I had the chance to attend the lecture featuring Steven Hammer and Steph Ceraso on different aspects of Digital Story telling through audio.  Steph Ceraso’s talk, “Sound Never Tasted So Good,” resonated with me and the project that I was working on at the time.  This presentation was during our audacity project, one which i enjoyed very much. She talked about an experiment conducted by her students at University of Maryland where they tried to influence the dining experience of a group by controlling the auditory environment. She talked about how frustrating it was for her students to see the dinning guests talk over their soundscape, which is a lesson that I considered when finishing my project. You cannot control the actions of your audience. You cannot make them pay attention if they get distracted, or force them to dedicate all of their attention to your piece. I know that when I listen to podcasts and audio books, I am usually driving, thereby dividing my attention right away.

I really enjoyed the sensory experiment that she attempted with chocolate and sound clips. Although I cannot say that I tasted a difference in the two chocolates, the experiment was a window into the research of a different field of study than I am familiar with. It is very interesting to see how our auditory environment impacts our experience, especially when it is also a topic I learn about in my Green Building Design class. There we learn that a part of healthy living indoors involves control over our auditory experience through selective sound insulation in restrooms, study areas, healthcare buildings, etc.

Steven Hammer’s talk on “Composing/ with/ Noise” was difficult for me to relate to. He used very advanced terms to describe his tactics, and much of his presentation went over my head. I have to admit that I was unable to understand much of his talk.