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: Jordan Smith 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 Foleying is an excellent means of supplying the subtle sounds that production mikes often miss. The rustling of clothing and a squeak of a saddle when a rider mounts his horse give a scene a touch of realism that is difficult to provide using other effects methods. A steamy sex scene was probably created by a Foley artist making dispassionate love to his or her own wrist.http://www.filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm

Foley Artistry is important for many forms of entertainment; it is used in video games and movies more than anything else, and can really improve the tone of scenes from an audio perspective.

Sound Libraries A sample library is a collection of digital sound recordings, known as samples, for use by composers, arrangers, performers, and producers of music. The sound files are loaded into a sampler - either hardware or computer-based - which is then used to create music.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_library

Sound libraries are used for filing sounds and putting them organised in a folder.

SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. This data can be stored uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size. It can be a raw bit stream, but it is usually a container format or an audio data format with defined storage layer.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format

Uncompressed audio files are important when working with sound for the user.

.wav WAV - Stands for Waveform Audio Format. This is a high-quality audio file type generally used for applications that require high quality, such as CDs. WAV files are uncompressed, and therefore take up some disk space, unlike MP3s or AACs, which are compressed.http://ipod.about.com/od/filetypes/g/wav_definition.htm

A wav is an audio file format used in many ways, it can be a format that can only be used to render sounds and import them somewhere else.

Stands for "Audio Interchange File Format." AIFF is a file format

1

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

.aiff designed to store audio data. It was developed by Apple Computer, but is based on Electronic Arts' IFF (Interchange File Format), a container format originally used on Amiga systems.http://www.techterms.com/definition/aiff

I don’t really know much about this, but storing sound data is important if you don’t want to lose all your audio.

.au The AU file format is a simple audio file format introduced by sun microsystems . The format was common on Next systems and on early Web pages. Originally it was header less, being simply 8-bit ulaw -encoded data at an 8000 Hz sample rate. Hardware from other vendors often used sample rates as high as 8192 Hz, often integer factors of video clock signals. Newer files have a header that consists of six unsigned 32-bit words, an optional information chunk and then the data. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au_file_format

Audio units are key when working with audio, and are one the first things to look into when using audio.

.smpAn .smp file may be one of several different types of audio file. For example, it could be a Sample Vision audio sample file. This 16-bit audio file was originally used by Turtle Beach Sample Vision; you can open it with Adobe Auction, Sound Forge Pro or awave Studio. It could also be a sample file for AdLib Gold, a PC sound card released in 1992; Scream Tracker, a mid-1990s music editing program; or Swell. Reason, a music recording and production program, uses the ".smp" extension for sampler instrument patches.

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

I don’t really have much experience with this so I can’t really give a good review of it.

Lossy Compression A compression technique that does not decompress data back to 100% of the original. Lossy methods provide high degrees of compression and result in smaller compressed files, but there is a certain amount of visual loss when restored.http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/46335/lossy-compression

I can’t really explain how to use lossy compression.

.mp3 MP3 is an encoding format for digital audio which uses a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio streaming or storage, as well as a de facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on most digital audio players.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3

Mp3 is a common term that almost everyone in a modern society has heard of. Mp3 players were used by almost everyone at some time or another, and is a digital storage and transmission.

2

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

AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) The SPU is the unit responsible for all aural capabilities of the psx. Ithandles 24 voices, has a 512kb sound buffer, has ADSR envelope filters for each voice and lots of other features.http://psx.rules.org/spu.txt

Rendering a sound file is key, as without a rendered sound you basically have nothing.

Digital Sound Processor (DSP)A digital signal processor ( DSP ) is a specialized microprocessor with

an architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal

processing. The goal of DSPs is usually to measure, filter and/or

compress continuous real-world analogue signals .

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

The ds is one of the most important things in the role of audio, it is used to process the sound files.

Random Access Memory (RAM) Stands for "Random Access Memory," and is pronounced like the male sheep. RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module . These modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer. http://www.techterms.com/definition/ram

RAM is the amount of memory the computer has.

