Showing papers on "Soundscape published in 1998"

Auditory information design

Abstract: The prospect of computer applications making “noises” is disconcerting to some. Yet the soundscape of the real world does not usually bother us. Perhaps we only notice a nuisance? This thesis is an approach for designing sounds that are useful information rather than distracting “noise”. The approach is called TaDa because the sounds are designed to be useful in a Task and true to the Data. Previous researchers in auditory display have identified issues that need to be addressed for the field to progress. The TaDa approach is an integrated approach that addresses an array of these issues through a multifaceted system of methods drawn from HCI, visualisation, graphic design and sound design. A task-analysis addresses the issue of usefulness. A data characterisation addresses perceptual faithfulness. A case-based method provides semantic linkage to the application domain. A rule-based method addresses psychoacoustic control. A perceptually linearised sound space allows transportable auditory specifications. Most of these methods have not been used to design auditory displays before, and each has been specially adapted for this design domain. The TaDa methods have been built into computer-aided design tools that can assist the design of a more effective display, and may allow less than experienced designers to make effective use of sounds. The case-based method is supported by a database of examples that can be searched by an information analysis of the design scenario. The rule-based method is supported by a direct manipulation interface which shows the available sound gamut of an audio device as a 3D coloured object that can be sliced and picked with the mouse. These computer-aided tools are the first of their kind to be developed in auditory display. The approach, methods and tools are demonstrated in scenarios from the domains of mining exploration, resource monitoring and climatology. These practical applications show that sounds can be useful in a wide variety of information processing activities which have not been explored before. The sounds provide information that is difficult to obtain visually, and improve the directness of interactions by providing additional affordances.

'Observing' the workplace soundscape: ethnography and auditory interface design

Abstract: This paper identifies a gap in the research agenda of the auditory display community - the study of work practice and the uses (current and potential) of the workplace 'soundscape'. The paper presents a case study derived from a one year activity theory-oriented ethnographic study of information gathering work at a UK daily newspaper. We consider the soundscape aspects of mediating collaborative activity in the newsroom, and conclude with a discussion of the issues arising from this attempt to utilise ethnographic techniques within the auditory display design domain.

Space in sound: sound of space

Abstract: At a time when our sense of physical space is being radically challenged and modified by new global communication technologies, it seems not unusual that composers are taking a renewed interest in it. We have begun to experiment with using the new technologies available to us to move sound in space and create surround-sound environments.For electroacoustic music and other soundscapes we have pan pots on our mixing desks and in our synthesizers to radially position sounds between loudspeakers, and reverberators to simulate the distance of sound sources from the listener. Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3) and DTS were introduced as competing standards for theatre sound recordings around 1992 and consumer products are available in both formats. In addition, Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) are making sophisticated soundfield techniques such as Ambisonics both practical and more accessible.This article traces some of my own explorations in the use of 3-space for musical composition, examines the limitations of basing structuring methodologies primarily on functional psychoacoustic studies of hearing, and suggests alternative approaches based on an understanding of 3-space from the work of the perceptual psychologist James Gibson.

Luc Ferrari: Interview with an intimate iconoclast

Abstract: Luc Ferrari stands out as one of the most original and unclassifiable composers of his generation in France. Affiliated with the French radio's Groupe de Musique Concrete in 1958, he was to break away after only six years to pave his own eclectic compositional paths, including highly personalized expressions of minimalist music, anecdotal music, soundscape composition, aleatoric/improvised scores, radiophonic music, sound installations, and musical theater. In 1982 he founded the Paris electroacoustic studio La Muse en Circuit, with which he was closely involved until 1994. In 1987 and 1991 he was awarded the Prix Italia for his compositions Et si toute entiere maintenant (And if Altogether Right Now) and L'Escalier des aveugles (Stairway of the Blind).

Tools and widgets for spatial sound authoring

Abstract: Broader use of virtual reality environments and sophisticated animations spawn a need for spatial sound. Until now, spatial sound design has been based very much on experience and trial and error. Most effects are hand-crafted, because good design tools for spatial sound do not exist. This paper discusses spatial sound authoring and its applications, including shared virtual reality environments based on VRML. New utilities introduced by this research are an inspector for sound sources, an interactive resource manager, and a visual soundscape manipulator. The tools are part of a sound spatialization framework and allow a designer/author of multimedia content to monitor and debug sound events. Resource constraints such as limited sound spatialization channels can also be simulated.

Sound Tracks: the Soundscapes of India Song

Abstract: In both the play and the film of Marguerite Duras's India Song no verbal exchange is seen to take place on stage or in camera shot and all the dialogue emanates from disembodied voices which reverberate across the filmic or theatrical imagery. The verbal text is woven into a complex, orchestrated soundscape of instrumental music, songs, non-verbal cries and utterances, screams of pain and wretchedness, sound of street shouting, and screeches of exotic birds and animals. These elements together become a score functioning alongside the visual text. In this essay, I want to focus on the composition and the ‘enactment’ of the sound script of India Song and consider the way in which it functions as a stratum of eloquent signifying systems in the performance of this rich and poetic text. My concern will be with the ‘composite’ text of novel/play/ film and the way in which sound is evoked across the spectrum of reader, spectator and auditor, though my intention is not to suggest that the written text, the film and the play performance are interchangeable. I shall refer to the published text, Duras's own 1974 film version, and Theatr Clwyd's performance directed by Annie Castledine and Anabel Arden in 1993.

