The land of the free

So we live in a free country. We have the right to vote and freedom of speech, innocent until proven guilty. But why then do I not feel free? Is it because my image is recorded on more than 700 CCTV cameras everyday? Is it because my car is logged into each and every petrol station/motorway junction/town center I go through? Is it because each and every purchase I make on a card is logged. Is it because certain governments require 37 pieces of information on me before they let me enter their country (I am still not sure how knowing what I had to eat on a plane, can determine if I am a terrorist....Oops I had the fish...doh). Is it because every access I make to a train station is logged and timed? The bus I get on........

Well if you have nothing to hide, then what are you worried about? Well nothing, I have nothing to hide. But who's to say who determines what is right or wrong? The potential for misuse of this data is incredible.

I mean..."Sorry that I was late boss, I missed my bus"....well actually I missed my bus because I was checking out a magazine in the shop....Oops the whole incident is logged on CCTV. No excuse!

I fear that we are becoming reliant on technology to reduce crime and stop terrorism. But machines can't determine the subtleties right or wrong, they have no concept of the situation. Speed cameras are great, yes they flash when you are above a certain speed, I have no problem with that, but the new cameras which fine you if you stopped in a yellow box...What are they about?? Yes it is against the highway code to stop in a yellow box, if you can not exit. But sometimes (as happened to me recently) you enter the box when your exit is clear, but then some idiot jumps infront of you and leaves you stranded in the box. Who gets the fine? You do...why? Because the camera only knows the rules, it can not determine what cause the situation to happen.

Now scale this up to the level of all the other hi-tech surveillance that is going on? If people aren't interrupting the data but machines, then there will be thousands of mistakes. You make a phone call, but you have a speech impediment and you want to say 'Your mumma' but is sounds like 'Osama'. Wow terrorist alert! It is scary to think that a simple slip of the tongue, or a simple careless accident could lead you into jail. I guess this helps governments with the easy targets, the real criminals will always get by. Just like credit card fraud....banks try harder and harder to stop this by making life harder and harder for legitimate users to access their own money. But the organised gangs can walk into a bank and withdraw huge amounts of cash with ease.

One day we will all be criminals if we are not careful, it could be for just buying the wrong brand of chocolate for example...Okay that maybe extreme. But imagine this, a corporation which sells chocolate, buys an insurance company. You have insurance with that company, but like another brand of chocolate. Could you forfeit your policy if you became ill, by being seen or logged eating the wrong brand?

You walk down the street, some litter falls out of your backpack, CCTV picks it up and issues you with a fine (but you are totally unaware). But you say "that is just silly!!", but it is an easier offence to collect a fine from, rather than someone who murdered someone. It has great potential to make money for the government. It is great for their statistics.

I guess these thoughts seem puerile and maybe are a tad silly. But being watched 24/7 isn't good for a person. Where is the trust, where is common sense? Has serious crime ceased or decreased thanks to these cameras? No it has gone up! But so has the number of law abiding people being fined for petty offences.

I am scared! I mean what about the web, could I get in trouble for this post? I mean my web access is logged, who is to say that one day the government might take offense at those who read indymedia? Or the Guardian newspaper or the fact that once you clicked on a porn link by mistake. Who is to say that this info could be used against you when applying for a job....hmm well you read a liberal newspaper...you must be a free thinker....we have no room for those here. You once viewed a porn site, you are a pervert, you view sites on environmental issues and thus are a hippy tree hugger. You like to watch the 'subversive' South Park......and so on.

Yes these might sound like trivial things.....But with all this surveillance, who determines what is wrong or right? Who watches the watchers? How did George Orwell get it SO right?

Peace

Neil

Noisy Neighbours

So not much this week. A bit like buses I guess, a whole bunch in a row and then nothing for a while (oh that is a bit like my daily commute). So why the lack, well work has been taking everything out of me, not sure how much longer I can keep going at this pace, but don't really have an option so I have to! Thank god for the weekends. It is incredible how tired you can be come. I blame the nature of the job, inactivity breeds inactivity. But that is another story!

