MM 3314 Sound Design

MM 3314 Week 9

2010-09-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, all.

We meet tonight for Week 9. We will have a crit for the Game Audio Sound Design, and then go around the room for your proposed clips you plan to use for the Final Sound Design. Chris will present his example of interesting sound design, and I would like to finally have a belated crit for the Podcasts. If we have time, I'll lecture on Sound and Narrative Part 2.

See you tonight.

MM 3314 Week 8

2010-09-01T10:22:00.001-07:00

Hello, all.

We meet again tonight (September 1) for our Week 8 activities. We will have a status check on your Game Audio projects, I will lecture on Sound and Narrative, and Julie will screen and discuss her example of interesting Sound Design. See you all tonight.

MM 3314 Week 7

2010-08-24T19:10:00.001-07:00

Hello, all.

We meet again for Week 7 tomorrow. I'll lecture on Part 3 of Sound and Perception, Heladio will present his example of interesting sound design, and we'll have a status check of where everyone is on the Game Audio project.

Speaking of late projects, I now have two responses to the Short Story Adaptation. Please get these to me right away, either as a comment to this post on the Course Blog, or send me a document (preferably PDF) to Dropbox:

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/08/short-story-adaptation.html

Okay. See everyone tomorrow.

MM 3314 Week 6 Prep

2010-08-17T19:09:00.001-07:00

Hello, all.

We meet again tomorrow evening for Week 6. We will go over the Midterm and answer any questions about where are midstream. We will have a make-up crit for the Podcasts, so make sure those are uploaded to your server or sent to me via Dropbox (and these are a week late now, so there should be no problems in getting these Podcasts up and running, right?).

Also, make sure you post your Sound Maps for your adaptation of the Hemingway short story. Use the comment section of this post to submit this assignment (or link to your own site):

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/08/short-story-adaptation.html

I'll lecture on Part 2 of Sound and Perception, Ray will present and discuss his example of interesting sound design, and we will go over the requirements for the next assignment, Game Sound. We will also have a demo/lab of interesting freeware applications specifically designed to synthesize, generate, alter, rip, mangle, mutilate sounds entirely from scratch (no sound libraries!).

See everyone tomorrow.

Short Story Adaptation

2010-08-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

SOUND MAP
Copy and paste the following Sound Map into a text editor, and, when finished, submit as a comment to this post. If necessary, break your Sound Map into multiple chunks (or simply link to your own site).

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BRAINSTORMING
Answer each of the following questions:

1. Read the entire story. Note where the story is broken into distinct scenes. List some of the sounds linked to people, objects and actions in the narrative that are explicitly described.

2. List several environments in the story that can be fleshed out with sonic ambiance. Describe them briefly.

3. List the key words in the story’s scene description and dialogue that give clues to the emotions of the scene (both of spectator and the viewer).

4. What are the moments of physical or dramatic transition in the story?

5. Read each scene again carefully. Visualize the scene and see what sounds you imagine, and jot them down.

6. Replay the scene in your mind with these sounds added, and see what other ideas emerge. Jot down everything that comes to mind – no matter how strange or silly. These ideas can always be tossed later, but can lead to valuable ideas later on as well.

INVENTORY
From your brainstorming session, list all of the sounds in the appropriate categories (questions 2-5) for each scene of the story, as well as any comments about the sounds and your process:

1. Name (or number) of the Scene
2. Diegetic SFX/Foley
3. Diegetic Background
4. Voice
5. Non-Diegetic
6. Comments

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Diegetic SFX/Foley: those that appear to be connected with the image, belong to the reality of the film, and can be heard by the characters in the film. Can also include diegetic music (a radio is turned on, a band plays live onscreen, etc.)

Diegetic Background: ambient, background and room tone sounds that the characters can hear in the reality of the narrative space.

Voice: not just dialogue, but all sounds that are emitted through the mouth including yawns, sneezes, coughs, laughs, etc. Dialogue that needs special treatment by the actor or postproduction manipulation (echo, telephone voice, etc.) can also be noted.

Non-Diegetic: those that are disassociated from the reality of the story and turn into a kind of sensorial or emotional element independent of the character’s reality within the story. Usually includes musical score and voiceover. Also can include ambient sounds when they are used to create a general mood and cannot be heard by the characters.

Post your comment(s) by the beginning of class Week 6.

