Our focus in digital media class this week was sounds. I started by tuning in to the DS106 Radio Station for a digital storytelling special focused on horror stories. I live tweeted the event and got into a conversation with my professor and some other guy about creepypasta.
Next, I listened to Moon Graffiti, a radio drama about what would have happened if Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had crashed on the moon never to return. I wrote this reflective blog post.
Next, I wrote a blog post about the role of sound effects in a story, focusing largely on music. I compared two very distinctly different final boss battle themes from similar games to show how music can change the entire feel of a scene.
I then created a short radio bumper for the DS106 Radio Station using a car wreck sound, my voice, my bass, and a virtual drum set.
I also completed 3 daily create assignments.
The first one was to generate a random clickbait title by typing my favorite subject into a generator, so I of course, used my own name. I didn’t like the results, so I made sure the generator knew just who it was making fun of.
@ds106dc Really Title Generator? I see how you feel about me. I don’t much care for you either. #1717 pic.twitter.com/qHLlkcHY6b
— Reagan Hotz (@Hotz_Digital) September 20, 2016
The second one was to answer the age old question of “who’s behind the door?” I took a picture of the door to my studio as viewed from the outside, then I cracked it open and took a picture of the skeleton that hangs on the other side of the door. Yes, a skeleton hangs on the inside of the door to my studio. :3 I also quite cleverly informed the daily create that it shouldn’t ask questions it isn’t ready to see answered.
@ds106dc “Who’s behind the door?” I think you shouldn’t ask questions you aren’t ready to see answered #tdc1720 pic.twitter.com/tvzKBMaW9S
— Reagan Hotz (@Hotz_Digital) September 23, 2016
The third one was to take a picture of a face in an inanimate object. I took a clever picture of my udus. In case you weren’t aware, an udu is an African musical instrument. It is basically a clay pot with a whole in the side that makes a deep bass noise when the hole is struck with an open palm. The udu on top has a nontraditional two-chamber shape that opens up a lot of interesting options for the person playing.
@ds106dc My udus are looking a little bit silly. #tdc1721 pic.twitter.com/1pcnIFWRi9
— Reagan Hotz (@Hotz_Digital) September 24, 2016
For this week, I had to complete 12 starts worth of audio assignments from the assignment bank. I was required to complete either the Sound Effects Story or the Contest Nobody could win. I chose to create a sound effects story about a chihuahua who performed at a comedy club. My dad thought it was funny, but my mom just thought it was kind of lame.
I also completed the Being a Music Producer assignment where I had to record to musical instruments playing together. Because music is somethign I do a lot of, I put a lot of effort into this one. You can read more about my amazing melodica + bass = win combo here.
Finally, I completed the oh so crystal clear Sound Scapes assignment. Just kidding, that assignment is just about the most vague, nebulous body of text I have ever seen. What on God’s green earth is a “found sound”? We’ll probably never know for sure. I created a song out sounds from objects I found around the house. You can read all about it here.
Lastly, I had to propose ideas for a radio show our digital media class will be doing. You can read that here.