So why the title? Well it seems that once again....yes this is the 3rd time in less than a year, that we have new neighbour...and guess what...boy does he like his music loud!Oh and I think he maybe Bigfoot. Yes all we have to look forward to these days is to get home and listen to Bigfoot stomping around like a caveman, listening to excessively loud music grreat! You would say we would be pretty practised at this now, but I hate confrontation, but it looks like I will have to confront this guy face on I am so glad I am moving from this place in the next couple of month, I can't say I will miss it as I have had nothing but problems since I moved back in. I guess that is because when I lived there the first time I never had a single problem with my neighbours. They were fantastic and I guess I was the noisy one!.I haven't reached the level of upsetness that I had with Danny Boy, but it is slowly getting there. I mean blasting music at 11pm at night....what is that all about? What does it prove? That is what headphones were invented for. I guess it is symbolic of the world we live in, with the 'I am all right' attitude, why should I bother to even think about other people, as long as I can do what I want.

Peace (maybe oneday!)

Neil

When did we stop listening to music?

Today for the first time in...well I don't know how long....I listened to an album...all the way through! Yes all the way through. No skipping, jumping, random shuffle. Just 60 mins of music. It struck me that I get the feeling that people don't tend to do this much any more? Why? Maybe it is just me. Is it because we don't have the time any more? Is it because most albums now really consist of one or two great songs and the rest are fillers? Is it because CD are longer, maxing out at 74 mins which the record company try and fill.

Do we appreciate music any more, I mean yes we do, but has it changed. Top 10 music is on a whole pretty dire, and as each year goes by, the turnover gets greater. I am not going to start an arguement about the 'quality' of music today verses that of days gone by...as there are still many talented people out there and some really good bands/composers etc. But they struggle to make it into our lives as they are competing against what I would like to call 'product', 95% I would say of 'pop' artists are manufactured product, like a McDonalds BigMac or gap teeshirt or an underarm deoderant.

We need the quick fix, and we need to know that we are listening to 'whats in'. We don't have time to develop relationships with music any more, or artists. We just get our quick fix on a song from a manufactured celeb who will disappear in to the hole they came from as quickly as they appeared.

What am I trying to say? I think that I wish I had the time to sit a listen to music again. Not on a walkman, but at home on a stereo. I agree that music is competing against other distractions (TV/games/internet) and I could easily turn the TV off and listen to a cd, but I just don't get that excitement of running home with the latest CD from my favourite band, or an album recommended/lent to me by a friend and sticking it on and basking in its aural wonder. It just doesn't seem to happen any more. Of course I have the old favourites, but nothing new. The bands I loved seem to be all turning out mediocre efforts these days, pastching themselves even. Does truly great music come from those who are struggling to 'make it', and when they have they stop. I guess not, Peter Gabriel is one example that springs to mind, but then again he only puts out and album once every 10 years these days!

Look at the Rolling Stones and be honest....what have they done lately? They are still playing the first tunes they had written (classics of course), but their 80/90/00's efforts are well...terrible!). I guess I could role off endless bands who have fallen into this. I guess once you have the rewards (£'s) then the motivation/invention/inspiration goes. I mean many Classical composer were never famous or wealthy during their lives and continued to create timeless music until they die. Is that another question? Does weath stifle creativity? Do you have to be poor to produce good art?

Or does this relate to 'quality'? When you are stuggling to make a work of art and have no income, you want to make it the best piece of work possible. When you struggle to do a day job and produce your art in your spare time, do you put more effort into it? Enjoy it more for the escape that it is. I guess the Blues is testiment to that!

Nowadays I might listen to a couple of songs, flicking through before they get to the end. Is it just me?

Will listening to an album ever be cool again?

Peace

Neil

Ps The album I listened to was Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden

So what is Sound Design?

I get asked this question quite a bit, so I thought I would flesh out a blog post with an explaination of what it is all about.

