I reread through “Spirit of Place and Sense of Place in Virtual Realities” by Edward Relph and I found much to think about. Immediately the idea that all concepts and ideas do in fact come from a place, as much as we like to lean in to this Platonic concept of a realm of thought, really stuck with me. In my own practice of audio drama there is a sense that with narration a producer is expected to cut out breaths, hums, and stutters and any other minor sounds that would suggest that this voice is, in fact, “embodied”. Now in many cases the opposite can be true, especially in Audio fiction where the narration has a place in the story (found footage being a prime example) where to suggest this sense of realism these “mistakes” will often be left in.
“ Everything, even pure thought, has to happen somewhere, in
a place“
Something quite interesting is also pointed out: juxtaposition of a modern, highly interconnected, world that simultaneously appreciates a diversity of place (which Relph attributes, in traditional/more standard instances, to use of local building materials which make a place highly unique) whilst also, by its very nature, means that many materials can be asked for and transported across the planet. Its quite saddening to me how difficult it seems to have become for a place to have a natural identify through its architecture, how standard the modernist approach to buildings became and how a skyscraper could sit in any major city and not really seem out of place. Though thinking more on the topic one could also point out that the identity of a place can come from the way a place is used and by its people, the visual element may be gone but its the people that give a sense of identity to a place, it requires a perception and cultural meaning for this sense of place to exist, the music playing, languages being spoken, sounds of wildlife also contribute to a sense of place.
“virtual places cannot be authentic because to be authentic is to be
real. In other words, “authenticity” is simply an inappropriate concept to apply to virtual places.”
The other idea that resonated with me this the above quote. It really resonates with the concept of sound design “representing” reality there is so much that is omitted or invented, with film there is at least the sense of arguable “authenticity” in the visuals, but with VR and games nothing is fully authentic, it all comes together to form a sense of reality, and yet it is heralded as one of the most immersive mediums possible. I suppose this can also apply to Audio Fiction too, all there is is sound, hence all there is, is a representation of objects and movements, in this I suppose VR and Audio fiction share similar qualities.