Petanque in the Park - SaMbO - 14th Sep 2003 18:00
..oh: and has anybody got the correct time?
Ahh... Sundays. I love Sundays.
Why? Because I have every excuse _not_ to go outside. I mean it's the day of rest, right? So I can sit inside all day in front of my computer creating sound effects and not feel guilty.
In fact, I can't remember the last Sunday I actually ventured into 'The Outside' *shudder*...
..EXCEPT for today. *larger shudder*
It all started with a phone call to a friend on Friday:
"Hi mate - hey have you got steel balls?"
"Yes", came the unusually rapid response, followed by a moment of silence, then: "um.. pardon?!"
"You know - those steel balls you toss with.."
"PARDON ME?!"
"The _game_ - that French game.. Perlonk I think?"
"Oh! - You mean Petanque!"
..anyhow, after much double entendre, I ended up being in possesion of a set of Petanque balls ready for action.
Fastfwd to Sunday:
SaMbO rolls out of bed at the crack of noon only to plant his foot through the lid of the decorative wooden box used to carry around the Petanque set. (Left there from a late night curiosity session resulting in reading the game manual before drifting off to sleep... oops)
After a great deal of fuss trying to string together a makeshift ball carrier thingy, I was off out the door and on my way to the park/lake behind my apartment - balls and all. :D
Why? (You may ask?)
Because my current task is creating SFX for the upcoming inclusion of Thermal Detonators into Troopers - and I figured that after several misguided attempts at recreating the 'world geometry/surface impact' sound effects artificially, I should get out and record some foley of the 'real' thing.
I figured Petanque balls (being solid metal) were about as close as I would get to a small, round, solid metal object impacting upon various surface types.
And it turns out I was right - there, before me, lay a virtual symphony of impact-types. This Park had it all! Grass, dirt, water, mud, gravel, and even rock (which, whilst giving forth a satisfying 'donk' sound, didn't exactly please my friend as it left unceremonious scratches all over his shiny playthings.. sorry mate. *cough*cant imagine how that happened*cough*)
Anyhow - there I was on a Sunday afternoon, wandering around the park, finding a spot, setting up my mic and DAT Recorder, dropping shiny balls onto all manner of surfaces.
The last thing on my mind was how 'curious' this may have looked to any passer-by's.. until I was approached by a member of the public, most concerned as to "what the f**k I was doing" (sic).. but it turned out ok, as 5mins later I had inherited this gentleman as a bemused helper, whom seemed to take great delight in dropping the balls _for_ me, as I carefully captured the sounds from different angles. (_Now_ who looks like a right royal dolt - huh?) *evil grin*
And so was to be my Sunday. I guess afterall that 'The Outside' aint so bad.. although it's a lot warmer navigating the world from my computer, and I can 'block' unwanted company at the push of a button (a little harder to do in a park), and there's no dog poop in my apartment either (doh!)...
..actually on second thought - I think I'll remain indoors for the next few Sundays... :D
The only thing left for me to do now is buy a new watch battery:
I had an Einsteinian brainwave that my electronic wristwatch's 'beeps' would make for the perfect starting point for the various beeps and chirps of a Thermal Detonator.
In the process, I have run the batteries dry. Bugger. :\
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