Sound design is a technical/conceptually creative field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, computer game software or any other multimedia project.
In film, sound design helps with the realisation of the director's audio vision. This normally entails the creation of sound elements for unusual sources. Whilst this utilises creative skills, the process can be long and drawn out without the fundamental understanding of how sound works. Expertise in the fields of acoustics and psychoacoustics, play a crucial role in creating a soundtrack which goes beyond mere sound effects, to the creation of a sonic experience. (Ooo what a definition!)

Sound design is also used to describe the proccess of designing patches for synthesizers and sound modules. So next time you turn on your Yamaha DX7 or Korg M1, remember all those fantastic patches that make you sound fantastic were designed by someone. I guess they must laugh when they here those patches used on 'hit records'. I guess patch recognition is a really nerdy thing to do, but sometimes you can't help it. The patch 'Solar Flare' which is 00 on the Korg XD5 has been used so many times! Most lazily on the beginning of Spaceman by Babylon Zoo (don't worry if you missed it....you didn't miss much!). I guess that is one benefit of playing the guitar, each player sounds differently when playing the same gear, that also applies to all acoustic instruments.

I have been busy sound designing an number of banks (bank is a group of patches) for Native Instruments Absynth. Once the complete bank is finished I will be giving some of these banks for free. Most are designed from patches I have used in the short films I have been working on. They have a very filmic quality to them and I have tried to make them as organic as possible. Absynth is great for this, by being able to use low frequencies oscillators to oscillate the main oscillator (Hmm!) you can great sound which seem to be alive! I love that synth.

I am also preparing a soundbank for Kontakt, but this is going to take a considerable amount of time as I have to crate and construct all the samples I want to use...and knowing me, they will be some strange samples. Who needs another piano!

Sound design can also be linked into the creation of soundscapes (what I like doing best and have been struggling to do for many years!), where you build up an aural experience using every day sounds (exactly what you do when you do sound for a film, as most of the sound you hear is added after the event (and sometime all of the sound) as location sound is notoriously bad (especially in shorts....although there are some great guys out there)

So how would I know sound design?

The classic examples of sound design are films like Star Wars. Just think of the sounds which make it the film it is...the sound of a lightsabre, the sound of a tie fighter, R2D2's voice and so on. All of these sounds had to be dreamed up to represent items which don't exist and make them real. Walter Murch was the man behind it and is the 'man' when it comes to sound design. Other films like The Matrix, feature amazing sound design details. But the one that strikes me is the genius of Stanley Kubrick to commit the ultimate sin.....have complete silence.

Any film without sound causes the audience to freak out, yes you can't cope with hearing silence...total silence. In all films there is wall to wall sound, most of the time when there is silence on screen, you are hearing room tone. This is the general tone of the room, the natural ambience. If you hear silence, most people would start to complain that the cinema sound system was broken.

But how did Kubrick get away with it? Well he just followed science! in 2001 : A Space Oddessy he used silence...why? because space is silent...sound can't travel in a vaccum! He made it real! Forget the huge sound of the Nostromo in Alien, or the afore mentioned Tie Fighters. If you were in space...you would hear nothing! Including any screaming! Just goes to show how in general film enhances everything, and in general the job of a sound designer is to great a soundtrack which will suspend disbelief in reality!

So what is Sound Editing?

Sound editing is ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film's audio track, from the dialogue and sound effects recording to the re-recording of the final track. The Sound design role was born out of the sound editing role, when sound editors were asked to create more an more 'out there' sounds. In fact Star Wars was the first film to credit the use of a sound designer.

Peace

Neil

How did 'work' work in the days before computers?

Well for a start I wouldn't be doing this (well I would except in a journal and a guess no one would every read it!). I also wouldn't have this job (or most of the jobs I have done in my accidental IT career....yeah the money was good, but boy do I hate it!) I would probably be building some mechanical tool of some description I guess (trying to find a suitable analogy between a computer program and another old school type of job). Also I imagine that conditions in bygone offices were not as nice as ours today, and I am sure working conditions were appalling in most situations.

