Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:19

For all you music lovers and friends of cool art work, this music video is a real psychedelic trip... and we strongly recommend a viewing (or a few). Here is some info that Reprise Music Group, Smalls members who uploaded the video, shared before you put your goggles on:

 Click here to watch the video for Customtone by Fracture & Neptune now >>

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Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:07

We were blown away by the Highrise project and the 'Out my window" documentary project by Katerine Cizek. Not only will it inspire you to take a closer look at your neighborhood, it takes you on a journey around the world - in a way that you may never have traveled before.

To watch Out my window and explore the Highrise project go to http://interactive.nfb.ca/#/outmywindow/

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Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:54

We're pretty sure you'll be as excited by this video clip as we were when we first saw it. Go ahead, watch those strings wobble and have a great Friday too! Oh, and if you catch any bass player in your neighborhood ask if you can record his/her music and upload it here to the Sound Map!

stunning bass-string shot from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

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Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:18

We like the animated music video for 'Electric Fence" by James & Amy - check it out below, hope you enjoy it too.

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Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:45

Happy Friday Street Sounds fans!

What are you up to this weekend? Don't forget to share any sounds you record while you are out and about in the cold.

We heard this cool cut-up method of making music and we wanted to share it, hoping it may inspire you to take bits of music and sounds and create something new and futuristic? You don't need a synth like here - use anything you can get your hands on, right?

PAANO - "Nebula Number Nine" from microfantastic on Vimeo.

And of course, if you do create something remember to share it in the Sound Map!

Have a great weekend everybody!

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Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:03

We came across this video, featuring a woman in Belarus who plays guitar blues using a light bulb. Have you seen or heard something as fun and quirky as this lately?

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Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:03

We saw this video on Vimeo and we think it really is sweet. The guy was reading a newspaper and saw an image of birds on electric wires. What does he do? He decides to use the birds' exact location as notes for a piece of music. Maybe this shows us that inspiration for sounds and music can pop up almost anywhere. What did you see today that inspired you?

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

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Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:44

We saw this article on Wired.com today and figured we should share it here with all you "soundsters". Enjoy!

http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2011/01/birth-of-the-microphone

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Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:28

Is it fall where you are? We want to boost the availability of different sounds in the Sound Map NOW - so we can work toward our goal of 5,000 sounds this spring! We hope you are ready!

Get your recorders out and please start catching sounds like these, typical (or not so typical) for this season:

- Thunderstorms
- Lightning
- Rain
- Freezing rain
- Ice pellets
- Hail
- Harvesting
- Thanksgiving preparations (and celebrations of course)

And anything else you come across - no matter how expected or unexpected!

Let's keep growing the number of sounds available to filmmakers and artists in the Sound Map!

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Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:22

Happy Halloween all Street Sounds fans! Don't forget to hit play on your phone or other recording device this weekend - then of course share all your haunting or hilarious Halloween sounds in the Sound Map! We want to hear stuff that makes your skin crawl and your spine freeze (as long as nobody or nothing gets hurt in the process of course!!)!

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Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:49

What do people sound like in your neighborhood? Is there such a thing as a Bronx accent or a San Diego dialect? You tell us. All you need to do is take a stroll in your local supermarket, or just ride the bus - and pay attention.

Then of course, record some cool sound clips that showcase the voices of your local area and share them in the Sound Map. Your recordings could help another artist find the right sound for their film or other artistic project, and who knows - it could of course get your some sound gigs as well.

See you around Street Sounds!

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Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:34

We may not (?) have mammoths and dinosaurs walking the earth today, but that doesn't mean we can't sometimes hear sounds from amazing creatures that seem like they belong in prehistoric times. From crickets to exotic frogs, we all occasionally stop and say "what was that?" as we are out walking the dog or stumbling home from a great party - right?

Next time you have one of these experiences, please record what you hear and share it in the Sound Map. It doesn't matter if you don't know exactly what it is - maybe someone else in The Smalls community can help shed some light on what it is you have heard?

Besides - prehistoric sounds (or well, sounds that seem prehistoric may be more correct to say) can make excellent special sound effects for horror films, or add bounce to cool cutting edge music tracks. So go on and share please, you could make a difference to someone else's artistic project.

See you around Street Sounds!

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Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:04

Do you have talented street musicians in your neighborhood? Dueling saxophones or a really talented singer, that you have seen over and over again?

Next time you pass one of these people, stop and ask if you can record their music - and then share it in the Sound Map. Who knows, you may help them get new fans or even help a talent toward discovery?

See you around!

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Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:29

Hey everybody, in the spirit of sounds we wanted to give World Listening Day ( today, July 18th, 2010) a shout out here on Street Sounds. According to The World Listing Project (WLP), World Listening Day has the purpose:

• To celebrate the practice of listening as it relates to the world around us, environmental awareness, and acoustic ecology
• To raise awareness about issues related to the World Soundscape Project, World Listening Project, World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and individual and group efforts to creatively explore phonography
• To design and implement educational initiatives which explore these concepts and practices
  

Because we also champion the exploration of sounds here at Street Sounds, we want to encourage you all to participate. Here are some ways in which you can do so:

· You can set aside some time when you pay attention to your soundscape.
· You can organize a listening party when people play field recordings.
· You can organize a soundwalk.
· Other possibilities… - let us know what you're doing to celebrate World Listening Day

Have fun!
- The Smalls Street Sounds

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Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:46

We at The Smalls wonder how people are listening to the Sound Map now that a few months have gone by. Do you pick clips purely to listen and try to distinguish every little element within them?  Do you see colors when you close your eyes? Or perhaps you visualize the ideal version of whatever would accompany the distinct and unique sounds? However you react, what is great is that you are using your imagination again.

