AUDIO

INFORMATION
AND MEDIA
What are your reasons for listening
to certain kinds of sounds?
 Audio Information and Media

ENVIRONMENTAL MANMADE SOUND NOISE

SOUND
SOUND
- an energy form that is propagated by vibrating objects.
- vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and
can be heard 
Acoustics
- the science concerned with the production, control, transmission,
reception, and effects of sound.

The term is derived from the Greek ”akoustos”, meaning “heard.”

 Characteristics of Sound
1. Amplitude
- how sound particles are displaced or scattered that produce a
certain level of or intensity of loudness.
decibels - unit of measurement for amplitude

2. Frequency
- the number of vibrations of sound particles in the path of a wave
in a span of a second.
Pitch is associated with frequency which is measured in Hertz(Hz)
3. Wave Form
- the actual shape of the sound wave
- associated with the timbre or quality of sound

4. Speed of Propagation
- how quickly sound travels
- dependent on the medium sound is propagated
Sound “ is a powerful tool of expression, both alone and in
combination with images.” ( Breslin)

has both technical and aesthetic roles in media production

has depth and perspective
aural media enriches the visual experience
context dependent
How is sound/audio useful in
information exchange?
Recording Formats
a. Analog
- audio is recorded using methods that
replicate the original sound waves. 
b. Digital
- audio is recorded by taking samples
of the original sound wave at a specified
rate. 
Types of Audio Media
1. Radio
- transmission of audio signals through air (broadcasting)
2. Podcast
- a radio broadcast or audio blog that can be downloaded to a
portable media player
3. Music Recording
- dominant format is MP3
- physical record of a musical performance that can be reproduced
4. Film and Television
- audio is integral to the sound design of movies and shows

5. Alternative Audio
Documentaries based on interviews
Field recordings of actualities( ambience and sound effects)
Radio dramas
Sonic or acoustic artists
Sound combined with dance, performances, or visual arts
Dimensions of Sound
1. Film Sound
 Sound has to match the aesthetic impact of an image
2. Literal Sound
 Sound maybe referential – conveys a specific literal meaning
 Literal sound is also called diegetic sound
3. Nonliteral Sound
 Also called nondiegetic sound
 Its purpose is more symbolic, evokes a visual image of the source of the
sound.
Functions of Sound
General Function Form Description/Characteristics
Information: Dialogue Information is contained in a few lines of
communicating carefully crafted dialogue.
specific information Conveys the theme, plot, characterization,
verbally environment, context
Direct Address Happens when the performer speaks
directly to you either from a screen, at
home, television
It provides for optimal information
exchange
Narration Spoken word is often much more effective
in advancing a plot than pictures are.
General Function Form Description/Characteristics
Outer Orientation Space: where specific sounds can help Familiar sounds that can identify a location
reveal and define the location of an event, Time: clock time and seasons
its spatial environment, and off-screen Predictive sounds
space

Inner Orientation Mood Variety of nonmusical sounds or a

combination of music and nonmusical
sounds

Internal Condition Sounds can express a variety of internal

conditions such as unstable environment
(cues), calmness, excitement or agitation

Energy Electronic hisses, whines, whistles can

increase aesthetic energy of a scene

Structure Supplements rhythmic structure or visual

vector structure of the screen event
 File Format
Compressing and storing audio file is
done through a codec, which determines the
size of the audio.

Codecs are compression technologies and

have two components, an encoder to
compress the files, and a decoder to
decompress.
Audio and Audio File Formats

AUDIO - an electrical or other representation of sound.

AUDIO File Format - a file format for storing digital audio data on a
computer.
It can be a raw bitstream, but it is usually a container format or an audio
data format with defined storage layer.
AUDIO FORMAT and CODEC
 It is important to distinguish between a file format and an audio coded
 A CODEC performs the encoding and decoding of the raw data while the data
itself is stored in a file with a specific audio file format.
 In other words, CODEC contains both an ADC and DAC running off the same
clock.
What audio file format do you know or
have used?
 AUDIO MEDIA FILE TYPES
General File Format File Type Description

WAV (Wave Form • Standard audio file format used mainly in Windows
Audio File) • Commonly used for storing uncompressed, CD quality sound files
Open File Formats MP3 (Media Player 3) • Most popular format for downloading and storing music
(supported by most • Good for music storage but not for voice storage
software) • Eliminates portions of the audio file that are essentially inaudible
OGG • Free open source container format supporting a variety of codecs
GSM (Global System • A very practical format for telephone quality voice
for Mobile) • Recommended for voice recording
• Makes a good compromise between file size and quality
General File File Type Description
Format
DCT (Database • A variable codec format designed for dictation
Container File) • Has a dictation header information and can be encrypted
FLAC (Free • if you compress a PCM file to FLAC and then restore it again
Lossless Audio it will be a perfect copy of the original
Codec) • Recommended for archiving PCM files where quality is
important
AU • The standard audio format used by Sun, Unix, Java
AIFF (Audio • The standard audio file format used by Apple
Interchange File • It is like a wav file for the Mac
Format)
VOX • A very old file type and not recommended for anything except
for supporting legacy systems
RAW Rarely used except for technical tests
General File File Type Description
Format
AAC (Advanced • Format is based on the MPEG4 audio owned by Dolby
Audio Coding) • A copy-protected version of this format has been developed
by Apple for use in music downloaded from their iTunes
Music Store
Proprietary Formats RA (Real Audio) • Designed for streaming audio over the Internet
• Allows files to be stored in a self-contained fashion with all
of the audio data contained inside the file itself
MSV (Memory Stick • A Sony proprietary format for Memory Stick compressed
Voice) voice files
Other Formats ATRAC • Sony proprietary format designed for minidisc use
(.OMA, .OMG, .AT
P)
In what context will audio
information be most
effectively used?
 Hearing vs Listening

Hearing - the act of perceiving sound

by the ear.

Listening - something you

consciously choose to do because it
requires concentration so that your
brain processes meaning from the
sound that you receive.