Ambient sound, has it changed?

Papertwinproductions

Papertwinproductions

One thought, seeing as we have both Sound Guru's on thread.

"Ambient sound", in lets say for example a desert, recorded sixty-years ago, as to one recorded in the present. I'm assuming, be it the atmosphere, and the vast modern progression of the last forty-years, that the ambient sound would indeed appear different to the trained ear, if the two where side by side, and for arguments sake recorded miraculously with identical equipment?

This is simply playing on the theory that there is a "Universal Ambience", that would inevitably evolve in the wake of its surroundings.

*I'm excluding the possibilities that the temperaments of the weather around the world would ever be duplicated precisely, to therefore conduct a fair test.
 
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From a strick reality standpoint, it depends on the location. Man's encroachment has been the greatest factor in the change in "ambient" sound. Whether it's the sound of a freeway 20 miles away, or the fly-over of commercial aircraft, or the off-road vehicles.

That being said, I tend to approach "ambient sound" for film from a non-literal standpoint. I may start with the familiar, in order to establish setting, but I'm also interested in mood, or atmosphere (in the emotional sense). Am I trying to communicate isolation or distraction, tranquility or disturbance.

Papertwinproductions said:
One thought, seeing as we have both Sound Guru's on thread.

"Ambient sound", in lets say for example a desert, recorded sixty-years ago, as to one recorded in the present. I'm assuming, be it the atmosphere, and the vast modern progression of the last forty-years, that the ambient sound would indeed appear different to the trained ear, if the two where side by side, and for arguments sake recorded miraculously with identical equipment?

This is simply playing on the theory that there is a "Universal Ambiance", that would inevitably evolve in the wake of its surroundings.

*I'm excluding the possibilities that the temperaments of the weather around the world would ever be duplicated precisely, to therefore conduct a fair test.
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I wouldn't say it has changed. A desert is a desert. The only thing different about the ambient sound of today are the orange and green filter on top of it. ;)
 
Every geographical area has it's own unique characteristics; terrain, flora and fauna, nearness of "civilization" in the case of wilderness and rural areas; language, methods of locomotion, technology level, etc. in the case of cities. Then, of course, there are many cities all around the world that do not have suburbs but are surrounded by rural/wilderness areas, so those sounds encroach upon the city environs and vice versa. Paris sounds like Paris, Manhattan like Manhattan, Taiwan like Taiwan, Moscow like Moscow; the Mohave desert sounds like the Mohave, the Sahara like the Sahara; etc., etc., etc.

Leaving aside the encroachment of civilization upon rural and wilderness areas, the way sound is recorded has also changed drastically. Incredibly sensitive mics, super quiet preamps and "noiseless" digital recording formats make it possible to pick up subtleties not possible in previous years.

Moreover, digital audio post systems like Pro Tools make thousands of audio tracks possible. Dozens of ambient layers and individual sounds make up the ambience track of modern films, and they are further manipulated with volume, panning, EQ and effects (such as reverb) to match visual perspective, enhance the mood of the moment, heighten suspense, etc. on a moment by moment basis. All of this is then balanced against dialog, Foley, sound FX and score.

The biggest challenge these days - unless you have a large budget - is capturing pristine recordings untouched by human created sounds.

In answer to your question, you also have to include the influence of civilization upon wilderness areas. Birds and animals adapt in subtle ways over generations, so the ambience of any given area is also in constant flux. In my area (NYC Tri-State) deer are appearing in my neighborhood, hawks are back, more rabbits and other "cute" rodents; in NJ bears are becoming a suburban problem. So no, the ambience of 60 years ago would be radically different for most areas of the world.
 
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Fascinating, Alcove.

Alcove Audio said:
The biggest challenge these days - unless you have a large budget - is capturing pristine recordings untouched by human created sounds.
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I assume this is in aid of having a cleaner platform to work with. A large budget leading to greater equipment, perhaps sectioned areas to record. This would, effectively-or give the best chance of- avoiding human created sounds?
 
Capturing pristine nature sounds is really hard with the prevalence of jets, cars, etc. The big budget folks have enough budget to send a crew to isolated locations to get what they need.

There is a bird in Britain - the Lyre bird - that imitates other birds. As technology has encroached upon its habitat it is now imitating manmade sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y
 
I'm not a sound guru?

I'm shocked.

Ambient sound is very much changed since the advent of commercial aircraft.

What I would give to record ambiences 300 years ago.

I was just working on a project where I had to capture the ambiences of the Pacific Northwest and found it quite difficult.

There was an article on it somewhere - and it said there are only 3 or 4 places in the Continental US which don't have a plane flying above it every 30 mins.
 
Alcove Audio said:
Capturing pristine nature sounds is really hard with the prevalence of jets, cars, etc. The big budget folks have enough budget to send a crew to isolated locations to get what they need.

There is a bird in Britain - the Lyre bird - that imitates other birds. As technology has encroached upon its habitat it is now imitating manmade sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y
Click to expand...


Unless I'm mistaken, the lyrebird is native to Australia, and no place else. When I was there a few years ago, I spent some time in a remote area in the mountains north of Melbourne which was supposed to be a habitat looking for it. It's incredibly retiring and, since it imitates other birds, how in the hell are you supposed to recognize it's call?

I never caught a glimpse of it, needless to say.
 
ROC said:
I'm not a sound guru?
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Who said you weren't?

ROC said:
What I would give to record ambiences 300 years ago.
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AMEN!

ROC said:
I was just working on a project where I had to capture the ambiences of the Pacific Northwest and found it quite difficult... it said there are only 3 or 4 places in the Continental US which don't have a plane flying above it every 30 mins.
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I used to be able to record stuff in my yard and garage during the day, then they changed the flight patterns for a nearby airport. Fornicating anal sphincters!
 
Alcove Audio said:
I used to be able to record stuff in my yard and garage during the day, then they changed the flight patterns for a nearby airport. Fornicating anal sphincters!
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Damn airport.

p.s Of course you're a Guru, ROC.

"Seeing as we have both Sound Guru's on thread"

Alcove, ROC. If there's a third I'm blindly unaware of, then hush my mouth.
 
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There is a book out there that talk about true silence in the world. I think it's called like 'One Square Inch' or something...hmmm...he says there is a few spots in America that have absolute silence, untouched by any man made device.
 
M1chae1 said:
There is a book out there that talk about true silence in the world. I think it's called like 'One Square Inch' or something...hmmm...he says there is a few spots in America that have absolute silence, untouched by any man made device.
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I've bookmarked it. That's going to be a good read.

p.s Off subject. There's an advertisement circling television, of two women reading at the beach with "Ipad"-like devices rather than paperbacks. The digital era is a cruel mistress.
 
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