By again, we just mean that our culture has become so visual that it is possible that our minds have become overloaded with information – making it nearly impossible to take a time out and think for ourselves. Listening to disembodied sounds is unique, as it triggers that part of our mind that can help fill in the blanks, creating a visual world of our own. You are not told what to see, but given a platform to see it for yourself.

Like the old times, when families gathered around a single speaker radio to listen to their favorite show, there was a time when all those people in that room would see the show in their mind’s eye differently.  So when you’re thinking about all of the people around the world who are listening to Street Sounds, take a moment to know that you are not only sharing a collective experience, but there are thousands of minds going in an infinite number of directions.

Where have you gone in your imagination?  www.thesmalls.com/streetsounds

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Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:16

It's hot outside, and a great day for a dip in the pool. Or an icy drink. Or a dive into the local park fountain. Whatever you are doing today to keep your cool - why not record your water sounds and share them in the Sound Map? Go on, splash some love on Street Sounds and let's get our uploaded sounds above 2,000!

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Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:25

Take us on a walk only with sounds to guide us through your neighborhood or your city. Let us hear what your route to work sounds like, or what sounds you always hear on your way home. Just hit record and walk through your neighborhood - we look forward to being surprised, seduced and maybe even provoked.

And who knows, maybe someone will take your soundwalk and turn it into a short film - interpreting what they think it is that you see every day as you move through your home town.

Looking forward to hearing a soundwalk from YOU in the Sound Map!

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Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:00

We've set an ambitious goal for ourselves with our Sound Map; we want to see 5,000 uploads by August 2010. But hey, we figure that with almost 2,000 sounds already uploaded - why not?

Let's see if we can record and upload a few more sounds this week, say just 180 or so, cause that would take us to 2,000 sounds - and wouldn't that be cool? It doesn't matter if your sound clips are just extracted from a video clip in your cell phone or if you take your mini-recorder out to specifically record new sounds in your neighborhood - just share them with everyone else. 

Every sound, no matter how small or big, tells a story. Share yours in the Street Sounds Sound Map today.

See you around!

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Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:58

What does your summer sound like? Did you go to a wild street party this past weekend? Attend a concert in the local park? Or, do you just chill at home on your roof terrace listening to the sounds of the city below?

Let's make these summer months speak for themselves in the Sound Map - upload all your coolest sounds today. It doesn't matter if you just hit record on your phone or extract an audio clip from a video you shot, just share the sounds of your summer with everyone else!

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Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:03

Well done everyone - we now have more than 1800 sounds uploaded into the Sound Map! Keep sharing sounds!

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Tue, 25 May 2010 10:45

The Smalls Street Sounds, the brand new interactive event championing the use of diverse sounds collected by the public in filmmaking, is proud to announce the winners of its very first film competition. The four awards are made possible by the generous support of Scion and recognize the exceptional talent available in independent filmmaking today.

The winning films were chosen from a high-caliber field of entries that explore the sonic landscape of cities in innovative and entertaining ways. Each entry was scored on three criteria - Interpretation of Theme, Execution and Use of Sounds.  Use of Sounds is a specific criteria for Street Sounds as entrants have used at least three sounds recorded by the public from the event’s Sound Map when creating their entries.

The themes available to filmmakers were The Unexpected, America, The Street or A State of Mind.

THE WINNERS of The Smalls Street Sounds Film Competition are:

An American Dream by David McLaughlin
Theta Girl by Irina Summer
Inspiré / (Seattle Ski Stop-Motion) by Beau Chevassus
Radiocar by Hermes Mangialardo

These four winners will be announced in Variety magazine and they will each also receive a Panasonic HDC-HS300 120GB Full HD Camcorder.

“We’re very excited to see The Smalls continuing to bring to light outstanding creative talent in the independent film community,” said Anna Grund, Founder of The Smalls. “Congratulations to the four winners, we’re thrilled to celebrate them before the industry through Variety magazine.”

The Smalls Street Sounds will remain open for the public to share, listen and source sounds for use in independent filmmaking and other creative projects. We hope it will continue to encourage and support artists in using sound in new ways to tell their stories.

We would like to thank Scion for their generous support, all our esteemed judges for their invaluable contribution and our members, collaborators and friends who have participated in making this a truly inspirational event. 

To see the shortlisted and winning film entries, please go to www.thesmalls.com/StreetSounds/Films. Or, to learn more about the filmmakers or to get in touch with them please explore their member profiles here on The Smalls.

The Smalls is a curator of independent short film, committed to the discovery and promotion of new talent through its website, events and competitions. For more information on The Smalls Street Sounds or The Smalls, please contact info@thesmalls.com

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Sat, 22 May 2010 10:54

Please note that the winners in the Street Sounds Film Competition will be announced Monday 24th May, 2010. We look forward to celebrating with you all when the results are released.

