Humanities Homework Help

1:

Instructions

For this assignment you will record sounds in your environment and use them to build a collage. Here are the requirements:

• All sounds must be recorded by you (i.e. you may not use or download samples recorded by other people, or create sounds electronically with software).
• Your collage cannot consist of one single, long recording but instead (like last week’s assignment) must be made up of short samples (less than 10 seconds or so) or sections of longer samples, combining them into an original collage that reflects thoughtful editing. In other words, if you use a long recording, you must cut out smaller sections of it and re-arrange those pieces in your own way, instead of simply layering the full, long sample unaltered.
• Total duration must be between 40 seconds and 2 minutes.

About the sounds: They can be any sounds at all, indoors or outdoors. You can record sounds happening in an environment, or you can set the mic to record and make sounds yourself – for example, kitchens have many interesting tools for making sounds!

About recording: This assignment assumes that you have access to a cell phone, tablet or laptop that has a microphone, and that you can either record directly into Soundtrap (either through the browser version or their mobile app) or use another app to record and then import the sound files. If you need technical help, please ask at least a few days before the assignment is due.

About the collage: You could use sounds to portray a feeling, to tell a story, to create textures or rhythms, or many other approaches! Some people like to start by collecting interesting sounds and then figuring out what to do with them, once they are in Soundtrap. Other people start with a specific idea in mind for the collage, then plan out what sounds to record based on that. As long as you meet the grading criteria listed below, you can create any kind of collage you like .

As with all the collages from now on, you must also submit a text document in which you summarize the work you did and the main editing steps used. You should also indicate there whether you are willing to have your work shared by the instructor and, if you are, whether or not it should be anonymous.

2:Instructions

For this assignment you will use one or more provided samples that contain spoken text, and combine them with other sounds of your choice to create an original collage. Here are the requirements:

• You must incorporate one or more of the spoken texts in the folder Sound Collage 3-B (in Files), either whole or in part
• You must also use other sounds of your choice, to complement the text
• The collage must reflect thoughtful editing
• Total duration must be between 40 seconds and 2 minutes.

Start by downloading and reviewing the samples in the folder “Sound Collage 2″ (which also includes translations of the recordings that are not in English). Pick one or more to use for this assignment. The files include spoken texts by artist Agnes Martin, philosopher and activist Angela Davis; an excerpt from a radio play (“War of the Worlds”) by Orson Welles; and poems by Samuel Beckett (in English), Pablo Neruda (in Spanish), Zhou Zan (in Chinese) and Hafez (in Farsi).

Use one or more of the audio files provided, either whole or in fragments, and combine it with other sounds of your choice to create a collage. To complement the text, you may use any sounds you wish, i.e. loops or virtual instruments within Soundtrap, sounds you record yourself, or sound samples you find online. But as with last week’s assignment, it is important that your collage reflect original editing, so you should not simply layer long samples to fill up the space, or import long, complex samples that were composed by other people. We want to see your own, original choices.

Note that in the same folder, there is also a PDF with suggested “recipes” for creating the collage. Try one of these out if you aren’t sure where to start!

As with all the collages from now on, you must also submit a text document in which you summarize the work you did and the main editing steps used. You should also indicate there whether you are willing to have your work shared by the instructor and, if you are, whether or not it should be anonymous.