Assignment 2, Part 3 - Be Able to Apply Sound Assets to an Interactive Media Product Following Industry Practice

Asset management:

Importing

Importing the three different sounds and the TV video into the flash file took some time, changing the file names and importing them into the flash folder was simple but the one set back was making sure the flash detected the sounds and video. To make this happen I had to make sure the files were in the correct format which included the sound in MP3 and the video in MP4. After I had completed changing the flash folder to accept the my own files I had the trouble of getting the finish product seen, this is because of the blogger not accepting the format of file, I worked around this by putting the flash file on a disk to send off for marking.

Organising

I made sure I kept my work organised by filing all my working under Sound folder, this linked onto other files named under the different LOs. In addition I also I kept the fished product under ‘IUOM sound mixer’ in the file ‘Interactive Media Product’ with my original sound names files. To make sure my files are always safe I make sure I back up my work every time I complete extra work for this unit so if I lost the file I would have another one saved to make sure I don’t lose the work I have done.

Edit audio:

Audio library material

In my finished interactive media product overall I only used one file from the Soundbooth Audio library, I used this sound to help me create the main music soundtrack to fit with the TV advert, this track was Track 1. I edited this track in Abobe Soundbooth by adjusting the pitch, volume, intensity and using the looping tool to make this track my own. This editing helped the track become an individual piece of music which now fits with the bet of the video without copying other unedited music.

Studio produced audio

I did not use a studio to create the voice over for my video, but I did use a quiet room to produce the audio descroption for the TV advert. To record the audio I used Flip Camera and turned the microphone towards the voices, I found a quite room to record this sound and made sure that no foreign noise interrupted the voice by stopping the recording if a noise started. I edited this voice over in Abobe Soundbooth by changing the tone of the voice making it sound techno to suit the theme of the TV Advert; additionally I add a fade in and out to make the sound flow. I completed these effects by following the effect option button at the top of Soundbooth. I can uses the fade in and fade out top by applying this effect using a labelled button on the side bar.

Apply:

Synchronising sounds

I synchronised the soundtracks to the TV advert by inserting the video into Soundbooth while I was editing each sound. This ensured me to keep checking each change of the sound would suit the beat of the advert, I did this by playing the track with the video looking at if the sound and images synchronised. I did this to all the three sounds of the interactive media product and after I finished edited the tracks individually I then put the tracks all together to see if they would suit, if they did not I could adjust it while all the files were open using Soundbooth.

Lip-synching

When I was creating my Interactive Media I did not have to lip-synching any sound to people talking as the Advert I choose involve cars. Even though i did not have to synch sound to people singing I did have to rearrange the music timings to match the movement of the car and the sound which would have been made by the lasers in the video. I did this by inserting the video into Soundbooth to be able to find the timings of the video which I had to match with the timings of the sound.

Dubbing

Dubbing is when you replace voices on a video soundtrack subsequent to the original version. While I was creating my Interactive Media product I did not have any encounters with needing to dub anybody to the sound I had created to go with the video. When I was creating the three different sounds to go with the video, even though I did not dub, I did have to make sure the sound I was composing suited the content in the video at the selected times such as the car accelerating .

Embed

I embedded the three sound files and the TV Advert into the flash file by changing the file names and formats to link the files into flash. I copied the files into the folder which includes the flash file; to make my files link up I had to change the names to sound001, sound002, sound003 and video001. To finish linking all the files up I had to open up the flash file and open up the source setting in the settings area, I needed to change the link from the old video to the new one to complete the formatting. After I did this I needed to convert the sound files to mp3 and the video files to mp4, this connected the files up with the flash file to make the Interactive Media product complete.

Link to sound file

After I linked up the files to the flash folder I could open up the folder anytime and play the sounds with the video in different orders. The flash folder ensures that my Interactive Media Product works the way I created my sound files to do, the buttons control the different sounds by toggling them on/off to suit the wants of the user. This finished product is going to be put onto a disk to be seen by the audience to let them control their own media with choosing the sound to fit the selected media.

