The inspiration comes from Colin Marshall's new microphone gizmo and the clips published on his blog. I am intrigued by the idea of field recording and am seriously considering investing in equipment myself.
I think sound recording is in some ways superior to photography, which is limited in its narrow window of focus. I think we often fail to appreciate sound because our senses are overwhelmed with visuals. Consider that whenever we want to think or focus deeply, it is natural to close our eyes to prevent all the distracting visual stimuli from reaching the brain.
So why is field recording such a rare hobby when compared to photography? For most people, if they ever capture sound it is very crudely with a video camera. My guess is that most people do not stop to think about the power of sound, just as I hadn't until reading Colin's post.
I am interested in sound recording equipment that would enable me to hear better than the unaided ear just as many powerful cameras enable us to see better than the unaided eye, but such equipment is probably expensive and I am, after all, very cheap. Colin's gizmo is $300, and that is probably plenty good, but I still have to ask myself how much it is worth to record and document sound rather than just listen to it in the moment. One potential criticism of field recording is that is limits hearing to the ears. That might sound strange but I remember reading somewhere that much of sound is actually perceived through the skin. Maybe for now I will just appreciate the sounds around me and free ride off of the incredible field recording material online.
---
I was curious about Colin's experience with his new gizmo, so I sent him a few questions and have pasted his response below, with permission.
I decided on using the H4n to explore it because it seemed to meet my criteria of (a) sounds decent, (b) not particularly pricey and (c) has two XLR microphone jacks. (I wanted to be able to set up mobile interviews with "real" mics.) Also, this Ask Metafilter thread I started definitely helped me narrow down the field.
Despite the fact that I was walking down the street with a pair of headphones and a gun-like recording assembly held out in front of me, I can't say I noticed any especially weird looks. (I'd probably get a few if I were going around with, say, a boom mic, or pointing really conspicuously at people.) I think by the time people figure out what I'm doing, I'm already long gone.
And as for compiling the recordings I make, I'll certainly put together a page on colinmarshall.org when I get a few more in the can and post about it.
---
Related:
Geotagged soundscapes
The four ways sound affects us (TED talk released last week)