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Wed, 19 May 2010 15:09

We're really excited to announce that the public vote has now determined the final shortlist for The Smalls Street Sounds Film Competition. Thousands of you have viewed the films and your votes have singled out the films that will now be screened by our esteemed panel of judges who will select the winners.

On the judging panel you will find distinguished industry professionals such as Monique Frumberg - Director of Branded Entertainment at Sundance Channel, Owen Fegan - Design Director at Wenner Media overseeing Rolling Stone Magazine, Nima Nourizadeh - award-winning promos and music video director who has delivered videos for the likes of Lily Allen, Flight of the Conchords, Santogold, Hot Chip, Chromeo and Mark Ronson, Steve Elkins - music documentary filmmaker and composer, Warren Etheredge - founder of The Warren Report and president and head of development for Lockspring Pictures, and Valerie Albanese - VP of On-Air Promotions at A&E.

Please join us in congratulating the talented filmmakers behind the following Street Sounds films that have been chosen by you, the public, to go onto the next stage of the competition:

Thoughts on Thoughts - Ava Yazdani

Theta Girl - Irina Summer

An American Dream - David McLaughlin

Solitude - Near Miss Entertainment - Lori Haberman and Victor Valdivia

Inspiré / (Seattle Ski Stop-Motion) - Beau Chevassus

RadioCar - Hermes Mangialardo

Iron Hoarse - Beau Chevassus

We'd also like to celebrate all the films that made it this far – your innovative high-caliber work truly showcases the incredible talent available in the world of independent filmmaking today.

The winners will be announced on TheSmalls.com on Friday May 21st, 2010 and featured in Variety Magazine shortly after that.

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Thu, 06 May 2010 12:04

It is time to watch and vote!

 

We’re really excited to invite you check out the films that have made it to the final rounds of our film competition and to vote for your favorites!

 

Now is your chance to have your say on who should be screened by our esteemed judging panel and possibly go on to WIN BIG. In fact, the public vote is crucial in deciding who will move onto the next stage, where the 6 highest rated films will be viewed by our judges who will then select the winners. You have until Friday May 14th, 2010 to vote for your favorite films!

 

To watch the films and to vote now, click here! 

 

Thank you to everyone who submitted their exceptional films into Street Sounds. Out of an impressive selection of entries, these films really stood out with their originality and interpretation of themes. We hope you join us in congratulating all the filmmakers who have made it this far.

 

Vote now to keep your favorite films in the competition!

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Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:46

Today we have reached 1,700 sounds! That's great. Keep on uploading folks!

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Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:04

We now have more than 1500 sounds in the Sound Map - amazing! Can we make it to 2000 by next week?

Go Street Sounds!

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Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:01

You can now browse and experience more than 1300 sounds in the Sound Map. Thanks to everyone who shares their audio clips. Let's continue collecting sounds and make this the best and the biggest sound collaboration on the web!

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Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:23

The prizes are AWESOME, the opportunities to get noticed in the film industry are INCREDIBLE – you know you want to enter the Street Sounds Film Competition. But if you are serious you need to act fast – GET YOUR FILM IN TODAY!

To learn more about the competition and how you can enter, click here.
Or, email streetsounds@thesmalls.com with any questions relating to your entry.

To enter RIGHT NOW, click here!

THE SMALLS STREET SOUNDS.
MAKE HISTORY. BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:36

Great news! An incredible 1000 sounds uploaded.

Keep recording and sharing your sounds, make a short film for April 16th deadline on street sounds.

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Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:52

The deadline to enter The Smalls Street Sounds film competition, April 16th 2010, is approaching rapidly. How are you doing with your films? Do you need help finding sounds? Wondering about the themes? Anything you need, let us know. Tell us how you are doing, share your ideas or put out a call for sounds in the Street Sounds Forum.

As a brief reminder, here is what you can win if you enter:

• A Panasonic HDC-HS300 120GB Full HD Camcorder
• Your name, short film and success celebrated inside a slick full-page ad in world-renowned Variety
• After the public vote determines a shortlist, an esteemed judging panel will screen and select the winning films. This is a unique opportunity to have your work seen by prominent industry professionals such as Rolling Stone Magazine Design Director Owen Fegan, Sundance Channel Director of Branded Entertainment Monique Frumberg, A&E VP of On-Air Promotions Valerie Albanese, Partizan Director Nima Nourizadeh, Music Documentary Filmmaker Steve Elkins and Founder of The Warren Report and Head of Development for Lockspring Pictures Warren Etheredge. In addition, your film may also be shown in any live screening events for The Smalls Street Sounds.

If you're a talented filmmaker looking for a chance to advance your career - this is the film competition to enter. To submit your film NOW, click here!

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Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:42

Well done everybody! We now have more than 900 sounds in the Sound Map of Street Sounds!

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Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:19

This year, a new online event of particular importance to the creative community is emerging at The Smalls (www.thesmalls.com). The Smalls Street Sounds, a rapidly growing sound collaboration, offers artists within film, music and sound a chance to evolve their craft through listening to the world around them – and the creative endeavors to follow are expected to be nothing short of unconventional, unusual and visionary.