MM 3314 Week 4 Followup, Midterm Prep

2010-08-05T16:06:00.001-07:00

Hello, all.

Even though we only had two folks show up last night (and at different times, for legit reasons), there is not enough flexibility in the calendar to reschedule the Week 4 lecture, so the PDF version on the Course Schedule and Projects page will have to suffice. For the midterm, you should spend time with that lecture, along with those from previous weeks, to get a sense of what types of questions are likely to appear on the Midterm. Some questions may be word-for-word copies of Quiz questions. I would say that 70-80% of the Midterm will be lifted from the regular lectures. I will include a few questions pulled from the readings (you should focus your attention on Ferrington, Wrightson, Peterson, England, Pinkowish, and Moore), and there will be a few open-ended essay-type questions on your experiences with sound.

We will take care of the Midterm first, so please arrive on time so we can get started promptly.

After break we will crit the podcasts, so make sure your files have been exported as MP3s and uploaded to your server or delivered via Dropbox by the beginning of class so that I can fully download them by the time we are done with the Midterm.

After that we will have Jaye present and discuss her example of interesting sound design. If we have time, Steven and Chris can make up for their missed slots.

I will also briefly lecture on Script Analysis so that we can get started on adapting the Hemingway short story.

I hope by this weekend to send you a progress report on your standing in this class to date, including your grade on the Soundwalk (Parts 1 and 2). That way there will be no surprises when you see your posted Midterm grade.

More soon.

Podcast Sound Log and Transcript

2010-08-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Post your Sound Log and Podcast Transcript as a comment to this blog post by the beginning of Week 5.

MM 3314: Week 4

2010-08-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hello, all.

A reminder about tonight's class. We will have a status check on your progress on the Podcast and Steven will present and discuss an example of interesting sound design (and, if we have time, Chris will talk about his choice, since we forgot to do that last week).

I'll also lecture on Sound and Perception.

See you tonight.

MM 3314 Week 3 Prep

2010-07-27T21:19:00.001-07:00

Hello, all.

Week 3 is here, and we have two significant deadlines in place for Wednesday evening's class.

First, the eight field recordings as part of Soundwalk Part 2. One edited field recording for each of the following sites:

1. Small room
2. Large room
3. Cafe or restaurant
4. Store or mall
5. Exterior, urban
6. Exterior, nature
7. Quietest ambience possible (very early morning?)
8. Other space (gymnasium, pool hall, tunnel, cave, church, nightclub, etc.)

These are to be posted as links to MP3s hosted on your own server or site, or as submissions on Dropbox.com (with a share invite to me) or sent via YouSendIt.

You will also be filling out a sound log for each of the eight recordings and posting these logs in a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/07/soundwalk-part-2.html

Also due tomorrow is a rough draft of your outline for your Audio Portrait Podcast. Again, this is just your estimate of how the podcast may unfold, not a finished script. But you should definitely be using the format at the following link as a guide:

http://www.radiodiaries.org/transcripts/NewYorkWorks/cowbellmaker.html

Post your Podscast outline as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/07/podcast-script.html

Needless to say, you should have already chosen your subject by now and scheduled some recording sessions for this weekend and into Week 4. This should give you plenty of time to edit the recordings into a finished, polished podcast by Week 5.

Tomorrow will include a Critique Session on the Soundwalk field recordings, a lecture on Acoustic Ecology and the Soundscape, as well as more examples and discussion of the Podcast Project. We will also have Chris share an example of interesting Sound Design.

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Podcast Script

2010-07-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Post your Podcast outline as a comment to this post by the beginning of class Week 3.

SCRIPT FORMAT
Write a script or outline for your podcast. This will help you block out the structure of the podcast as a whole, and will clarify the types of sounds you will need to capture.

Use a basic, straightforward format for your script. List who is speaking, followed by what he/she says (or a rough guess of what may be said). For example: Roger Smith: "I’m a piano tuner, and I learned what I do from my Uncle Joe."

Your script MUST include sound cues and descriptions of the sounds. Present these sound cues/descriptions in all UPPERCASE letters so they stand out. For example: PIANO PLAYS A SHORT BIT OF MUSIC, VERY OUT OF TUNE.

While you won’t be able to script what happens in your interviews beforehand, you can outline what kinds of information you want, what questions you will ask and in what sequence your interviews should unfold.

