Want to make your video sound as good as it looks?

SoundhouseVectorlab:
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Sound is half the picture.

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Soundhouse Vectorlab
Powerhouse Museum

Powerhouse Museum
500 Harris Street
Ultimo (Sydney)
NSW Australia
Infoline 02 9217 0444
Telephone 02 9217 0111
www.shvl.org.au

Contents
Course Brief
Aims and Outcomes
Course Outline
Web Resources
Suggested Reading
Glossary

We dont use digital

audio because its
better, we use it
because its robust.
Jay Rose

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Timeline
1519
First known depiction of the
Camera Obscura. Essentially
a darkened room with a
small pin hole that allowed
for an upside-down image
to appear on a wall.
1839
Louis Daguerre creates a
permanent image on a metal
plate naming the process,
Daguerreotype. The downside
of the Daguerreotype was
that it wasnt re-printable,
it was a one off image.
1840
The Calotype, developed
at the same time as the
Daguerreotype, solved the
problem of re-production by
creating an image negative
that could be infinitely reprinted as a positive image.
1884
George Eastman develops
the first flexible celluloid film
and in 1888 followed it up
with the Box Brownie camera
that made photography
accessible to everyone.

Course Brief
Course Title
Far too often sound is the neglected element in a digital video
production and yet it is well documented that a very large proprotion
of the information we take in when watching a movie is through our
ears. This 1-day intensive workshop will introduce particpants to the
key elements of digital sound including recording, mixing and editing
digital audio, audio formats and an overview of audio hardware.
Good sound is more than half the battle in making a great movie.
Aims and Outcomes
This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to creative and
practical skills for creating and manipulating digital audio in postproduction using multi-track audio tools found in common software
video editing systems. The workshop will specifically use the Sony
Vegas audio and video software system but all topics covered utilise
universal concepts applicable to all editing systems and hardware.
Participants will learn to:
- Understand digital audio and its unique strengths
- Identify different digital audio file formats for use in computer
editing
- Use multi-tracking to created layered soundscapes of foley, voice
and music
- Mix and master audio for best quality output
- Edit, manipulate and add effects to sound files
- Identify different recording techniques
- Synchronise aural and visual events
- Understand microphone types and their uses
- Creatively sequence digital sound events for video projects
- Deal with common sound problems
- Master audio files for best quality output using equalization and
compression

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

1895
Louis Lumiere shows the
first mass audience, moving
picture film. He calls it
the Cinematograph.
1900
The first demonstration
of synchronised picture
and sound in Paris. It
wasnt until 1923 that the
first paying audience saw
a movie with sound.
1906
Australia produces the
worlds first featute-length
narrative film, The History
Of the Kelly Gang.
1932
Technicolour ThreeColour process for colour
movies is intoduced but
many films continue to be
made in black and white.
1933
Murry Spivak manipulates
sound creatively for King
Kong. By taking a recording
of a lion and slowing
it down he creates the
growl of the giant ape.

Course Outline
Topic 1. What is digital sound?
Non-linear and Non-destructive editing
Stereo and mono
Sample-rate and bit-depth
Timecode
Reading the waveform (amplitude and frequency)
Zooming (changing waveform resolution)
Topic 2. Multi-tracking
Inserting audio tracks
Arranging audio events
Dialogue, Foley and Score
Loop Sequencing and Music
Tempo and Key
Topic 3. Mixing
Mute and Solo
Faders, levels and panning
VU meters and Clipping
Volume and Pan Envelopes
Topic 4. Editing sound
Working with the Waveform
Video preview
Rhythm editing
Trimming events
Splitting and cutting
Topic 5. Sound Editing Technique
Silence doesnt exist
J-Cut and L-Cut
Disguising the cut (movement & action)
Topic 6. Synchronisation
Synching video and audio elements
Grouping events
Locking and unlocking video and audio
Topic 7. Common issues
Dealing with sibilance
Removing cracks and pops
Overcoming background noise

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

1963
First computer generated film
created by Edward Zajac.
1965
First computer art exhibition,
held at Technische
Hochschule in Stuttgart.
1967
Cockpit Simulation by William
Fetter at Boeing has 3D
computer-animated human.

