Selection
I started working on plotting this last week after class — and after some of the bad weather — where I was thinking about the thunderstorm we had had that morning. However, my brother was sending me photos of the hiking spots we used to go to. Vickery Creek Mill was completely frozen over, the Sweetwater Creek ruins were iced up, and even Amicolola Falls were partially frozen! This was always my favorite time of year to go hiking with my wife, brother, and sister-in-law when I still lived in that area, and these were all our favorite spots, just as we liked to go up and view them.
While this image wasn’t exactly what I was seeing out my office window during the storm, it was relatively close to the way I was feeling at the time.
Enhancement
The music enhances the image, giving it a sense of dread and foreboding. The crashing booms in the music can almost be the thunder of the storm. The music is as capricious as a thunderstorm can be and at times as finicky as any dark mood.
What is your general reaction to the image and audio selected? Both the image and audio are intense and full of contrast. They compliment each other well. The audio is about what I expected to hear at the sight of the image, and the image describes the audio well too.
What meanings are conveyed by the image and the audio when viewed separately (each on its own) vs. combined together? The image shows a storm, electric and full of energy and lightning. It is booming and intense and loud. The audio is intense and driving and full of hard hits and heavy beat that feel like booms and thunder. Does the sound enhance, alter, and/or transform the meaning/s of the image? For the most part the sound enhances the meaning of the image but also in a sense it enhances it. At first listen, the audio sounds just like intense music but if you continue to listen it almost has the sound of a rainforest to it as well. This enhances the image and makes me believe that this image belongs somewhere in South America perhaps.
What other audio choices can you think of that might create interesting or unexpected meanings when combined with the image? It would have been interesting to hear Native American music, just thunder and rain, classical music like an adagio for strings or a piano piece, and lastly just for fun, some cinematic horror music.
Hello! I loved the picture you selected and the audio you paired with it really brought the photo to life. It felt gave it a storm chasers sort of feel to it. The audio was very beautiful yet suspenseful and intense, similar to the photo, and I believe this is why I think these pair well together. I also liked how you included your analysis of the music and big booms signifying thunder. This sound clip alone I might not think of the sounds as thunder but because of the pairing with the photo, I too thought the sounds symbolized/sounded like thunder. Great job!
I also have to agree with Megan above. I would love to hear Native American music and see how the portrayal of the image is changed. Although storms can be scary, for some rain was an excellent sign that was celebrated.
Hi Katherine! When I first played the audio in your post, I was immediately caught up in the intensity of the feeling it conveys! It reminds me a lot of those critical moments in books or movies where the main characters are rushing to accomplish some all-important goal and, of course, it’s raining. Both the image and the audio combined create a certain sense of urgency that I think is reflective of those moments. I believe if you had chosen audio that was more reflective of a simple rainstorm, it would have lost that dramatic effect.