Behind the Scenes of Abby’s Dream Journey

Process

Pre-Production Phase:

In this photo, Abby Griffith, is sitting in front of a microphone inside an audio sound-booth. She is being interviewed about her story.
To begin documenting Abby’s story for her podcast episode and for Abby’s Dream Journey we recorded an hour and a half audio interview at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism’s production studio in Portland, Oregon.

Abby and I spent several months preparing for our trip to Ethiopia

  • To help with the costs, we applied and received travel and research grants from each of our schools and we raised funds through GoFundMe
  • We contacted a family friend of Abby’s in Ethiopia to help us hire our driver
  • We worked together to plan what we wanted to document in Ethiopia as part of Abby’s Dream Journey
  • We made sure we had our e-visas and immunizations completed in time for our travel
Abby using accessibility tools to read a form online.
Applying for research travel grants through our Universities. Photo by Mary Anne Funk

Production Phase:

Our journey to Ethiopia began on October 4th, 2019. We arrived at the Portland, Oregon, airport at 11 AM pacific standard time to begin our 22 hour journey to Ethiopia.

We spent two weeks in Ethiopia. Abby and I spent the first week in Addis Ababa, where we attended and co-presented at the first ever African Forum on Visual Impairment. During the conference, I shared the story we are working on about her journey and Abby shared details about what her life was like in Ethiopia.

Abby Griffith and Mary Anne Funk opening night at African Forum on Visual Impairment
Abby and I took a selfie while holding our 7th African Forum badges at the opening reception of the 1st every African Forum on Visual Impairment.

While we were in Addis Ababa, we met with Daniel, a family friend of Abby’s who helped us hire our driver. Daniel also showed us around Addis Ababa and invited us to have coffee and a meal with his in-laws.

Post Production:

In this photo, Israel Gonzales and I sit at my kitchen table listening the blend that Israel is making using the binaural mic recording and directional mic recording I recorded in Abby's mother's home in Areka, Ethiopia.
To blend binaural and spatial audio recordings with the directional mic recordings that I made of people singing, outdoor sounds, and gatherings at Abby’s mother Abu’s house in Ethiopia, I worked with Portland sound engineer and recording artist, Israel Gonzales.

Israel’s story is also showcased on Seeing Through Hearing’s podcast episode titled A Story in Every Song with Israel Gonzales

Accolades

This exhibit and story was made possible by: The University of Oregon’s School of Journalism, The Oregon Reality Lab, and Ethnographia Island in Second Life.

Thank you to Tredi, iSkye, Mermaid Celene and Gentle Heron in Second Life for their help in teaching me about how to make the Second Life exhibit more accessible.

Thank you to my husband for all of his support, helping me stay calm, and for everything he built to help make my in person exhibit pieces.

Thank you to Corey Crawford for teaching me how to use the spatial audio gear.

Thank you to the entire SOJC department in Eugene and Portland for your support and encouragement.

Thank you to Israel Gonzales for his help in blending spatial audio with directional audio and for writing music to go with my binaural audio recordings for a meditative sound experience.

Thank you to David Bouchard for introducing me to binaural audio recording and for inspiring me through your story, to start Seeing Through Hearing.

Thank you to Abby Griffith for trusting me with your story, for sharing your journey with me, for showing me Ethiopia through your dreams, your memories and in person.

Thank you to my committee members: Andrew DeVigal, Donna Davis and Rachel Bracker for your continued encouragement, your expertise and your help in guiding me through the pivots. I couldn’t have asked for a better committee.