ig2 task1worksheet james_lodge_new

Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer GamesIG2 Task 1

Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of sound design and production. Using a provided template, you must research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you have obtained the definition.

You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.

Name: RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet researched definition and URL link)

DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTION PRACTICE?

SOUND DESIGN METHODOLOGY

Foley Artistry Foley Artists are responsible for the post-synchronised sound effects on a film sound track that are added during the sound editing process, excluding any special sounds which are usually created by the Sound Effects Editor or Sound Designer. “Foley” is normally defined as sounds related to movements, whether pertaining to a character or an object (footsteps, fights, fist banging on a door), or to the result of an object’s movement (pouring wine, shards of glass falling from a broken window). Named after Jack Foley (an innovative pioneer of the art at Universal Studios), Foley is recorded in specialised sound studios working to projected pictures

http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/post_production_sound/article_4768_1.asp

During our assignments, we were given microphones to go out and record sounds. We attempted to find and/or create sounds within our environment for sound effects within a game.

Sound Libraries a collection of sounds stored on file (for example on CDs, DVDs, or as digital audio files)

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sound-library

We store our audio files on the college computers and a website called Sound Cloud. On this website, we are able to create sound libraries which contain audio files from different projects.

SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed Even though the DVD audio signal (Dolby Digital) has a higher "bitrate" than Blu-ray Disc's (uncompressed PCM), the audio information is only being transferred at 684kps (kilobytes per second). The "uncompressed PCM" is being transferred off the Blu-ray Disc at around 6,400kps (or 6.4 megs per second). This offers almost 10 times the digital audio information over standard CDs and DVDs.

We use our files in an uncompressed state in order to get the full quality out of the sound.

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https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080229214833AACsXqQ.wav A format for storing uncompressed audio files.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/WAV-file

This is the format I have always used for saving my audio files during my audio based projects..

.aiff Short for Audio Interchange File Format, a common format for storing and transmitting sampled sound.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/AIFF.html

This is a file format used for saving audio.

.au A digital audio file format from Sun that is used on the Internet and can be played by a Java program. It provides toll-quality sound and uses the .AU extension.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Au+file+format


.smp An ".smp" file may be one of several different types of audio file. For example, it could be a SampleVision audio sample file. This 16-bit audio file was originally used by Turtle Beach SampleVision; you can open it with Adobe Auction, Sound Forge Pro or Awave Studio. It could also be a sample file for AdLib Gold, a PC sound card released in 1992; Scream Tracker, a mid-1990s music editing program; or Swell.

http://www.ehow.com/info_12198596_file-smp.html


Lossy Compression In information technology, "lossy" compression is a data encoding method that compresses data by discarding (losing) some of it. The procedure aims to minimize the amount of data that needs to be held, handled, and/or transmitted by a computer.Lossy compression is most commonly used to compress multimedia data (audio, video, and still images)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy_compression

This is an encoding method which would be used in order to produce a file with a lower memory count while still maintaining a reasonable quality of sound.

.mp3 a computer format for creating sound files (such as songs) that are much smaller than standard sound files

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mp3


AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU)

The SPU is the unit responsible for all aural capabilities of the psx. Ithandles 24 voices, has a 512kb sound buffer, has ADSR envelope filters foreach voice and lots of other features.

http://psx.rules.org/spu.txt

The sound processor unit does just that, it processes the data of the audio file into a sound which can then be played through a speaker.

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Digital Sound Processor (DSP)

Short for digital sound processing, which refers to manipulating analog information, such as sound that has been converted into a digital form.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DSP.html

A digital sound processor converts analogue information into an audible sound through the use of a speaker.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Random access memory (RAM) is the best known form of computer memory. RAM is considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm

RAM allows us to run programmes simultaneously. Without RAM we would be unable to do even simple things, such as create audio and then preview it.

Mono Audio Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound, this early sound system used a single channel of audio for sound output. In monophonic sound systems, the signal sent to the sound system encodes one single stream of sound and it usually uses just one speaker. Monophonic sound is the most basic format of sound output.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/monophonic_sound.html

I believe mono audio would be the kind of sound which comes from something like a computer's speaker. A large amount of the computer’s we use don’t seem to be able to produce sound on their own, therefore I don’t believe mono audio is relevant to our production practice for the most part.

Stereo Audio Audio stereo means sound which is divided into two separate channels. These two channels are played back simultaneously via separate speakers. The effect is to create a fuller sound, and provide the ability to mix certain sounds between channels.Humans normally hear the world via two ears so providing dual sound sources is more realistic, although it does not fully replicate the way we hear.

http://www.mediacollege.com/glossary/s/stereo.html

As we generally use headphones for our audio work, I believe we have a stereo output as the sound is coming from two separate speakers.

Surround Sound Surround sound audio is, simply put, sound that completely surrounds you.

