Save our sounds
Post categories: World Service
| 16:00 UK time, Thursday, 11 June 2009
Bang. Clatter. Rustle. Thud. Just some of the noises I made doing my very first job at the BBC. Creating sound effects on The Archers is one of the best jobs in radio.
Twenty years later, I find myself absorbed in the subtleties of sound once again as the BBC World Service launches a short but engaging project called Save Our Sounds.
The editorial issues are quite different. No need to worry about using April birdsong during a June garden party scene or playing the wrong doorbell. The biggest dilemma for Save Our Sounds is accessibility.
Save Our Sounds aims to give people the world over a taste of "acoustic ecology", the act of capturing and preserving sounds which paint a picture of the world and which may become extinct. You'll understand that there's a huge, growing and fairly well-classified photographic archive, but a sonic record of global life is harder to come by.
So we're building a sound map of the world onto which you can add your own recordings. You can also join a growing online conversation by following the inevitable Twitter feed at (@bbc_sos) where you'll meet science writer and journalist Kate Arkless Gray.
But what about the large number of BBC World Service listeners who don't have internet access? Save Our Sounds is clearly built on the opportunities afforded by digital media, but we want to provide a way in for everybody.
Part of the answer lies in what sets the BBC World Service apart from other online organisations: we have a whopping great radio station attached to our website. So we've created Save Our Sounds radio programming that anybody can enjoy.
So those listening to the daily Outlook programme next week will be able to share in the project. The brilliantly inventive BBC World Service producer Rami Tzabar is also crafting a pair of Discovery radio documentaries, fronted by Trevor Cox, which you can hear in early July.
We've also tried to provide some pretty low-tech ways of contributing to our sound map. In addition to uploading from a web browser, by e-mail, or via the free AudioBoo application on an iPhone, you can use the plain old telephone system or even send a cassette tape in the post. Remember cassettes? They're still in widespread use in many places around the world.
I'd be interested to know how well you think we've done to open out this project and, of course, would love to hear any sound you choose to share with us.
Meanwhile, does Ambridge have broadband yet?
Steve Martin is editor of promotions and navigation at BBC World Service
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~50~RS~)
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Excuse me for being naive but why save these sounds? Are they not already "saved" as they wander around the universe with every other sound that was ever made on this planet and elsewhere?
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I used to collect 'sounds' as a kid. Weird or what? Recordings of trains coming and going; carriage doors opening and closing; horses (you've guessed it); markets; thunder and lightening. Cars, engines running and aeroplanes ducking and diving though n ever ducks quacking.
Nor birds or snails. Can't think why.
But then I grew out of it.
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I have used sound F/X on various projects for 30 years. In the early years making my own. such as using a cabbage, large knife, some chains and a basket, Yes !! you got it "Guillotine". Flap an open umbrella about.."bats"
Now we have many sound libraries to chose from KPM Speilberg / Lucas, and so on.
On one particular production (cheepo budget) called for 15th century cannons. All we could find was general "assorted cannon shots", well, within the soundscape of a battle, who would know ? The guy from English Heritage did !, he happened to chose that day to drop in. We lost a whole day of studio time, budget ticking away, trying to find a cannon that he thought was right. "So..how are we going to get a recording of a 15th century 15 pound cannon ?", he asked. My final words before going home was "Build me a time machine, goodnight."
It shows the amazing work that SFX experts go to for authenticity, because there is always a know-all out there.
Good project you have there.
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A telephone exchange is an interesting place. I suppose a manual exchange (too late for that!) is a bit like a call centre, but if you can get a "step by step" or "crossbar" exchange, that would be good.
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Save our sounds, I like the idea that make this program come up. May be we think it is like going back to the past, when there was only radio in all over the world, but there's nothing wrong to do the things like we did in the past, although I know that the internet-era had come up extensively in a few years ago. But, it hasn't still reached yet all people in the world as radio did. Save our Sounds is a brilliant program. Keiy
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I love the idea, as ive travel I notice the sounds I hear change, and as i look back across my liffe Ive heard the sounds of life chnage.
A place where we can record sounds related to places and times in awesome, and it may bring back fond memories. Richard
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I have used sound F/X on various projects a long time. In the early years making my own. Such as using a cabbage, large knife, some chains and a basket, Yes !! you got it "Guillotine". Flap an open umbrella about.."bats". Now we have many sound libraries to chose from KPM Speilberg / Lucas, and so on. On one particular production (cheepo budget) called for 15th century cannons. All we could find was general "assorted cannon emotion shots", well, within the soundscape of a battle, who would know ? The guy from English Heritage did !, he happened to chose that day to drop in. We lost a whole day of studio time, budget ticking away, trying to find a cannon that he thought was right.
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What an excellent idea. As a teacher I can see the great value of learning this will add to the world. This is especially true as time goes by. The sounds that dissapear will be recorded for the future. Here in Hong Kong the sounds of the city are ever present. I will place a link to this great resource on our school website. Thank you. Gary
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I can't believe so many BBC radio listeners don't have access to the internet as you said in the start of this article. You'd imagine at this point in time internet access is available to everyone. Omer
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nativity set
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I think this is a gorgeous project. It’s worth it to make people become aware of the surrounding sound scape and the way it looks these days. And I think it is important that we have access to the library that will gathered, hopefully, in a short time. And in the end I’d like to mention an older similar project named SOUNDTRANSIT still on the go. Anyway, the more the better. Goodluck, [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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