You can script your introductions, and any of your narration ahead of time, and that should be in the script. For example: Narration (John Doe): "I met Roger Smith at the local coffeeshop one afternoon . . ."

A suggested format for your script could be the scripts for the New York Stories audio portraits, such as the one found here.

Soundwalk Part 2

2010-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Post your Sound Log and links to your audio files as a comment to this post by the beginning of class Week 3.

Part 2: Field Recording

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the art of gathering sounds from the real world.

Check out a Zoom H2 recorder from the cage (or use your own recorder if you have one). Find things in your environment which meet the following criteria and record one sound for each of the following qualities:

Small room
Large room
Cafe or restaurant
Store or mall
Exterior, urban
Exterior, nature
Quietest ambience possible (very early morning?)
Other space (gymnasium, pool hall, tunnel, cave, church, nightclub, etc.)

BASIC REQUIREMENTS
Edit your raw recordings into clean and edited sounds. The length of each sound should be long enough to illustrate its sound qualities but not so long that it wears out its welcome. At least 30 seconds but no longer than 5 minutes. Create separate files for each sound you recorded--with just that one sound in the file. Name the file something descriptive which indicates what it is, i.e. "small_room.mp3," etc.

Fill out the Sound Log, with information for each individual sound file, as a blog comment (or link to your own website), with direct links to each MP3:

SOUND LOG

Sound #
File Name
Description of Sound
How, Where and When Created
Comments
Link to file

Remember that you must host your MP3s on your own server or send to instructor via YouSendIt or Dropbox.com.

DEADLINES
Part 1: Soundwalk Reflection is due Week 2 at the beginning of class.
Part 2: Field Recording is due Week 3 at the beginning of class.

MM 3314 Week 2 Follow-up

2010-07-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hello, all.

A follow-up to last week's session. The PDF of the lecture on Sound Fundamentals has been added to the Course Schedule and Projects pages, and can be accessed directly here:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/mm3314_week_02_notes.pdf

Remember that two projects are due Week 3: the set of field recordings that make up Soundwalk Part 2, and the Script/Outline for your Audio Portrait Podcast. (I am including the field recording project description at the end of this message.)

As far as the Podcast, examples of good portrait podcasts can be found here:

http://www.radiodiaries.org/newyorkworks-home.html

And a good one to listen to is the portrait of Pasquale Spensieri:

http://www.albany.edu/talkinghistory/radiodiaries/rd-nyw-grinder.mp3

As far as the script/outline, I am only looking for a sketch of how you think your podcast might unfold. You can use the following outline as an example:

http://www.radiodiaries.org/transcripts/NewYorkWorks/cowbellmaker.html

Please note that you should not write out a script and then have your subject enact it out word for word. Students sometimes do this and the result is often stilted and unnatural. You should spend enough time with your subject so that he/she gets comfortable enough to have a natural, unforced conversation. After the podcast is mixed, you can then revise your script/outline to reflect the actual conversation word for word.

The Podcast is due Week 5, so there is still plenty of time to pull this together. But by now you should definitely have your subject picked and your appointments scheduled.

In the meantime, check out a Zoom from the cage and get those field recordings done. The PDF of the Zoom operating manual is here:

http://www.glennbach.com/ai/H2_user_manual.pdf

Okay, that's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll send another note on Tuesday.

Best,

Glenn

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Field Recording Requirements
Check out a Zoom H2 recorder from the cage (or use your own recorder if you have one). Find things in your environment which meet the following criteria and record one sound for each of the following qualities:
1. Small room
2. Large room
3. Cafe or restaurant
4. Store or mall
5. Exterior, urban
6. Exterior, nature
7. Quietest ambience possible (very early morning?)
8. Other space (gymnasium, pool hall, tunnel, cave, church, nightclub, etc.)

BASIC REQUIREMENTS 
Edit your raw recordings into clean and edited sounds. The length of each sound should be long enough to illustrate its sound qualities but not so long that it wears out its welcome. At least 30 seconds but no longer than 5 minutes. Create separate files for each sound you recorded--with just that one sound in the file. Name the file something descriptive which indicates what it is, i.e. "small_room.mp3," etc.   Fill out the Sound Log, with information for each individual sound file, as a blog comment (or link to your own website), with direct links to each MP3:

SOUND LOG
Sound # 
File Name 
Description of Sound 
How, Where and When Created 
Comments  
Link to file

Remember that you must host your MP3s on your own server or send to instructor via YouSendIt or Dropbox.com.

