The second half of the interview went swimmingly, but when I dragged the files off the CF card the first half of the interview would not play in any of the many programs I tried it in. I can’t tell you how far my heart dropped in that moment.

I tried some data recovery software but was continually frustrated by the lack of results. Finally I ran across a suggestion to use Audacity, and holy snikes it worked! Below I’ve detailed the steps I used to save a corrupted audio file from the depths uselessness.

1. Command I – Check the file to see if there’s information. On a Mac that’s as simple as single clicking the file and pressing command I. When I did this I noticed the file had roughly the same amount of information the second half of the interview did, so I figured the data was there.

2. Download Audacity - Next I downloaded and installed the free audio editing software Audacity. Audacity has been around for awhile, and it’s a favorite for its ease of use and surprising flexibility.

3. Import Raw Data – Open Audacity and go to File>Import>Raw Data. Select the corrupted file and press Open. An Import Raw Data dialogue will pop up. I just left all the options as default. Audacity will import the data, and if you see a waveform, you’re probably in luck! From this point I tested the file and was pleased to hear the previously unplayable interview loud and clear.

4. Export – After I determined the file was playable, I went to File>Export and chose AIFF from the drop down list. This allowed me to save the file to my desktop. I will say that somewhere in this process the sound quality was affected (my voice sounds deeper and more warbly than usual) but since I was using the audio for notes, it all worked out pretty well considering.

I can’t promise that this process will work for everyone, but it was worthy of some serious celebration on my end.

Happy saving!

UPDATE: Since joining MediaStorm in August 2010, I’ve sadly had to stop writing for (II). It’s a wonderful resource and I wish them the best.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity and I very much look forward to the discussions and posts ahead!

Below are a few of the articles I’ve written for (II) already…Enjoy and leave comments!

Big thanks to Tracy Boyer and the (II) team.

20 Educational (and free!) multimedia resources

Apple’s iPad: Three weeks into the (magical) revolution?

Recommended multimedia gear kits for low, moderate, and high-end budgets

Behind the scenes: Unveiling MediaStorm’s website redesign

Exploring Soul – Ohio University’s 2010 Soul of Athens

Web_Keynote

As part of that talk, I’m providing in this post, a link to a list of the resources I’ll mention in the talk. Please feel free to download and use it however you please. Additionally, if you have links that should be added to the list, email me and I’ll drop it in. Check out SPE’s website for more info on the conference and the talk.

MultimediaResources_SPE

The first presentation I saw was a series of short films by New Yorker Jim Jennings. Of the seven or so films he showed, the first title Wall Street was perhaps most poignant. Shot sideways from a moving car, the shadows of figures walking down the street appeared to moving up to down, rather than left to right (or vice versa). This verticality was an interesting reminder of the importance of a filmic experience, one that reminded me of the playful ventures of early avant-garde filmmakers. There were moments where, because of the mid-day afternoon sun, certain shadows of men in suits slowed the speed of the film down from the constant blur of bodies and sidewalks. And though shot in the 1980′s, those moments were elegant reminders of the anonymous yet all important impact that Wall Street has on our financial system.

Though I enjoyed the rest of Jennings films, I was most pleasantly surprised by the music that accompanied them. Machinefabriek (musician Rutger Zuydervelt) produced a number of sound pieces mixed from various field recordings taken around Rotterdam. As a big fan of The Quiet American (Aaron Ximm), I was absolutely blown away by some of the most unusual, and at times, truly frightening recordings by Machinefabriek. He’s absolutely worth taking some time to check out.

The second film I watched was Ruhr by James Benning. It took Benning six shots and 90 minutes to describe the hometown of his parents.  I wasn’t completely unprepared for this minimal approach, as about half the crowd seemed to be, and at times the experience was a unique pleasure. Looking at a static/moving image for upwards of an hour allows for a greater consideration of the subject. There were some real moments of pleasure including a leaf’s heart pounding race from annihilation and a suspicious man’s coincidental appearance with a woman in red. But it’s important to note that the film was not always a pleasurable experience, nor should it have been. The challenge of watching something nearly static for long durations is an affront to the style of editing that is so pervasive today.

