Methods and principles of sound design and production

Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
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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: 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 Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that
are added to film, video, and other media in post-
production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced
sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and
footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_(filmmaking)
This has not yet been used during my
production practise.
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
We are currently working on a project
involving our sample libraries of our
produced sounds. They’re 6 samples for
each category ranging from sci-fi to
action sequences produced with our
audio editing software.
SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed There is one major uncompressed audio format, PCM,
which is usually stored in a .wav file on Windows or in a
.aiff file on Mac OS. The AIFF format is based on
theInterchange File Format (IFF). The WAV format is
based on the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF),
which is similar to IFF. WAV and AIFF are flexible file
formats designed to store more or less any combination of
sampling rates or bitrates. This makes them suitable file
formats for storing and archiving an original recording.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format

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.wav Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or more commonly
known as WAV due to its filename extension)
(rarely, Audio for Windows) is a Microsoft and IBM audio
file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs.
It is an application of the Resource Interchange File
Format (RIFF) bitstream format method for storing data in
"chunks", and thus is also close to the 8SVX and
the AIFF format used on Amiga and Macintosh computers,
respectively.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
The wav file is well used in my work. The
wav file is the final exported and
rendered file that I use once created my
jingles and other sound work that I have
produced during lesson.
.aiff Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file
format standard used for storing sound data for personal
computers and other electronic audio devices. The format
was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic
Arts' Interchange File Format (IFF, widely used
on Amiga systems) and is most commonly used on Apple
Macintoshcomputer systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Interchange_File_Format
.au The Au file format is a simple audio file format introduced
by Sun Microsystems. The format was common
on NeXTsystems and on early Web pages. Originally it
was headerless, being simply 8-bit µ-law-encoded data at
an 8000 Hz sample rate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au_file_format
.smp Music file used by SmartMusic, a music practice
application for band, orchestra, and voice; saves an
accompaniment that can be used for practicing solos and
other musical parts; includes the sheet music information
and can be used for assessment; replaced by
the .SMPX in Finale 2014.
http://www.fileinfo.com/extension/smp

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Lossy Compression In information technology, "lossy" compression is the
class of data encoding methods that uses inexact
approximations (or partial data discarding) for representing
the content that has been encoded. Such compression
techniques are used to reduce the amount of data that
would otherwise be needed to store, handle, and/or
transmit the represented content
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy_compression
.mp3 MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly
referred to as MP3, is an encoding format for digital
audiowhich 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
Also Mp3 is well used when exporting
rendered and completed sound work
that I have created.
AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) ntegrated circuit that generates an audio signal and sends it to
a computer's speakers. The sound card can accept an analog
sound (as from a microphone or audio tape) and convert it to
digital data that can be stored in an audio file, or accept
digitized audio signals (as from an audio file) and convert
them to analog signals that can be played on the computer's
speakers. On a personal computer, the sound card is usually
a separate circuit board that is plugged into the motherboard.
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Audio+processing+unit
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) The goal of DSP is usually to measure, filter and/or
compress continuous real-world analog signals. The first
step is usually to convert the signal from an analog to a
digital form, by sampling and then digitizing it using
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which turns the
analog signal into a stream of numbers. However, often,
the required output signal is another analog output signal,
which requires a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Even if
this process is more complex than analog processing and
has a discrete value range, the application of

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computational power to digital signal processing allows for
many advantages over analog processing in many
applications, such as error detection and correction in
transmission as well as data compression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signal_processing
Random Access Memory (RAM) Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer
data storage. A random-access memory device
allows dataitems to be read and written in roughly the
same amount of time regardless of the order in which data
items are accessed.In contrast, with other direct-access
data storage media such as hard disks, CD-RWs, DVD-
RWs and the older drum memory, the time required to read
and write data items varies significantly depending on their
physical locations on the recording medium, due to
mechanical limitations such as media rotation speeds and
arm movement delays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random-access_memory
Ram is a valuable piece of hardware
needed for editingsoftware’s. Either its
3d modelling or even audio editing. A
good amount of RAM is needed to keep
enough space for the editing software to
keep working correctly.
Mono Audio Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often
shortened to mono) is single-channel. Typically there is
only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or (in the case
of headphones and multiple loudspeakers) channels are
fed from a common signalpath. In the case of multiple
microphones the paths are mixed into a single signal path
at some stage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaural
Stereo Audio Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a
method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of
directionality and audible perspective. This is usually
achieved by using two or more
independent audio channels through a configuration of two
or more loudspeakers (or stereo headphones)in such a
way as to create the impression of sound heard from
various directions, as in natural hearing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound

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Surround Sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the sound
reproduction quality of an audio source with
additional audio channels from speakers that surround the
listener (surround channels), providing sound from a 360°
radius in the horizontal plane (2D) as opposed to "screen
channels" (centre, [front] left, and [front] right) originating
only from the listener's forward arc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound
Direct Audio (Pulse Code
Modulation – PCM)
Although abbreviation PCM stands for Pulse Code
Modulation, we understand it as general digital audio
processing with volume samples generated in
continuous time periods. The analog signal is recorded
via analog to digital converters (ADC). The digital
value (de-facto a volume at a specific time) obtained
from ADC can be further processed. The following
picture shows a perfect sinus waveform:
http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-
lib/pcm.html
AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS Analogue
Analog recording methods store signals as a continual
wave in or on the media. The wave might be stored as a
physical texture on a phonograph record, or a fluctuation in
the field strength of a magnetic recording. This is different
from digital recording of which among many possibilities
include digital audio and digital video, which digital
signals are represented as data or discrete numbers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_recording

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Digital Mini Disc The MiniDisc (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
Compact Disc (CD) Known by its abbreviation, CD, a compact disc is a
polycarbonate with one or more metal layers capable of
storing digital information. The most prevalent types of
compact discs are those used by the music industry to
store digital recordings and CD-ROMs used to store
computer data.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/compact_disc.html
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.[1]
In appearance it is similar to a Compact
Cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a
protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm ×
54 mm × 10.5 mm. As the name suggests, the recording
is digital rather than analog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
MIDI Pronounced middy, an acronym for musical instrument
digital interface, a standard adopted by the electronic
music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers
and sound cards that emit music.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MIDI.html
MIDI is the keyboard that we use to
‘’paint’’ or jingle/s together. Used for
making certain tunes within our project
using different instruments.
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

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Software Plug-ins In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, extension, or add-
on / addon) is a software component that adds a specific
feature to an existing software application. When an
application supports plug-ins, it enables customization. The
common examples are the plug-ins used in web
browsers to add new features such as search-engines,
virus scanners, or the ability to utilize a new file type such
as a new video format. Well-known browser plug-ins
include the Adobe Flash Player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_(computing)
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
The MIDI instruments are used to create
my jingles and other sound production
that through the REAPER software. It
produces a range of different sounds
with all sorts of instruments.
AUDIO SAMPLING File Size Constraints - Bit-depth
Bit depth is the number of bits used to carry the data in each
sample of audio. The bit depth chosen for recording limits the
dynamic range of the recording. (Other factors in the audio
chain may also limit this, so more bits often will not produce a
better recording.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Bit_Depth
Bits are usually selected to 16 when im
rendering my final completed sound or
sounds.
File Size Constraints - Sample
Rate In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of
a continuous signal to a discrete signal. A common
example is the conversion of a sound wave (a continuous
signal) to a sequence of samples (a discrete-time
signal).A sample refers to a value or set of values at a

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point in time and/or space.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)

Methods and principles of sound design and production

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