Sonic Design: Lectures

There were different classes, and he explained that as well; The difference between Sonic design and Spatial Audio design is that one goes into both left and right ears while the other is more on surround sound.

He then showed us previous students' works for the module. After that, we tried the equaliser exercises:

Click Here for Exercise 1

WEEK 2

[Slide Notes - W2]

[Sound Fundamentals- W2]

[Additional Lecture Video - Improve your Mixes]

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Lecture Recap

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

Production:

The source of the sound

Propagation:

The medium where the sound travels
Vibration of an object = The surrounding air to vibrate

Perception:

Sound captured and translated by our brain
Vibrating air causes human eardrums to vibrate = brain interprets it as sound

The air molecule vibration and propagation(movement) are called sound waves

Fig 1.1, Nature of Sound

Human Ear:

Outer Ear:

External, visible portion of the ear and ear canal

Sound waves enter the pinna, travel through the ear canal and then hit the eardrum

Middle Ear:

Paper-thin eardrum
Small, air-filled cavity containing 3 tiny bones (Malleus, Incus & Stapes)

When the eardrum vibrates, it causes the 3 bones to amplify the sound vibrations and pass it into the inner ear

Inner Ear:

Cochlea (Hearing Canal)
Endolymphatic sac
Semicircular canals

Once passed through the 3 bones, it reached the cochlea. The hair cells inside the cochlea convert the vibrations into electrical signals which then get sent to the brain via auditory nerve.

Fig 1.2, Human Ear

Psychoacoustic:

The study of the subjective human perspective of sounds
May concern:

Pitch
Loudness
Volume
Timbre

Wavelength:

Distance between any points of the wave and the equivalent point on the next phase

Fig 1.3, Wavelength

Amplitude:

The strength of a wave signal
The height of a wave when viewed as a graph
Higher amplitudes = higher volume

Fig 1.4, Amplitude

Frequency:

The number of times the wavelength occurs in 1 second
Measured in kilohertz (Khz)
Faster vibrations = Higher frequency
Interpreted as higher pitch

Fig 1.5, Frequency

Properties of Sound:

Pitch:

Vibration per second = Frequency

Less Vibration > Low Pitch > Low Frequency
More Vibration > High Pitch > High Frequency

Measured in Hertz

Cycles per second

Fig 1.6, Hertz

The range of human hearing is 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Loudness:

The perceived volume or intensity of a sound

Timbre:

The quality of a sound that distinguishes it from others

Perceived Duration:

How long a sound seems to last, quick or slow

Envelope:

How a sound evolves from start to finish

Spatialization:

Location (direction or distance) of the sound

Equaliser:

Ear Training:

250Hz - "oo" sound
500Hz - "o" sound
1kHz - "ah" sound
2kHz - "a" sound
4kHz - "ee" sound

_______________

Tutorial

How to make a copy of the WAV file:

Change the top nob to show the entire WAV file => double left-click the WAV file => Right click > Copy to new

Sample Rate:

48000 the OG
196000 for HD

Mono for one side

Stereo for both sides

Best to use 48000 Hz Mono, 16-bit

When removing the base, the sound/ voice sounds clearer

Decay time:

Smaller room => decrease
Bigger room => increase

Click Here for Exercise 2

WEEK 3

[Class Video - Basic Sound Designing Tools]

[Additional Lecture Video - The Art of Sound]

[Video - Class Tutorial]

[Soundfiles]

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Lecture Recap

Basic Sound Designing Tools:

Layering:
Taking 2 or more sounds and placing them on top of each other
Allows us to blend and mix various sounds into a new unique sound

Time stretching:

Take a sound that plays at a certain length and sonically stretch the audio within set parameters without changing the pitch
10 seconds stretched into 20 seconds = the sound would be slower
Changes in the pacing, tempo & speed of the audio but not the pitch

Pitch Shifting:

Change the pitch of a sound without changing the actual length

Higher = thinner, smaller & high pitch (e.g. Chipmunk voice)
Lower = bigger, more bass & low pitch (e.g. Zombie/ Monster/ Evil Voice)

Usually used in correlation to the appearance of the character

Reversing:

Gives a weird & unnatural sound
The key is to layer it!

Mouth it!:

If you can't find it, mouth it!
Our voice is very flexible and we can create a lot of sound with just a microphone & a lot of practice
Once you're done with recording, can use the techniques mentioned earlier to fine-tune it
Sometimes the best sounds happen accidentally

Tips & Tricks:

Save and organise the sound effects library
Add "constant power" to smoothly fade in or out the audio
Be creative with sound effects
Don't use the same sound effects all the time
Set your volume to 60% to 70% while editing

Click Here for Exercise 3

WEEK 4

[Video - What is Diegetic Sound?]

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Lecture Recap

Sound in film usually goes unnoticed but is the unsung hero

What is Diegetic Sound vs Non-Diegetic Sound?

Diegetic:

Derived from Diegesis
The world of the film and everything in it.
Everything that the character experiences

Non-Diegetic:

Everything that only the audience can perceive
Some elements can be non-diegetic like:

Title cards
Non-diegetic inserts
Etc.

Acousmatic Zones:

Covering the sounds we hear but can't see the source
Offscreen:

Sounds that belong to the diegesis (e.g. unseen birds chirping in a forest scene)

Non-Diegetic:

Characters can't hear because it exists outside of the world of the film (e.g. musical score)

Visualised Zone:

The source of the sound is visible on screen

Fig 2.1, Sounds in Films

Diegetic Sound:

If characters can hear it, it's diegetic. Example:

Atmospheric
Vehicles
Weapons
Music inside the film
Dialogue
Some form of voice-over

If it's the character doing the voice-over, it is called Internal Diegetic Sound

Internal Diegetic Sound:

Sound coming from the mind of a character we can hear but the other characters cannot

The primary role is to establish and create the world around the characters.