Last December, after receiving support from Scion (www.scion.com) The Smalls was able to launch the event, now familiarly known as “Street Sounds”. The goal is to have more than 5,000 sound clips uploaded to the interactive Sound Map by April of 2010; Street Sounds is also currently hosting a successful short film competition with the possibility of attracting hundreds of unique short films that explore the sonic landscape of cities. To pair artists who record sounds with filmmakers and then allow sounds to guide the creation and production of original films may in itself not be something entirely unique. What is unique however is the freedom for individual expression inside Street Sounds, and the thrill that comes from the uncertainties that go with that kind of freedom.

“Anyone can upload sounds – anything from dialogue, bird song, ambient sound to music and more has room in our Sound Map” says Anna Grund, Founder of The Smalls. “Any sounds from your streets are welcome. We want you to invite us into your world, so that we can break out of our own. We want you to take a leap of faith with the Street Sounds and believe in the shared benefit for us all to listen to your street sounds – much like how someone else’s sounds can open up a new window into your own creativity.”

That leap of faith that Grund mentions is exactly what makes Street Sounds exciting – and so important. The event stands at the cusp of a new decade where Internet collaborations may be the key to new art forms and new creative expressions. If Street Sounds succeeds it could prove that we are not afraid to rub elbows and mix creative voices to achieve something greater than the sum of its parts, on a new and unprecedented scale.

Over the last few years, collaborative online art projects have achieved encouraging levels of success.  One Million Masterpiece (www.millionmasterpiece.com) for example, enlists artists to provide small square images through their online software, which will eventually be merged into one large digital canvas.  With nearly 30,000 artists signed up to date, they face a continuing challenge to achieve its goal of a million collaborators while sustaining other initiatives like raising money for charitable causes.

Other collaborations have had the luck of instantly going viral – “Playing for Change: Peace Through Music” brought together street musicians from different countries to play songs like “Stand By Me” and “One Love” in real-time using wireless internet technology.  In just a year, over 20 million people have seen these two videos alone; more videos, live tours, concerts, and screenings are currently being spun off from the project.  And again, there is the larger goal of the project – to inspire peace on earth through music.

So what kind of collaborations will we see materialize from The Smalls Street Sounds?  That is what makes this project exciting, as the possibilities are kept completely open.  After the filmmaking competition ends, there are plans for the Sound Map to remain active for anyone who wishes to visit and participate.  The platform will be available to achieve something like an aural One Million Masterpiece or for musicians to come together online for their own collaborative performance – but then there is everything in between, where all artists are encouraged to discover, explore and create their own unique projects.

For now, the Street Sounds film competition is drawing attention from many different kinds of film and music artists, who are hoping this event could be their ticket to get more creative with fellow artists and of course - be discovered. In the process they just need to source three sounds from the Sound Map and use these in their film (i.e. they have to collaborate in order to participate) and they also need to make sure they interpret one of the competition’s four themes. “We have chosen four motivational and open-ended themes for our film competition, themes that we hope will inspire filmmakers and empower them to take their visions one step further” says Grund. “After all, Street Sounds is all about going one step further – together”.

Ultimately, the potential of The Smalls Street Sounds come from its focus on serving the user.  This shared creative event has the potential to be fun and exciting, but the Sound Map can be an effective tool for years to come, and a starting point for unique artistic voices to emerge.  We may not have a clue what the end result will look or sound like yet, but we can dream about it.  And where would art be if there were no dreams?

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Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:52

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Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:53

Well done everybody - the Sound Map now has more than 700 sounds uploaded!

There's some really cool stuff available, listen in and you'll find everything from fireworks to tropical birds. Every clip matters, so keep uploading sounds and keep telling everyone you know about Street Sounds!

To upload more sounds, click here!
To check out the Street Sounds film competition, click here!


MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.
 

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Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:32

RadarmusicVideos is a worldwide network of music video directors, where labels,
artists and brands commission and promote music videos.
You're welcome to join us: http://www.RadarMusicVideos.com'

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Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:45

Chesney Snow is one of the top Beatboxing artists today as well as the co-founder of the World Beatbox Association.  He is a veteran performer, having worked on the Adidas Originals Campaign and performed at the NJPAC: Planet Hip Hop Festival as well as been a featured guest artist on MTV Unplugged Kayah.  He is also producing the first American Beatbox Championships, set for July 21, 2010.

During this interview with Elin Tiberg of The Smalls, Snow reflects on the growing popularity of his craft, the human voice as an instrument, and shares his thoughts on the future of Beatboxing and Filmmaking.

To listen to the interview, click here and play the clip.

To learn more about Chesney Snow and his upcoming projects, click here to visit his MySpace page. Or, check out the American Beatbox Championships website.

Enjoy!
- The Smalls

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Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:46

Attention filmmakers! If you are scrambling to get your entry ready for the Street Sounds film competition, there is great news – you now have until April 16th, 2010 to submit your short films.

We hope you enjoy the additional time and look forward to seeing your entries. Remember that you are competing for the chance to win a Panasonic HDC-HS300 120GB Full HD Camcorder, have your short film screened by a distinguished panel of judges as well as see your name and achievements celebrated inside a FULL-PAGE AD IN VARIETY.

