This is a whimsical portrayal of the trials and tribulations of having dragons come into the studio to record some lovely sfx. I was careful to use creatures that (in evolutionary terms) are the closest living relatives of pterodactyls and dinosaurs - or sound like they should be! In my imagination, dragons don’t just ‘speak’ with the generic loud cliched roars typically used in films and games. They are much more nuanced than that. So enjoy my dragon wrangling - this package of sounds is available for purchase at: http://www.dianehope.com/sounds-for-sale And get varied, unique dragon sounds without having to get your gear toasted. Bespoke sounds and custom sound design also available.
Episode 7: Woodpecker Metal Heads
Members of the North American woodpecker family, Northern Flickers love to drum on trees … and anything else that can make a satisfying, territory-defining clamour. When they start drumming on metal chimneys and street lights though, they turn into the metalheadz of the suburban ‘hood.
To find out more about these birds go to: https://www.birdnote.org/bird/northern-flicker-colaptes-auratus and https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/overview
Episode 6: The Sheng
The sheng is likely something you’ve never heard … or heard of. It’s a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes. It’s been described as looking as if someone is taking a hit on a giant bong! But it’s one of China’s most ancient instruments, with images depicting it dating back to 1100 BCE. Some people say that it was this instrument that gave the idea for the western pipe organ. And is sounds … amazing.
Experience what that sound is like with me, as I happened upon it at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music - and enjoy the coments of Professor Wu Wei, one of the world’s leading sheng players.
Recorded with a Rode NT mic in XY stereo.
Episode 5: River Barges on the Huangpu River
When I visted the former port area on Fuxing Island, on the Huangpu River close to Shanghai in 2015, much of the area was a rumble field, waiting to be redeveloped. But tied up at the quayside were some of the iconic river barges that ply the river with cargo - they’re the ones you’ll see all day and night as you’re taking a stroll along The Bund. And they’ve got a wonderful throaty chug. Getting close to these boats felt like a moment of time suspended between older and future times.
Recorded with head mounted DPA 4060s - listen with good headphones for the full, immersive binaural stereo effect.
Episode 4: Discovering the Erhu
While I was a sound artist in residence at the Swatch Art Peach Hotel in Shanghai I was able to explore the soundscapes - and musical traditions of that city. One day I took a trip with a fellow sound recordist to Fuxing Island, where we discovered a man playing the erhu in a local park. The erhu or Chinese fiddle has two strings and can be traced back to proto-Mongolic instruments which first appeared in China during the Tang dynasty. It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras and is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by the various ethnic groups of China.
The small amplifier and concrete shelter gave a great acoustic as you’ll hear on the recording. Then I got to record a virtuoso erhu student in the practice rooms at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Another wonderful sonic treat.
Recorded in binaural stereo with head worn DPA 4060s - listen with good headphones to get the full immersive experience.
Episode 3: Anyone for Tennis?
Sports - like tennis - are great fun to record and have a lot of interesting detail and variety. These recordings were made of a practice game at a country club in the US -- and a giant indoor tennis arena in the UK. Both using a Sennheiser MKH 418S stereo shot gun. Using a mic like this gives you the option of working with middle and side - often abbreviated to m/s. A great advantage is that you can vary the width of the stereo field in post -- AND just use the mid-signal if you suddenly do a voice interview and want that in mono.
If some personal coaching would help you to improve your sound recordings skills check me out at: http://www.dianehope.com/fieldrecordingcoaching
Episode 2: Giant Telescopes
Recordings from the Mayall Telescope, which is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, as well as the Hall 42-inch (1.1-meter) fork-mounted telescope at Lowell' Observatory’s Anderson Mesa dark-sky site, which has been a workhorse telescope for more than half a century. Of the two I found the smaller one more interesting - its motor drive (now obscured by cooling fan noise) is an exquisitely fascinating sonic melange, while the dome booms and squeals are out of this world.
You can hear how I used these sounds in my immersive audio documentary Lonely Nights (BBC Radio 4) here: https://soundcloud.com/diane-hope/lonely-nights-bbc-r4
Episode 1: Pinyon Jay Flock Fly Over
These gregarious birds roam pinyon-juniper woodland in large extended family groups. They can recognize individual family members calls and - bury up to 30,000 pinyon nuts a year - remembering where most of them are! Recorded in binaural stereo on a dummy head.
To learn more listen to: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/pinyon-juniper-and-pinyon-jays
