Izel Onay - Audio Culture Assessment 2 - "The Secret Life of Cudi"

This 4-minute locative audio project takes the listener on an immersive journey through Earlwood, following a cat named Cudi’s walk home. This chosen idea allows the representation of a generally mysterious phenomenon, a cat’s walk. How often do we know what our cats get up to on their daily walks? Where do they go? What do they do? This project attempts to answer these questions. As the cat is quite a quiet animal, the project focuses more on the atmospheric sounds of the location rather than the sounds of a cat. To enhance the listening experience and allow the idea of walking beside a cat, the narration guides you through the walk, suggesting directions and providing descriptive audio of the things Cudi experiences through his walk. The walk travels through the lovely walk along Cooks River, capturing the atmospheric audio of the location such as the gentle sounds of the river’s water and the sounds of people strolling around. From sitting along the river and recording the natural events and sounds that occurred, I chose the highlights of the recordings and curated an authentic collection of audio capturing the footsteps and conversations of people walking by. After turning off the river you and Cudi will venture onto the streets of suburbian Earlwood. The serenity of the location can be deceiving as you and Cudi will encounter a variety of complications, from a scary dog to crossing the road, things that seem small to us as humans but are colossal to tiny cats. This exaggeration of everyday encounters allows a representation of the world through a cat’s point of view, hence the project focuses on emphasising environmental sounds rather than totally the sounds of Cudi himself.

Credits: Narration performed by: Olcay Ozcelik Additional sound effects by: Bea Hernandez