If you have any questions about the entry process or the competition, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to post your thoughts in our forums or just email us at streetsounds@thesmalls.com.

To learn more about the competition and to enter, click here!

Good luck everyone!
- The Smalls

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Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21

Are you tired of using old equipment, or borrowing your camcorder from friends?  The time has come to get your hands on your very own Panasonic HDC-HS300 120GB Full HD Camcorder – four winners in The Smalls Street Sounds film competition will each receive one of these superb machines.

To enter, all you have to do is choose three sounds from our interactive Sound Map and use them in your film, interpret one of the competition’s four themes and then upload your entry on the competition page. It’s that easy.

In addition to winning this great camcorder, you could also have your short film screened by a distinguished panel of judges. And, you also compete for the chance to have your name and achievements celebrated inside a FULL-PAGE AD IN VARIETY.

To enter, just go to The Smalls Street Sounds film competition page and submit your entry. But hurry, the deadline is March 26th, 2010.

Good luck!

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Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:59

There are Street Sounds filmmakers who need sounds of police cars, fire trucks and other sirens for their short films. If you have access to cool sounds such as these, or other audio clips that really catch people's attention, please upload them to the Sound Map today.

Remember that if your sound is used you could be a collaborator on an award-winning film.

JOIN THE SMALLS STREET SOUNDS!

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Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:12

A new record reached for the Sound Map - we now have more than 600 sounds uploaded!

Keep sharing sounds. Every upload counts. And for all you filmmakers out there - now is a great time to browse the map for sounds for your Street Sounds film competition project!

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:36

We're really excited to present the prestigious panel of judges that will screen and rate the top entries of the Street Sounds film competition brought to you in association with Scion (www.scion.com).

The esteemed judging panel includes Rolling Stone Magazine Design Director Owen Fegan, Sundance Channel Director of Branded Entertainment Monique Frumberg, A&E VP of On-Air Promotions Valerie Albanese, Partizan Director Nima Nourizadeh, Music Documentary Filmmaker Steve Elkins and Founder of The Warren Report and Head of Development for LOCKSPRING PICTURES Warren Etheredge.

These names are the first to be announced and more information on our judges will be available here on this website shortly.

“Street Sounds is all about new artistic expression, individuality, and creative storytelling. This is a great opportunity for emerging filmmakers to explore original ideas and have their films seen by a panel of leading figures in film, television, music and media. We are very excited to see which films will be voted by the public to be put before our judges” says says Anna Grund, founder of The Smalls.

All films that enter the Street Sounds film competition are screened on The Smalls (www.thesmalls.com). After the public vote determines a shortlist, the distinguished panel of judges will screen and select the winners. Prizes include a new digital camera and achievements celebrated inside a full-page ad in Variety. The deadline for entries is March 26th, 2010.

For more information about The Smalls Street Sounds, the film competition and the judging panel, browse around Street Sounds or email streetsounds@thesmalls.com.

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:29

Steve Elkins  – composer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, writer and photographer – is a man on a mission to teach us more about music. Not music as a form of entertainment or self-expression, but as a creative impulse that gives life meaning and that guides us toward more meaningful relationships with other people and our surroundings.

Interviewed by Chris Blake, on behalf of The Smalls, Steve Elkins shares his thoughts on topics such as why music affects us so deeply. He also discusses where you draw the line between sound and noise, and tells some incredible stories about the people he met through working on his upcoming film The Reach of Resonance.

To listen to the interview, click here and play the clip.

To learn more about Steve Elkins and The Reach of Resonance, coming in 2010, click here to visit his website.

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Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:43

Filmmakers are looking for sounds of bees, beetles and other cute little creatures. From the insistent march of little ants across your garden table to the loud song of the cicadas in your neighborhood park, there are awesome insect sounds that filmmakers in The Smalls community wish to have access to for their short films.

If you have some cool insect sounds, upload them to the Sound Map today. Also, if you are a filmmaker searching for specific sounds for your Street Sounds film competition entry - email us here at streetsounds@thesmalls.com, or post your search for sounds in our Forum. 

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:46

Keep up with Street Sounds on Twitter!

Unless you are already following us at @followthesmalls you are missing some great updates on film, music and of course what is happening around the Sound Map.

Follow us, tweet us, retweet us to everyone you know - we're excited to grow our Street Sounds community even stronger.

See you on Twitter!

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:49

From slam poetry to a monologue about slingers, we're really excited to see so many new uploads from different parts of the country.  Keep your unique sounds coming - every upload counts!

PS. All you filmmakers out there, now is a great time to start choosing your 3 sounds for the Street Sounds film competition.

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:33

The Smalls Street Sounds secure Monique Frumberg, Director of Branded Entertainment at Sundance Channel as one of their judges on the panel for the film competition.

"We are extremely excited to have such caliber of judges on board. We feel it is a huge incentive for filmmakers to submit at least one film." says Elin Tiberg, Producer, The Smalls.

To have your work directly screened by such industry professionals could be your chance to get discovered or prod you to up your game.

Monique Frumberg joins Valerie Albanese VP on air promotion, A&E and Nima Nourizadeh Director, Partizan.

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Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:48

Well done everybody - the Sound Map now has more than 500 sounds uploaded!

