Sonic Design —project 1 exercise &lecture

Week 1 - Week 4 
 23Apr 2025 - 18May2025

QIULIHUA/0365036

Sonic Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours)in Creative Media

 Exercises& lecture——Sonic Design

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INSTRUCTION

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LECTURE

WEEK1

• NATURE OF SOUND:

a vibration of air molecules that stimulates our eardrums

three-stage：PRODUCTION(The source of the sound)→PROPAGATION(the medium in which the sound travels)→PERCEPTION(sound captured and translated by our brain)

• HUMAN EAR:

The ear is an amazingly complex and sensitive organof the body.

constitute：The outer ear:（the externalvisible portion of the ear and the

ear canal）→The middle ear（the paper-thineardrum and a small, air-filledcavity containing three tiny bones(malleus, incus, and stapes）→The inner ear:（the cochlea(hearing canal),endolymphatic sac,semicircular canals）

Fig 1.0  Structure of the human ear and sound perception

• Properties of Sound Waves:

Wavelength: the distance between points of the same phase.

Fig 1.1 Wavelength

Amplitude: the intensity or height of the waveform, large amplitude means large sound.

Fig 1.2 Amplitude

Frequency: the number of vibrations per second, measured in Hertz (Hz), a high frequency corresponds to a high pitch.

Fig 1.3 Frequency

•  Properties of Sound:

Pitch: Related to frequency, high frequency means high pitch.

Loudness: related to amplitude.

Timbre: distinguishes the characteristics of different sound sources (e.g. violin and piano).

 Perceived Duration: the duration of the sound.

Envelope: the shape of the sound over time, e.g. the process of onset, duration, release.

Spatialization: The localization and diffusion of sound in space.

WEEK 2:

This lesson aims to introduce to students the two usages of equalisation.

• Corrective
• Sound Shaping

use theequaliser tools to alter a soundrecording to match a desiredtarget.

Turning it upwards will make the sound louder

WEEK 3：

Definition of Diegetic Sound and Non-Diegetic Sound：

• Only Audience PerceSees is non-plot
• Diegetic Sound: refers to the sound that can be heard by the characters in the movie, which comes from the inside of the movie world, such as character dialogue, environmental sound, music played by the characters, etc.
• Non-Diegetic Sound: refers to the sound that can be heard by the audience but not by the characters, usually added in post-production, such as background music, narration, special effects sound, etc.

Trans-Diegetic Sound

Non-diegetic with drama（ example：Mel Brooks does this a lot with music.）

By playing with our expectations, Brooks brings a meta quality to his films

Non-diegetic music suddenly becomes diegetic (playing on a character's radio)

Diegetic music becomes non-diegetic (using effective music)

The wind began as diegetic but then switched to non-diegetic in "Raising Arizona"

Switching between diegetic and diegetic can be a subtle way to make non-diegetic (e.g. fantasy vs. reality)

Theoretical support for sound design

French sound theorist Michel Chion proposed three areas of sound:

learning.box

• Visual area: The sound source is visible, and both the character and the audience can hear it (foley).
• Non-visual area: The sound source is invisible, but the character can hear it (foley).
• Non-foley area: The sound source is invisible, the character cannot hear it, and it is only perceived by the audience (non-foley).

• The actual application in the film is:
• American Beauty: Use non-foley narration to go deep into the inner world of the character.
• Goodfellas: Break the traditional narrative structure through the protagonist's narration and direct speech to the audience.
• "Birdman": The soundtrack changed from non-Foley to Foley, and the drummer appeared in the picture to enhance the sense of presence.

week 4:

What is a soundscape?

A soundscape is an environment made up of one or more sounds that together make up our auditory perception of a particular space. It is not just background noise, but an important part of our interaction with the environment. As Jin Zhi Hoi describes in the video, soundscape is how we experience and understand the world around us through hearing.

Key elements of soundscape

Sources of sound:

• Including natural sounds (such as wind, birdsong)
• Man-made sounds (such as traffic, mechanical operation)
• Human activity sounds (such as conversation, music).

Auditory perception:

Soundscape emphasizes the individual's subjective feelings and interpretations of the sound environment, and different people may have different reactions to the same sound.

Environmental and cultural background:

The composition of soundscapes and people's perceptions are affected by geographical location, cultural background and social environment.