Due by Week 3

Week 2 Prep

2010-07-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, all.

As we head into Week 2, a reminder to sign up for your Sound Design presentation:

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/07/sound-design-presentations.html

Also, the Soundwalk Reflection is due tomorrow. Remember that you are posting your response as a comment to this post on the Course Blog:

http://mm3314.blogspot.com/2010/07/soundwalk-reflection-due-week-2.html

Tomorrow we will be talking about Acoustic Ecology and the Soundscape. I'll have another example of interesting sound design, along with the featurette on the sound design of King Kong. Also, we may listen to an example of a relevant podcast to get you thinking about that particular upcoming assignment (you all HAVE been thinking about the subject of your audio portrait podcast, right?).

And we will begin work on the second part of the Soundwalk, the gathering of specific field recordings.

See you tomorrow!

Sound Design Presentations

2010-07-14T18:35:00.001-07:00

Please sign up for a slot to present your example of interesting, engaging Sound Design. Add a comment with your first, second, and third choices. First come, first served.

Sound Design Presentations

Week 2: _____
Week 3: Chris
Week 4: Steven
Week 5: Jaye
Week 6: Ramon
Week 7: Heladio
Week 8: Julie
Week 9: _____
Week 10: _____

Soundwalk Reflection due Week 2

2010-07-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Part 1: Soundwalk Reflection

"A soundwalk is any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment. It is exposing our ears to every sound around us no matter where we are. We may be at home, we may be walking across a downtown street, through a park, along the beach; we may be sitting in a doctor's office, in a hotel lobby, in a bank; we may be shopping in a supermarket, a department store, or a Chinese grocery store; we may be standing at the airport, the train station, the bus-stop. Wherever we go we will give our ears priority."

--Hildegard Westerkamp

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Following the Ai campus soundwalk, list all of the sounds you heard (retype them from your original notes so that we can read them).

Go to a place or space significantly different than the Ai complex (a beach, park or hiking trail if possible). Sit, close your eyes, and just listen for five minutes without doing anything else. LISTEN. For five minutes write down everything you hear. Indicate which sound you found most interesting and explain why this sound struck you as interesting.

Go to a sonically rich place in your home. Sit, close your eyes, and just listen for five minutes. Then write down everything you hear for five minutes. Indicate which sound you found most interesting and explain why this sound struck you as interesting.

Your Soundwalk reflection will also include answers to the following questions (please be as specific and thorough as possible:

1. Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

2. Was it possible to move without making a sound?

3. What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

4. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?

5. Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?

6. Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the everpresent drone?

7. Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?

8. Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?

9. For each of the following three locations how would you describe the particular soundscape? If you recorded this environment and played it back to someone who hadn’t been on your walk, what would they tell you about this place?

a. Ai campus
b. external site
c. internal site

10. As a sound designer, if you played any of these soundscapes for your listeners, would they find it interesting? Can you use this in a story as is? Or would you have to modify or enhance it in the studio to heighten its effect?

11. Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

12. How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a designer, if at all?

BASIC REQUIREMENTS
Post your answers as a comment to this post on the Course Blog. I would suggest that you work out your answers ahead of time in Notepad, TextEdit, or Word, then copy/paste into the comment field.

You may structure your answers in any way you wish: organized by location, contained in a narrative, or woven into an interview format. You may also provide a link to your own website, using the content of the Soundwalk Reflection for your own design purposes. Your comment must be posted by the start of class in Week 2.

After you have learned how to conduct a soundwalk you will probably find that you stop cataloguing the sounds that you hear. Instead you’ll find that at all times and places you will be conscious of the sounds that surround you, whether good or bad, and will be able to identify the sounds that make you feel peaceful or happy, and the sounds that cause you to feel apprehensive or disjointed.

Above all, be with yourself. Immerse yourself in your environment. When you can understand your responses to the place where you are, you’ll have a better chance of bringing your listeners along with you. You will also have a better sensitivity to sound when you make the transition from listening to recording, as chronicled in the second part of this assignment, Field Recording. �

Welcome to Sound Design

2010-07-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Sound Design. This blog is the mechanism by which you will be turning in your assignments for class. Simply click on the comment link for each assignment and paste your report into the comment field, then publish. Links back to the course syllabus can be found in the sidebar. I'm looking forward to working with you in what promises to be a great quarter!