AUDIO

1. AUDIO 1. Basic physics of Sound 2. Types of Sound 3. Reception: Modes of Listening 4. Sound Art 5. Recorded sound 6. Audio Examples

2. What is sound? • It is basically a pattern formed in the vibration or movement of molecules of air.

3. What is sound? • It is basically a pattern formed in the vibration or movement of molecules of air. • When a sound is made, air molecules move out from the source in waves

4. When a sound is made, air molecules move in waves

5. The waves radiate out 360 degrees and in 3 dimensions from the source until it dissipates

6. When a sound is made, air molecules move in waves • The waves radiate out 360 degrees from the source until it dissipates • Analogous to a drop of water in a pool

7. Sound is intentional vs. noise which is unwanted or unintentional

8. In very general terms, a sound wave has two important characteristics: • Intensity • Pitch

9. INTENSITY • Intensity = wave amplitude = volume = loudness • This is a measurement of the height of the sound wave

10. Measured in decibels = dB • The human ear responds to a great range of sound intensities from 0dB (threshold of hearing) to 135dB (the threshold of pain) • VU meter in sound production is a volume unit measure

11. Typical Sound Levels • Jet aircraft taking off………..…..125 dB • Rock concert……………………120 dB • Heavy traffic……………………. 90 dB • Interior of a car @ 40mph………. 80 dB • Normal conversation……………. 60 dB • Broadcast studio………………… 20 dB

12. PITCH • = Frequency • Refers to the characteristic of the sound

13. PITCH • = Frequency • Refers to the characteristic of the sound • For example we talk about women’s voices being a higher pitch than a man’s voice or a violin is higher pitched than a cello

14. PITCH It is NOT a difference in loudness (amplitude) but of tonal quality

15. PITCH • It is NOT a difference in loudness (amplitude) but of tonal quality • Pitch refers to how often the wave repeats itself in one second. • Each complete pattern of the wave is called a cycle

16. PITCH • Measured in the number of cycles per second = Hz • The lower the number the deeper or more bass the sound • a frequency of 20 Hz would sound like a very low note on a pipe organ - almost a rumble • 20 - 20000 Hz covers most audible frequencies

17. Temporal Terms • a sound or sound event has a structure and a temporality

18. Temporal Terms • a sound or sound event has a structure and a temporality • the initiation of the sound is called the attack

19. Temporal Terms • a sound or sound event has a structure and a temporality • the initiation of the sound is called the attack • this is followed by a sustain: How long is it held? How long is it at full volume?

20. Temporal Terms • a sound or sound event has a structure and a temporality • the initiation of the sound is called the attack • this is followed by a sustain: how long is it held? How long is it at full volume? • finally the sound fades away = decay

21. Temporal Terms • These 3 stages are parts of the sound envelope and apply to any and all sounds

22. Canadian composer, artist R. Murray Schafer In his book Voices of Tyranny: Temples of Silence, 1993 is an essay called “I’ve never seen a sound” with some wonderful thoughts:

23. No sound can be repeated exactly Not even your own name. Every time it is pronounced it will be different. And a sound heard once is not the same as a sound heard twice, nor is a sound heard before the same as a sound heard after.

24. Every sound commits suicide and never returns. Musicians know this. No musical phrase can be repeated exactly the same way twice.

25. Sounds cannot be known the way sights can be known. Seeing is analytical and reflective. It places things side by side and compares them (scenes, slides, diagrams…). This is why Aristotle preferred sight as “the principle source of knowledge”.

26. There is no silence for the living. We have no earlids. We are condemned to listen.

27. Everything in this world has its sound - even silent objects. We get to know silent objects by striking them. The ice is thin, the box is empty, the wall is hollow.

28. Here is a paradox: two things touch but only one sound is produced. A ball hits a wall, a drumstick strikes a drum, a bow scrapes a string. Two objects: one sound.

29. Types of Sound in Film 3 main types of sound • voice • sound effects • music

30. - Voice - - dialogue - interview - narration - voice over

31. - Sound Effects - • add realism to a scene - synchronous: sound matches what we see (ie. someone playing the piano, the sounds of a piano are heard)

32. - Sound Effects - - synchronous: sound matches what we see (ie. Someone playing the piano, the sounds of a piano are heard) - asynchronous: we don’t see the source of the sound (ie. the sound of an ambulance is used as background sound while the image portrays an arguing couple)

33. - Sound Effects -Ambience & Presence • Ambience is usually the background sounds available in the environment • can be recorded in the original production • or it can be recorded separately and deliberately added to the sound track to provide acoustic space around the rest of the dialogue

34. Presence • a location’s “aural fingerprint” = nonspecific sounds on the upper end (around 2,000 - 8,000 Hz)

35. Presence • a location’s “aural fingerprint” = nonspecific sounds on the upper end (around 2,000 - 8,000 Hz) • each room has a distinct presence of subtle sounds

36. Presence • a location’s “aural fingerprint” = nonspecific sounds on the upper end (around 2,000 - 8,000 Hz) • each room has a distinct presence of subtle sounds

37. Presence • provides a continuous sounding background • may smooth pauses in dialogue and give the feeling of life in a deadened studio recording >> otherwise we would perceive there to be a failure of the sound system

38. - Music - • background music adds emotion and rhythm

39. - Music - • background music adds emotion and rhythm • not meant to be noticeable

40. - Music - • background music adds emotion and rhythm • not meant to be noticeable • provides a tone or emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters depicted

41. - Music - • background music adds emotion and rhythm • not meant to be noticeable • provides a tone or emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters depicted • could foreshadow an event, an approaching menace, etc.

42. - Music - • background music adds emotion and rhythm • not meant to be noticeable • provides a tone or emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters depicted • could foreshadow an event, an approaching menace, etc. • can be used to links scenes (ie. a motif for a particular character)

43. French sound theorist Michel Chion has described 3 Modes of Listening

44. CAUSAL • SEMANTIC • REDUCED

45. - CAUSAL - • the most common form consists of listening to a sound in order to gather information about its cause (or source) • the source can be visible or invisible with similar effects on us • think of a phone ringing…it can be in the scene or “off screen”

46. - CAUSAL - • can also be more ambiguous in that what we recognize is only the general nature of the sound’s cause • for instance we may (unconsciously) tell ourselves “that must be a mechanical sound” or “that must be some human”, etc.

47. - SEMANTICLISTENING - • refers to a code or a language to interpret a message: spoken language as well as other kinds of codes • it is something we interpret in aid of the narrative • a spoken word is not abstract…it has a linguistic meaning regardless of tone or accent

48. - REDUCED LISTENING - • a mode of listening that focuses on the traits of the sound itself, independent of its cause or its meaning

49. - REDUCED LISTENING - • a mode of listening that focuses on the traits of the sound itself, independent of its cause or its meaning • it takes the sound -- verbal, musical, sound effects or whatever -- as itself the object to be observed instead of as a vehicle for something else

50. - REDUCED LISTENING - • The descriptive inventory of a sound can’t be understood in one listening • - often used for ambience or presence or more unconscious effects • - very important in relation to “Sound Art”