In week 2 of Sound for Screen, we went outside to examine, map, and record the soundscape of the traffic-filled area outside of the London College of Communication. Within this exercise, I tried to focus on my subconscious and personal reactions to the sounds I recognized recording, and then following the organization of the clips and sonic qualities I mixed the field recordings into a soundscape of the environment.

The area’s sounds included metallic high frequencies and low end that I was able to physically feel. There was a lot of construction, and mixed with the screeches of a murder of crows nearby. I separated the visible experience from my interpretation of the sonic environment, and while mapping the sounds on paper I emphasized specific sounds and sonic qualities I noticed in the environment. In organizing the collected recordings I highlighted the sounds that stood out to me in my collage of the recordings (crows, constructions, voices, etc). The sounds of the site allowed me to interpret the environment from my own perspective and sense of space.

In preparation for the first session of this module I watched ‘Fatima’s Letter’ (1992) directed by Alia Syrd. The film prompted me to look inward in interpreting my reaction towards the use of language and text throughout the film. I noticed that I was forming my own assumptions around the narrative of the film as a result of not understanding the language; much like forming assumptions around the environment during the sonic mapping exercise done in class. The use of text on the screen throughout the film pulled me back into the physical environment of the Whitechapel station used as the backdrop for the story, however, interpretation and assumption were promonant themes throughout, relying on the ambiguity of the sounds and camera angles to cause the story to mold to the viewer.