Monday, August 28, 2006

Week 5

Film Design : Excerpt from Aliens
Recommended films to watch : Matrix, Aliens, Punch drunk love
Key things covered :
Dynamics, interesting,works realy well, just the right sound at the right moment which tells you everything what is required.

Too much information -- Sound interesting but requires too much attention, other than the video..

SUBJECTIVE *** SENSE OF REALISM

Tips for Foley recording -- Imagine a real life, how loud do you hear a sound,,far away sounds,,close sounds,,whispering anything,, Imagine a real life scenerio and present it..you dont hear foleys direct through ear.
Footsteps-- you are never too close to footsteps , so they dont have to be loud..

Glass smashing : Imagine a glass falling down,,compared to the full impact of a loud blast of a glass..A lot of times sound act as a enhancer,,in that way you present a loud smash of the glass.. Enhancment of the experience..

Violin -- Needs natural reverb,open space,harmonics to be heard..
close miking takes away teh thrill from teh sound..

Sonic Design aspect ******Contrast between scenes

Source Music and Score Music***** OR***** Diegetic and non diegetic music

Creating WIND :
Finding just the right wind for the scene can be tricky..Apply your creative tools of synthesis to get just the right sound you are after.. create a " cheerful wind "
*Low bottom end layer
*Mid range layer
*Filtered layer
*Whisteling layer


Music and Meaning in Commercials :

Synesthesia : A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.
A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.
The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

Analysing "Material Girl"-- Madoona

Recommendd reading : "Analysing Musical Multimedia" -- Nicholas Cook

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Week 4

Film Design :

Key concepts covered in class

16mm -- Old skool Sound Production in film ( 1 mono optical track ,crapy than tape),low dynamic range,tape hiss
35mm - Stereo optical track
Dolby mix - dynamic range,surround
Cinema -- 120 dB dynamic range

Various type of music releases ;
cinema release, 5.1,stereo,television mix(very reduced),
Music and Fx release for foreign languages
Dialogue,music and Fx mix for promotional usage
mobile phone mix - mono mix, low quality playback device
Always Know the end product or medium of sound reproduction.There is no point spending time on panning if the end result is played as mono.Like wise spend as much possible time in the post production when you know you have the best sounding 11.1 setup for playback.

KEY THINGS BEFORE YOU START YOUR WORK
Dynamic Range
Frequency Response
No Of Channels
Listening Enviornment

Main Areas of Film Design

Dialogue****Music****Fx****Atmos****Foley

Always keep everything in seperate tracks with sub groups of individual items.It isjust like organising anything.Disciplined Organization would simply make your work easier and faster.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Week 3

Sound design for Films:
Key elements for a good sound design
*Enviornment
*POV - angle or camera movement
*Low Lighting
*minimal dialogue
One of the ket things you will come across would be "why is this music not working with this scene"?.Keep watching the scene again and again,unless you come up with something quite interesting.'Time' will solve everything,anything you ever want to acheive.In some cases you will find that the music works really well and you dont really want to change it.
Temp track : A personel idea of director what he likes.Always remember you are working for someone,his baby and by all means you have to listen and please him with your work.A balance between satisfying all his needs and displaying your creative adventures,is what your aim is.In most cases if the director and the composer is happy,the film would be a success.

Sound Track components

*Dialogue
*Fx
*Foley (dramatic or narrative aspects)
*Atmos (blanket sound,background)
*Music

ADR - Automatic Dialogue Recording

Other important areas : copyright rules for musicians/artists
Mechanical rights of DVD,sound libraries etc
check out Australian Copyright Council's Online Information Centre http://www.copyright.org.au/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Project : My group is using Torque engine for their game.Check out a brief "Torque engine analysis"

Game engine
*Components
*Modular - Assembly
specific task
specialised task
sound
rendering scenery(L-systems)
*Abstraction
*Level Editors

Sofware to Hardware
Open GL - Graphic Language
Open Al - Audio language

Complexity : LE - MW - SRC code
-------------------------------------
Creative Computing : Msp
Synthesis and Enveloping
*Path towards virtual Instruments(Rewire)
*Additive,Amplitute modulation(ring modulation)
*object(encapsulation) - instances
*Synthesis e.g. protools mixer

Additive Synthesis : Adding simple tones to make complex tones e.g. Kawai 5000
E.g. : cycle~60 +cycle~200 + cycle~ 440 = complex tone by additive synnthesis.