Lastly, there was Win/Win, a film shot just up the road in Amsterdam. Coming from Ruhr, I won’t deny that there was a bit of relief on my part in being able to sink into a narrative film. It was a pleasantly well shot film, and the main character was a joy to believe in. However, and perhaps it was fatigue on my part, I left with the distinct impression that I would not remember much about the film. It was a nice pallet cleanser though.

In August 2009 I had the privilege of being the principal videographer/photographer on the recently finished film ‘Rwanda: Take Two’. The film, funded by the Rotterdam Film Festival as part of it’s ‘Where is Africa?’ series, is premiering this Tuesday in Rotterdam. Throughout the week I’ll post some thoughts on the inner workings of a large international film festival, some embarrassing attempts at film reviews as well as some personal anecdotes about my first film festival.

After about an hour of walking around without a clue as to the whereabouts of my hostel, I finally found my way to an ever so slim yet surprisingly comfortable bed in Rotterdam. Sunday was pretty much a wash considering the time change, but I’m out in force today with four films scheduled through out the day.

First up are the NYC & Field Recordings of Jim Jennings. A series of short films shot on 16mm film, the Rotterdam description of his work (and the rest of the quoted sections) reads:

A stream of light and dark areas, shifting and mirrored surfaces and peep holes, filled with details and rhythm, and often edited in the camera. That the films have no soundamplifies the feeling of rootlessness. Yet, the energy of the city is tangible and occasionally audible, like an imaginary soundtrack.

About 45 minutes and couple miles away is the screening of Ruhr by James Benning.

Benning allows his camera to roam the Ruhr valley in Germany, where his parents came from. There are six meticulously framed takes at places where apparently little happens: a tunnel with a single car, a forest where planes race overhead, a factory with glowing rods of steel, a mosque with a hundred bowing heads, a wall where someone takes up arms against graffiti and an enormous chimney from which smoke is occasionally belched out.

Third on the list is the Dutch film Win/Win by Jaap van Heusden.

This contemporary telefilm makes the madness of the army of suits in office blocks tangible. The fast moving but empty life revolving around exchange rates, ID passes, the incomprehensible stock market language and the social intercourse of succesful guys who love for the kicks…

And lastly is Eyes Wide Open by Haim Tabakman.

Aaron, an orthodox Jewish father and husband from Jerusalem, first does everything he can to suppress his feelings for his attractive young employee Ezri…Yet Aaron becomes hopelessly infatuated by the boy and realizes how soulless his life was before.

From Google’s description;

Google Goggles lets you use pictures taken with your mobile phone to search the web. It’s ideal for things that aren’t easy to describe in words. There’s no need to type or speak your query – all you have to do is open the app, snap a picture, and wait for your search results.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the latest in a slew of new applications and services from Google as they hope to, yet again, redefine how a user finds information.

But being someone interested in how visual information is understood and consumed, I’ve spent some time thinking about how this new method of searching might change the way we understand photographs.

The history of photography is intertwined with the desire to capture truth. It’s chemical underpinnings and realistic interpretations caused many 19th century painters, for instance, to proclaim the end of their artistic practice.[i]

This truth effect that is so uniquely tied to the photographic process can be seen even today in the use of photography to illustrate everything from current events to family outings. The photograph is understood here as proof, as a reaffirmation of the life we see.

Though artists have been challenging this perception for many decades[ii], the truth of photography has held its grasp on the public consciousness. But in the last few decades, as the digital photographic process has entered the public sphere, the ease of “manipulation” has increasingly devalued the photograph as something proof positive. Public debates over what a photograph should and should not be have rocked the foundations of how to understand photography. Trust in photographic truth is wavering.

Enter Google Goggles.

With only a camera phone, users can now photograph most objects and receive information about them in a matter of seconds. The relationship between the photographed object and the information that is returned through Google is direct, clear and instantaneous. In other words, a direct link between the photographic image and Google’s truth is made. Not unlike the chemical processes that were originally so foreign in photography, the many thousands of filters that make up Google’s truth are lost in the speed of its return. This is, once again, that.

