The first part of this project required going out in the field to record audio and video in different natural environments around the Byron shire. Having a general idea of some of the locations I wanted to visit, I set off with my friend and fellow creator, Ryan, who owns a Sony A7 III digital camera which we were able to use for the visual aspect of the recording. To capture the audio I used a Zoom H6 Handy Recorder which I borrowed from the tech office on campus at SAE.

In total, this part of the project took three days to complete, in which we were able to capture audio and video in several specific natural environments; a creek, a mountain range, a beach/cave, a rainforest, and a suburban canal.

Once the footage and audio had been collated, it was now time to select which of it would be used. I didn't have a clear outline of what I wanted to achieve from this project, and I knew that it would take a lot of experimentation with the audio that was available to me and how I could manipulate and shape it with the the tools and processes that I was now familiar with inside of DAWs like Ableton Live and Bitwig. My main focus was centred around using specific types of synthesis like granular and wavetable, and I wanted to create various soundscapes that were familiar yet unpredictable - as is the natural world. I thought it would be interesting to explore this idea of creating seemingly natural soundscapes that, when listened to with intent, revealed a much richer and more textural world of sound. In the end I decided to create 4 individual soundscapes accompanied by video that showcased 4 differing environments - a beach cave, a forest floor, a mountain range and a suburban canal.

I should also mention that I decided to incorporate sample audio procured from the online sample library SoundSnap, as I soon realised during the editing process that I hadn't captured enough variety in my field recordings. While I would have preferred to use entirely original audio so that each environment was accurately represented, I believe that the addition of these new and unique sounds from an aesthetic standpoint is necessary to create more interest and engagement in the listener within each soundscape.

Some of the tools and processes I used in Ableton and Bitwig to develop the soundscapes included automation, granular and wavetable synthesis, loopers, samplers, time based effects like reverb and delay, and pitch adjustment. Using LFOs I was able to modulate all of these parameters in various ways to create desired effects.

The next three gifs display three individual loops designed in Bitwig's Poly Grid application. For each, I inserted audio into the Sampler module which gave me the opportunity to manipulate the sample using granular synthesis. I was then able to further modulate specific parameters for each sample including grain size, motion, pitch, speed, loop length and position, EQ filters, panning and level. These were then recorded in Bitwig, exported out and imported into Ableton Live to be arranged with the rest of the audio for each soundscape.

It's a funny thing when you put so much effort into developing so many little details while creating a piece of art/media which evidently become so subtle in the larger context of the piece that they most likely won't even be recognised by the average audience member. Maybe it's my ego striving for appreciation and acceptance in every little obstacle I overcome. A desire for my peers and teachers to congratulate me on my hard work so that I feel validated within an industry that constantly makes me feel like an imposter due to my lack of knowledge and experience. It felt strange adding a complex, modulated granular loop to a mix only to attenuate it down to about -50 dB so that it was barely recognisable. But it was still there. And it was necessary to apply it in this way so that it had its rightful place within the soundscape, not taking away from anything else, but still adding a subtle layer of complexity to the overall piece. The more I did this, the less I worried about my fragile ego and the more I focused on what worked for the greater good of each soundscape that I developed. But as I listen back to each soundscape at the end of this project, it's hard for me to appreciate the nuance and subtlety in what I created because I am so acutely aware of every detail within each soundscape because I spent so much time listening and re-listening to every individual piece of audio to the point where everything feels present and in the foreground. It's almost impossible for me to imagine how an audience member will react to these soundscapes and what the average listener will be able to pick up without being prompted to listen for anything in particular.

I think what was so challenging about this project was the constant minor adjustments throughout the editing/mixing process. Moving a piece of automation data 1/64th of a bar at a time to try and sync up the audio with something happening on screen, or trying to adjust the rate of multiple LFOs to modulate the wave position of an oscillator within a wavetable synth to create a desired effect. I love the creative process, but I can't help but find these little, finicky detail adjustments to be tedious. I think my problem is that I can get so lost in the zone when trying to adjust a parameter to what I hope to be the perfect position, that I end up spending too much time on one specific thing and then burn out before being able to tackle all of the other challenges that arise throughout the process. My desire for perfectionism is evenly matched by my 'she'll be right' attitude, which creates a never ending tug-o-war within my mind, which seriously affects my workflow. I'm still not really sure how to overcome this other than with sheer brute force and persistence, but maybe there is a way for me to develop a certain level of respect and appreciation for the mundane and tedious tasks that can come with creating art. I always say that I love the process, because I do. That's what it's all about. That's why I keep coming back. But I need to be able to accept everything that comes with it.

