Stats to date: Day 10 = c.1440 raw samples yielding c.384 chosen samples.The sum for 10 days so far c. 9767 raw samples, c. 2757 chosen ones. ONE MORE RECORDING DAY TO GO….
Our process breaks the recording sessions into scenes/takes/hits. Day 10’s work covered almost 47 scenes, the most we ever did in one day. However the amount of takes & hits in each scene was not as voluminous as in some earlier days, so that I had almost the same number of total listening to sort thru as I did on Day 5 and Day 7.
It was pretty formidable nonetheless. Taking the time to discern the pitches, to name & catalog them and write them down onto music manuscript paper was time consuming because of so many different scenes. We moved from benches to railings and finally to a highlight of the project, the Eiffel Tower’s legs.
HEY, NICE LEGS!
Joseph Bertolozzi (with log) & Paul Kozel at the Eiffel Tower recording the East Leg, Image (c) 2013, Franc Palaia
Recording the interior of the East Leg was a difficult task. Essentially an echo chamber hundreds of feet long, we placed the mic to best capture the sound from where I was playing it. I used the log to strike it to get as much of it vibrating as possible. It’s the same principle as using a large felt, wool or leather mallet to play a gong while using a narrow metal wand to strike a triangle.
Audio Engineer Joe Popp (below) held steady on a large boom balancing its weight on one end while guiding the microphone into a very narrow opening thru a grate. Of course any slight motion to the left/right/up/down would ruin a take.
JOE POPP AT THE EIFFEL TOWER RECORDING EAST LEG, Image (c) 2013, Franc Palaia
The plan is now to finish cataloging Day 11, the final session, by Thanksgiving, in about a week and a half.
Head down, back to work…