File Types and Sound Formats

Sound Format:  

When creating sound, these turn into different sound formats which are used for different purposes such as for distributing on the web, using it in a studio or playing it on a digital playlist. These are the different file formats that the sound can be saved as. 

WAV - This file format is a lossless which means that the compression of data in the original file still remains and has not lost any quality from the original recording. It is uncompressed and has a high quality sound which makes it suitable for using for music production and music videos. 

AIFF - This is a file you can only get on Apple softwares and is a lossless format file type which directly copies the original audio source. 

FLAC -  Just like WAV and AIFF, this file type is compressed and lossless, however it takes up a lot less space tan the other two files. It is beneficial and is becoming the most popular lossless format as it is an open source. Being an open source means this material can be changed and altered by individuals and companies. 

PCM - It stands for Pulse-mode Modulation represented for sampled analog samples The sound has been used for the audio in computers,compact discs and digital telephony. Not many people use this file anymore as it uses too much disk space.

MP3 - This file format is the most lossy, meaning it reduces any loud sounds but the quality sound is reduced by permanently getting rid of some elements. It is used on smartphones and stored in playlists for music because it takes up a lot less space than a lossless file and majority people store a lot of music files on their devices so will need a file that take up less space. 

MPEG - This file is used for encoding and compressing video images and audio. It produces better quality videos for Windows and QuickTime.

WMA - This is especially for Microsoft software formats and is similar to MP3. It is not well supported and is not as better as the other formats I have mentioned above and does not offer a lot of advantages. 

 

Compression:

Compression is very important in audio production because it makes the sound levelled and controlled to make the sound professionalised. It gets rid of any loud noises whilst quiet sounds are unaffected. This all depends on the dynamic range which is the signal levels between the quietest musical instrument and the loudest.

 Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) ensures a level sound by not making the recording sound uneven. This is controlled by upwards and downwards compression. The upwards compression is a form that increases the loudness of sounds below a certain threshold while leaving louder sounds unaffected whereas, downwards compression decreases loud sounds. Both reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal. 

 

Storage:

Sound files can be stored on digital drives which can be plugged into the computer or laptop in order to transport the audio file. It is important to have a back-up on the files in case it all gets erased and should create a folder on the device you are using that has all the raw audio files. When importing them to any video software (i.e Adobe Premiere) which has to be saved to the same folder as the raw file. 

The storage devices they have are Flash Drives, Hard Drives, Solid State Drives and the Cloud. USB or Flash Hard Drives are a portable stick or a card that lets you access all your work easily which is all saved in one place but can be accessed onto different devices. A Solid State Drive is recommended if you are doing a lot of production work and the Cloud is used for softwares such as Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud and Cloud9 which allows you to save all your work online which is considered the safer option of saving all your work as it automatically saves as well. 

 Size vs Quality

Bit Rates are the number of bits per second that can be transmitted along a digital network - 1 byte consists of 8 bits.

 

Recording Foley and Wild Track Sounds

I learnt how to create Foley sounds using random objects and this was to create the effects of fire crackling, rain on gravel, a school, restaurant and a crowded street. To create these sound effects, I used three different sound recorders to contrast the difference in sounds created and what worked more effective. The three recording conditions I worked with were; 
- Voice Recorder
- USB Condenser Microphone
- Rode Boom Mic attached to a HD Camera

In the video above, me and my group created a video with all our Foley sounds we created together. Our first sound between 0:06 - 0:29 seconds was the atmosphere of a Restaurant. To create this sound we used a range of different props such as cutlery, empty beer bottle and a glass bowl. All these elements together formed movement in a Restaurant of all the people eating and staff clinking glasses together. These sounds were recorded on the USB Condenser Mic which caught all the different sounds nicely. The sound was quite loud, therefore we used GarageBand to lower the volume. This was to make all the sounds together sound distant. We added in distant chatter from our school surroundings which we used the Rode Mic with the headphones. This recording device picked up such clear sounds from a far distance away and i thought it was brilliant to use to pick up random chatter. I had also tried picking up the same sounds on the voice recorder, however thought the Rode Mic was a better recorder in that scenario. To add in extra sound to make it officially sound like a restaurant, I added music in the background to convey a jolly, mellow atmosphere. The song choice was by KARD called Afternoon Tea. 

The second sound we created was the school which is heard at 0:34 - 0:58 seconds of the video. We waited for the exact moment of when our school bell rings so we could capture the sound of the bell and all the students coming out of lessons. This created chatter of several students which created the atmosphere of a school. We also used the chatter from the school for the restaurant which I mentioned before. What I also mentioned before was what recording device we used to record the sound chatter which was the Rode Mic and this picked up the sound loud and clear. I also compared this by using the voice recorder. 


The next sound at 1:03-1:10 was the park which I found quite difficult to copy various Foley sounds using props. The sounds I wanted to indicate was wind, distant chatter, horses and the sounds of birds chirping. We had created several wild tracks and put them together to overlap and form the setting of a park. Out of all the sounds I created, this was the most difficult, yet I did not give up and found several different props I could use to create the park noises. I used a big sheet of paper the create wind, classmate Edi to signify birds chirping by whistling into the USB Mic and horse footsteps by tapping cups on the table.
 To convey the bird noises, I used the USB Mic and the voice recorded to contrast the two sounds and see which one sounded better. We was having trouble hearing sound on the USB Mic afterwards and could barely hear the noise we were trying to record. Therefore, I used the voice recorder to record the sounds. This sound was such clearer than the USB Mic when recording the bird whistles.

We competed the sound for rain on gravel and used iced sprinkles and and plastic container to represent the sound for the rain pouring. We wanted the sound to start of slow and then increase to make it sound more realistic. The video on the right reveals my classmate Patryk sprinkling 100&1000's from a high distance and making it fall onto the plastic container. We also tried it on a metal cheese grater to see which material made it sound more like rain on gravel. Playing back these two sounds together and comparing it, I found the plastic sound sounded more accurate. To record this sound I used the USB Mic which picked up the sound really well . I found the sound was too loud, therefore moved the mic further away to make it like more faint. 

Lastly, to convey the fire crackling, I used the USB Microphone and then with the Voice Recorder. I used two different objects to represent the fire which was paper which we scrunched up and tore and lastly a plastic packaging wrapper which I also scrunched up and slowly rustled it to make the crackling noise. Listening back to the sounds we created, we found the plastic wrapper sounded more like rain on gravel and the rice on the plate sounded my fire crackling. Therefore, we made the decision to switch the two sounds.