AES Portfolio 2012

This video is the final product that was show in the AES presentation.

Feedback: 

Good use of synthesis (Subtractive & Granular)

Limited range of field recordings (Only 30 used - Minimum of 50)

Presentation was Average (Never read from a script)

Automation is applying automatic changes in parameters over time e.g. the volume of a drum track changing throughout a song.

Automation was utilised in our project by allowing parameters such as reverb/volume/cut-off(filter)/panning to be 'automated' throughout the soundtrack, which provided variation. 

MIDI CC (Continuous Controller Commands) allows for real time modulation of specific characteristics of a sound. e.g. Panning, volume, Resonance of filter cut-off and ADSR.

The method behind MIDI CC is basically assigning a physical control (Knob/slider etc) to a parameter inside a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I applied the cut-off on a filter to a dial on the Axiom25 Keyboard. Allowing me to input MIDI and affect the sound simultaneously. 

Sampling is the act of taking a part, or sample, of one sound recording (Door opening/Kettle) and reutilising it as an instrument or a sound recording. (McKenna 2012)

Sampling was utilised in our video soundtrack extensively. The sampler used was Logic's EXS24. This allows sound files to be loaded into it then use midi to play the samples back in real-time. I used a door closing in the sampler.

Feedback: The tutor recommended applying filtering to the sample, to create a more textured changing sound. I proceeded to apply low Frequency (LF) filtering (The EXS24 has a Filtering section implemented), which resulted in a more interesting sound.

Audio Files:

Unaltered Original Sample (Coke bottle): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/plastic-bottle-original>

Sampled CokeBottle: <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/cokebottle-sampler>

References:

This session was aimed towards verifying the roles of the group. With each member being assigned a 12 second slot of the video which will all be merged together in the final processes, which will provide a continously changing soundscape. I was assigned the section that is from 0.44 - 0.56. This section mainly consists of light & lightswitch sounds, slow motion effects, 'jumping' effects, walking & Mr Hublot's coat sounds.

Granular synthesis is the use of small bursts of "harmonic oscillations"/Grains (e.g. Sine Waves) individually contained within an amplitude envelope. (Leeds Met 2012) I used Granular synthesis on samples and not Sine waves. I was able to create textured 'strange' sounds, which i don't think are far removed from what Subtractive Synthesis can achieve. 

The samples that i used was a Kettle & Running water from a tap. i uploaded these (individually in a different session) into 'Granulab' (Granular synthesis program) then proceeded to alter parameters e.g. position of the sample i wanted to affect & Envelope of the 'grains'. 

Audio files:

Original Sample 1(Kettle): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/kettle-1>

Affected Sample 1(Kettle): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/kettle-granular-synthesis>

Original Sample 2(Running Tap): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/running-tap-1>

Affected Sample 2(Running Tap): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/running-tap-granular-synthesis> 

Reference:

Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre (Tone) of the sound. (Owsinski 2009)

This type of synthesis allowed for 'full bodied' bass sounds to be created (Sound 1) with modulation and frequency development over time (filters being controlled by envelopes) 

I utilised the synthesizer that i created in one of the last term's modules, Creative Audio Programming, to create both of the sounds, one as previously stated a Bass sound and the other an atmospheric sound (Sound 2), named 'Bad Weather'.

Feedback: The tutor recommended using a variety of synthesisers. I proceeded to implement the ES1 (Logic) Subtractive Synthesiser, for a 'Bass' type sound. This allowed for a sound that was evolving over time by implementing a tremolo and changing the LFO rate of the tremolo creating more variation. 

Sounds:

Bass Sound (Sound 1): <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/bass-subtr-synth

Atmospheric Sound (Sound 2) <http://soundcloud.com/jamesp91/bad-weather-subtr-synth>

References:

This is the chosen video for the assignment. The original audio is still present, but it has been edited to 1:20.

Video effects:

Rewinding: 0:15-0:20 & 0:45-0:48

Skipping: 0:23 & 0:53 & 1:16

Video colour effect: 0:23-0:50

This session was dedicated mainly to editing the video length from 1 minute to 1 minute 20 seconds. iMovie was the chosen software for this task because of it's ease of use, team members had previously used this software and it is MAC compatible. The tutor recommended we split the video editing process into sections, with each member completing a section, as previously we was all working around one MAC.  

Video effects including 'reversing' was implemented to extend the video. This effect is basically just reversing a scene/video, this effect proved to be very successful and provided numerous ideas for the soundtrack.  

A sound map shows the intensity of the audio of the video over time, based on the events taking place.  

Feedback: The tutor suggested this would be an effective tool in creating a basic idea of the different sections that take place in the video.

This lab session was mainly focused towards completing the AES test. The results from this test pointed out that i need to improve on my understanding of Synthesis, including: subtractive and additive, exploring the types of sounds that can be created with the two different types.

Feedback: The tutor recommended that I explore the different types of effects and their particular affects on the characteristics of sound, including tremolo, chorus and reverb.