Surround sound is comprised of a number of speakers, the speakers are sent separate

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In terms of nuts and bolts, it means a set of speakers, usually five including the all-important “center speaker,” and a subwoofer for powerful bass.

http://peripherals.about.com/od/speakersandheadphones/a/whatis_ss.htm

information regarding the orientation of the sound. Assuming the speakers are set up in the proper manner, this means you should get a more involved experience, with sounds coming from the appropiate direction.

Direct Audio (Pulse Code Modulation – PCM)

a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the amplitude of the analog signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, and each sample is quantized to the nearest value within a range of digital steps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation

A digital representation of audio.

AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS

Analogue As humans, we perceive the world in analog. Everything we see and hear is a continuous transmission of information to our senses. This continuous stream is what defines analog data.

For example, a turntable (or record player) is an analog device, while a CD player is digital. This is because a turntable reads bumps and grooves from a record as a continuous signal, while a CD player only reads a series of ones and zeros.

http://www.techterms.com/definition/analog

Analogue is how we as humans perceive the world, ex: a rock falls into a pool of water and we are able to recognise this as sound through the vibrations sent through the air.

Digital Mini Disc a digital disc medium for storing music or data where a small disc is housed in a cartridge and is either recordable or playback

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minidisc

We have used Mini discs often to transport our work. We did this a lot during our environmental recordings and voice work. It made it easy to get our work from one work station to another as well as share our work between a group.

Compact Disc (CD) A compact disc [sometimes spelled disk] (CD) is a small, portable, round medium made of molded polymer (close in

A compact disc can be used as a method of both storing and

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size to the floppy disk) for electronically recording, storing, and playing back audio, video, text, and other information in digital form.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/compact-disc

playing music.

Digital Audio Tape (DAT) DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the digital recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality. A DAT drive is a digital tape recorder with rotating heads similar to those found in a video deck. Most DAT drives can record at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, the CD audio standard, and 48 kHz.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DAT-Digital-Audio-Tape

Digital Audio Tape is also a method of storing audio data, whilst maintaining a high level of quality.

MIDI "Musical Instrument Digital Interface." It is a connectivity standard that musicians use to hook together musical instruments (such as keyboards and synthesizers) and computer equipment. Using MIDI, a musician can easily create and edit digital music tracks. The MIDI system records the notes played, the length of the notes, the dynamics (volume alterations), the tempo, the instrument being played, and hundreds of other parameters, called control changes.

http://www.techterms.com/definition/midi

This is something we have used often. When creating our own sounds and music from scratch, we would use a MIDI. This allowed us to create audio using a series of MIDI instruments and sound effects.

Software Sequencers A sequencing software package designed to be loaded into a computer. Software sequencers usually have more features and have the advantage of showing you a lot more information at once because they use the computer's screen and aren't locked into the knobs or buttons or display of a hardware sequencer.

http://www.wannaplaymusic.com/get-started/keyboard-terminology

We use a programme called Raptor. This is what provides the means to creating our audio.

Software Plug-ins A software plug-in is an add-on for a program that adds functionality to it.

http://www.techterms.com/definition/plugin

We have used a few of these in the form of MIDI instruments. On it’s own, Raptor didn’t have an extensively large array of instruments to choose from. However the college had some stored on the student share, therefore we were able to install

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a number of additional instruments for use in our projects.

MIDI Keyboard Instruments

A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a musical instrument like a piano keyboard. The MIDI portion indicates that the instrument has a communication protocol built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or other MIDI-equipped instrument.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm#didyouknowout

These are essentially the tools that we use to aid us in creating sound with a MIDI.

Each instrument has it’s own unique settings which allow us to create a variety of sounds and/or music.

AUDIO SAMPLING File Size Constraints - Bit-depth

bit depth is the number of bits of information in each sample, and it directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample. Examples of bit depth include Compact Disc Digital Audio, which uses 16 bits per sample, and DVD-Audio and Blu-ray Disc which can support up to 24 bits per sample.In basic implementations, variations in bit depth primarily affect the noise level from quantization error—thus the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and dynamic range. However, techniques such as dithering, noise shaping and oversampling mitigate these effects without changing the bit depth. Bit depth also affects bit rate and file size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth

File size constraints affect the amount of data capable of being stored as well as the overall quality of the sound. While you can still maintain a good level of quality whilst reducing the file size through lossy compression, ultimately the higher the memory means you can keep a higher level of quality.

File Size Constraints - Sample Rate

In developing an audio sound for computers or telecommunication, the

sample rate is the number of samples of a sound that are taken per second to

represent the event digitally.

The more samples taken per second, the more accurate the digital

representation of the sound can be. For example, the current sample rate for

CD-quality audio is 44,100 samples per second. This sample rate can

accurately reproduce the audio frequencies up to 20,500hertz, covering the

Upon rendering out a sound, my monitor would display a sample rate. At first I was unaware of it’s significance but after my research I have learnt that it is a visual indicator of the sounds quality.

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full range of human hearing.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/sample-rate

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ig2 task1worksheet james_lodge_new

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