Preparation for Wednesday, February 6

Hello, all.

Thanks for your patience and perseverance in soldering your microphones. Nearly all of you were able to build a finished, working stereo microphone. However, we will have an additional soldering session tomorrow, Wednesday, February 6, starting at 1 PM, in B-18. So, if you were unable to finish your mic, or you need to test your mic or fix a windscreen, please feel free to drop by.

We will meet as a class at 3 PM in B-91 before breaking out into the lab sections for a mandatory field recording practice session (we will be taking attendance). Bring your production kit, mics, Hi-MD minidisc, headphones, and fresh batteries.

Hopefully it will stop snowing by class time, but, if the weather is still really bad, we'll pick some indoor or sheltered locations. You can protect your MD recorder by wrapping it in a plastic bag and keeping it in your pocket, and your microphones should be fine for a few minutes in light snow with the windscreens, but you can also protect them with plastic bags for stationary recording.

There were some bad links on the syllabus, which led some of you to last semester's version of the syllabus. Hopefully I've fixed these errors and you'll now be pointed to the correct information. (Sorry for the confusion.)

To clarify: After you finish creating your Drift Map (preferably with a Start Point indicated), post the Tiny URL as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:
http://film-116.blogspot.com/2008/01/drift-maps.html

The deadline for this is tomorrow, February 6, 5 PM.

Remember that the Drift Map is an ongoing space where you will be documenting all of the sights, sounds, and events for all three of your Drifts. The hand-drawn map is a requirement for Drift 1 (and an option for Drifts 2 and 3) that will serve as the visual component for the sounds posted in your Drift 1 blog.

Remember to read Hiss and Westerkamp.
http://www.glennbach.com/film_116/08116_research.html

Please note that the syllabus (as well as all of the sub-pages) are being updated throughout the semester, so remember to refresh your browser when viewing the syllabus.

See you tomorrow.

Glenn

P.S. Someone left Kit #44 in B-18. I have it in my office--you can pick it up during my office hours tomorrow 10-11, or during class.

Clarification on Reflective Responses

Just a quick note to clarify the reading assignments for the Reflective Responses.

The first Reflective Response is centered around the ideas of place, landscape and mapping, and is due February 11. Articles/programs for this response include Cresswell, Cross, Debord, Hiss, Lopate, Lippard, and This American Life.

The second Reflective Response is all about sound, and this is due February 18th. Articles for this response include Delahanty, Ferrington, Hill, Peterson, Russolo, Toop, and Westerkamp.

I have staggered the readings so that you are reading some articles on place and others on sound simultaneously. This way you are introduced to ideas and thoughts about both mapping and sound from the beginning, so that when you go out on Drift 1 after February 6th, you will already have lots of ideas and questions swirling around in your heads as you walk through the city pointing your microphones in interesting directions and collecting unique sounds.

So, for instance, if you've read the Ferrington article and it really sparked some ideas and you want to write about it, then wait until the second Response, which is not due until February 18. By the time we get to the deadline for the first Response, February 11, you will have read all of the articles on place/mapping and hopefully one or more will have sparked something in you as well.

In summary, you will be writing Response #1 on place/mapping, and Response #2 on sound.

We'll see you all on Monday, 3 PM, in MUS 180 for an overview of the first Drift assignment.