Fourier Theorem :All sounds can be representated as sine tones.
*Delta time : space between start and end time(gives you 2 figures) whereas duration gives you only one figure.
# : arguments within an object (any parameter you want)
#1 - first argument,#2 - second argument and so on..
Function : GUI object - envelope generator

Tremelo and Ring Modulation " If the modulating frequency is above 16Hz it is ring modulation and if it is below 16Hz t is tremelo.
Modlating frequency always come down to zero at some point.
Carrier frequency : sound source
modulater : control/changing source
E.G : Say CF = 1000 and MF = 250
Then the range will be between 750Hz-1250 Hz and Ring Modulation is 500.

Amplitute Modulation: Amplitude modulation involves changing the amplitude of a “carrier” signal using the output of another “modulator” signal.
To put it another way, the modulator can cause fluctuation of amplitude around some
value other than 0,hence it is always + or -(never 0)
DC Offset: direct current(positive value)

Additive synthesis example: Partial~ patch
#P window setfont "Sans Serif" 9.;
#P window linecount 1;
#P newex 10 119 34 196617 pass~;
#N comlet partial # (multiplier);
#P inlet 149 27 15 0;
#P window setfont Arial 9.;
#P comment 48 120 74 131137545 specified partial;
#N comlet (signal) Sinusoidal partial;
#P outlet 11 141 15 0;
#P window setfont "Fixedwidth Serif" 10.;
#P newex 390 66 38 1441802 line~;
#N comlet Phase;
#P inlet 313 27 15 0;
#P window setfont Arial 9.;
#P comment 328 28 32 131137545 phase;
#P comment 405 28 107 131137545 amplitude and delta time;
#N comlet Amplitude and delta time;
#P inlet 390 27 15 0;
#P window setfont "Fixedwidth Serif" 10.;
#P newex 11 92 389 1441802 *~;
#P window setfont Arial 9.;
#P comment 26 28 101 131137545 fundamental frequency;
#P window setfont "Fixedwidth Serif" 10.;
#P newex 11 66 312 1441802 cycle~;
#N comlet Fundamental frequency;
#P inlet 11 27 15 0;
#P newex 11 45 148 1441802 * $1;
#P window setfont Arial 9.;
#P comment 164 28 131 131137545 partial # (ratio to fundamental);
#P connect 10 0 5 1;
#P connect 6 0 10 0;
#P connect 9 0 3 1;
#P connect 13 0 1 1;
#P connect 14 0 11 0;
#P connect 3 0 5 0;
#P connect 1 0 3 0;
#P connect 2 0 1 0;
#P connect 5 0 14 0;
#P window clipboard copycount 15;

