Broadcast Yourself?
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When I used to make sound tracks for my films I would record “presence” tracks. I would set the recorder up and using an omni-directional microphone I would attempt to record the general feel or “presence” of a specific location or environment. I record for thirty or forty minutes sometimes. Often I would leave the recorder somewhere and comeback later. These presences would run the length of the film usually, mixed in at an almost inaudible level—city sounds, the sounds of a desolate area, the point of view of the area beneath a stick of furniture at a party.
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When I started to shoot video I was amazed by the sound presences all around me. I could just leave the headphones on and listen through the camera microphone to whatever and it immediately sounded more interesting.
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For PComp last semester I had to count all of the portable electronic devices around me on a given day. I was fascinated by the calculations. From cellphones, mp3 players, digital cameras and other handheld devices a twenty-minute subway ride to school netted many, many, many distracted people. But what if we were listening to the actual sounds around us? Not recording just listening?
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One idea: a wearable device that affects the real world sounds that you hear—like a hearing aid except that its focus is augmentation/distortion as opposed to fidelity. A wearable transducer that does not record the incoming sound but simply amplifies. A contact microphone/piezo is an obvious choice because it listens to vibrations as opposed to airborne sound waves.
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Antenna (radio), the component designed to send and receive radio waves;
Another idea in the same realm: an antennae inspired device that enables you to pick up sound waves and listen to them as you traverse the streets. Another attempt to feed into our need for distraction but this time what is holding your attention is the the world outside yourself.
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