Can also have a massive impact on the overall storytelling. Example:

Sounds heard offscreen can inform the setting
Expand the world beyond what we can see in the frame

Can create suspense by having the audience hear it but can't see it
Breaking the rules of diegetic sound can create shocking moments (e.g. expecting a big explosion but it only just silence)
Can be manipulated for the audience to hear what the character is hearing

Non-Diegetic Sound:

Everything the character can't hear is non-diegetic. Example:

Sound effects
Musical Score
Forms of narration

If the narrator doesn't play a role in the film, it's considered non-diegetic
The traditional idea of verbal storytelling (e.g. reading the film like a novel)
There's potential for breaking the illusion with non-diegetic narration (e.g. narration may be breaking the 4th wall) usually done for creative purposes

Can be used to:

Enhance motion and movement
For comedy to put a punchline on a joke
Musical score (again)

Plays a massive role in the film experience

Stories wouldn't be as emotional or as dramatic

Trans-Diegetic Sound:

Used most to subvert audience expectations
This is done a lot with music

Sometimes even gets the audience in on the joke

Non-diegetic > Diegetic (e.g. The music score playing in the BG suddenly changes to the radio)
Diegetic > Non-diegetic (e.g. Used in montages)
Helps to blur the lines between fantasy and reality

Creative Exceptions:

When sounds don't fit into the different categories stated above
Used mostly in 4th wall breaks.

_______________

Tutorial

Fig 4.1, Volume & Stereo Icons

Left Icon (Audio Volume): Changes the volume of the selected sound
Right Icon (Stereo/ Panning): Changes the direction of the selected sound

It's ok to do it on speakers, if it's on a headset it'll be weird

Fig 4.2, Expanding 'Read'

Click on the line to get a keyframe
Move up and down to change direction [Up: Left, Down: Right]

Click Here for Exercise 4

WEEK 5

[Senior's Blog - Chung Yi Ki]

_______________

Lecture Recap

There were no lectures for this week so we went straight into the tutorial section.

_______________

Tutorial

Can use a colour code to know which sound is which

Tracks must not clip into each other, if not it's not usable
Use a limiter to compress the audio; can set a threshold so it doesn't go too loud.
Can't go above 0 so use -0.1 to still get a loud noise
Only use the effects when needed, not

Mix > Reroute to the fast track, grouping the track makes it easier, remember to do the individual soundtracks first to adjust the volume to your liking

WEEK 7

_______________

Lecture Recap

Reduce specific noise from audio for better quality
Background sounds are needed
When cutting sounds, cut it at the intersecting point of the waveform and the middle line
When needing specific audio cues, you can overlay the same sound to create a continuous track & it can sound really smooth when done right.

WEEK 9

_______________

Lecture Recap

Microphones:

Dynamic:

Tough
Durable
Stage & Live use

It has a coil to catch the noise

Condenser:
[Only use when the room has good noise reduction]

Very sensitive
Very fragile
Studio Use

Has 2 very fragile plates => Better not to drop it because it's expensive
Needs to be powered => Uses +48 volts known as phantom power

Shotgun/ Directional Microphone:

Catches the audio where the microphone is pointed
May be hard to use since the character's mouth moves => point at the chest for best quality

Patterns:

Omnidirectional

Captures everything/ surround sound

Cardioid

Biggest one
Heart-shaped
Captures more at the front

Hypercardioid

Similar to Figure Eight:

Captures evenly front and back
Easier to use different microphones in an interview
Mostly used in duo singing

Microphones with more pickup patterns will be more expensive.

Fig .2, Microphone Pickup Patterns

Cable & Connectors:

XLR jack
Unbalanced & Balanced

Proximity Effect:

Recording closer & further may affect the sound quality
As a sound source moves closer to a directional microphone an increase in response to low frequencies can occur
Many mics include a bass roll-off switch to counter this effect
The proximity effect doesn't affect Omni-directional mics

How to create an environmental sound:

Reduce as much as you can
Find an area that has a significant amount of noise that is similar (longer stable noise is better)
Record the room noise before actually recording the audio

How to remove most/ all noises:

Capture Noise Print > Say yes
Effects > Noise Reduction/ Restoration > Noise Reduction (process)
Look for anomalies (lip smack, breathing) => Have to reduce it manually

Reduce loud noise:

Find the wave that intersects with the red line
Some words have more frequencies

Rack Effect Dynamics:

Reduce the knob till the noise doesn't cut off

Compressor: Everything sounds more consistent, though it makes the audio sound more aggressive

Release: Shows
Makeup: How much you want to bring everything up

Rack Effect DeEsser: Pushing the threshold

WEEK 11

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Lecture Recap

Sound for Film(Recap):

Film has specific screens, animatic/ storyboard
The description must be descriptive
May have sections like Music. SFX, Audio Description for a precise scene guidance

Linear:

We know:

When
What kind of sound
How loud
How soft

What we see is what we get/ want to produce
Cue Stopping

Games:

Games are NOT linear
Things happen based on a player's

States
Choice
Action

Can predict what will happen

Event Mapping:

Determine all possible actions that would require sound or change in sound state
Often called "Triggers", "Cues" or "Events"
Triggers
Categorise the sounds for easier organisation

Can use pitch shift to make it sound higher or lower

Foley:

Has to be live
Key is to sync with the film shown
Jack Foley was the one who started it
Using different props to get the perfect sound

Voice & Sound Effects

Record more than you need, just in case

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Seh Zi Qi (0355872)

Sonic Design: Lectures

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