Course Outline (cont)

Topic 8. Mastering
Reverb
EQ
Dynamics
Compression
Topic 9. Audio formats
Compressed and Uncompressed audio
*.wav, *.aif
Datarates
*.mp3, *.wma

1972
The first patented electronic
camera that used a CCD
(charge coupled device) for
capturing images without
film was produced by the
Texas Instruments company.
1972
Australian Company Miller
produces the worlds first
patented Fluid-Head Tripod
that allows for smooth free
movement of the camera.
This has a dramatic impact
on how audiences see
the moving image.

What is for the eye

must not duplicate
what is for the ear.
Robert Bresson

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

1975
Garrett Brown invents
the steadicam first used
in films such as Rocky
and The Shining. The
camera can now be handheld and moved fluidly
and smoothly anywhere.
1978
First Computer Graphic film
title created for Superman.
1982
TRON, becomes the
first live action film
with over 20 minutes of
computer animation.
1982
The first digital electronic
camera (one that records
picture information as binary
code) was introduced at
the University of Calgary.
1985
Quantel Harry is the
first, commercial, nonlinear editing system.

Web Resources
www.shvl.org
Gateway to Soundhouse-Vectorlab workshops and events.
www.creativecommons.org
Offers a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and
artists that gives control over copyright back to creators and users.
www.dmnforums.com
On-line forums for just about every known media software
application.
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/
Collection of free sound effects
http://www.ljudo.com
Library of downloadable free soundeffects
http://www.filmsound.org/
The definitive online resource for all things related to film sound
- technical, creative, practical, theoretical.
http://www.northbeachpost.com/handy_glossary.html
A very detailed glossary of film sound terms and terminology
http://www.filmland.com/glossary/Dictionary.html
A searchable dictonary of cinema sound terms.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net
100% free and very powerful audio editing and production software.
www.nch.com.au/wavepad
Totally free and excellent digital sound recording and editing
software.

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Suggested Reading
Viewfinder: an introduction to movies and visual media.
By Mike Jones

1988
Image manipulation software
developed at the special
effects production house,
Industrial Light and Magic
(famous for Star Wars)
with the name ImagePro.
1989
The Little Mermaid is
Disneys last film to use
traditional ink and paint
1995
The DV specification and
standard is introuduced
designed for consumer
use but the format quickly
explodes in popularity
for professionals.
1998
DVD is introduced and
quickly takes over from VHS
as the dominant delivery
format for feature films.
1990
Image Pro released
by Adobe software as
Photoshop version 1.0

Producing Great sound for digital video

By Jay Rose
The Digital Filmmakers handbook.
By Ben Long & Sonja Schenek
Sound theory Sound practice
Rick Altman
Cinesonic: the world of sound in film
Phillip Brophy
Sound for digital video
Tomlinson Holman
Desktop audio technology
Francis Rumsey
Real world digital audio
Peter Kirn
Hands On
By Marcus Gilezeau

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

2002
The Lord of the Rings uses a
combination of performance
capture and keyframe
techniques to animate
the Gollum character.
2003
The Iraq war sees the
widespread use of webphone footage and
dramatically changes what
was traditionally thought of
as Broadcast Quality.

Glossary
AIFF
*.aif files are an uncompressed audio format native to Apple
Macintosh computers. It is the equivalent of *.wav files on PC
platforms but both *.wav and *.aif are universal to all operating
systems.
Analogue
In regard to Sound, analogue formats use vibrations to replicate
sound waves. Analogue video is similar using vibrations to replicate
an image rather than digital binary code. The disadvantage of
analogue formats when compared to digital ones is that images and
sound loose quality each time they are passed from device to device
or copied. Analogue formats are also unable to retain additional
information such as time codes and recording specs.
Beats Per Minute (BMP)
The tempo of a piece of music can be written as a number of beats
in one minute. If the tempo is 60 BPM, a single beat occurs once
every second. Lower BPMs equal slower tempo, and vice versa.
Boom
A Boom is a long pole used to support and mount a microphone
for recording sound on location or in a studio. The aim of the boom
is to manoeuvre the mic as close to the source as possible without
coming into the frame of the shot.
Clapper Board
Also known as a Slate, the Clapper Board is two hinged sticks that
are clapped together in front of the camera prior to the shot so the
editor, in post production has a clear audio/visual point from which to
re-synch sound and vision that was recorded separately.
Cross fade
Mixing two pieces of overlapping audio or video by fading one out as
the other fades in.
DAT (digital audio tape)
A format for recording sound digitally. It uses magnetic tape in
the same way as an ordinary cassette tape but the information is
encoded as binary code. DAT is a very high quality format and is
used on many film and video set as well as for the initial recording of
sound effects and vocals for websites and other media.