One of my favourite parts of this project was actually being out in the field, searching for sounds to use. I think it was the fact that there was less expectation during this part. I simply set out to record audio and whatever I could find was what I ended up with. As fun as it was though, this attitude probably wasn't the best to have when it came to preparing for actual development of the soundscapes. If I had to do it again, I would definitely create a clearer plan of attack in terms of location, shots and the type of audio I wanted to capture. Of course, this was only my first attempt of field recorded so it was all a learning process, but after this experience I learnt a few things. Firstly, moving water is loud. Very loud. And because I recorded audio in 3 separate environments with moving water, most of, if not all of the audio captured in these environments contained water sounds. As much as I found some of these water sounds to be interesting, there was only so much I felt that I could do when it came to manipulating them in different ways. Secondly, I need to give myself more time for the field recording process. I'd say even spend a day or two driving around scouting out locations before making a plan of attack to come back and record. This way, I will have a better idea of what time I should go to each location, what type of sounds I should be looking out for, and how I'm going to record individual sounds. It also means that if I go to a location that I initially think would be interesting and find out that it isn't, I now have time to look for something new. I would also give myself time on the other side of recording so that in case I go over any of the audio files/footage and find out that the files are damaged, lost or just not what I intended, I can then go back and recapture that specific audio or video. Third, record yourself saying what it is that you're recording at the start of each recording. I spent an ungodly amount of time sifting through some very peculiar recordings before realising whether they were usable or not. Luckily I eventually caught onto this and made the process a bit easier on myself, but I could have saved a lot of time if I had done this from the start.

I feel like throughout this project I have further developed my understanding and use of complex systems and tools within audio software, like granular synthesis, wavetable, looping and modulation, and I'm getting a much better handle on Ableton Live's interface to create and manipulate audio in ways that I wouldn't have thought myself capable of at the beginning of the trimester. I find granular synthesis to be a very powerful tool that allows me to experiment with abstract loops when combined with multiple LFOs, creating rich, unpredictable textures and sounds that can add whole new layer of complexity to a mix. While I've enjoyed using this type of synthesis with nature sounds and other non-musical audio samples, I'm now very keen to try and apply it to my own music as I think I will be able to create some rich, layered, melodic and rhythmic environments as a backdrop for the songs that I create. Using some of the wavetable synth presets throughout this project made me feel like I was cheating a bit, but in the end I felt that they were nice additions to the soundscapes. Comparing these to the wavetable synths that I attempted to develop, I realised that there is so much more you can do with wavetable by adding a long list of effects, oscillators and other generators to the signal chain which really takes the sound to the next level. Personally I found that I didn't enjoy creating the wavetable synths as much as I enjoyed developing granular loops, and I'm okay with that. I don't have to fall in love with every musical process that I come across, and when it comes to building synths on that level, I think (at this stage in my life anyway) I'll leave that to the professionals. I'm happy to use the presets that I can find and adjust the parameters available on these presets as I see fit.

In the end it's hard to say whether I'm satisfied with the result of my project. I always believe that I can do more, but at what point is enough? I try to remind myself that while this is important, I'm lucky enough to be in an educative environment where making mistakes is all apart of the process. What is truly important is whether or not I have learned something, so that I am better equipped to deal with issues that arise within the creative process if I ever encounter a project like this again, and hopefully the information and experience I have acquired is interchangeable so that I can apply it in a different context as well. I think the answer to that question is yes. I have developed my skills within two separate fields of audio; post production and field recording. I think that because I have a had little to no experience within these fields that it was inevitable that I would learn something from the process. That's one of the main reasons I decided to do it, because it was new and different. While I'm at SAE I hope to explore as many new avenues as possible so that I can develop a wide array of different skill sets and an understanding of how each role within the audio industry plays its part and how they are all interconnected in some form or another. With that said, I think I am one step closer in the right direction.