Assignment 2, Part 2 - Be Able to Create Sound Assets for an Interactive Media Product Following Industry Practice

Plan

Asset management

I make sure that I structure my work in files to keep it organised and safe, if I do not do this I may lose track of a piece of work which may be lost and needing to be redone. I have made seven documents for my work, four made to keep different Leaning outcomes in, one for Pink Panther CuBase test file and another for CuBase Zoom testing. To keep these files safe I constantly back them up on an external hard drive after completion of work to make sure I have copy’s if my computer breaks or gets stolen.

Workflow

To make sure my work is in order and keeps on track is that every Monday and Tuesday I work on the sound unit in my spare time, I have done this due to amount of work needed to be completed and to finish the unit quickly. Additionally I have organised the completion of work by working down the Learning Outcomes of this unit to make sure I hit every requirement set to get a good grade in this unit. I have set out all the Learning Outcomes in a table, highlighting all the main items to complete such as finding out what the theory of sound is. This helps me organise the structure of work as I know what I have to complete next as when I have completed a task I tick it off the sheet.

Deadlines

We have not received any deadlines throughout this unit but I have taken it upon myself to set deadlines to make sure my work is up to date for a quick completion.

LO1 – Friday 25^th November 2011 (Completed on time)

LO2 – Friday 21^st October 2011 (Completed on time)

LO3 – Plan – Monday 23^rd January 2012 (Completed on time)

LO3 – Thursday 23^rd February 2012 (Completed 27/01/2012)

LO4 -  Friday 2^nd March 2012 (Completed 28/01/2012)

 

Recording sound

Proof of recording

Recording my two different sounds for Track two included recording car noises and tickling water. For my first sound I gathered this by taking my Flip Camera to the edge of the road and recording a minute and a half of work, making sure I capture the engine noise and the sound of the cars splashing the water on the road. This sound was used to be the main base to the track, in addition to this sound I created another sound I could change the pitch to make it sound techno to fit the feel of the TV advert. I recorded this track by taking my Flip Camera to the top of my fish tank to capture the tickling water of the filter; I recorded this sound for 2 minutes to make sure I captured the best sound without any unwanted noise.

The third track I recorded was the audio descriptive voice over; I recorded this voice over by using a Flip Camera. I made sure I was in a quiet room to record the track making sure there was no interference to the noise. I recorded the track in two parts making sure after every take I made sure I knew what to say next, and reading the script through a few times.

Audio sampling

Sampling is used to take a portion of one of the sound recordings and reuse it as an instrument or different recording of a song, the use of sampling is controversial legally and in the music businesses.

Sampling rates define the number of samples per unit of time, taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. Using sample rates in hertz sometime mentioned as samples per second is the inverse of the sampling frequency which is the time between samples

I used audio sampling in track one of my interactive media products, this track was in the Adobe Soundbooth file and was available to anybody who wanted to edit music. To make this track my own I change the pitch, volume and created loops at the appropriate time to make this track sound different and unique to my TV advert.

Audio levels and metering
 

Meters – There are many different audio metering systems available, and many results change between each system. All audio material has a specific dynamic range and the differentness between highest and lowest levels can change. If the signal roams beyond the boundaries then your ears will hurt, irrespective of whether you are using analogue or digital. Metering can help you make the process of setting optimum signal level much quicker.

Peak program meter – A peak program monitor is an audio metering device, its function id is similar to the VU meter but this one is much faster and makes transients peaks easier to read. This meter is very good at reading transient sound quickly and useful in situations where there are distortion problems.

Standard operating level – Every stage receives an electric signal at its input, it manipulates it and supply the result of the manipulation that has taken place at the output. The output signal that ensues from a stage will feed the next stage's input which itself shall apply a further transformation.