Simple Synth patch: Simple Synth converts midi values into its corresponding frequencies and uses envelope generator to demonstate the process of additive synthesis.You have the option of either playing through the keyboard or click button to play random 100 midi values.
#P window setfont "Sans Serif" 9.;
#P window linecount 1;
#P comment 367 34 100 196617 vinny Bhagat 2006;
#P newex 42 65 52 196617 metro 50;
#P toggle 42 42 15 0;
#P newex 42 87 64 196617 random 100;
#P window linecount 2;
#P comment 77 236 54 196617 converted frequency;
#P number 41 179 35 9 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 221 221 221 222 222 222 0 0 0;
#P number 41 240 35 9 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 221 221 221 222 222 222 0 0 0;
#P window linecount 1;
#P message 179 168 33 196617 clear;
#P user number~ 5 348 44 363 9 3 3 2 0. 0. 0 0. 250 0. 0 0 0 221 221 221 222 222 222 0 0 0;
#P message 118 347 27 196617 stop;
#P message 52 348 65 196617 startwindow;
#P newex 41 382 29 196617 dac~;
#P newex 234 294 50 196617 line~ 0.5;
#P user function 171 187 371 287 1 1 0 0;
#X frgb 82 82 82;
#X brgb 204 204 204;
#X rgb2 85 85 85;
#X rgb3 255 255 255;
#X rgb4 0 0 0;
#X rgb5 0 0 0;
#X add 10.638297 0.72 2;
#X add 234.042542 0.613333 2;
#X add 377.659576 0.853333 2;
#X add 606.382935 0.733333 2;
#X add 632.978699 0.346667 2;
#X add 941.489319 0.24 2;
#X domain 1000.;
#X range 0. 1.;
#X done;
#P newex 41 316 41 196617 *~ 0.5;
#P newex 41 292 61 196617 cycle~ 440;
#P newex 41 208 31 196617 mtof;
#P user kslider 41 110 54 0 36 60 31 12 0 128 128 128 128 128 128 255 255 255 0 0 0 0 0 0;
#P comment 77 180 82 196617 midi note number;
#P comment 59 43 125 196617 click to play random tones;
#P window setfont "Arial Black" 14.;
#P comment 210 18 116 791478286 Simple Synth;
#P fasten 6 0 12 0 46 340 10 340;
#P fasten 17 0 3 0 47 101 46 101;
#P fasten 3 0 15 0 46 172 46 172;
#P connect 15 0 4 0;
#P connect 4 0 14 0;
#P connect 14 0 5 0;
#P connect 5 0 6 0;
#P connect 6 0 9 0;
#P fasten 10 0 9 0 57 372 46 372;
#P fasten 11 0 9 0 123 376 46 376;
#P connect 18 0 19 0;
#P connect 19 0 17 0;
#P fasten 8 0 6 1 239 313 77 313;
#P fasten 3 0 7 0 46 167 176 167;
#P fasten 13 0 7 0 184 185 176 185;
#P connect 7 1 8 0;
#P window clipboard copycount 21;

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forum Presentation by myself:

What is a ‘rag’ ?
‘Rag’ is derived from Sanskrit word ‘raga’ which means “colour or passion” (Apte 1987).There is no direct translation in English which explains a ‘rag’.However it is a combination of different characteristics.

* Scale/Mode/selection of notes
* Ascending and descending structure
* Level of significance - Some are important notes and others are less
* Movements.
* Time of the day

Raag Yaman : This rag has a strong association with the evening. It uses all seven notes of the scale ie
1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 with 3rd being a stronger note and 7th being less slightly than 3rd .
#4 suggests it is a Lydian mode with structure of T T T S T T S

Significance of drone : The function of the drone is to provide a firm harmonic base to the music.Normally root note and 5th is played on tanpura.

This improvisation is derived from one of the compositions I was taught by my first music teacher,
Mr. Bhasker Bose. He is responsible for introducing me to music and I dedicate this performance to him.

References
(1)Haines,Christian.2006.Audio Arts lecture on Sound Design for Games.University Of Adelaide.8 August'06.
(2)Haines,Christian.2006.Creative Computing lecture on Max/Msp.University Of Adelaide.10 August'06.
(3)Klose,Ashley.2006.Lectures on Sound Design for Films.University Of Adelaide.8 August'06
(4)Msp Tutorials and Topics.2006.Cycling 74
(5)Bhagat,Vinny.2006.Presentation a the Forum.Program Note.University Of Adelaide.10 August'06

Torque - Game engine

The Torque Game Engine was originally developed by Dynamix for Tribes 2.
Core Features.

* Full C++ source code to the engine
* C++ like syntax

TOOL Generator
* Mesh exporters for Maya, 3D Studio Max, LightWave, Blender
* Uses UDP and TCP for networking
* Uses optimal Notified Delivery Protocol

SOUND

* Multi-channel prioritized SFX manager
* 3D sound support; panning, volume, Doppler, cones
* OpenAL
Torque, uses OpenAL—an open-source audio API(Application Programmer's Interface).
Audio Profiles and Datablocks
Torque uses the concept of datablocks and profiles to help define and organize resources
for use in the game.

