Grade 12 Communication Technology – Sound Unit TGJ 4M1 Mr. Pisani

SOUND 1. Basic Physics of Sound 2. Types of Sound 3. Sounds in Film 4. Microphone Basics 5. Realism

What is sound? It is basically a pattern formed in the vibration or movement of molecules of air. When a sound is made, air molecules move out from the source in waves

The waves radiate out 360 degrees and in 3 dimensions from the source until it dissipates Sound is intentional vs. noise which is unwanted or unintentional

In very general terms, a sound wave has two important characteristics: Intensity Pitch

INTENSITY Intensity = wave amplitude = volume = loudness This is a measurement of the height of the sound wave

Measured in decibels = dB The human ear responds to a great range of sound intensities from 0dB (threshold of hearing) to 135dB (the threshold of pain) VU meter in sound production is a volume unit measure

Typical Sound Levels Jet aircraft taking off………..…..125 dB Rock concert……………………120 dB Heavy traffic……………………. 90 dB Interior of a car @ 40mph………. 80 dB Normal conversation……………. 60 dB Broadcast studio………………… 20 dB

PITCH = Frequency Refers to the characteristic of the sound

PITCH = Frequency Refers to the characteristic of the sound For example we talk about women’s voices being a higher pitch than a man’s voice or a violin is higher pitched than a cello

PITCH It is NOT a difference in loudness (amplitude) but of tonal quality Pitch refers to how often the wave repeats itself in one second. Each complete pattern of the wave is called a cycle

a sound or sound event has a structure the initiation of the sound is called the attack this is followed by a sustain: how long is it held? How long is it at full volume? finally the sound fades away = decay

Everything in this world has its sound - even silent objects Everything in this world has its sound - even silent objects. We get to know silent objects by striking them (the ice is thin, the box is empty, the wall is hollow).

Types of Sound in Film 3 main types of sound voice sound effects music

- Voice - - dialogue - interview - narration - voice over

- Sound Effects - add realism to a scene - synchronous: sound matches what we see (ie. someone playing the piano, the sounds of a piano are heard) - asynchronous: we don’t see the source of the sound (ie. the sound of an ambulance is used as background sound while the image portrays an arguing couple)

- Sound Effects - Ambience & Presence Ambience is usually the background sounds available in the environment can be recorded in the original production or it can be recorded separately and deliberately added to the sound track to provide acoustic space around the rest of the dialogue

- Music - background music adds emotion and rhythm not meant to be noticeable provides a tone or emotional attitude toward the story and/or the characters depicted could foreshadow an event, an approaching menace, etc. can be used to links scenes (ie. a motif for a particular character)

Remember... ...that sound often has not just one, pure source but at least two...three... and even more for instance as I am typing these notes, there is the sound of my fingers on the keys, my watch hitting the table, my breathing

MICROPHONE BASICS there are different types of microphones, but they all do the same thing they transform acoustical movements (the vibrations of air created by the sound waves) into electrical vibrations. This conversion is relatively direct and the electrical vibration can then be amplified, recorded, or transmitted.

TYPES Deciding on kind of microphone to use depends on what you want and where you are recording

Omni will pick up sound 360 degrees around it therefore doesn’t emphasize any one direction or location Cardiod will not pick up very much sound from behind it. Used for concerts, speeches, lapel mic Shotgun microphone will pick up the voices of the talent with a comfortable amount of the surrounding ambient sound. Unlike the sterile, close mic'd sound that is typical with a lavaliere microphone, the shotgun mic usually exhibits a fuller, richer and more pleasing sound quality.

REALISM? This process of selective listening is actually known as the Cocktail Party Effect This becomes very difficult to do as a listener of recorded material… that’s where audio editing comes in…you must mimic how we hear and that requires re-creating or reconstructing HOW we hear.