Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer GamesIG2 Task 1

Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of sound design and production. Using a provided template, you must research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you have obtained the definition.

You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.

Name: Christopher Lucas

RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet researched definition and URL link)

DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTION PRACTICE?

SOUND DESIGN METHODOLOGY

Foley Artistry Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_%28filmmaking%29

Foley Artistry allows me to make my audio more realistic and or more exaggeration.

Sound Libraries Collection of sounds stored on file (for example on CDs, DVDs, or as digital audio files).http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sound-library

A sound library is useful as it can let you store tons of sounds and audio files and it then can be uploaded and downloaded to cloud allowing you to use and move your files from any location.

SOUND FILE FORMATS

Uncompressed Uncompressed is to minimize additional artifacts from recompression.http://www.yourdictionary.com/uncompressed

Uncompressed

.wav Multimedia, file format, filename extension (waveform) /wav/, /dot wav/ A sound formatdeveloped by Microsoft and used extensively in Microsoft Windows.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wav

.Wav is a file format and is quite practical as it is very simple and small making it very easy to store, allowing it to be used in a lot of different programs.

.aiff Short for Audio Interchange File Format, a common format for storing and transmitting sampled sound.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/AIFF.html

.Aiff allows me to easily store and transfer my sounds and audio which is very useful if I need to use any of my sounds from any location.

.au Short for audio, a common format for sound files on UNIX machines.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/AU.html v

.Au is a great format if you are planning to be programming as this mainly used with program Java.

.smp Short for Symmetric Multiprocessing, a computer architecture that provides fast performance by making multiple CPUs available to complete individual processes simultaneously (multiprocessing).http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SMP.html  

.SMP allows me to use multiple processors while still only using one main operating system allowing me to get my work finished a lot faster than normal.

Lossy Compression

Refers to data compression techniques in which some amount of data is lost. Lossy compression technologies attempt to eliminate redundant or unnecessary information.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/L/lossy_compression.html

Lossy compression allows me to reconstruct compressed data after editing and also removes any redundant information.

.mp3 a computer file format for the compression and storage of digital audio data.

.Mp3 is a quite common format because it is used to create a small file which can then be played and it is very good as it

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Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer GamesIG2 Task 1

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mp3 doesn’t take up much storage on mobile devices.

AUDIO LIMITATIONS

Sound Processor Unit (SPU)

A sound card converts digital data to sound. This allows you to listen to music from your computer using speakers or headphones.http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-sound-card-definition-function-types.html

The SPU allows me to concert any digital data into to a sound format and then I am able to listen to it through either headphones or even speakers.

Digital Sound Processor (DSP)

A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor designed specifically for digital signal processing, generally in real-time computing.http://www.audiocodes.com/glossary/dsp

DSP is a microprocessor that optimizes the operation of creating a file through a digital signal processing.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM (pronounced ram) is an acronym for random access memory, a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAM.html

RAM is important as it’s what your computer needs to quickly acquire and access data which allows it to run applications and the more RAM you have the faster your computer will process.

Mono Audio Commonly called mono sound, mono, or non-stereo sound, this early sound system used a single channel of audio for sound output.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/monophonic_sound.html

Mono Audio is a signal that is sent to sound systems which then encodes a single stream of sound, which allows it to be used by one speaker.

Stereo Audio Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of directionality and audible perspective.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound

Stereo Audio is a method of sound reproduction that is able to create illusions of perspective and directionality creating an all-round better experience of audio.

Surround Sound

A system of sound recording and reproduction that uses three or more independent recording channels and loudspeakers in order to give the impression that the listener is surrounded by the sound sources.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/surround+sound

Surround Sound is commonly used in cinemas where people use multiple speakers from different directions giving a better experience and feeling.

Direct Audio (Pulse Code Modulation – PCM)

Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analogue signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation

Direct Audio - PCM is used to represent a sample of analogue signals and is the standard form of digital audio.

AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS

Analogue An analogue recording is one that is made by changing the sound waves into electrical signals of the same type.http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/analogue

The Analogue is a recording that changes to alternative sound waves like electrical signals of the same type.

Digital Mini Disc

A digital disc medium for storing music or data where a small disc is housed in a cartridge and is either recordable or playback.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minidisc

The digital mini disc is used for storing music and it can averagely hold up to 140MB.

Compact Disc (CD)

A compact disc [sometimes spelled disk] (CD) is a small, portable, round medium made of moulded polymer (close in size to the floppy disk) for electronically recording, storing, and playing back audio, video, text, and other information in digital form.http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/compact-disc

A CD is a small, portable, round, polymer disk used for recording, storing and playing audio, video and other information in digital form.

Digital Audio DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the digital DAT is a medium recording device for recording audio at a

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Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer GamesIG2 Task 1

Tape (DAT) recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality.http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/DAT-Digital-Audio-Tape

professional quality.

MIDI A protocol designed for recording and playing back music on digital synthesizers that is supported by many makes of personal computer sound cards.http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/MIDI-Musical-Instrument-Digital-Interface

MIDI is a format designed for recording and playing back audio and is supported by a high amount of computer software.

Software Sequencers

In digital audio recording, a sequencer is a program in a computer or stand-alone keyboard unit that puts together a sound sequence from a series (or sequence) of Musical Instrument Digital Interface ( MIDI ) events (operations).http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/sequencer

A sequencer is a computer or stand-alone keyboard unit that creates a series of sounds using musical instrument digital interface.

Software Plug-ins

Software that is installed into an existing application in order to enhance its capability. For example, plug-ins are widely used in image editing programs such as Photoshop to add some special effect. Plug-ins are added to Web browsers to enable them to support different types of content (audio, video, etc.). The term is widely used for software, but can also refer to a plug-in module for hardware. http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/49395/plug-in

Software plug-ins adds specific features and effects to your sounds. I recently used VST; this allowed me to edit certain key sounds in more detail.

MIDI Keyboard Instruments

A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a musical instrument like a piano keyboard. The MIDI portion indicates that the instrument has a communication protocol built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or other MIDI-equipped instrument.http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm

A MIDI keyboard is a musical instrument similar to a piano, that has a pre-set protocol allowing it to communicate to your computer or other MIDI based software.

AUDIO SAMPLING

File Size Constraints - Bit-depth

In digital audio, there has to be a certain value set for describing the resolution of the sound data (samples) that is to be captured and stored in an audio file -- this attribute is called Bit Depth.http://mp3.about.com/od/musiclibrarymaintenance/

Bit it depth is the smalls bits of data in a sample, these correspond with the resolution.

File Size Constraints - Sample Rate

In developing an audio sound for computers or telecommunication, the sample rate is the number of samples of a sound that are taken per second to represent the event digitally.http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/sample-rate

The sample rate is a number of sounds that are recorded and taken to represent a digital event.

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