A new hobby in field recording

[eri0o]

the setup I used in the place it recorded

Hi everyone, I just wanted to write here about a new hobby that I just got into. I have been involved in a few projects recently at work that requires me to spend a lot less time in the operational areas I used to be in, and a lot more time on the computer, in meetings, reading, and writing a lot.

Since I am now sitting in front of the computer a lot during the day, this means it has been a little hard to keep myself on a computer after work to do the other things I enjoy (like AGS!). As I get older, sitting a lot makes my back unhappy. I also have been thinking a lot that I need to get out of the house more - and I live in a place that has a lot of nature around too.

When I made I Rented a Boat and Don't Give Up the Cat, I spent some time in both games adding some environmental sounds. I like the result I achieved, but both times I had a little trouble finding exactly what I wanted for these sounds, there weren't a lot of royalty-free resources that also felt how I wanted.

I recently also tried to make another game similar to these two, its temporary nickname was Sandwalker, but I failed. One of the things that I made hard for myself in this game was the sound design. Since it was in a desert, I noticed there weren't a lot of sounds there that were interesting for me - it seems deserts are great for amplifying the sound of things you are carrying, but not much beyond this, even the animals don't produce much sound there. So I canned the project.

the sandwalker prototype.

I want though to create new small games in the natural environment that makes me happy, with a very green forest and a big ocean around it - it's just what is around my home, so it's also what I know too. So I started again to experiment with this.

But when I tried again to design an interesting map I found myself failing at finding the sounds that I wanted. So it got on me, that I should just capture the sounds myself! I knew I couldn't just use my phone, for whatever reason it doesn't like environment sounds too much, I tried to capture sound waves before with it and they just didn't end up sounding right. So I started to read online and discovered there is even a name for this thing I wanted to do, "field recording", and started devouring a few niche sites about it.

In the end, I noticed the sky was the limit spending wise in different hardware available. So I looked in different places, including some local stores from where I live, and started to track gear down in a notepad to assemble a starter kit. I ended up with the list below, as something that would not break the bank and also that I could get quickly so I could just try on the next weekend.

• Tascam DR-05X is a handheld recorder that uses a 3.5mm TRS connector for an external microphone.
• Tourmate Hard Case for DR-05X, helps me transport things in a compact Case
• 4 Toshiba rechargeable batteries, it's the same battery type I use around the house for Gameboys and remotes.
• Ulanzi Mt-16, a small and portable tripod
• Sennheiser MKE 200, a small and portable microphone (It also comes with a windshield!)
• Windshield for the Tascam DR-05X microphones, the cheapest I found
• sony mdr xb55ap, earbuds for listening directly from the Tascam DR-05X
• 1 64 GB Sandisk micro SD card

I ended up buying all through the internet - even in local stores - as I noticed the estimated delivery times were all reasonably short. The last thing to arrive was the micro SD card, and none of the micro SD cards I had at home were working in the DR-05X recorder - got the dreaded Invalid Card error no matter what I did. I also discovered that the DR-05X doesn't output any sound if there is no micro SD card, even when not recording. Of course, the micro SD card only arrived late Friday afternoon.

This Saturday morning, I woke up really (really) early and went to give a shot at one of the nearby beaches. And I forgot my earbuds, so I sat and recorded the waves and also walked around a recorded a few birds, having no idea if I was doing anything right and fiddling with the levels reading the graphics in the recorder screen until it didn't hit peak. As I got home it was a long day filled with other things, but now I get to sit down and listen as I write this. So, I didn't correctly select the input of the right mic in a few recordings, and some other stuff didn't sound too well, but at least some waves got more or less alright - although, a lot of birds ended up in the recording too.

There was one recording where I got the level config somewhat better than the others, I loaded up that one on Audacity, added a small fade in and fade out at start and end, and exported it to an Ogg file that I think is game (and AGS) ready. You can listen it here!

I think I will need to wake up very early for some time now to get the sounds - its a window where there are no other people around to make sounds that I don't want and that I also don't have to be doing something else, since everyone else is sleeping yet.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

[bicilotti]

This is an amazing report and an amazing activity.

In a world where everything is mediated by images, exploring and showcasing places near you with sound is something unique and almost revolutionary. I am sure your friends will appreciate recordings as much as I am appreciating "waves.ogg"!

Unfiltered ambient sounds are so engrossing, this would fit extremely well in an adventure or even interactive fiction.

Thanks again for sharing, and post more when you go out field recording again!

[lorenzo]

I really enjoyed reading the detailed description of your process for these recordings!

Lovely recording of the waves, feel free to share more! I love putting sounds of nature in the background, they create a relaxing ambiance and help filter out the noises from outside.

By the way, after reading about you having to wake up early to record some of the sounds, I couldn't help but make this

[Daymond]

I enjoyed your hobby as well. Great job actually. It commands respect. Thanks for the detailed report.