But the point is, I am in an office and everyone is in silence staring at their screens, typing endlessly away on their keyboards. But what is actually happening? what is the this feeding? a huge data bank of what? What did these people do before this?

I am guessing not sit in silence in a office. (but I a maybe wrong). I just feel like that we are becoming more like robots. Instead of asking a question of a colleague we ask google. I guess some of that comes from that fact that 'asking a question' shows that we don't know something....therefore can't
be any good at our job and should therefore be sacked....or replaced by someone who knows everything in the world. This was certainly the feeling I got at my recent interviews, where I had to perform a number of IT tests.

They basically prove that unless you know every single thing about a language (I know some people out there do...full credit to you), you aren't worthy of the job, because lo and behold would you ask someone...or look in a book.

Instead of having free thought and discussing ideas we search the Internet. Is this because it is a sin to talk in some offices? Or you managed to scrape through the interview test and know you got lucky so you can't ask anyone a simple question otherwise you will be shown to be no good....and replaced.
Everyone in fear of failure, you can see it everywhere.....must work later than everyone else and get in earlier asthat is what a good employee does. Even if I don't produce good results, as long as I am here and head down that is key. I mustn't take a lunch break, as they are for losers. I must just be at my desk, tapping away into the endless void of the digital world.

I was once fortunate to work for some one who had the best attitude of all...I don't care how you do it, who you ask, what time you come in, when you come in as long as the work is done and the work is good. That is the best motivation in the world!! and isn't that all the matters really? getting the job done? What does sitting at a desk at precisely 8am prove? ....oops I have gone off on a tangent!

So back to the topic....Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet and think it is one of the greatest human achievements ever, but I am not so much talking about the Internet as I am about machines and the jobs we now do/have.

The computer is basically a tool to make our lives easier, it is a huge big calculator, Which can perform amazing feats. But is it stealing our humanity? I mean the hammer is a tool, so is a drill. But most people do not spend 10 hours constantly banging with a hammer without taking a break, or looking
up from their task....or are afraid to stop hammering (even though the nail is in the wall) because not hammering is a bad sign that they aren't working hard enough.

I guess what i am trying to say is that how come pretty much every office job these days involves a machine and sitting at a desk. Was writing a letter by hand a creative work? is that creativity killed off by typing at a machine. What did a secretary do in bygone days? answer the phone/arrange things etc. Now what would they do without a computer? Now everyone has to be typing reports of some description, or logging things, accounting for things,working with complex inventory tools....all off which produce more reports. We are being inundated with reports for this and for that, and know what everything is doing all of the time...blah blah blah. Information is power, but do we all need to know all the information all the time? The stationary department, is it easier to walk across the room to check to see if you have any pencils rather than access a database, scroll through x number of screens to be told you have 6 left. Will this constant sitting down/working at a machine posture affect our evolution? We sit dormant at machines all day, filling our faces full of treats to make the day go faster and then wonder why we need to go to gyms/exercise classes. If our job involved movement and we liked it, I guess most of us (myself included) would be in much better shape. What examples are we setting for the next generation? 'Listen Jimmy you should aim to be stuck in an office as that is the best career move for you...you will hate it and it will destroy your soul, damage your health and ruin your humanity'.

Will we lose the ability to craft things with our hands as they become metamorphosed via evolution into the shape of a mouse or playstation keypad. Will we lose our 180 degree vision because we stare so intently at a screen. Will we think the sounds of the outside are alien as we are now accustomed to the hum of computer fans.

The Internet is the great source of information, but we are constantly feeding it new information, adding to the vast data banks. I mean I am doing it now, why am I doing this on a machine instead of writing it on paper? Why should anyone be interested in this drivel?

