I started this assignment by searching for photos of flower gardens, as I wanted some beauty to brighten up my day. I love this photo of a flower garden hill as it’s so vibrant and I can practically smell the flowers and the outdoor air. After finding this lovely photo, I thought of creative ways to connect sound to the image. At first, I thought literally of sounds of things found within the photo such as the sound of cars passing by. Then I thought about references I could make, such as including the sound of talking to reference the talking flowers in Alice in Wonderland. Finally, I focused on what the photo made me feel. My strongest feeling was that I wanted to roll down a hill like a carefree child.
While realistically rolling down this hill would be a pretty short journey as I’d immediately crash into the first row of flowers on my way down, I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to bounce over and on top of the garden I as rolled down the hill. This audio represents my strong urge to feel like a kid, tuck my arms in, and let gravity take over. I felt the texture of the audio matched the curved texture of the landscape. When you roll down a steep hill, it can feel violent. Your bones and teeth rattle around like a wooden ball bouncing on ceramic floors. Eventually, you reach the bottom of the hill, and your bouncing and rolling comes to an end.
The date is March 8th, 2020. I am currently on my senior year spring break volunteering in the great city of New Orleans when news of the Covid-19 virus starts making headlines. A weird energy started to develop within the city. Crowds of tourists still carried on as usual but the volunteer coordinators were frantically working with other coordinators trying to figure out a plan of action. Needless to say, no one knew what to do and what exactly this virus could do. A stay at home order was issued a few weeks later.
I went back to New Orleans in 2022 to see Elton John in concert. The once bustling tourist destination was quieter then it had the last time I was there. The pandemic had lingering effects on a city so reliant on tourism. The volunteer organization that I had previously worked with and which had been established right after Hurricane Katrina had taken an indefinite hiatus because of the pandemic.
My hope is that the city is starting to recover and get back to where it was before the pandemic hit. The suspenseful music contrasting with a lively image taken in the French Quarter is how I remember the start of the pandemic. The feeling of not knowing what will happen or how long we would be in lockdown is how I felt during those first few weeks. I think I will always remember being in New Orleans when the global pandemic started.
I’ve spent a lot of the last three years thinking about exactly what I’d like to do and what it will take to do it! I’ve also spent a lot of the last three years consuming media, from books (three years ago I finished my BA in English), movies (the older the better), and even video games, which has inspired the image choice and fantastical score I’ve chosen today. The game itself isn’t important, but it contains a giant purple jellyfish you can summon when the chips are down to help you get through tough parts. The fact that this game and its predecessors don’t have a difficulty meter is unique in the current era, and adapting your style while encountering obstacles becomes not just encouraged but necessary. Much like life!Some games aren’t difficult enough to force people to do that, and there’s a place for easy, leisurely games as well. Some situations in life aren’t difficult enough to force us to change, and sometimes in life periods of respite are necessary too. Resting is important, but not resting too long on laurels.
On a more colorful note, I recently spoke with a friend who told me the retail establishment she worked at started pushing out purple in the last couple months. That made me think of design and marketing, and whether or not my recent reconnection with the regal color was a conscious decision or marketing manipulation. It also made me think of the symbolism behind colors and why artists and designers choose them to represent certain themes (for instance, purple is commonly used to represent poisonous characters).
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.
Almost immediately upon graduating, I was submerged in a world of 401ks, mortgages, and imposter syndrome. While my coworkers were complaining about their children and retirement, I was still struggling to make a doctor’s appointment without my mom’s help. Living 4 hours away from home, with my nearest friend being a quick 45-minute drive in South Florida traffic, I felt out of place and alone. Desperate for relief from the stresses of adulthood, I found myself grasping at passions from my childhood, but nothing seemed sustainable.
Fast-forward to Christmas of last year, I was experiencing the whirlwind of emotions that come with living out of a suitcase in your childhood home. Nostalgia hit hard and I began looking through boxes in the closet filled with our family pictures and memories. After shuffling through thousands of pictures, I moved to the back of the closet and picked up what felt like a box without many pictures in it. To my surprise, it contained my brother and my Pokémon collection from the ’90s. I was immediately transported to my childhood and an influx of memories began to flood my mind. Finally, something that would be sustainable.
Pokémon means more to me than a piece of cardboard. It represents my dad rewarding me with a trip to the comic store for going to Costco with him or being on A Honor Roll for school. Pokémon cards symbolize happy family times, something I was so desperately yearning for as I began to go off on my own path and attempt to forge my own way. I selected the image above because it illustrates my realistic experience of going to the store for Pokémon cards. In the world of Amazon, a lot of Pokémon collectors buy their cards online. Through my own consumer behavior, I learned that I like the process or ritualistic characteristics of going to the store in person more than I like the cards. I believe it is this aspect that brings me back to the security of my childhood than the actual cards themselves. I enjoy seeing children there with their parents eagerly waiting for the latest Pokémon drop. I smile at children begging their parents for the latest Pikachu plushie and promising to “be good” until the end of time. Although it is not always peaceful in the store, such chaos brings peace to me. Ultimately, I think this photo is a great depiction of how I manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice.