Sound manipulation

Final Product

To finish my interactive media product I uploaded the three recorded sounds and the TV advert onto a flash file. To make sure that the four files were supported I had to covert the three sounds to MP3 and the video format into MP4, I coped the files into the selected flash folder to fit the coding of the original files. The file includes five buttons and a video screen; the buttons included a sound on/off, button for sound one, two and three. This finish product can be uploaded onto websites which support flash files and DVDs which can be sent off to selective people.

 

Log, Screen Shots

Screen Shots	Description of Work
Track 1
	To start composing my first track in Adobe Soundbooth, I inserted a selected sample track from the Adobe collection by downloading the track and selecting file insert.
	I started changing the track by editing the intensity of the noise selecting the tabs to change the tune up and down.
	I continued editing the track by shortening it to fit the timing of the video which will accompany the track, I changed the length by pulling the end of the track in.
	To make the track my own I selected the beginning on the track and cut it to make it repeat again, creating a loop after the introduction to the track has finished. I did this to make the track more interesting and complicated making sure the track is individual.
Track 2
	The second track of the interactive media product includes the sound effects to the advert. I recorded and inserted two sound types into the Soundbooth file one was car sounds and the other was trickling water.
	I started editing the two tracks by fading in the sound by toggling the volume level up and down to make sure that the sound smoothly intergraded between the two sounds.
	I continue to edit the track by changing the effects of the sound, taking away the additional noise to concentrate of the city noise. These effects also made the sound at a higher pitch to suit the theme of the TV advert.
	To finish editing the track I changed the volume of the track to make the car noises louder and the water quieter. I did this by moving the bar up and down to end up with a suitable effect.
Track 3
	To edit the recorded Audio Description soundtrack to the Interactive Media Product I imported the file into Soundbooth and put the tracks together to make a long one.
	Continuing editing the audio track I edited the pitching, noise and rumbles to remove the background noise. I additional changed the tone of the voice to make the words clear and more engaging.
	To finishing editing the track I used the toggles in Soundbooth to fade the audio in slowly to make it softer for the audience to hear.

Industry practice

Reflection on finished product

This product was created using much different types of software, Adbobe Soundbooth to edit the sound, Premiere Pro to edit the video taking away the original sound and a converter to change the file types. I am very pleased with the end product I have completed, as I compare it to the brief I was set and modified I believe the Interactive Media Product I have created is a great example of a video which can be controlled at the hands of the user. This video meets the requirements of a multimedia product; this flash file includes a music track, a sound effect track and an audio descriptive track so the blind can understand the video which is playing.

Production skills

Creating ideas to complete this interactive media product was flowing after I finalized the video for this product, as the video included a very theme of being new and technological I wanted the three sounds to follow this. To make the sounds feel technologically advance I changed the pitching of the tree videos to mimic the sound of the laser beams reflecting of the car. The work flow of this project was very productive as I kept on track by keeping to the deadlines and the order of work sheet I created. I completed this work very quickly has I worked on this project on my own, this was not a problem as I am very knowledgeable with the Abobe Software including Soundbooth and Premiere Pro.

How to Connect a Zoom to Computer

·         Zoom – press menu.

·         Use the fast forward button on the right hand side, scroll drown the menu to the bottom – USB.

·         Red record button to select, you get an option of storage and audio RF press record to select audio RF.

·         Select connect using red record button.

·         Right hand side microphone sensitivity button may need to select low, medium or high.

·         Zoom to Cubase, 2 ways, 1^st USB – connect the zoom to the computer using rear socket at the bottom of the tower case, should recognize it then open CuBase open new project to music drive (file save as) devises set-up set video player to quick time VST audio system to ZOOM file import video file 1^st place for coursework select bottom file F8 opens video window add in mono tracks import 2 audio track and name appropriately, connect the headphones to the ZOOM switch monitor on head import monitor off to hear playback.

·          2^nd 3.5 millimetre jacks plug it into phones/line out connect red and white RCA to rear sound card were headphones are connected in CuBase set to m audio delta in devises set-up. Switch devise set-up to delta at the back, if still not connected devises connections to change to delta if saying no connection.