Application areas of soundscape

• Urban planning: Improve the quality of life of urban residents by designing good soundscapes.
• Architectural design: Considering soundscapes in buildings helps create more comfortable spaces.
• Artistic creation: Soundscapes are widely used in music, film and installation art to enhance the immersion of works.
• Mental Health: Studies have shown that good soundscapes can help reduce stress and improve mental health.

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EXERCISES

Exercise 1：

In this exercise, we need to edit the other four audios to sound like the original audio, to determine which part of the soundtrack does not match the original sound, perhaps the bass or treble. The teacher also taught us how to adjust the frequency of the sound using the parameter Equalizer.

Before the task began, I watched the Ear Training for Audio Engineers video and learned about the nuances of each of the tones in it.

 Fig 1.4 Tutorial video

Here are my tweaked parameters after editing with Adobe Audition

Equalizer 1：

Fig 1.5 Equalizer 1

Equalizer 2：

Fig 1.6 Equalizer 2

Equalizer 3：

Fig 1.7 Equalizer 3

Equalizer 4：

Fig 1.8 Equalizer 4

final Exercise 1：

Exercise 2：

For this exercise, we need to make the audio of a SAMPLE given to us by a teacher sound like a telephone, in a closet, an intercom, a bathroom, a stadium, an airport or a train station, respectively.

Sample voice:

Telephone ：

Fig 1.9 telephone 

in the Closet：

Fig 2.0 in the Closet

Walkie Talkie：

Fig 2.1Walkie Talkie

Bathroom：

Fig2.2Bathromm

Stadiumn:

Fig 2.3 Stadiumn

Airport or Train Station:

Fig 2.4 Airport or Train Station

Exercise 3：

In this exercise, the teacher taught us how to use the display envelope and then let the audio automatically change the trajectory of the sound over time.

Fig2.5 Process data

We used the sample video for modification, using room reverb and parametric equalizer.

project1：

All audio sources：freesound

In this exercise, we need to find the corresponding audio based on the items in the picture and create an audio with a sense of story.

1.Environment 1：

Storyline:

In a high-tech laboratory full of cyber atmosphere, the protagonist is a large mechanical device that releases blue lasers, and scientists start experiments during operations and discussions in the scene.

Fig2.5 Environment 1

Based on this photo, I mainly found some sounds related to mechanical metal collisions and mechanical operation. Secondly, in order to highlight the mystery of the mechanical laboratory, I added the sounds of footsteps and communication.

Fig 2.6 Editing process-Environment 1

During the editing process, I used parametric EQ, reverb and room reverb to make the edited sound change over time.

Fig 2.7 Reverb Data

Final Environment 1：

2. Environment 2：

Storyline:

In a quiet high-tech biological laboratory, the experimental cabin supplies oxygen to the mysterious experiment subject, and the mechanical equipment monitors its life status in real time. The patrol guard confirms that the environment is safe and leaves, and then the experimenter takes the elevator to enter the experimental area for testing. Unexpectedly, the experiment subject suddenly reacts violently, the equipment goes out of control, the alarm sounds, the experiment fails, the personnel evacuate urgently, and the crisis breaks out.

Fig2.8 Environment 2

With this environment, I used heartbeats to simulate the life characteristics of the experimental subject, and also used bubbles to express the oxygen transmitted to the experiment. I also used the sound of the machine running as the overall background to better highlight the mystery of the laboratory. And I also added the sounds of dragging chairs, sitting on chairs, and manipulating the interface.

After finding these related audios, I arranged them in order according to my ideas and started editing them.

Fig 2.9 Editing process-Environment 2

Final Environment 2:

Exercise 4：

In this class, the teacher taught us to use explosion sounds to make thunder.

In this class I learned how to use special effects in Adobe Audition

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FEEDBACK

WEEK 4: 

The audio of telephone is wrong, it is in the wrong place, the last alarm sound of the audio of environment 2 is too long and needs to be shortened

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REFLECTION

Through this practice, I have a better grasp of the "functional usage" of EQ, reverb, flanger and other effects: Use EQ to enhance the low and mid-range frequencies (150-300Hz) to make the sound closer to the ground (suitable for close scenes), and attenuate the high frequencies to simulate the "fuzzy feeling coming from a distance"; the pre-delay and decay time of the reverb can accurately control the "space size" of the sound; understand that effects are not "decorations" that are randomly superimposed, but tools are selected according to the needs of the scene (such as science fiction, natural feeling), for example, flanger is suitable for enhancing the metal texture, while natural sound relies more on the "environmental reflection" of reverb.