Sounddesign in Multimedia

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Sounddesignin Multimedia

• Multimediedesign program at ATC
• By Bjarne Slipsager

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Communication through media
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Traditional media

• Visual focused media
• Text book, Painting, Photos.
• Audio focused media
• Radio, Telephone, music-systems
• AudioVisual media
• Television, Cinema
• New media (Interactive multimedia )
• Webpages, computer games,applications

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Elements of Sounddesign

• Spoken word , Voice over
• The language (English, Danish, Chinese ..?)
• Intonation
• Pronunciation
• What does the sound of the voice tell about the
  character who speaks ? (male, women, young, old,
  big, small ..)

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Elements of Sounddesign

• Sound effects
• Which events are they connected to ?
• Interaction of materials (e.g. Shoes floor )
• What does the sound effect tell the listener?
  (signifies) e.g. alarm clock.
• Which place, Ambience does the sound effects
  create?
• Example from Sound Library, Drummachine,
  navigation sounds

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Elements of Sounddesign

• Navigation Sounds
• http//www.anitainment.com/Product13.html
• http//pilotvibe.com/website/index.html
• http//www.2advanced.com/

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Elements of Sounddesign

• Music
• What atmosphere, mood, felling, images does the
  music create ?
• What does the music do to the listener ?
• Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Style

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3 TYPES OF SOUNDS IN VISUAL STORYTELLING

• On screen a rats cell phone rings and he
  answers it (we see and hear it ringing)
• Off screen the voice of the caller, perhaps a
  small mouse, is only heard speaking (no visual)
• Non-diegetic (outside the story space) a
  voice-over explains the story

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Sounddesign Overview

• FIVE BASIC ELEMENTS OF INTERACTIVE SOUND DESIGN
• Voice Over or VO human voice tracks such as
  scripted narration or interviews
• NavSounds audio that enhances/clarifies the
  navigation system of an interactive experience
• Sound Effects sounds for all other events seen
  or unseen / real or unreal
• Ambience audio that reflects the physical or
  psychological location of an experience /
  environment
• Music music or rhythmic patterns
• 3 TYPES OF SOUNDS IN VISUAL STORYTELLING
• On screen a unicorns cell phone rings and he
  answers it (we see and hear it ringing)
• Off screen the voice of the caller, perhaps a
  small elf, is only heard speaking (no visual)
• Non-diegetic (outside the story space) a
  voice-over explains the unicorns excellent
  calling plan
• 3 RELATIONSHIPS AUDIO CAN HAVE WITH VISUALS
• Sympathetic Relationship the sound matches the
  visual.
• Contrasting Relationship the sound doesnt match
  the visual, and commonly contradicts it.
• Abstract/Emotive Relationship the sound conveys
  a sense of mood, without having a clear direct

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Method for analyzing the sound in a multimedia
product

• Description
• Try to describe your immediate user-experience
  when interacting with the multimedia product over
  a limited timeframe. When did the sound occur?
  How was the quality of the sound? Was the sound
  connected to a direct interaction (event), an
  animation sequences, a video or as a background
  sound for a still image? How long did it last?
  Could you in some way control the sound?
• Analyze the elements of the sound experience in
  detail. (user interface vs. animation/video)
• -Try to describe the sound in terms of spoken
  word, sound effect and music.
• -Try also to describe what we can hear (more
  objectively) with some psychoacoustic terms from
• -Try also to use if the sound experience is
  connected to an animation/video sequence
  (storytelling)
• Evaluation
• How did the sound elements related to the visual
  elements? Is the sound design in the multimedia
  product supporting the overall message/concept?
  What is good and bad about the sound design?
  Redesign suggestions ?

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Examples

• Bob The Blobhttp//mmd-users.edu.ats.dk/bsl/soun
  danalysis/examples/Flash/bobtheblob.swf
• Drum machine http//mmd-users.edu.ats.dk/bsl/soun
  danalysis/examples/Flash/dm.swf
• Move the crowd http//www.pepsidjdivision.com/mov
  ethecrowd/
• Ben Burtt on Lightsaber Sound Design
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vi0WJ-8B6aUM