m Audio is the most sensuous element of multimedia

ô t can provide meaningful ³speech´

ô t can provide the listening pleasure of music
ô t can provide the starting accent of special effects
ô t can provide ambience of a mood-setting background
m n any way that we use audio, it can make a big
difference
m most of the audio used in a multimedia project are
digitally recorded
m Digital audio is reproduced through a channel ± a
speaker
m As electrical current travels in front and behind the
magnet very rapidly, it causes vibrations in the air,
and that vibration is sound.
m mono
ô A term used to described sound that comes from only 1
channel (unidirectional)
ô All elements of the sound recording are directed using
one amplifier and speaker combination
ô To the ear, all the elements of the sound, voice,
instruments, and effects appear to originate from the
same point in space.
m ’tereo Channel
ô 3ses two or more channels
ô The recorded sounds are mixed in such as a way that
some elements are channeled to the left and some are
channeled to the right
ô Listening to stereo sound that allows you to distinguish
which sound is coming from which direction
ô ’tereo sound is more life-like and realistic experience
ô Because human being have 2 ears, it is natural that we
listen to sounds from two direction
m The most prominent use of stereo sound is in
music where multiple sources of sound are
present
m When you are listening to a band play and you
have sharp ear, you can distinguish the sound
may by each instrument. This is what stereo tries
to replicate with the use of multiple channels and
what mono is completely unable to do.
m mono has an inferior quality compared to ’tereo
’ound. most radio channels that broadcast music
(like Fm stations) use stereo. Those that
broadcast news only (like Am stations) use mono
m The equipment needed to record stereo sound is
also a little bit more complicated and expensive
compared to equipment for mono.
m most hand-held sound recorders can only record
sound in mono
m Ôome cinema stereo systems can have even
more channels
m The term ³home theater´ refers to the ability to
recreate the sound of a movie theatre at home
ô An audio or video system with multichannel audio
ô Devices called multi channel amplifiers, for reproducing
spatial sound (3D audio) by using multiple speakers.
m For any given number of audio channels, there is
an optimal physical setup for the speakers the
produces the best effect possible

mono ’tereo Dolby

Dolby
’urround Digital
5.1
m The result of Dolby ’urround mixing is a more
balanced listening environment
m ’ounds come from multiple channels that
surround the listener
m Dolby surround is useful in both musical and film
sound recording
m music with surround sound has a more natural feel
and has a better acoustical cues
m n movie soundtracks the sensation of sounds
moving from front to rear and left to right adds
more realism to the viewing/ listening experience
by placing the viewer in the action
m The standard desktop computer sound system
has two channels
m ’peakers are used to output sound
ô Desktops need external speakers
ô Laptops have internal speakers
m To input sound into the computer, you need a
microphone
ô Desktop computers need an external microphone to be
attached to them
ô Newer laptops have built-in microphones
m The loudness or softness of sound is called
amplitude or volume. This measured in decibels
(dB)
m Normal decibel range would be 20-40 dB
ô Whispers are at 20 dB
ô Plays theatres are at 40 -45 dB
ô Trains at the Railway are already 65 ± 90 dB
ô Thunder is at 90-100 dB
ô Aircraft takeoff is at 110 ± 140 dB
m 3sing audio in multimedia projects will require
more than just knowing about sound waves,
channels, and decibels
m more importantly you need to know;
ô Different types of Audio
ô Digital Audio equipment and tools
ô Capturing Audio on the computer
ô Audio File Formats
ô Editing audio on the computer
m These are three types of audio:
ô Background music
ô Voice Over
ô ’ound Effects
m Enhances the project
m Affects emotions and moods
m Establishes a period in time
m Acts as a transition element between screens
m 3sed as a text replacement
ô Limited screen space
ô Reduce extra visual clutter
m 3sed to give instructions
ô Ôow to use the multimedia application
ô What to do at a particular instance in the application
ô Direct the user to a particular part of the screen
m ives an interpretation to a visual image on
screen
m ndicator for mouse triggers
ô Clicks, alerts
m ndicator for feedback
ô Claps, Cheer, Buzz, ’plat, Booms, Whoosh, etc.
m microphone
m ’peakers
m Earphones/ Ôeadphones
m Ôeadset
m Amplifiers
m ’ound mixers
m Audio Editors
m Things needed:
ô ’cript
ô microphones attached to the computer
ô ’peakers
ô Audio Recording Program
J Windows: ’ound Recorder
J Freeware: Audacity
m mD (musical nstrument Digital nterface)
m FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
m O (Ogg Vorbis)
m WmA (Windows media Audio)
m AFF (Audio nterchange File)
m APE ( monkey Audio)
m mP3 (media Player 3)
m n using audio in your project, there are instances
when we really need to edit the file
ô Too soft or too loud
ô Too long
ô Clip a portion of the song
ô Remove the noise in the background
ô The file format is not compatible
ô Join two or more files together
ô make a medley
ô Etc.
m Adobe Audition
m Audacity
m ’ound Forge
m multiple Tracks
m Trimming
m Assembling
m Volume Adjustments
m Format Conversion
m Fade ns and Fade Outs
m Time ’tretching
m Reversing ’ounds
m Noise Reduction
m n this technique, you can overlap multiple tracks
of audio and export it later as a single audio file
m This technique is used when you need to remove
dead air (silence) at the beginning or end of your
file
m This means removing ³Extra Time´ before the
audio starts to play or extra time after the audio
has played
m Removing even few seconds can make a big
change in your file size
m This technique suggests that two or more audio
files can be combined
m Cut and paste clips of audio files to make a
medley
m ’ome audio files are really soft when played in a
multimedia application
m An audio editing program can amplify the sound
m n other cases, if you are putting together many
recorded audio clips in a multimedia project, there
is a chance that the audio files have varying
volume
m n order to provide consistent volume level, use a
sound editor to normalize the audio files
m Audio conversion software converts audio file
formats from one form to another
m Two reasons in converting audio file format
ô Reduce the file size
ô Compatibility issues
m Almost any uncompressed audio can be
converted to a compressed format using an audio
editor or audio converter
m 3sed as effect to gradually increase the volume to
its maximum defined volume
m 3sually placed at the start of an audio file to have
a smooth introduction
m 3sed as an effect to gradually decrease the audio
volume towards complete silence
m 3sually places at the ending of an audio stopping
abruptly
m means to alter the length of an audio file
m Changing the speed of your audio normally affects
the pitch
ô ’peeding up makes the pitch higher (like a chipmunk)
ô ’lowing down makes the pitch lower (almost like a Darth
Vader)
m Reversing the words in a song gives an ³alien-like´
effect
m This technique is not used too often unless it is
necessary for a sound effect
m Audio Editing programs can help you improve an
audio recording that contains excessive
background noise
m Background Noise
ô noise produces by traffic, pets or voices in the
background
ô Refers to the hiss or hum present throughout the
recording. Ôisses and Ôums occur from the microphone
signals or sometimes from human speech
m Audio files should be compressed before using it
in a multimedia application
m mporting audio to your application makes the
application file size larger
m most of the time, it is completely embedded
m ’ome multimedia developers choose to link audio
files externally
m ’maller audio files (still with maintained good
quality) are better
m n any applications, provide the users the controls
for audio such as:
ô Volume
ô Play/’top
ô Rewind/Forward
ô Repeat/ Pause
m This flexible feature is much looked for in most
applications because people have different pacing
as they use the software