Audio datablocks are defined using the keyword AudioDescription when they are defined.
Here is an example of an audio datablock:
new AudioDescription(AudioTest)
{
volume = 1.0;
isLooping= false;
is3D = false;
type = 0;
};

Example for creating a profile:

new AudioProfile(AudioTestProfile)
{
filename = "~/data/sound/test.wav";
description = "AudioTest";
};

References :
Finney C . Kenneth. "3D Game Programming All in One".Thomson Course Technology

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Week 2

Game project : System Analysis/History of Games
1.System - gaming console(RAM,CPU,HD,soundcard,BD,SR,BR(CODEC),Stereo,5.1,2.1,PC3D
2.Medium - DVD,file based,blue ray
3.Reproduction - Sound reinforcement(sound system,stereo compatibility,2.1,5.1,3D
4.Engine - Half life,unreal etc{Mediums,CODEC,MIDI,synthesis engine,PCM,GM engine,chip engine}

DVD Data - Storage,size,read rates(data),memory,SR,BD,BR

QUOTE OF THE DAY : LIMITATIONS IS NOT EQUIVALENT TO RESTRICTED FREEDOM

Channel*BD*SR = bits/sec
1*16*44100 = 705600 bits per sec
Buffer size = 1024
Standard CD Kpbs = bits per sec/buffer size

Creative computing : Fundamentals of MSP

• Signals
• Audio on/off
• Routing / Mixing

dac~
: Audio output -Connect signals to a dac~ to hear them. Also, you can send messages to a dac~ to start and stop the audio. The easiest thing to do for audio on/off is to connect a toggle to dac~'s left inlet.

adc~
: Output audio from computer's input source - adc~ (which stands for "analog-to-digital conversion)" receives multiple channels of audio in and sends it to its outputs as signals. It receives messages to turn audio on and off.


ezidac~
- Simple iconic 2 channel audio output(turns on all windows)ezdac~ accepts all the messages that dac~ does, except that you can't double click on it to see the DSP Status window. You can, however, send it the "open" message to do so.

eziadc~ - Simple iconic 2 channel audio input (turns on all windows)ezadc~ accepts all the messages that adc~ does, except that you can't double click on it to see the DSP Status window. You can, however, send it the "open" message to do so.


Send~ and receive~
: The send and receive objects allow you to send any kind of message between Patcher windows or within a window without using patch cords. The order of reception by two or more receive objects is not deterministic.

Ubmenu : non-interrupting pop-up menu -The menu can be used to display text associated with incoming numbers.Items start at 0.


Gate~
: Switch input to different output signals - It takes an argument for number of outputs (one is the default) and lets you route an incoming signal by sending an int to its left inlet. It can also control the activation or deactivation of part of a signal processing network.

Selector~
:Switch output among several input signals - It takes an argument for number of inputs (one is the default) and lets you turn incoming signals on and off by sending an int to its left inlet.

Selector Patch

#P window setfont "Sans Serif" 9.;
#P window linecount 1;
#P message 107 46 14 196617 3;
#P message 91 46 14 196617 2;
#P message 75 46 14 196617 1;
#P message 60 46 14 196617 0;
#P newex 224 44 61 196617 cycle~ 440;
#P newex 166 45 55 196617 cycle~ 70;
#P newex 124 45 39 196617 noise~;
#P message 78 193 27 196617 stop;
#P message 9 193 65 196617 startwindow;
#P newex 163 191 39 196617 *~ 0.2;
#P newex 108 226 65 196617 dac~;
#P newex 108 192 39 196617 *~ 0.2;
#P comment 13 179 69 196617 start audio;
#P newex 132 109 62 196617 selector~ 3;
#P fasten 0 0 2 0 137 164 113 164;
#P connect 2 0 3 0;
#P fasten 5 0 3 0 14 220 113 220;
#P fasten 6 0 3 0 83 220 113 220;
#P fasten 13 0 0 0 112 88 137 88;
#P fasten 12 0 0 0 96 92 137 92;
#P fasten 11 0 0 0 80 97 137 97;
#P fasten 10 0 0 0 65 101 137 101;
#P fasten 7 0 0 1 129 85 154 85;
#P fasten 0 0 4 0 137 164 168 164;
#P connect 4 0 3 1;
#P connect 8 0 0 2;
#P fasten 9 0 0 3 229 85 188 85;
#P window clipboard copycount 14;


References:
(1)Haines,Christian.2006.Audio Arts lecture on Sound Design for Games.University Of Adelaide.1 August'06.
(2)Haines,Christian.2006.Creative Computing lecture on Max/Msp.University Of Adelaide.3 August'06.
(3)Msp Tutorials and Topics.2006.Cycling 74

-----------------------------
2 August'06 7pm - gig with Wez and group for the opening of SALA festival,Uni SA,Arts school : It was fun playing drum kit after such a long time but actually embaracing as well with what the group was trying to acheive.Lots of feedback,scratching, untimely congos,never stopping cowbell with didj fattening the over all sound,as if it was needed and the looks on some of the people were saying "guys please turn down the volume".Ah well,that is life.I was enjoying playing the kit and anything else didn't bother me.To be honest i loved it.But never again Wez..

