Bingo: A Phone Call by Jenna Johnson
Bingo: A Phone Call
Production Style: Psychological Phone Messages
Description of piece: This piece is an example of the thoughts that run through someone’s mind as they listen thorough their phone messages.
Description of my three sounds: Pre-recorded voice: Stell’s voice on the answering machineRhythmic Noise: The sound of an egg timer
Exclamation: An exuberant “Bingo!”
Running time: 2:30
Traditionally, the technologies that I have encountered in this class have been quite threatening to my own personal beliefs. First, I was enormously troubled by the cyborg theory that we read about during our first unit. The idea that I could be a cyborg simply through my usage of technology was both shocking and bizarre and it has taken me nearly the entire semester to read through Haraway’s ideas without feeling greatly biased against her. Then, we came to the hypertext unit, and again, I felt threatened. Even though the hypertext did not directly attack my identity, it definitely affected something that I dearly love and consider a portion of my own identity, the act of reading. So, when we came to the unit on podcasting, I was again prepared to react antagonistly to the overwhelming feeling of menace that I anticipated would accompany the new technology. My initial bias was definitely increased when I learned that the podcast assignment would impose constraints on my creativity. Since I had been so anti- technology all year, I was initially unable to realize that all of my written assignments for school papers have similarly imposed constraints on my creativity.
Yet, once I began the process of searching through creative commons in order to find sounds to use during my Oulipian podcast, my perception of the medium changed dramatically. I realized that the podcast was not some ominous, soul sucking, new form intent on attacking my humanity in order to turn me into an electronic automaton. It was simply an advance in the field of broadcasting that, honestly, was rather liberating to create. Usually, when faced with the task of creating a unique work, whether a creative work for my own pleasure, or an academic work for a class, I sit and sit and sit, thinking of what to write and what would be original enough to sound impressive. But that option was denied me in the creation of a podcast that required the inclusion of a pre-recorded voice. Instead of sitting and thinking, I was able to actively pursue the story, to hunt among thousands of sounds and snippets of other peoples’ lives- it was a much more effective way to begin writing. Once I found my first sound, the voice of Bill and Stell on the answering machine, an idea immediately popped into my head. I remembered a birthday party I had attended that featured a game of “Birthday Bingo,” a version of Bingo that involved competing for a birthday present. The game had always been a centerpiece of my friend’s parties, and a centerpiece of my memories of my friend. I was inspired! The sound search became easier- now I knew what sounds I needed. I would need an egg timer and an alarm, the sound of ripping paper, and the voice of a Bingo announcer. I had internalized the creation of the podcast by linking it to an event in my own life and I did not feel threatened at all. I was having fun!
I’m very pleased with my final product. I enjoyed creating the backstory of a telephone answering machine message, especially since I often think about similar types of things when listening to a message on my phone- my relationship to the person on the other line, events that we have shared, and my opinion of our relationship and the events we have done together. I think if I were to continue to work on this podcast, I would rewrite the story so that it would be in first person as opposed to third. Since I was able to tackle my aversion of new technologies, the next natural step in my podcast progression would be to tackle my aversion to writing in first person. I also think that the style of my podcast would make more sense if it were in first person, since the style is psychological. I also thought about adding music, but ultimately decided against it because I very rarely think about music while I am listening to my message machine.
[ http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=24944] Bingo in Arligton Heights by Terwelp
[ http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=41593] Answering Machine Tapes byNoiseCollector
[http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=14263 ] Egg Timer by xyzr_kx
[http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=39061 ] Rings by genviou
[http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=20379 ] Paper01 by AniCator
December 5th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Jenna,
I really appreciate the overall assessment with which you begin your evaluation, especially your insight that all assignments by their very nature impose constraints.
I like your idea for a shift to first person if you were to do it again. I’d love to hear you do Dotties voice!
Beyond the playfulness of your narrative, you’ve done a great job with the texture of your podcast. The set up of the timer and the exclamation and then the repetition of these do more than illustrate a moment in the story; they also evoke the sense of competition.
I also really enjoyed the twist in the story when Stell undermines Dottie’s moment of revenge. It certainly provides humor, but also shows the way in which the competition has stumbled beyond the bounds of bingo.
Well done!