Yes the Internet allows me to communicate like never before, at anytime of the day and night, with my close friends across continents. But being at a computer all day is sucking away the basic human skills of discussion with fellow humans. Why go to a shop now and ask the assistant about an item? Well it
is easier to do it on line, plus you can view opinions of people you have never met on the item you want to buy (the fact that sales assistants these days
generally....I said generally...know nothing about what they are selling is another matter.....don't believe me...go into any pro audio shop...especially one in Central London...no names mentioned....any ask them anything more probing that the price and be met with a blank face...or them telling you about something you should buy as it is on special offer....rant over!).

In days gone by, you would ask your friends about the items, or go to a shop and talk with someone who knew the product. Phone the company perhaps, ask for testimonials. Now that has all changed....who do we really talk to these days? We are so busy typing into machines, that the basic joy of communication seems to be becoming a dying art....or maybe just where i work! =@)

Is it time to start talking again?

Peace

Neil

Books

(Wow I am really getting these posts out these days!)

I mentioned a few posts ago that I would do a post relating to books I have just been reading....well here it is.

The reason I wanted to post about this is because I have found these books extremely fun to read and extremely inspiring.

The Big Questions

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Plato not Prozac

Buddhism Plain and Simple

The Little Earth Book

The Consolations of Philosophy

There is so much to say about these books, they really spoke to me. In a sense it is great to finally find books which relate to things I think about all the time. It is so wonderfully I am not alone in these thoughts. It its particularly poinent as I am currently studying for my OU residential school at Bath in July. I can't wait to go on it, and it looks as thought it will be incredibly stimulating and rewarding.

I have also been listening to some good music, to try and get me through the commute. In particular I have been listening to the fabulous

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by David Byrne and Brian Eno
Within a dying Realm by Dead Can Dance (Lisa Gerrard's voice is amazing on this album)

The other discovery I have made is podcasting (well I knew it exists and I have even been planning my own for a while now), but I have found a few great sites offering fantastic podcasts. The BBC in particular seem to be really on the ball with this and they have podcasts of most of their best
programming.

Without doubt the Mark Kermode Film reviews are excellent and his review of the Da Vinci Code, certainly put a smile on my face. There can be found on the BBC website

I have also been told of a Philosophy podcast from Australia which is really interesting and can be found at The Philosopher's Zome

I have been having a big clear out of all my stuff and I am now approaching with trepidation the wonderful world of ebay. Yes after all these years, I haven't sold or brought something on the mighty 'bay. I feel so out of tough with the world. I guess like my Granddad feels when he goes into McDonalds! I
am sure it can't be that hard! I have had a fair bit of success with selling books and dvd's on Amazon and it feels great to see the pile slowly getting smaller. Sadly haven't mad to much money, but every bit helps to clear the debt mountain (ironically the mountain created by buying the items in the first place!). I have come to realise that much of the things I have brough we treats to get me through the miserable jobs I have had in the past. Buying
a book or magazine at lunchtime was an excuse to go out at lunch time and have a little treat to give me 10 minutes of pleasure in a miserable existence.

Sadly I am back in that place right now, but I am managing to get through without the treats (at the moment),instead I am writing in a jounral as an outlet for my thoughts (oh and reading all the books I have but haven't read yet!).

I am also having a studio clearout as I have a fair bunch of stuff now that just doesn't get used. Basically because I do everything on the computer now. I have some great synths/samplers from Native Instruments especially

Absynth 3
Kontakt 2

and my fav!!

Reaktor
(which means I can build any synth I like!) as well as Reason which serves as a good bread and butter synth module and Cameleon for something a little bit more 'out there'.

The main redundant item, is my Yamaha AW4416. A great unit (if a little noisy!) which If I was recording bands I would probably keep, but it is one of things (just like computers!) that you pay a real fortune for when they come out and then find that the second hand market values is about a tenth of
what you paid! Such is life I guess. I should have followed my own advice and invest in items which keep value(preamps, microphones). Basically applied my guitar buying philosophy to recording gear!

Hmm what a rambling post!

Peace

Nei

Freesound project

(wow a post a day....must be a record!)