The same weekend I am off to sydney to attend one of my friends engagment.
Gurpreet Singh Sodhi - A friend who is really very close to me.It took me a fair while to understand his love for me.This guy bought me drum accessories from Australia,when I was still in India,got me a beautiful Yamaha wooden Picolo snare drum from london,I was still in India and now he has booked air tickets for me to come and attend his engagement.This is how much he loves me.God Bless "Gurpreet and Shimona"..

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Sem2..Week 1

Sound Design
Introduction to Sound Design

Design – structure / organized – Plan/map for objects
n verb – act of designing,, planning , sketching or the process of doing..

Sound – and audible event ( physical/psychophysical )
Eg music,sound for sound objects,sonority

Victorion – modernist—Pomo
Bauhans, grophins

Form --- function
Fine arts – architecture

‘Relationship of the materials’
Form --------------------------------------------------------------Function
Fine Arts --- architectural,industrial,sound design--------- engineers

Sound Design for film
Target – medium/object
-- form (aesthetic) + function (use/role)
sound logo/symbol, film, game, web page, multimedia, mobile, electric toaster, internet fridge

Similar fields : Design studies, graphic design, industrial design and architecture

“ Relationship of letters, shapes etc in graphic design”
-- relative to distance
-- form and function of letters and how they relate to the real world.
.Eg design output -- aesthetic

Creative Computing - Msp~
Overview of MSP environment differences to max
• Target outcomes such as application, plugin development, performance tool etc
• Testing
Test Tone :
#P window setfont "Fixedwidth Serif" 10.;
#P window linecount 1;
#P newex 8 29 64 1441802 cycle~ 60;
#B color 5;
#P message 110 30 38 1441802 start;
#P message 75 30 32 1441802 stop;
#P newex 8 83 32 1441802 dac~;
#B color 5;
#P connect 3 0 0 0;
#P fasten 2 0 0 0 115 59 13 59;
#P fasten 1 0 0 0 80 66 13 66;
#P fasten 3 0 0 1 13 51 35 51;
#P window clipboard copycount 4;


Ambience

#P window setfont "Sans Serif" 9.;
#P window linecount 1;
#P message 191 175 27 196617 stop;
#P message 122 175 65 196617 startwindow;
#P newex 26 212 29 196617 dac~;
#P newex 26 173 39 196617 *~ 0.2;
#P flonum 302 88 35 9 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 221 221 221 222 222 222 0 0 0;
#P message 210 59 90 196617 200 \, 10000 4000;
#P newex 210 84 51 196617 line~ 200;
#P flonum 118 89 35 9 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 221 221 221 222 222 222 0 0 0;
#P newex 26 64 35 196617 noise~;
#P newex 26 126 286 196617 reson~ 1. 200 23;
#B color 5;
#P comment 35 111 59 196617 input signal;
#P comment 210 44 173 196617 • click to ramp up center frequency;
#P comment 220 111 61 196617 center freq;
#P comment 128 111 28 196617 gain;
#P comment 310 73 147 196617 •try range of 1-100 for Q;
#P comment 311 110 15 196617 Q;
#P comment 123 160 73 196617 • start audio;
#P comment 36 146 73 196617 filtered output;
#P connect 14 0 15 0;
#P connect 14 0 15 1;
#P connect 9 0 8 0;
#P connect 8 0 14 0;
#P fasten 16 0 15 0 127 201 31 201;
#P fasten 17 0 15 0 196 201 31 201;
#P connect 10 0 8 1;
#P connect 12 0 11 0;
#P connect 11 0 8 2;
#P connect 13 0 8 3;
#P window clipboard copycount 18;