This means we reached our goal of 500 sounds by Valentine's Day!

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:02

Well done everybody - the Sound Map now has more than 400 sounds uploaded!

Keep all the cool audio clips coming - every sound matters.

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.

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Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:17

Located in New York City, Silver Sound is a leading sound studio that specializes in location recording (film or music), VO and studio recording, sound editing and design, foley & ADR, film mixing (surround sound or stereo), music composition / film scoring, music tracking, and music mixing.  Check out their website (www.silversound.us) and you can check out all of the cool projects they’ve worked on, and check out their own film competition, where you can win free sound services.

Co-founder Robin Shore was kind enough to spend some time answering our questions about working in the sound / film / music industry and share some thoughts about the Sound Map and The Smalls Street Sounds.



What is Silver Sound?  
Silver Sound is about 7 or 8 guys who are passionate about making movies sound really good.

What inspired you to get into the business?
We've all been interested in sound and movies since we were young, a lot of us started making and recording our music when we were still teenagers and most of us went to film school. In the film world sound work has this weird mystique about it that makes it a really appealing field to get into. People act as if it's some kind of magic.   

What exactly do you do?
We look at sound from a filmmaking perspective, which involves all sorts of different things. We have a recording studio in Manhattan where we create and edit sounds then mix them together to create the finished soundscape for the movies we work on. This can involve anything from recording a voice-over artist in one of our vocal booths, to playing with an old doorknob or a piece of raw meat in front of a microphone.  We also travel to film sets to record the sound during shooting and every once in a while we'll even pick up a camera and make a movie of our own.

Why is good sound important to any film project?
It's actually really hard to give a complete answer to this one because there are so many different things that define "good sound" and so many things that sound can bring to a movie. On a pretty basic level you want the audio quality to be high so that people will actually be engaged enough to pay attention. The ear is a lot less forgiving than the eye when it comes to quality and I've seen lots of really beautiful looking movies rendered unwatchable because of poorly recorded sound and bad mixes.

On another level you need a well thought out and executed sound design in order to sell the actions and the emotions you are trying to show on screen. No one is going to believe your character actually got punched in the face if they don't hear his jaw crack and no one will think your monster is scary if it just sounds like some dude yelling from across the room.

What have been the most interesting projects you have tackled?
About two years ago we were priced out of our location in Midtown Manhattan and had to build a new studio from scratch in a different space. That was definitely one of the most interesting things we've done as a company. It really made us think about the best way to use all the tools we have and forced us to learn a lot about the more technical aspects of our work.

As far as projects go my favorites are the ones that exist somewhere outside the realm of normal movies. Last year we were approached by a fine artist named Josh Azzarella who had used a computer to remove all the people from Michael Jackson's Thriller music video resulting in an odd mish-mash of unmotivated cuts and camera moves through empty rooms and landscapes. We were asked to create a sound design based on what we thought these empty environments would sound like. It's not necessarily the most captivating thing to watch from start to finish, but it posed a pretty interesting problem for us: How do you create an atmosphere of stillness and emptiness without making it sound completely dull and silent? The answer was to vary the tone of the ambient noise a lot depending on the shot, and to give a lot more attention to small atmospheric sounds that might go unnoticed if there was a lot of action happening on screen.

We also sound design and mix an episodic audio drama called the Leviathan Chronicles. I don't think I really need to explain why an audio drama is an interesting project for a movie sound designer and this one is a sci-fi action story, which makes it particularly fun for us.    

You do a lot of mixing for recording artists – what is that like?
We do work with recording artists pretty often, but we don't actually do that much mixing of music tracks. Our work with them usually involves live recording of performances and interviews, or integrating tracks that have already been recorded and mixed into the projects we're working on. Mixing a movie, which is what we mostly do, can be pretty different from mixing a song. It's usually a much longer process (most movies are longer than songs) with a lot of sound elements coming together from pretty diverse and inconsistent sources. In particular Dialogue and other sounds recorded on location can bring up a lot of noise problems that you don't often run into with recorded music

What do you feel is the future of the sound industry?
A lot of movie and video content is being released on the Internet now and there still aren't really any standards for it is far as sound is concerned. Audio quality and levels vary a lot, even between things on the same site. People are going to have start paying attention to that stuff and learning to work within some new guidelines if they’re mixing for the Internet.  I also think we're gonna be doing a lot more work in 5.1 surround even on smaller projects that are just intended for web or TV. People seem to be really interested in that now that home theaters are popular and you don't have to go to a big movie theater to enjoy something in surround sound. With people listening to things on headphones so much I think it'd be really cool if binaural recordings became more popular (binaural recording is a technique used to recreate space and directionality in a sound recording. It requires the use of stereo headphones. You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_recording), but I doubt that will happen.

What’s on the horizon for you guys?
We have a couple of feature films we're about to start working on right now, as well as pretty cool abstract film project with a photographer named Stephen Wilkes. We're also organizing a couple of really great events for filmmakers in New York. Right now we're accepting submissions for our annual film fight competition where we provide free sound services to our favorite projects in various categories. Later in the year we'll be hosting a silent film festival where we pair up filmmakers with musicians then screen the films accompanied by a live score.