TUTORIAL ARTICLE Physically based sound modelling

Abstract: In multimedia art and communication, sound models are Schafer (1977), who also introduced a catalogue of needed which are versatile, responsive to users’ sounds organised according to referential attributes. expectations, and have high audio quality. Moreover, model Nowadays, a common terminology is available for flexibility for human‐machine interaction is a major issue. describing sound objects both from a phenomenoModels based on the physics of actual or virtual objects can logical or a referential viewpoint, and for describing meet all of these requirements, thus allowing the user to collections of such objects (i.e. soundscapes) (Risset rely on high-level descriptions of the sounding entities. As 1969, Truax 1978, McAdams 1987). long as the sound description is based on the physics of For effective generation and manipulation of the sounding objects and not only on the characteristics of sound objects it is necessary to define models for human hearing, an integration with physics-based graphic sound synthesis, processing and composition. Identimodels becomes possible. fying models, either visual or acoustic, is equivalent to making high-level constructive interpretations,

Wolf Music: Style, Context, and Authenticity in R. Murray Schafer's And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon

Abstract: R. Murray Schafer's environmental music functions as a model for his ideal of an authentic Canadian musical identity. Schafer's idea of the North is embodied both in the music's style and in its context. Three works from the music drama Patria the Epilogue: And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon serve as examples of the influence of the northern soundscape on Schafer's musical style.

Sound for Film: Audio Education for Filmmakers.

Abstract: Education in sound for film students who do not intend to specialize in audio engineering is a neglected subject at the university level. Developing such courses appeals to the interests of neither audio professionals,' who tend to dismiss the importance of sound in film courses because they do not produce audio specialists, nor film educators, for whom audio engineering is one of several possible courses a film program can offer. Specialist academics in the field of university education in sound for filmmakers are only starting to emerge, and the group is as yet small and dispersed. Among the common assumptions held by audio engineering professionals and educators is that the curriculum or syllabus of the sound production/postproduction component of film studies is equivalent to what could be described as "an introduction to" or "basic knowledge of' audio engineering and that this syllabus is similar to what a student learns in a basic course (usually elective) in sound engineering, physics, or electronic music. Contrary to these opinions, education in sound for students who do not intend to become sound professionals but rather film directors, producers, cinematographers, and so on requires a different content and structure from introductory, general, or specialized courses in sound. It also requires a different aesthetics, attitude, and approach. Other important aspects of the curriculum, such as aims or objectives, must be different as well. The purpose of this article is to identify the specific, unique, and important elements of audio education required by film professionals and to present a model unit to be included in a film studies program, either as a separate course or as part of a film production or introduction to film course. Topics may be added or eliminated; the scope of the content and the length of the course are not as important as the approach. My intention is to present a design whose suitability is not confined to use in one country. Statements, suggestions, and conclusions included in this article are based on research done in Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America.2 Aims of Audio Education for Filmmakers The aims of audio education for filmmakers are closely linked to but also subordinate to the aims of courses in the students' major (specialization). In that the core of film education is film studies, these links include the relationship between sound and picture, both in theory and practice, as well as the relationship and communication between the creators of film and sound (i.e., film and sound professionals). The aims quoted below serve as suggestions and a reference for the development of approaches and goals: This unit is designed to enable students to understand aesthetics and mechanics of media sound, and the interactions between sound, cinematography and editing crews . . . to introduce the concept that sound is meaningful with or without accompanying visuals . . . to facilitate understanding of the interaction between the producer and sound personnel (Lazar 20-21). Implementation of the aims above results in a special and distinctive approach to the structure and balance of the syllabus, as well as to the concepts and definitions offered to the students. Thus, the "soundtrack" can be defined as, for example, "an encapsulating soundscape to accompany the picture" (Lazar 18), and the students' goal in creating a soundtrack "to produce an audio experience which enhances and reinforces the information presented in the picture" or "to add another dimension and enhance the psycho-acoustical perception of the film" (Lazar 17). These concepts represent a unique and distinctive approach to the aesthetics and practice of audio education. They are different from the goals of audio education for professionals, which aim purely to develop the qualities and skills students need to achieve excellence in dealing with sound and which center solely on sound and sound perception. …

Method for restoring the sounds of a sport equipment and sport equipment for implementing same

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for restoring the soundscape during a sporting event, consisting in incorporating in the sport equipment a device (13) comprising a radiofrequency transmitter and a microphone; providing in the proximity of the sport venue a radiofrequency receiver for receiving the signals transmitted by the device (13) incorporated in the sport equipment and in restoring an audio signal corresponding to the soundscape picked up by the microphone