Because I knew the topic of my blog post was about utilizing my childhood interests to help navigate the reality of adulthood, I wanted to select a nostalgic audio clip that embodied the characteristics of childhood and Pokémon, without sounding like a videogame. I think the song through its composition as well as the title enhances the meaning of the photo. It’s not just about the cards; it’s the excitement of going to the store, uncertain if they even have the cards in stock. I’d like to continue the same traditions that my father established and I hope to carry it on with my own kids. I cannot wait for the day one of my children asks me if I can take them to the store to get Pokémon cards. Although I never would have thought I would manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice, buying Pokémon cards with adult money has allowed me to heal both my inner child and my present adult self.
Growing up 45 minutes from the beach was filled with numerous beach trips to see the sunrise/sunset or spending the whole day there. Watching another day begin or that day end has always brought me peace and pleasure. The beach at sunset is a mesmerizing spectacle, as the sun dips below the horizon, casting hues of orange, pink, and purple across the sky.It was a place I could sit with my thoughts and enjoy the nature all around me. After living in Tallahassee for almost three years with no beach nearby, I think I took these experiences for granted. This picture reminds me of my year round childhood beach trips with my siblings.
The audio is what most people would expect to hear when they are at the beach; laughter rippling through the air, blending seamlessly with the joyous calls of seabirds and the soothing rhythm of waves. All these sounds can be a little overwhelming for some, but when I find myself at the beach I find these ordinary nature sounds perfect.
When I saw this picture, it actually reminded me of various infected cells. It is actually a picture of the disease defined as the causal agent of Coronavirus Disease. It is a strain of the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-related coronavirus. This changed the world and created a new work place as we now know as “work from home” as the new normal. We were forced to take serious precautions that still rendered hundreds of thousands of deaths.
I chose the futuristic creepy sounds because it complements the visual presence of the SARS in this picture. The sounds denote unknown and confused depictions of the cells and how they appear to be attached and dislocated.
For as long as I could remember, I have always adored European architecture. Their intricate designs and ornate details reflect centuries of cultural influences and artistic expression, helping to capture how rich the history is. The building that primarily shown in the image above is of a Catholic church located in Málaga, Spain, a city that is located near the Mediterranean Sea. While the building on the lower left had served as the official residence of the bishop.
Looking at these two buildings just makes me wonder why human beings never carried on this trait of constructing these beautiful buildings, in my humble opinion alot of buildings being built nowadays compared to the past are just an eye sore. It’s crazy how lives drastically change from generation to generation, each having their own unique touch.
I paired the image with an audio file containing one of Scott Buckley’s work, a musician who is based out of Australia. Hearing it reminded me to a similar song I heard walking down the small and narrow city roads in the south of Spain, similar to one being played by a street performer. Very peaceful, justifying that life should be truly lived simply. The name of the song is what caught my eye, “Life is” and then blank. By leaving it like that, I think the author wanted the listeners to fill the blank. Having it be different for everyone, proving that life is essentially what one makes it out to be for themselves.
For this assignment, I wanted to do something a little humorous. I have always loved memes, and usually respond in my group chats with reaction gifs. When I saw this frog, I instantly knew he would be perfect. Even though I am terrified of frogs in real life (like I definitely do not want one to jump on me), I still find them somewhat adorable? I mean, look at this little guy. He’s absolutely “ribbeting”…
I almost went in a completely different direction with the sound. You know how when someone is talking to you, but all you are doing is screaming on the inside? Or, think of Leo DiCaprio not winning an Oscar (again) back in 2013. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, you should definitely google it, it’s a treat [screams internally]. One of the main reasons why I didn’t use a screaming sound was because I didn’t want to scare anyone and thought it would be better to go a more positive direction. I found this little 8bit song that I feel captures the “No thoughts. Head empty” vibe. The song also sounds like loading screen music, in which our frog friend’s brain is seemingly trying to load.
I have always been fascinated with pandas because of their black and white fur, size, and playful demeanor. As a child I remember going to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and being able to see the Giant Pandas. They were always my favorite. I recently learned that the pandas were sent back to live in China. To show my appreciation for the joy that the Giant Pandas brought me, I decided on the image of a panda.
I was drawn to the audio because of the peace and tranquil feeling it offers. Also, because of the bamboo flute that can be heard in the background. As pandas’ diets are made mostly of bamboo, I thought it was a fun way to find a common ground between the chosen audio and image.
When the image and audio are combined, I believe they are enhanced. The audio enhances the calmness of the panda.