You are running a competition yourselves, right? Tell us about it.
For this year's competition we've opened up submissions to films in all stages of production from pre through post. Even if all you have right now is a glimmer of an idea you could still win a full day of free sound work from our top-notch audio engineers.  For specific information you can check our website.



What do you think of the Sound Map and the Street Sounds project?
It's a really great idea. A lot of people have just recently started sharing raw sound recordings on the internet like this which is great because otherwise if you need a specific sound effect you'd either have to go out and record it yourself or pay an arm and a leg to get it from a commercial sound library

What do you think makes a sound inspiring?
Clarity is pretty important to me when I'm choosing sounds to use; even if I'm not familiar with the sound, it should be distinct and be recognizable from the other sounds around it. Dynamics (variations in volume) can also really help to add character and richness to a sound.

What would you want to hear from the Sound Map?
Living in a big city like New York makes it really hard to record good outdoor sounds that don't have people or traffic or airplanes in the background. I'd really love to hear insect noises, waterfalls, birds, walking through leaves WITHOUT traffic. I think it's very difficult to get. I'd love to hear the rustle of wheat fields or cornfields in the wind.
 
More generally, I'd like to hear recordings that include something unique to their location that would be easily recognizable by someone who hears it often. For New York City that might be the distinctive ding-dong sound played on the subway when the doors are about to close and the robotic man who announces, "stand clear of the closing doors". It could also be something more personal like the sound your front door makes when you lock it, or the sound your TV makes when you turn it off.

What is your favorite sound on the Sound Map?
There's a really nice recording of an El train in Chicago. You can hear the the rhythm and all the different clanks pretty clearly which is nice because a lot of train recordings just come out sounding really fuzzy and indistinct.

There's also a really interesting one from one from Pennsylvania called ringing rocks park that made me so curious I had to look it up to find out what is. It sounds like a small bell being struck really sharply, but it's actually a special type of rock that rings like metal when you hit it with a hammer.

Any advice for filmmakers who are sourcing sounds from the Map for their projects?
Don't be lazy, keep listening until you find the right sound and make sure you listen to sounds all the way through, otherwise you might miss something good. Don't just take a sound from the map and drop the whole thing into your project haphazardly without thinking. Play around with timing until you have it just right, and experiment with stretching or shortening the sound or making the pitch higher or lower. With longer sounds you will usually have to edit out the bad parts so that your only using the pieces you like.

If you are going to record sounds to put on the map try to avoid recording yourself. In particular, be mindful of not hitting the microphone(s) or moving them around too much. Make sure that you have an adequate windscreen, this rule is VERY important and often causes loud low rumbling if not followed. Make sure that your recording environment is as quiet as possible (turn off the fridge if you have to).

To read more about Silver Sound Studio, you can contact them here at The Smalls via their member profile: http://www.thesmalls.com/members/silver-sound.go or visit their website, www.silversound.us.

MAKE HISTORY.
BE PART OF THE WEB'S BIGGEST SOUND COLLABORATION.
Tune into The Smalls Street Sounds. (www.thesmalls.com/streetsounds)

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Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:49

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and since we are all in the mood for love, lets show the Sound Map some affection too! Together we can bring the number of uploaded sounds to 500. Record yourself making those much needed dinner reservations, or sing a song to celebrate how you will never participate in Valentine's Day - anything goes.

LET'S MAKE VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL FOR THE SOUND MAP. LET'S REACH 500 SOUNDS BY FEBRUARY 14, 2010.

Click here to upload sounds now!

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Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:25

Listen up - The Smalls Street Sounds filmmaking competition, brought to you in association with Scion, is officially OPEN!

We invite you to create an original short film using three or more sounds that you find in the Sound Map, while you also interpret one of the following themes:

• The Street
• A State of Mind
• America
• The Unexpected
  

Please keep your film to three minutes in length (you can have an additional minute for credits).

You have until March 26, 2010 to submit your film.

To learn more about the competition rules and to enter your film, click here!

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Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:59

While working with the Street Sounds event, we have come across many exciting artists and creative projects that take inspiration from sound in various shapes and forms.

Today we'd like to introduce you to The Space Gambus Experiment – a blend of traditional and contemporary Malaysian music and radio waves received from the planet Jupiter. We recently interviewed one of the artists behind this unique project – Kamal Sabran, artist, designer and researcher.

Read the interview with Kamal Sabran here!

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Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:14

Nima Nourizadeh, director at Partizan (Adidas house party) has accepted to be on the judging panel for Street Sounds film competition which launches on the 8^th February.

We are extremely excited about having such a calibre of judges involved.

The first judge to accept was Valerie Albanese from A&E NY.

www.thesmalls.com/streetsounds
http://www.partizan.com/partizan/commercials/?nima_nourizadeh

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Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:30

Street Sounds are delighted to announce Valerie Albanese (VP on air promotion A&E TV network NY) on the Judging panel.
Valerie will help select the winners for the Street Sounds film competition early April.

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Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:25

There are so many sounds in a day that represent the entertaining or lovely sides of our urban centers and now there is a website that is collecting those sounds and mapping them, from New York to San Francisco and everywhere in between.

