Soundscape workshop

If you must make a noise, make it quietly. Oliver Hardy

Creating a Soundscape

This is a 3 day course where participants will learn how to create a soundscape from recorded  foley sounds and learn how to manipulate these and other sounds with sound design techniques. They will then be given guidance on how to structure their own soundtrack and explore how to use this in different performance situations.

At the end of the course the students should have made a small library of sounds that they can use in different projects and a soundscape. They will have learned tips on recording with microphones and be introduced to the huge and varied ways in which sounds can be stretched, filtered and manipulated in strange and interesting ways.

The course is open to theatre professionals and anyone with an interest in sound design and will not require previous knowledge. We will be exploring sounds together and working in a collaborative way.

The course will provide iPads and external microphones to record sounds and an app called Cubasis and Audioshare to organise and edit these sounds. People are welcome to bring their own microphones and laptops as well, and we will be using apps on the iPad for most of the sound design techniques. You are welcome to bring an instrument or objects that you would like to record if you like.

The structure for the course will be

Day one

Participants will spend time listening to sounds with different frequencies and think about how we hear and perceive sounds. They will then be given tips on recording techniques such as setting levels and using external microphones.  Participants will spend time experimenting and making field recordings in different places and then we will show ways to edit these recordings and organise a useful library of sounds to draw upon for their soundscape.

Day two

Participants will listen to each other’s sounds and feedback on their recording experiences. We will then look at how to enhance these sounds, removing unwanted noise, using reverb, layering and panning techniques. We will explore how different sounds fit together in a mix using filters and eq and then we will start to experiment with more extreme distortion effects such as granular synthesis and freeze delay to create textures of sound. At the end of the day we will think about ideas to base a soundscape on. This could involve an image or poem or simple object or a performance element.

Day three

Participants will work on their ideas and create a soundscape using and sharing their recorded sounds and working individually or in pairs. We will look at the different parts of the building and choose where to set up the soundscapes and at the end of the day, participants will share their discoveries and play their soundscapes to each other in their different spaces. We will discuss how acoustics affect the listening experience and helpful tips on adapting soundtracks to work in different spaces.

It would be great if people can bring a memory stick or hard drive with them to take their soundscapes and recordings back home with them after the course.

Iklooshar Malara is the co artistic director of Garlic Theatre.

An actress and musician, Iklooshar has performed as a live musician and actress with many theatre companies including Faulty Optic and Norwich Puppet Theatre. She also performs with Garlic Theatre.

Since 1997 Iklooshar has produced, composed and edited soundtracks for live performances for Garlic Theatre’s theatre productions and for promo videos, working with directors, session musicians and actors. Please take a look at the website if you would like to hear some of her work:

www.garlictheatre.org.uk

She is a member of the UK Association of Sound Design and is currently working as a sound artist with Joy Haynes for the Fourth Wall.

If you would like to look at an inspirational video about foley recording before the course here is a link to a You Tube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_tqB4IZvMk

Workshop’en foregår på engelsk.