Mono Audio Mono Audio is a setting on iPhone that merge the sound on both left and right channels to a mono signal and it enhances audio quality so that you can listen to both channels in either ear. http://www.ask.com/answers/16932211/what-is-mono-audio-on-iphone-3gs

The mono setting makes the audio better and has become more recently with iPhones.

Stereo Audio Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of directionality and audible perspective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo_audio

Stereo audio is a sound reproduction that I am not really familiar with.

Surround Sound Surround sound is a term used to describe a type of audio output in which the sound appears to "surround the listener" by 360 degrees. Surround sound systems use three or more channels and speakers in front and behind the listener to create a surrounding envelope of sound and directional audio sources. The term surround sound has become popular in recent years and more commonly used since the advent of home theatre systems. Surround sound can be either an analogue or digital system. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/surround_sound.html

Surround sound is used in many homes to enhance audio coming from things such as films/shows and other entertainment such as games.

Direct Audio (Pulse Code Modulation – PCM)

Directional Sound refers to the notion of using various devices to create fields of sound which spread less than most (small) traditional loudspeakers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_sound

I have used directional audio methods to record sounds in an assignment I completed.

3

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

AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS Analogue Analogue describes a device or system that represents changing values as continuously variable physical quantities. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/analog.html

I am not really familiar with analogue, so I couldn’t really describe it and its features to a good degree.

Digital Mini Disc The Mini Disc ( MD ) is an obsolete magneto-optical disc-based data storage device for 74 minutes and, later, 80 minutes, of digitized audio or 1 gigabyte of Hi-MD data. The Sony brand audio players were on the market from September 1992 until March 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc

I have had no experience with a digital mini disk.

Compact Disc (CD) A digitally encoded disc capable of containing more than one hour of music at a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz. The data is read by a laser beam. https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=gaxXU47iG-bR8geQ9IG4DQ#q=cd+compact+disc+definition

A compact disk is a good way of storing audio as it can holds lots of information.

Digital Audio Tape (DAT) Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape

I have never used (DAT OR R-DAT). I cannot give a good example of its benefits or weaknesses.

MIDI MIDI files contain a coded representation of the notes of musical instruments such as middle C on the piano. Taking considerably less space than digital audio, MIDI files require a wavetable synthesizer on the card, which holds digitized samples of the instruments.http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Audio+processing+unit

A MIDI is an item I have used during editing audio, it helps edit and create audio with sounds such as instruments and other midi audio editing options.

Software Sequencers A music sequencer (or simply sequencer ) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically MIDI or CV/Gate, and possibly audio and automation data for DAWs and plug-ins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer

A software sequencer is a device or applications used to record/edit/playback and do other things to audio/music.

Software Plug-ins A plug-in is a (sometimes essential) piece of software code that enables an application or program to do something it couldn’t by itself. http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-plugins

Software plugins are important for editing software.

MIDI Keyboard Instruments A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a musical instrument like a piano keyboard. The MIDI portion indicates that the instrument has a communication protocol built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or other MIDI-equipped instrument. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm

These are easy to use, and if you use the right one for the audio sequence you want, it can work well, like I like to use things such as a piano.

AUDIO SAMPLING File Size Constraints - Bit-depth In digital audio using pulse-code modulation (PCM), bit depth is the number of bits of information in each sample, and it directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample. Examples of bit depth

Bity depths is information for each example used, it shows how much information is in the piece.

4

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

include Compact Disc Digital Audio, which uses 16 bits per sample, and DVD-Audio and Blu-ray Disc which can support up to 24 bits per sample. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth

File Size Constraints - Sample Rate

Sample rate is the number of samples of audio carried per second, measured in Hz or kHz (one kHz being 1 000 Hz). For example, 44 100 samples per second can be expressed as either 44 100 Hz, or 44.1 kHz. http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Sample_Rates

I have used this, but it is kind of hard to explain, the paragraph to the left should give all the information you need.

5