The Smalls Street Sounds is an offshoot of The Smalls, a website where independent filmmakers can showcase their short films. In addition to mapping short sound clips uploaded by users, Street Sounds will be a competition starting on February 8th where filmmakers are encouraged to use street sound clips uploaded by the public in their next short film.

READ THE FULL BLOG ARTICLE HERE

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Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:06

We’re really excited to announce that The Smalls is teaming up with Humanbeatbox.com as part of our Street Sounds event.

Humanbeatbox.com has been the world’s most comprehensive beatboxing resource since 2002 and we’re thrilled to be collaborating on various activities in the months ahead.

Especially exciting are the plans we are making to join the American Beatbox Championships at the end of July for a weekend of cultural activities around the championship in NY.

Since 2002, Humanbeatbox.com has been the leading light in the global beatbox scene.  Whether bringing beatboxers together from around the world at the International Beatbox Convention (Boxcon), finding the top artists in the UK in the Vauxhall UK Beatbox Championships, or providing a core web presence for the community at large to meet, learn and show off, we’ve been moving things onwards and upwards!

Now, having co-created the World Beatbox Association, things are already getting bigger.  With the first ever American Beatbox Championships currently under way, and a Canadian national event in its planning stages, Humanbeatbox.com is yet again pushing the infrastructure to new heights.  Let alone through a brand new and innovative format finding finalists for the US Champs via online video battles on youtube.  Our goal is to push beatboxers to take themselves to the next level, and to be musicians in their own right.

 

2010 sees Boxcon return to the US for a weekend of workshops, open mics, showcases and the Grand Final of the American Champs.  We’re very pleased to be teaming up with The Smalls to get beatboxers involved in the Street Sounds project, and we hope that artists from around the planet will take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. 

Read more about The American Beatbox Championships HERE

 

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Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:33

Are there sounds on your neighborhood streets that may not be there 5 or 10 years from now? Will the carrousel in your local park still be going around to the tune of one of those old-time music machines, and will the local cable car still be running? Sound may be one of those things that we all take for granted - but everyday sounds are disappearing from our cities. Do your part in preserving sounds from our time. Take a few minutes. Hit the streets and record some of your local sounds. Then, of course, upload them here for everyone to hear an audio snapshot of your streets.

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Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:42

Congratulations to Ricky T who uploaded the winning sound "Hawk" to the Sound Map! Everyone who uploads sounds enter a draw for a FREE iPod touch - so keep recording and uploading, and you could win the next one. See you around the Sound Map everyone!

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Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:02

Whether your girlfriend sings in the shower or your neighbors beatbox on Sundays, don't forget to hit record on your mobile device. Then upload your audio clips to the Sound Map. Anything that you contribute to the Sound Map becomes part of a movement to make this the biggest sound collaboration on the web. Join us today in making it happen!

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Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:19

The Sound Map keeps expanding and today includes a cool collection of 200 sounds! Have you started to record sounds yet? Let's make this the biggest sound collaboration ever. Start by uploading your sounds – together we can make it happen.

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Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:59

What does the drone of Jupiter sound like? The Space Gambus Experiment, an amalgamation of sampled sounds (such as that of Jupiter) woven together with beats and music has hit the Sound Map. To listen, just search for "Space Gambus" and dream away into space...!

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Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:25

Do you want music, movies, games and applications at your fingertips? The race is ON for the first iPod touch that The Smalls Street Sounds is giving away on January 27th, 2010.

Just by uploading sounds to our Sound Map, you are eligible to win. But if you want to increase your chances of winning an iPod touch, keep uploading as many sounds as you can! Good luck!

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Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:18

We're really excited to announce that the Sound Map now has more than 100 sounds uploaded. Join this growing sound collaboration today, and remember to mark your calendars for February 8 when we launch The Smalls Street Sounds filmmaking competition!

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Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:05

We hope everyone will have a wonderfully Happy New Year's celebration! If you record some great sounds, like noisy rockets or funny drunken conversations, remember to upload them to the Sound Map so you increase your chances of winning an iPod touch! Happy New Year from The Smalls Street Sounds!

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Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:33

The Smalls Street Sounds wishes you a very Merry Christmas! Although you may be busy with last-minute holiday preparations, do remember to mark your calendars for February 8, 2010 when we open the call for entries to The Smalls Street Sounds filmmaking competition! Click here to join The Smalls and receive an email reminder when the call for entries opens!

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Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:04

Do your neighbors come Christmas caroling? Or, does your local mall host a brass band? Does your mom always curse when she burns the turkey? Record the gentle sound of snow under your boots or the cutting noise as the blades on your skates slide across the ice, and share your Christmas experience with everyone here at The Smalls Street Sounds by uploading your sounds to the Sound Map. Remember, for every sound you upload you increase your chances to win an iPod touch! Happy holidays everyone!

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Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:11

The Sound Map is having an exciting opening week, with California taking the lead. From the laugh-out-loud sound of a talking cat in LA to the soothing ambiance of drizzling rain in San Fran, the Golden State is off to a strong start. To check out more sweet sounds, or to upload your own audio, head to the Sound Map.

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Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:48

Let the sounds begin! Download, upload or just listen to sounds and be inspired – the interactive Sound Map is LIVE. Click here to go on an audio adventure NOW!

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