I was introduced to this site the Freesound project a few months ago, and I have to see it is one of the best ideas I have seen on the web for a long time. I have been an active member since then, uploading numerous of my personal samples (pretty obscure items such as phone rings, washing machines etc). I have just been informed by another member that they are using some of my samples in there piece! That is so cool.

I will be actively adding many more files to the site in the next few months, as I have been going through my sample collection trying to get it into some sort of order.

On another note, here is a new piece of mine. Don't really have a title for it yet. I am considering making a CD without adding any titles to the works. I always get asked where I get the titles for my songs and what do they mean. 99% of the time they are just something that pops in my head, no real thought process at all. I hate to think
what art critics would write about them when trying to interupt them. I wonder that about a lot of art that you see in museums, with the long explanation of what the artist was thinking!

So the idea of no titles, is to allow the listen not to be swayed in any way,shape or form. You can make up your own mind!

This piece is a binaural CloudTrainpiece, so whilst it can be listened to on a normal stereo, it is best listened to with headphones (close backed are the best) to get the full surround effect. A stereo version can be found here CloudTrain

Also this is a relaxation piece, you can listen and immerse yourself in it. I was listening to it the other day whilst watching clouds go by.

I am currently about to start a recording session for a new binaural experience CD based around Guildford. This will be available through the syncro:sound website. I have been working behind the scenes to get syncro:sound back on track after a few set backs during the first few months of this year. Syncro:sound will focus fully on the provision of sound design services.

On top of that recently I have been 'beta testing' the acoustics and harmony parts of the new course from Music for the Media which looks like it is going to be a great course.

Film news! having completed a number of shorts this year which I am yet to upload to the website (well everything is hinging on the new site!), I am just about to start working on a new short entitled "The mirror". It is going to be a busy week, what with working full time and a 4 hour commute!

Enjoy!

Peace

Neil

Clone Wars

So I am currently back in the rat race, luckily only for a short period. I am having to do the commute into London everyday and it is currently taking between an hour and a half and two hours each way. Such a good use of time (!).

But I have to say how much it strikes me, looking at people on the train, how people are just becoming like clones.

They just seem to be doing the same thing day in day out, year after year, there is not a happy face to be seen anywhere. Not a random act of kindness, just misery and brooding anger under the surface just waiting to snap (and I have already witnessed a few cases of it snapping). Just how important is
that seat on the train when it strips you of your dignity? how good do you really feel Mr City guy when you manage to get a seat infront of a pregnant woman?

Just how important is it to have to wait as someone else goes through the ticket gate instead of pushing in front trying to save an extra second or two?

Why clones? Well just sitting watching all these people, all in the same clothes, the same iPods, the same papers getting being feed views on the world from a bias media. Reading magazines about what celebreties are doing, as if you know them and if being famous for being on Big brother really is an achievement to be proud of. Maybe I am being stereo typical, but it is hard to see anyone there thinking for themselves. They are doing a job to get the money to buy the treats to take away the pain of doing the job. Yes i know we need money to live and pay the bills, so we are really in a catch 22 situation. I guess for me it is a case of downsizing, finding more work which is fullfilling, educational, ethical, makes me want to jump up in the morning. Once your basic needs are met, what more do we really need? Friends, Family, experiences, time to think?

I guess this is quite a negative post, but it has just struck me how futile life in the west is. Is money making these people happy? I mean truly happy? Are we really free? I mean that is the other thing that struck is just the amount of CCTV cameras....everywhere. Life really is becoming a Orwell predicted in 1984. We are all being watched to make sure we conform, feed media propaganda (in most cases!), lawful protest being outlawed, fighting a perpetual
war against an unseen enemy (war on concept), provided with mindless tittle tattle without which we aren't worthy of being part of society. Fear of speaking your mind. The only safe place is in your head.

Yes I have been a clone, trying to buy happiness through things rather than through actions. This has been awake up call for me. Having just had my birthday (thanks Jenny for organising such a wonderful time on Saturday!), I have realised that time is flying by and I am wasting so much of it caught up
with this way of thinking. Time to focus on real goals and real experience. Time to live!

Peace

Neil