Audio conveys almost all of the 

Objects - Actual sound we're working with.

  • Dialogue

  • Sound Effects

  • Music

  • Silence

Techniques - What we can do with the objects.

  • Mixing - the combination of..., the balance and control of amplitude of multiple sound elements.
  • Pace - Time control. Editing. Order of events: linear, non-linear, or multi-linear.
  • Transitions - How you get from one segment or element to another.
  1. a) Segue - one element stops, the next begins. "Cut" in film.
  2. b) Cross-fade - one element fades out, the next fades in, they overlap on the way.
  3. c) V-Fade - First element fades to inaudible before the second element begins.
  4. d) Fade to Black - V-Fade with some silence between elements.
  5. e) Waterfall - As first element fades out, the second element begins at full volume. Better for voice transitions, than for effects.
  • Imaging - Stereo image. Using left and right channel for depth. But don't forget the mono listener. Does it work as well in mono as it does in stereo?
  • Treatments - or signal processing.

Audio conveys almost all of the emotional impact in the visual medium.

If you watch your favorite scene from any film or TV show with the sound off, you soon discover that moving images on their own are typically not very emotionally involving.

Most of us want to produce projects that will emotionally involve our audience.

The better job you do with your project's sound, the less it will be noticed.

If we notice a sound mix though, it is usually because the sound was done incompetently. This is the central concept of "transparent" sound.

The only sound that is noticed in a visual medium is usually poorly executed.

Great sound works on a subconscious level with the viewer by drawing them into what they are viewing. Great sound supports and enhances the stories you are trying to tell.
Three points to remember about sound for video or animation

1 . No matter who the audience is, at the very least, they expect "transparent" sound

2 . Sound conveys emotion - picture conveys information

3 . The better your soundtrack, the less it is consciously noticed

The easiest way to discuss location sound is to think of the entire audio path as a chain. In the case of location sound, the "links" are:

  • The sound itself
  • The microphone(s) that capture the sound
  • The cables and connectors that carry the signal from the microphone to the mixing or routing device and from the mixing or routing device to the recording device
  • The mixing or routing device that carries the signal from the microphone to the recording device
  • The recording device itself (typically a camcorder or laptop)
  • The monitoring circuit of the recording device  (headphone jack)

credit: Stuart Grais, DePaul University

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ELEMENTS OF SOUND DESIGN
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