OK then what do I need?

1. Contact mic, I have sourced a piezio buzzer from Jaycar for $5 and apparently this can be used as a contact mic. I found a method on the net at: http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html

2. Mini camera, I have had more trouble finding an affordable minicam but perhaps a webcam will do the trick. Some of these can do up to 30fps and they record straight to the computer which is a minor convienience.

3. Old 10-12 inch speaker. Souldn't be to hard to find surely

4. Data projector, borrow one from Tech I guess thats what they are for eh

5. recording device, use my videocamera, hopefully it will accept the signal from the contact mic or else I can go through a field mixer. Actually that would be a good Idea as I then could use more than one mic and combine the inputs. I mean shit I could use 8 mics at once with my mixer

wed 14th may: made my first contact mic recording and it went very well. the mixer was definitely the way to go as I can have up to 6 mics at once and take a line out to my camera. I have my doubts about the transducer as it didn't pick up much bass frequency. Will try again with another transducer. I was amazed at the amount of different sounds that can be achieved just by playing with the levels of each mic and by moving around the mobile mic.

Fri: dipped the mic in latex hoping it will protect it and provide some waterproofing if I want to get in close to the action in the tub

Monday 19th: thinking of making the instalation on a bunch of tvs and vibrating the camera in real time in the gallery may have the speaker laying flat with the camera mounted so that the vibrations are translated in to up down motion, maybe using a buffer to reduce trauma to the speaker, this could be a pivoted rod cushioned with rubber.

Tues 20th: its time to settle on the idea I want to actually produce for putting into the proposal. I have toyed with notions of several TVs showing the appliance that is emitting the sound or else having an actual washing machine there in a spotlight but as I would like to record a variety of appliances I think I'll go with the TVs.

The TVs will show the uneffected appliance or else multiple camera angle of those viewing the work using a sequential switcher and four small cameras The data projector will project the shaking footage of the appliance emmiting sound.

Mon 26th: thinking that the washing machine motif may be to obvious/disengenious and it may be better to decontextualise the sound as then it would be hardly recognisable as a washing machine, and I am sure the same will apply to other appliances. This will take the project in another direction more to do with the sound itself rather than the 'domestic intensity'I am thinking to have a live camera on the tvs vibrated by the big speaker showing the scene in the gallery. I can also layer the audio up and shift it around to create more complex rythyms and more fully abstract the sound.

thankfully and finally the camera i ordered for this project has arrived so i can do the primary experiment of mounting the camera to the speaker and see what i have to work with. i will most likely need two amplifiers to slit the audio. deadlines approaching rapidly the pressure is on...

been mixing the washing machine recording and layering it up it is really a work in its own right an now I am thinking of taking it more minimal, just the sound with the live shaking camera. i can create a symphony of noise...

looks like i'll be installing in the None Gallery in a small self enclosed room... sound isolation is the main reason for this

questions for concideration? how will this work be recieved?
what does it mean for us to be combined with sculpture and why is this a comfortable fit?
what is my work informed by?
what am I trying to say?
how is it relevant?

Tues 27th: conducted the first camera on speaker experiment last night with promising results. also recorded the breadmaker with 4 mics, its useable but lacks the drama of the washing machine.

first camera on speaker test 

what i also discovered was that filming the speaker itself at close quarters while the thing is moving alot looks amazing. I am now thinking to use four cameras one or two mounted on the speaker top and bottom of cone, one on the rim looking in and one underneath looking in and an auto switcher cycling between them

this is the diagram representing the video and audio system for the installation. of course its open to adjustment.

this is the comercially available (from the USA) contact mic.

i started with this $5 transducer from Jaycar

carefully stripped off the outer plastic

soldered it onto a shielded mono audio cable with the shielding soldered to the negative on the transducer, the glass contains cheap wine.

plugged it into my field mixer which has room for up to 6 mics, I used three. Got this mixer off trademe for $60

I took the line out from the desk and plugged it into my video camera audio in.

I then loaded the machine with real washing and attached the contact mic, located the second mic to the side of the machine and used my good mic to move around the machine on the fly

it was surprising how much control over the sound I had either with the mixer tone and levels or by moving the condenser mic around

Mon 16th June: Have just completed first installation of work for assesment at art school. I have the four camera filming four angles of the speaker which is suspended by wires. There was so many cables and wires involved of all different lengths and positions that it would be near impossible to even tidy them let alone conceal them without a major investment of building them in.

My amplifier broke down with 2 hours to go before assesment so have had to borrow another one which seems to be giving some hiss and crackle.

The installation went smoothly other than that and the overall effect is coming across well. The large size of the room certainly helps provide ambience and a sense of 'galleryness'

I am slightly disapointed with the sound, in places it is a bit 'tinny' as the contact mics have a narrow frequency range. procuration of a decent contact mic would certainly help this.

overall I think the work was very effective, creating a powerful sense of drama perhaps the sound is too constantly intense for some but it is definately gripping.

the work is a symbolic interpretation of my own sense of alarm at the human civilisation machine running out of control and consuming nature at an exponentially increasing rate, it also reflects my own sense of anger and outrage at feeling powerless in the face of a barage of counter productive political descisions from world leaders and also at a local level. it is only when the last tree is felled that you will realise that money cannot be eaten...