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Glossary (cont)

Decibel
Decibels have several uses in regard to measuring sound. Decibels
can be used to refer to how loud something is; Silence is 0db, a
sound ten times louder is 10db. But Decibels can also be used to
measure the relative volume of a sound - digital sound equipment
uses 0db as a reference point for the maximum volume of a signal
before it distorts.
Digital Sound
The precision of the digital format allows high quality music
recording. Digital recording formats include CD,
DAT (digital audio tape), MiniDisc, and computer files such as *.aiff
*.wav and *.mp3. The original sound is accurately captured and the
recording process does not add interference such as hiss, hum or
static.
Dolby Digital
A system for recording sound in multiple channels. Dolby is
predominantly 5.1 channels (left, right, centre, rear right and left.)
The .1 refers to the bass and low frequency sounds often directed
through a subwoofer.
Envelopes (Audio and Video)
Envelopes are a way of controlling the characteristics or dynamics
of images and sound over time. Envelopes are commonly used for
audio fade ins and fade outs. With images they are often used for
fading to black or controlling the level of opacity in an image.
Graphic EQ
Software or hardware tool for isolatign frequency bands in an audio
track and adjusting them to remove or boost particular frequencies.
Common tool for removing noise, hiss or hum.
Hertz
The unit of measurement for frequency (also known as cycles per
second). Sound frequencies are measured in hertz and are a way of
measuring how high or low the pitch of a sound is.
Loop
A Loop is any small segment of sound or music that is Looped
on itself so it plays continuously in a pattern. Beats, melodies
and vocals can all be looped to play in repetition. Loops are
predominantly used in electronic,

Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Glossary (cont)

Microphone
These are the central devices for capturing sound to be recorded.
They generally come in two varieties, Dynamic and Condenser, as
well as numerous shapes and sizes depending on the recording
situation. All microphones rely on sound waves moving a diaphragm
whereby the movements are converted into an audio signal.
Mixer
A mixer is a device that allows for multiple inputs of sound to be
blended into a single output signal. Mixers often incorporate controls
for adjusting the tone characteristics of a sound as it passes
through.
MP3
MPEG Layer 3 is a compressed format for digital audio recordings.
*.mp3 can be up to one third the size of their original files and still
retain near CD sound quality. MPEG stands for Motion Pictures
Engineers Group.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
MIDI or Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a computer language
for music. MIDI enables hardware such as keyboards, sound
modules, samplers, and computers to interact with software to
create an environment in which music can be recorded, played and
edited. The MIDI protocol was developed by Roland and Yamaha
(sic) in 1982 and revised in 1988 and 2000 (MIDI2).
RCA connector
A common audio connector used in both professional and domestic
environments. RCAs generally use three plugs simultaneously;
one for video, one for the left audio and one for the right. They are
usually coloured yellow, white and red respectively.
Room Tone
A sound recording made on the set or location of a shoot by the
location mixer. Room Tone gives the general ambiance of the space
the scene takes place that can be used later in the sound editing for
the scene.
SMPTE Time code
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers is an
organization that governs standards for media

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Soundhouse VectorLab
Digital Sound for Digital Video

Glossary (cont)

Sound StageA dedicated, enclosed space for filming. A sound

stage allows for a flexible environment for building sets and elevated
lighting bars for lighting them.
Stereo AV
Stereo AV is a standard set of connectors for combined audio and
visual signals. The cable is divided into three, one for video, one for
left audio and one for right audio.VO (voice over) VO is added to the
character title in a screen play to indicate that the following dialogue
is a Voice Over and does not come form within the scene.
Subwoofer
Speaker designed specifically to reproduce low-frequency
information, usually between the range of 20 to 120 Hz.
VU Meter
Volume Unit meters are a reference meter for measuring sound
levels. VU meters have their peak level at 0db which is the maximum
level before the signal distorts.
WAV file
*.wav is a format for digital audio similar to that found on audio CDs.
*.wav is an exact audio format meaning it is a precise digital copy of
the original sound.
Wave Form
Wave Forms are a way of visually representing sound. The further a
Wave Form spreads up and down indicates the volume of the sound
and the further apart the waves are spread horizontally indicates the
pitch. Wide is deep, Short is high.
XLR connector
A type of audio cable connector used in professional equipment for
all types of audio signals but very most often for microphones.

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