East Coast of Shorewood, WI-James Michaels, 11 May 2007, Infinite Loop

Presenting my final take East Coast of Shorewood, WI. This is a study of the exterior space located at the dock located in north Shorewood, WI, which in itself is just north of Milwaukee. Click here for a map of the location. As you can see it's very secluded and local laws even say landing of watercraft is illegal here, so access is limited to foot traffic.
If you're exploring my previous blogs you will find that this is the same location as my sound recording of the ice cracking. So this will give you an idea of what the space looks like, but now with a different season coming into play.



I've included an alternative view of the waterfront so as not to limit your perception of the area. Click the photos below to view the higher quality picture.


-Jim
11 May 2007

Fifth Best Of-Part 2

Here are both the audio and 'video' for my VR. Not much can be said at this point that hasn't already been said, but now all the elements are together. Keep in mind this is my rough draft, but I'm hoping the final won't need to be much different than this. I'm still mastering this craft, but I am doing just that: mastering it.
When initially viewing it, click on the Minus sign until it backs out to your desired length, and then click within the photo, hold the mouse, and move it around. Oh, yeah!
Enjoy!

Click on the image to experience an event like none other that you...oh, well. Just click.

Fifth Best Of-Part 1

Here is the audio portion of the fifth Best Of. I wanted to play this first before I had you experience my rough draft VR that includes the actual panorama, of course. What you have here is a multi-layer audio recording at the exact site of the panorama in on Lake Michigan in Shorewood, WI. For one layer I solely recorded the 'glooshing' of the water underneath the dock, and then walked up to the beach and recorded the waves so close that my mikes got wet. How intense is that?! The reason I recorded both audio aspects was if I just stood where I stood with the camera the end result would just be a mushy, uncharacteristicly mono feel, and I didn't want that. Recording each element that made up the entire experience and manipulating it, I felt, would better grasp how the human ear perceives a live auditory experience.
Expect an imeddiate intro with no fade-in. I did this because on the actual VR it will loop, thus a fade would ruin the effect (although the loop isn't that great!)

Click on the image to hear the audio.

Fourth Best Of

OK, here's my working, or running, copy of what I will be finalizing with sound. I'm still working on the actual angles and field of view and such, but I think what I've got so far is looking really good. The fact that I've learned this has opened up my mind to wanting to re-do my previous panoramas and make a VR with them. That, and go out and creat more. I've been attempting to do a full spherical VR but my experience thus far is very limited. Time will bring the talent! My final post should be my final, of not very close.

And yet again, click the photo to see the VR.

Third Best Of

Finally, here's my first attempt at capturing my first and most influential Trek point in the eyes of VR. This is the initial dock at Lake Michigan in Shorewood, WI. I recorded the great ice cracking incident here in my first Trek. No sound for this one as of yet, but it is to come and will add an entirely new element to it, I know. I can't wait. In the meantime this is my work in progress. My initial problem is the intricacy of the photograph and that brings the file size up, so it may take a while to load and view. You'll notice white areas around the photos. Some still need to be filled with other photos, but matching blue sky to blue sky and water to water is a little tough. I needed a working copy so I went with what I have.
Again, click the photo to view the VR.

Second Best Of

Once again before taking a shot at my actual Trek location I wanted to try an actual wide panorama. This time I've used one from my hometown in La Crosse. This one ended up working great because it was extremelly wide and very short, encompassing the entire Coulee view from atop Grandad's Bluff. An amazing view, one I know I'll create more VRs from. This one works well, but I think I've now learned that since it is indeed very low it is limiting the up and down views. Oh, well. Something to learn from and use the next time, right?

Click the photo to view the VR.

First Best Of

Here's the my first attempt at creating a Quicktime Virtual Reality. Taking a panoramic photograph I snapped while stationed in Afghanistan, I placed it in MakeCubic for Quicktime. I wanted to use an existing photo so as to get the hang of the programs. Well, no beginner's luck here as I quickly learned that while the photo worked as a stand alone panorama, the fact that it is height heavy, as in it's taller than it should be, this creates a problem as the camera position (in actuality, as well) is higher than ground level. This causes an issue when the VR tried to make a field of view. Instead of the point of origin being in the lower third of the photo it is dead center, therefore making this cylindrical effect. I fussed with all the options but to no avail. Oh, well. I tried.
Click the photo to see the VR.

Third question on Trek

A feature that remained constant in my Trek recordings is the sound of traffic. First of all, I can't stand traffic. And second of all, I think my next Trek will entail leaving traffic behind and enjoying the beauty of nature, finding a den or glen that I could accurately capture with my mikes. The rumbling and hissing of technology just doesn't cut it for a unique recording which is what I always strive for. I believe that the simplicity and silence of nature can easily be recreated through recording means. And you never know; like the ice cracking, I may experience something unusual again, like a tree falling!

Second question on trek

Refering back to the fact that my treks were in winter, and that one of my captures was of a man shoveling snow, I wonder what I could catch now that would be indicative of the changing season? How about kids on the playground, or a lawnmower, or several bicyclists riding by on their venture? I think a unique feature of these Treks is that they are not only capture the environment, but the season that that environment is experiencing. How neat is that?

First question on site

I recorded the ice cracking on Lake Michigan in Shorewood, WI, just north of Milwaukee. I had originally hung the mikes on either side of the jutting dock that I stood on in order to capture a surround feel to my recording. Seeing as that this was accomplished in the dead of winter, I wonder what I would discover if I were to do the same now that it's spring? The cracking ice was unique in itself, but I wonder if something other than sloshing water would suddenly appear in my recording? My guess is no, but you never know!

'Surround Sound'

Have you ever put on headphones, bumped your favorite easy listening piece, and simply melted into the 'oneness' of the persoannly created listening environment? Remember the peace that came with it, the realisation that you were alone in your 'world' and that nothing could seem to go wrong? Ever wish there was a way to naturally reproduce such an experience without the aid of technology? Obviously I'm going somewhere with this, and that somewhere is this suggestion: during the winter, go to a frozen lake and either stand on the shore or on a dock. It's best to plan for it at night and one with no wind. I did this on my first Trek and my experience is something to remember.
Standing alone on the jutting dock in Shorewood, WI, just north of Milwaukee, I suddenly realized that I was indeed alone. The temperature that night was such that only a crazy guy like me would edure it to record some ambient sound. But that aloneness didn't seem to hit me until I actually closed my eyes and in a way pretended to be my microphone, imagining what the final product may sound like when I listen to it. What happened was that I suddenly became part of the environment, and because it was so quiet and so still, it gradually became excrutiatingly loud as I was able to pick out sounds normal listening would hear. Wafting across the frigid water came echoes of windchimes a mile away, dogs barking around the inlet, and the best anomally of all was the cracking of the ice making its way to me. The mike did a great job of picking it up, almost in a surround sound aspect.
Because I took the time, which I'm very good at, to stop and 'smell the roses' I was able to experience an event I'm guessing not too many people actually get to hear. That's a good question: how many people actually do stop and just listen?