At Audio Animals we love getting out the studio for a few hours to record on location. This takes us up and down the country recording in military forts and underground bunkers. The sounds we have access to record in these locations are not only unique but also sound incredible. We currently have a young lad doing work experience with us, so I took him along in order to show him that studio life doesn't just consist of sitting in a studio. It's always nice to have someone come with me to the locations.
The location we visited today was in North Weald. In the video below we walk the entire redoubt and document every accessible building on the site. Whilst walking around we stumbled across a group of people taking pictures. It's quite a popular spot with easy access for graffiti artists and photographers to access. If you are careful it's a relatively safe place to explore. Some of the buildings are flooded. We were hoping they wouldn't be after having no rain in the area for at least 2 months now. One of the spots that is usually flooded had dried up which was great as we were able to access one of the long tunnels to record some amazing impactive sounds. Other great spots for recording was a number of metal posts that protruded from the wall. Each one once struck with a hammer made a different tuned impact. The lower down the wall the lower the tuning was.
Purpose Of Visit
The purpose of these kinds of visits is mainly to record audio. We record everything from metal doors to paint canisters. We record such sounds to add into our location recording VST's and kontakt samplers which can be download here. This particular location recording session is for a new sound design library of sounds intended for film and tv as well as other media outlets. We'll be recording at various different locations over the coming months in order to accumulate a vast range of unique sounds to include in our library.
About North Weald Redoubt
Between 1889 and 1903 13 Mobilisation Centres were built as part of the London Defence Scheme. Their main function was as a store for guns, small arms ammunition, tools and other equipment required for the batteries and infantry. The North Weald Redoubt was the first of the mobilisation centres to be constructed and the only centre north of the Thames. It is situated on high ground to the south of North Weald Bassett.
The fort is semicircular in shape approximately 500 feet across. In the ditch at the foot of the fort was an 8 foot high unclimbable or Dacoit steel fence. In an arc formation, were three magazines for cartridges and shells, with shafts to supply the guns above. There are four buildings situated in front of the fort, but we’re unsure if they used during the serving days.
