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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Soundscape: Red Wood Ant


Formica Aquilonia (6:05) By John Grzinich. A short film documenting the activities of Formica aquilonia, or Red Wood Ants. The ant colonies are easily recognizable by the large mounds that they build out of debris from the pine forests they inhabit. The mounds also tend to be clustered together with the activity between them is so frequent that ant highways, or noticeable paths, form on the forest floor. Source: YouTube

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Soundscape: Walk to Work


Walk To Work (21:39) By Greg Hopper. This piece began as pure audio to which Hopper has added images using inexpensive cameras attached to his clothes to photograph his walk to work through the cemetery, across the bridge and then around the lake to his office.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Soundscape: Oregon's Wilson River in the Rain


Wilson River (7:31) It often rains in the state of Oregon and sometimes it is nice to just go out and watch a river flow by while the rain falls around you as in this video of the Wilson river in Oregon. The combined sound of the river and the falling rain provides a peaceful and relaxing scene. The Wilson River is a stream, about 33 miles (53 km) long, that flows from the Northern Oregon Coast Range to Tillamook Bay. (Photo:Wikipedia) Source: YouTube

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Soundscape: Sakitsu


Sakitsu (2:14) By Akiharu Hioki. This beautiful video explores the soundscape of the picturesque fishing town of Sakitsu in Kumamoto Prefecture. Kumamoto Prefecture located in south western Japan. It is an area of the country blessed with amazing natural Beauty. Source: YouTube


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Education: Children and Hearing Loss


Noise, Children and Hearing Loss (4:20) Noise pollution can really hurt a child's ears. That includes household appliances, an ever increasingly noisy urban environment, and the amplified sound of entertainment media and technology. This short program explores ways in which to protect a child's hearing. Source KVPT Fresno, California. YouTube video.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Documentary: Din On The High Seas


Vacarme en haute mer (50:41) The depths of the sea are as full of exciting sounds and voices as  any other habitat rich with species. This film explores this fascinating soundscape and the issues that underwater noise, most often the result of human activity, has on the creatures of the deep. French language film by Jerome Julienne and John Jackson. Source: Daily Motion.



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Project: Sound For Electric Vehicles


Audi E-Sound (2:02) The sense of hearing provides the brain with acoustic signals that warn of approaching danger be it predators or, more often today, auto and truck traffic. The development of electrically operated vehicles has the potential of quieting the soundscape, but at the same time creates issues of safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and others who encounter e-cars and trucks in crosswalks and other situations where the two come together. Replacing the sound of the combustion engine with electronic motor sounds has become an issue for many and a challenge for car designers. 

This video looks at the development of 'e-sound" by Audi. This is a realtime technique of generating synthetic motor sounds for the essentially silent vehicle in order to warn pedestrians and cyclists of the car's proximity. Source: VIMEO.



Monday, May 14, 2012

Interview: Gordon Hempton - One Square Inch of Silence


The Search for Silence (3:10) In this April, 2009 KATU-TV (Portland, OR.) interview, acoustic-ecologist Gordon Hempton discusses his search for silence. His book, 'One Square Inch of Silence: One Man’s Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World', tells the unique story of silence and sound and how they affect and impact our lives in profound ways.  The book charts Hempton’s journey across the United States as he travels from his home in Washington State to the nation’s capital in Washington, DC.  Hempton argues that “preserving natural silence is as necessary and essential as species preservation, habitat restoration, toxic waste clean-up, and carbon dioxide reduction.”  His argument is compelling, and with a green movement sweeping America and the world, Hempton is fighting to include natural silence in the quest for a cleaner, safer planet." Source: KATU-TV Portland, Oregon.