Spatial Audio Design Project 1

on
26.09.2024 -17.10.2024 (Week 1 - Week 4)
Ng Kar Yee / 0367743
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Spatial Audio Design / Project 1

LECTURES

Week 1⇒ Introduction & Briefing

On our first day, Mr Razif gave us a brief introduction on the module and told us what to expect for the current semester. We were instructed to download Adobe Audition as well as prepare a fine headphone as it will be convenient and the main tools for our future assignments. To let us have a head start, Mr Razif gave us an exercise on comparing and editing few tracks based on the original track. We were taught to edit the tracks with the Parametric Equalizer tool in Adobe Audition.

Figure 1.1 Track Eq 1

Figure 1.2 Track Eq 2

Figure 1.3 Track Eq 3

Figure 1.4 Track Eq 4

Figure 1.5 Track Eq 5

Figure 1.6 Track Eq 6

Figure 1.7 Track Filter 1

Figure 1.8 Track Filter 2

Week 2⇒ Sound Fundamental & EQ

1. Nature Of Sound
  • A vibration of air molecules that stimulates our eardrums
  • Sound waves exist as variations of pressure in a medium such as air.
  • They are created by the vibration of an object, which causes the air surrounding it to vibrate.
  • The vibrating air then causes the human eardrum to vibrate, which the brain interprets as sound.
  • Production= the source of sound
  • Propagation=the medium in which the sound travels
  • Perception=sound captured and translated by our brain
2. Human ear

A. The outer ear
  • The external, visible portion of the ear and the ear canal
B. The middle ear
  • The paper-thin eardrum and a small, air-filled cavity containing three tiny bones (malleus, incus, and stapes)
C. The inner ear
  • The cochlea (hearing canal), endolymphatic sac, semicircular canals
D. Psychoacoustics
  • The study of subjective human perception of sounds
  • This includes how we listen, our psychological responses and the physiological impact of music and sound on the human nervous system
  • Some of the traditional psychoacoustic concerns involves the perceptions of the pitch, loudness, volume and timbre.
3. Properties Of Sound Length

A. Wavelength
  • The distance between any point on a wave and the equivalent point on the next phase.
B. Amplitude
  • The strength or power of a wave signal. The height of a wave when viewed as a graph
  • Higher amplitudes are interpreted as a higher volume, hence the name "amplifier" for a device that increases amplitude.
C. Frequency
  • The number of times the wavelength occurs in one second. Measured in kilohertz (Khz), or cycles per second. The faster the sound source vibrates, the higher the frequency.
  • Higher frequencies are interpreted as a higher pitch. For example, when you sing in a high-pitched voice you are forcing your vocal chords to vibrate quickly.
3. Properties Of Sound

A. Pitch
  • Vibration per second = frequency
  • Less Vibration → Low Pitch → Low Frequency
  • More Vibration → High Pitch → High Frequency
  • Vibration per second or cycle per second of a sound wave is measured in Hertz
B. Loudness
C. Timbre
D. Perceived Duration
E. Envelope
F. Spatialization

Week 3⇒ Sound Design Tool

What is Sound Design
  • Sound design involves creating the auditory elements of a film, including dialogue, sound effects and ambient noises, to craft a rich and immersive audio experience.
  • Sound design enriches the visual experience, guides audience emotions and can foreshadow events or signify thematic elements

Components of Sound Design

1. Dialogue
  • The spoken words of characters, essential for conveying the narrative.
2. Sound Effects
  • Artificially created or enhanced sounds that add realism or emphasis, such as footsteps, door creaks, or explosions.
3. Ambience
  • Background sounds that establish the setting and mood, like city traffic, chirping birds, or rain.
4. Music Score
  • Composed music that underscores the emotional tone of scenes.

5 Steps To A Good Sound Design

1. Layering

  • Layering is to take 2 or more sound and placed on top of each other.
  • Layering sound on top of another allows you to blend and miz the various sound into a new unique sound

2. Time Stretching/Time Compression

  • It's the ability to take a sound that plays at a certain length and sonically stretch the audio within set parameters without changing the pitch. 
  • Time stretching and time compressing will change the pacing, tempo or speed of the audio but not the pitch.

3. Pitch Shifting

  • It's the ability to chance the pitch of a sound without changing it's actual length
  • Shifting the pitch higher will make the sound thinner, smaller and having higher pitch while lower pitch will make the audio sound bigger, with more bass and lower pitch.

4. Reverse

  • Reversing an audio can give a weird and unnatural sound

5. Mouth It

  • Vocalization is an important tool of sound design as our voice is flexible. 
  • Sound design is about exploring and experimenting and sometime the best sound happened. 

Week 4⇒ Sound In Space (Environment) 

For this week, we had the opportunity this week to visit the broadcasting room in Taylor's. Mr Razif gave us a brief introduction on the tools on set and told us that we had the chance to use the room during our final project.

1. Diegetic sound 

  • Originates within the film's world and is audible to the characters, such as dialogue, footsteps, or music from a visible source like a radio.
  • Diegetic sound enhances realism and immerses the audience in the story.

2. Non-diegetic sound 

  • Comes from outside the film's world and is not heard by the characters, including elements like background scores or a narrator's commentary.
  • Non-diegetic sound provides emotional context or guides the audience's interpretation of scenes.

INTRODUCTION

PROJECT 1⇒ AUDIO FUNDAMENTALS

For our first project, Mr Razif introduced audio fundamentals to us which we are given a series of exercises that develop our sound design sensibilities by increasing their technical proficiency and knowledge. We will be given several tasks to analyze and manipulate sound properties through the use of sound editing software to fit to a desired scenario.

For this project, we are required to,

To complete all exercises to demonstrate understanding sound design process

EXERCISES

WEEK 2: SOUND SHAPING

For week 2, we were taught more about the Parametric Equalizer tool in Adobe Audition. We were tasked on a few audio such as a voice sound in a phone call, bathroom, closet and walkie talkie.

Figure 1.9 Voice From A Phone Call

Figure 2.0 Voice In A Closet

  
Figure 2.1 Voice In A Closet

Figure 2.2 Voice From A Walkie Talkie


Figure 2.3 Voice From A Walkie Talkie


Figure 2.4 Voice From A Bathroom

WEEK 3

For week 3, Mr Razif gave us some basic explosion and punch sound effects. We were instructed to edit the audio into a bigger explosion and a firecracker sound effects.


Figure 2.5 Big Explosion


Figure 2.6 Firecracker

WEEK 4

For this week, Mr Razif gave taught us a new tool to adjust our audio more specifically. We were taught using the jet plane audio and was tasked to edit the previous woman speaking audio to make it sound like we were passing by the woman. To get the effect, I edit the volume and the EQ 4 as well as 5 gain to be lower. After that, I added the pan tool to make the audio sound from left to right. Lastly, I added the fade in and out tool at the front and back of the audio to make it more natural. 

Figure 2.7 Passing By Woman Speaking Audio Setting


Figure 2.8 Passing By Woman Speaking Audio

REFLECTION

Working on Audio Fundamentals has been a fun ride where I got to do learn a new skill as well as a new app, Adobe Audition. Besides, it was new experience as it was my first time learning Adobe Audition so deeply. Moreover, we have the opportunity to analyze and explore different type of sound effects and ambients suitable for the story. This project was challenging yet interesting for me as I need to combine the audio editing skills learned however with the guidance I got from Mr Razif and my friends, I managed to finish the tasks.

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