Hunting
“Hunting”
Nonchalant, statement
I wanted to do something fun, with an edge, and I think I achieved that.
Movie show times, pulsing heartbeat, and gun shot
2:27:30 minutes
Citation: Joman2001; Heartbeat.mp3
Sea_Fury_M1_Abrams_Tanks_Gun_Shot; Gun Shot
Movie Schedule from Plymouth’s Showland Theater
For the Oulipian podcast, I was initially concerned. I had trouble understanding the entire concept of what the Oulipo was and how it entailed itself to the world of hypertexts and podcasts, if it did at all.
Reading about the Oulipo only confused matters more for me, but after some brief examples given in class, I understood the concept a little more.
I believe the Oulipo has to do with being free to create and express things the way you want them to be, more informal from say a book norm. Dealing with the Oulipo podcast, we had basic freedom to create whatever we wanted with any topic and parameters. There were only three restraints that needed to be abided by a time constraint of two and a half minutes, three sounds, in the order of prerecorded, rhythmic, and exclamatory and finally the podcast had to begin with the sentence “To begin with, they never got along.”
Working within these constraints to develop a functional, cohesive podcast was actually not as difficult as I initially perceived it to be. Having to develop a story that began with a certain sentence was not hard for me. I felt it actually gave me some direction to go in, but was still, wide and vast enough to be creative and explore the different thought processes of my mind. The time constraint was just convenient; otherwise there would be podcasts that lasted fifteen or more minutes and some that would only be two or three. This way everyone is on an equal playing field. The three sounds were a bit trickier for me. The prerecorded sound was the most difficult to work into the podcast. Though mine does not make a lot of sense, in an Oulipian way, it does. It is just creative, free spirited, and unique from other podcasts.
I chose the storyline because I wanted something different, something no one would initially think of. It may be corny, but it was a creative process that came to mind and just felt like a silly story to convey. The rhythmic and exclamatory sound effects fit in nicely with the story and help with the cliffhanger aspect. The prerecorded voice sound was more distinct and set itself apart from the story. I tried to find something of relevance, but I tried to make it fit in the best that I could.
I hoped to convey just a silly story. There is honestly no deeper, underlying meaning it was just to poke fun at some of the men running this country and the tactics they employ in and out of office. I think I achieved that effect, but some one listening to it may have a different idea, but I would like to stress that no harm was meant by this podcast, it was all do in fun and in a jokingly manner. If I had more time I would like to tweak the storyline a little and alter the sound effects making them a bit more dramatic.
Working again with technology was a good learning experience, but it also hindered my thought and creative processes. Even though I enjoyed the restraints placed on us, I also would have like a little more leeway with either a little more time, like three minutes, or perhaps not a prerecorded voice, but a voice other than our own saying something specific. I have learned that regardless of what one thinks of technology, they should always be prepared for anything and everything; whether it involves the constraints, or the computer software used, people should always be prepared for anything. This was a good learning experience and because I have the practice with this podcast, I would not mind doing another one to advance my technologic skills and deeper understanding of the Oulipo.
December 9th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Sara,
In some ways your podcast is deceptive (in a good way). The sing-song of your voice and the simple actions of the story make it sound like a children’s story, but then there’s that gun–rude awakening right there at the end. I didn’t catch the reference to our political leaders until I read your evaluation–that certainly adds a layer of humor to the whole thing.
In terms of your sounds, you might consider letting the movie times play a bit on their own to establish what’s going on, then maybe bring the volume down a bit more behind your story. The heartbeat is well placed and does indicate that something’s beginning to shift in the drama of the story. The gun shot certainly works as an exclamation. Silly Dick.