While I have no idea if this method of searching the internet will become as ubiquitous as the traditional text input, I wonder loudly if the relationship between the image and the seemingly definitive information of Google might reaffirm certain notions of photographic truth in the digital age. Imagine, for a moment, if instead of through a keyboard just half of the millions of searches made daily were carried out through the photograph. Perhaps, over time, a certain reaffirmation might occur where photography is once again evidence of something that is true.

Additionally, it will be interesting to see if there’s a change in the perception of photograph as nostalgia. In Google’s system the photograph relinquishes instant information. In doing so, the photograph is no longer a reminder of something, but a means to fast-access information. In fact, the Google Goggles user has the option to discard the photograph entirely, relegating the image to the status of a momentary intermediary.

Whether any of the above changes occur is entirely uncertain. But it’s important that we consider how these developing technologies shape and change perception. Without that consideration, our definition of the photograph might take on the air of nostalgia.

[i] If a man of genius uses daguerreotype as it ought to be used, he will raise himself to heights unknown to us… – Eugene Delacroix – 1853

[ii] Un Chien Andalou by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, Mothlight by Stan Brakhage, The Bowery in Two Inadequate Descriptive Systems by Martha Rosler – these are only a few examples.

Project in a Week – Organizing Your Time

Day One -

Assignment given, call potential subjects.

Day Two -

Content Gathering – Confirm subject matter, set meeting for that day to introduce yourself. Initial audio interview if subject is willing.

Post-Production – If content is gathered, do an initial edit of audio.

Day Three -

Content Gathering – Meet and spend the day (or as long as subject allows) photographing and collecting audio. Use knowledge of previous day’s interview to guide shooting and audio gathering (if applicable).

Post-Production – Cut and edit audio after shoot is over with. Begin to construct a narrative with audio collected. Organize stills into categories (must use, maybes, close-ups, portraits…etc etc).

Day Four -

Content gathering – Again, use what you learned in the previous days take to guide your shooting and audio gathering. What do you need more of, stills or audio? Do you need ambient audio for a certain photograph? Do you need a visual of a certain sound? What questions do you want to follow up on with the subject?

Post-Production

Finish a rough-cut of a narrative based on interview material. Begin to drop in ambient audio underneath interview. Continue to organize stills.

Day Five -

Content Gathering – Last full day of content gathering. Concentrate on filling gaps in the narrative. What photographs do I still need (do I have enough moments, close-ups, portraits etc etc)? What audio do I need (what questions do I still have? what visuals do I have that need audio?)? Exit interview should be conducted on this day.

Post-Production – Complete a radio cut of audio. The audio should be mixed between ambient and interview content (please note that ambient is not simply a long track of general sounds. It is directed and focused sounds that illustrate a photograph, bolster or otherwise contribute to a statement or interview, or both). Continue to organize photographs.

Day Six -

Content Gathering – Last minute questions, photographs. This day should be used to fill in any holes left in the narrative, visuals.

Post-Production – Day six should be used mostly for post-production. Continue to fine tune radio edit. Drop stills in over narrative. Base your decisions for visuals on the radio cut you’ve created. There must be a connection between the two formats!

Day Seven -

Post-Production – Continue to fine tune audio narrative. Finish dropping stills into the timeline. Add any moves on photographs or transitions (there better be a good damn reason to use them!). Normalize your audio and export as a quicktime. Watch the quicktime all the way through, look for errors in the export, or in the piece which you hadn’t noticed before. Take a one hour break, then come back to the piece. Watch it again, fix any lingering mistakes or problems.

Considered Questions

[1] John Szarkowski, The Photographer’s Eye. (New York: Museum of Modern Art; distributed by Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y., 1966), pg.12.

[2] Tim Davis, On Photography. 12 April 2009 <http://www.davistim.com/writing/writing.html>

Click to image to play

The good folks at Western Kentucky University just finished their 34th installment of the Mountain Workshops, one of the best week-long photojournalism workshops in the country. This year’s students were rewarded with their own slideshow on MSNBC! Congrats to all the 2009 students, faculty and staff. Great work guys.

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