Initially, I have chosen the audio story “LISTEN: This Is What It’s Like To Navigate the Bay Area While Blind.” which was written by Sam Harnett and Chris Hoff and was published via KQED on Jun 20, 2019. Firstly, I want to say the reason about why I choose the audio story. The reason is recently I have encountered a car accident and I almost lost my eyes in the accident. After this experience, I often wonder how people would live if they were blind. This audio story helps me to know how people would live if they were blind.
At the beginning, the reporter’s voice was very clear and loud, which helped the audience to better understand and listen to the message. The reporter spoke very clearly while telling the story, which helped the audience to understand the message clearly. Later, when there was noise, the reporter’s voice was still very clear, and the noise was well controlled, which did not affect the audience to listen to the reporter’s voice at all. The background music and noise well attract the reader and help the reader to imagine the picture.
However, it is still difficult to grasp the information when the sound is superimposed, because when the protagonist describes his own personal experience, the background music and noise have exceeded the voice of the protagonist, which makes it difficult for the audience to capture the information of the protagonist. But these sounds and noises are exactly what a blind person experiences every day. Because blind people can only live by hearing, such as checking mail and choosing clothes. This overlaid sound sets off a blind man’s difficulties in life. So, for me personally, this overlay sound is a good foil to the world of a blind person.
When the protagonist describes how he uses the blind man’s stick to walk on the street, the noise of the side street and the beating sound of the stick on the ground make the audience can imagine this picture, as if the audience is next to the blind man. The noise helps the story better reflect the reality of the story and the audience’s real experience. As the blind man describes how he uses sound to determine his position, noise becomes an indication of the importance of sound in the blind world.
Finally, through this assignment, I learned that sound is the first information received by human beings, and sound is of great help in setting off the authenticity and sex of news. A good background music can make people relax, the reporter’s clear voice can help the audience to have a better listening sense, and a suitable noise can set off the reality of the story as if it is happening around the audience. These sounds help the audience to more understand the story. The article provides a good sentence and I totally agree this, which is “The World According to Sound.”.
Reference:
https://www.kqed.org/news/11755736/listen-this-is-what-its-like-to-navigate-the-bay-area-while-blind
