concept.

initial Sketches (New Idea)

New/Original Idea

OK, so all is not lost. I have decided to return to the idea I had over summer which sparked this project off.

It still involves magnetic tape, but being played using reel-to-reel players. I will attempt to create a soundscape using one single loop through 4 separate reel-to-reel players, positioned in the four corners of the installation.

My intention is to record a conversation between two people that relates to a scene created in the installation itself. I will record this in stereo, utilizing the pan feature, so that one voice is in the left speaker, one in the right. I will then record this onto a tape loop and attatch servo's to the balance pot's on the front of the tape players. These will alternate between the four players creating a three dimensional sound quality as the voices move around the room.

Again, it will be looking at alternative ways of creating narrative's within an installation environment.

Experiments - BAD NEWS!

After persistence and testing I have been unsuccessful in creating any audible sound from cassette or reel to reel tape using an extracted tape head. I was able to make noises from magnetic strips from credit cards, although from audio tape it was quiet and no recognisable sounds were being produced.

This has lead me to, unfortunately, postpone this project to a later date. I will now be returning to my original idea, which I will explain in the next Blog entry!