What’s a Julibrary?
Julibrary is an annual event hosted through a Slack forum dedicated to field recording, where participants record something every single day throughout July. At the end of the month, everyone that participates gains access to the collective recordings of those that joined in the shenanigans. Reflecting on my experiences this Julibrary, I have grown considerably in a remarkably short period of time: pinpointing holes in a workflow that I previously thought was rather streamlined and familiarizing myself with the limitations and idiosyncracies of my recording hardware. But most importantly… confronting those days where setting up microphones, cables, SD cards, and recording equipment are the last thing you want to do after a long workday.
30 Seconds of Sound
Here’s a sonic montage/compilation of some of the sounds I recorded throughout the month! By the end of July, I submitted 103 fully edited/cleaned up audio files, often filled with many variations of each source. Check out the photos in the album below for a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of recording each sound. Click on the photo and hover over it for a breakdown of that slice of July.
Wrap Up
At the end of Julibrary, those that participate every single day are eligible for a prize: the host of Julibrary’s personal field recording catalog! The host, Kai Paquin, has an extensive collection called the Kaibrary, so the reward is rather enticing. To qualify, there is a full point-based system. Constantly looking for data to play with, I found the point tracking portion of Julibrary nearly as fun as the actual act of recording and editing daily! Here are a couple of interactive charts, breaking down participants’ contributions per the point tracking system and the general activity/participation of members throughout July.