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: Damion Vize 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 A sound effects technique for synchronous effects or live effects.

http://filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm

Foley Artistry can be applied to recordings already complete by using real life objects to create in-game noises.Foley artistry is used to create a realistic and authentic sound.

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

http://www.planetoftunes.com/digital-audio/digital-audio-files.html#.U1esgfldV8E

This is the area used to store and sometimes backup files.Sound libraries are used in my work to quickly access required sounds.

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

SOUND FILE FORMATS

Uncompressed Uncompressed file formats are exact copies of the original data. As such they take up more space than compressed formats.

http://www.audiostream.com/content/guide-common-music-file-types

Files appear in this type prior to rendering. Uncompressed files cannot be uploaded to soundcloud so have to be rendered to produce the higher quality sound

.wav Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE or WAV) is a popular uncompressed format for music downloads.

http://www.freestockmusic.com/audio-formats/

The compressed sound files from field recordings appear as .wav files..Wav file format is what my rendered files would appear as if I dodn’t have .vlc player.

.aiff Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF). AIFF is Apple's proprietary uncompressed file format.

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

.AIFF is similar to a .WAV file in terms of size but has a higher quality of sound.

.au Standard audio file format for the Java programming language.

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

.AU is a file format used for audio data.

.smp Music recording and production program uses the ".smp" extension for sampler instrument patches.

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

.SMP in terms of work can be used for a sprintbit playlist manager.

Lossy Compression

In information technology, "lossy" compression is a data encoding method that compresses data by discarding some of it. Lossy compression

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

http://uk.ask.com/question/what-is-lossy-data-compression takes out any unnecessary data in a file compressing it to a smaller size.

.mp3 The original and still most popular and widely supported lossy compressed file format which became an MPEG.

http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/guide/file-formats-and-compression/

MP3 is the compressed form of sound mainly used in CD’s but is used in other audio only files as well.

AUDIO LIMITATIONS

Sound Processor Unit (SPU)

Also called a "sound board" or "audio adapter," it is a plug-in card that records and plays back sound.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51757/sound-card

This processes the audio signals but can be used to accurately represent the characteristics of a sound.

Digital Sound Processor (DSP)

Digital audio files contain soundwaves converted into digital form. Sound cards convert the digital samples back into analog waves for the speakers using digital signal processing (DSP).

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51757/sound-card

The DSP is used to calculate the position of sounds when recording them.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Random Access Memory (RAM) is a computer storage location that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations within DRAM on a memory module.

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/r/ram.htm

RAM affects how much data can be stored and the speed it is saved and loaded.

Mono Audio A single track of audio.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/audacity_tracks_and_clips.html

Some of the mics used recorded in mono audio such as the directional ones.

Stereo Audio Commonly called stereo sound or just stereo, stereophonic sound divides sounds across two channels (recorded on two separate sources) then the recorded sounds are mixed so that some elements are channeled to the left and others to the right.

Stereo is used in the headphones we use when playing back

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

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/stereophonic_sound.html audio, it is similarly used in the handheld recorders.

Surround Sound A system of sound recording and reproduction that uses three or more independent recording channels and loudspeakers in order to give the impression that the listener is surrounded by the sound sources.

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

Surround sound could be used to improve the realism of the sound.

Direct Audio (Pulse Code Modulation – PCM)

Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is 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.

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

Direct audio is relevant because our audio would be in this format but isn’t through render settings.

AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS

Analogue Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.

http://www.answers.com/topic/analog-recording

Analog is a lower quality sound recording.

Digital Mini Disc The read-only 2.5" disc stores 140MB compared to 650MB on a CD, but holds the same 74 minutes worth of music due to Sony's Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC) compression scheme, which eliminates inaudible signals.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/47064/minidisc

This small disc can be used to store compressed mp3 files.

Compact Disc (CD)

A small plastic disc on which music or other digital information is stored in the form of a pattern of metal-coated pits from which it can be read using laser light reflected off the disc.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/compact-disc

The CD is used for portable storage as an alternative to USB drives and internal storage.

Digital Audio Tape (DAT)

Acronym for digital audio tape, a type of magnetic tape that uses a scheme called helical scan to record data. A DAT cartridge is slightly larger than a credit card in width and height and contains a magnetic tape that can hold from 2 to 24 gigabytes of data.

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

Using DAT makes the audio appear in high quality.

MIDI a widely used standard for interconnecting electronic musical instruments and computers.

http://www.memidex.com/musical-instrument-digital-interfaces

I used MIDI in reaper for my sounds.

Software Sequencers

The program, when run, must perform each action in order with no possibility of skipping an action or branching off to another action.

Reaper manages the software

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

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_key_control_structures_in_programming_and_what_are_they_used_forsequences automatically.

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

A software plug-in is what we used e.g VST.

MIDI Keyboard Instruments

Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI is a standard for digitally representing and transmitting sounds

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/midi.htm

This is what we used for some of our soundtracks and sound effects.

AUDIO SAMPLING

File Size Constraints - Bit-depth

The number of bits (binary digits) used to represent the colour of a single pixel

http://www.thewonderoflight.com/articles/bits-bytes/

This decides how large a .bit format file is.

File Size Constraints - Sample Rate

Sampling is the process of measuring an audio signal at specific points in time. The sampling rate or frequency is expressed in Hertz.

http://stereos.about.com/od/glossaryoftermss/g/sampling.htm

The sample rate on some audio tracks has been modified to get crisper sounds.

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