| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ambiance | pervading atmosphere of a space, sometimes a psychological feeling. Ambient sounds are the noises present in an environment. |
| Signal to noise ratio | a comparison between the strength of "signal" (the electrical strength) to the "noise" (noise present in the electronic system). A high signal to noise ratio is necessary to produce clear and present sound. |
| Direct Sound | sound directly from the source. Obtaining a higher amount of direct sound than indirect sound is highly important in audio recording. |
| Indirect Sound | also called reflected sound. This is direct sound bounced off a surface. The further the microphone is away from the source of the sound, the more indirect sound is recorded. |
| Reverberation | the collection of reflected sounds from surfaces in an environment. While some __________ makes a sound livelier and gives it atmosphere, too much reverberation makes sounds run together and become unclear. |
| Close perspective sound | has a high ratio of direct sound to reflected sound. |
| Distant perspective sound | has a high ratio of reflected sound to direct sound. |
| Conflict | The crux of any story. Conflicts are what drive a character's actions. Conflict can be emotional or physical, internal or external |
| Plot | the storyline; the events that make up the story. |
| Tone | the overall feeling a story imparts, the mood. ______ can be serious, comical, dark, lighthearted, mysterious, uplifting, etc. Considering the desired tone effects each chosen element of the story. In music, a pitch |
| Juxtaposition | Literally, putting something side by side for comparison or contrast. In an image, juxtaposing elements leads the viewer to consider each in relation to the other. |
| Tonality | in a visual sense, the __________ of an image is the overall arrangement and relation of the tones, or the lightness/darkness. Re-arranging the tonality can effect the tone (mood). In the musical sense, the tonality refers to the use of Major or Minor keys or chords. These also relate to the mood of a piece, as Major key is considered bright or pastoral, while Minor key is reserved for sorrow or danger. |
| Frequency | number of cycles of compression and rarefaction per second, measured in hertz (Hz), or megaHerz (mHz). Frequency determines pitch (low frequency is low pitch, high frequency is high pitch). |
| Amplitude | the height of a sound wave, which determines its loudness. The higher the amplitude, the louder the sound. |
| Timbre | the attribute of sound that distinguishes specific sounds from each other. The ______ of a human voice, a trumpet and a saxophone are different, even when they are at the same pitch. Also known as tone quality or tone color. Mostly a product of overtones beyond the fundamental frequency. |
| Attack | the speed at which a sound reaches full volume. |
| Decay | how quickly a sound drops back down. |
| Stereo | sound which is transmitted by 2 speakers (channel one and channel two) each presenting a different set of sounds. Creates the impression of spaciousness, position, and movement in the soundscape. Requires more than one mic in the field (or a stereo mic) |
| Phase | time relationship between two or more sound waves at a given point in the cycle. In phase increases amplitude, and out of phase decreases amplitude |
| Inverse Square Law of sound | intensity varies with the square of the distance. This implies: 1. get the mic as close as possible 2. Moving a mic a little makes a big difference |
| Melody | a sequence of notes of differing durations. The line of a musical piece; the tune. It's what we remember most from music. |
| Harmony | simultaneous sounding of two or more tones; can be consonant or dissonant; ________ can also happen in sequence, and is part of melody. |
| Consonance | complementary harmony. Sounds agreeable, settled. Resolves tension. |
| Dissonance | uncomplementary tones. Can sound disharmonious, unresolved. Builds tension. |
| Texture | the interweaving of melody, timbre, and harmony. Subjective terms used to describe the feeling of the music, i.e. "dense, airy, oppressive, light, hard, coarse" |
| Dynamic Range | the range between the soft and loud parts of a musical piece. Rock and Pop usually has a very low dynamic range, compared to symphonic arrangements. Live orchestra concerts can have very high dynamic range. |
| Crescendo | going from soft to loud. |
| Diminuendo | (decrescendo) – going from loud to soft. |
| Phrasing | the shaping of a musical line with accents, rhythm and tone. |
| Stereo | provides sense of space/ openness. Requires two different channels (right + left). More than one mic in the field (or stereo mic) |
| Frequency | high and low. Hertz, Kilohertz. 20-20,000 hz = human range |
| Octaves | ratio of 2:1. ie. 20 to the 40z = 1, human range = 10 |
| Low Bass | 20-80 hz. 1st two octaves |
| Upper Base | 80-320 hz = 3rd and 4th octaves |
| Mid Range | 320-2,560 = 5th, 6th, 7th Octaves (too much can be annoying) |
| Upper Midrange | 2,560-5,120 hz = 9th and 10th octabes |
| Treble | 5,120-20,000 hz = 9th and 10th octave |
| Melody | succession of pitched musical tones of varied durations |
| Rhythm | duration of individual notes |
| Pitch | frequency of individual notes |
| Harmony | simultaneous sound of two or more tones. |
| Consonant | agreeable |
| Dissonant | unstable, unresolved |
| Texture | interweaving of melody, timbre and harmony |
| Dynamic Range | range of soft and loud. Build or release tension by manipulating this |
| Crescendo | quiet to loud |
| Diminuendo | loud to soft |
| Phrasing | shape melodies or liens of drama, how we make connections between sections of music or sections of dialogue |
| Unifying Tension | overlap, lead in, segue |
| Evoke | atmosphere, feeling, mood |
| Sound Effects | sound element that has layers of meaning, hide/disguise |
| Diagetic Sound | logically heard. Organic to scene |
| Non Diagetic Sound | not logically heard during scene - added for narrative effect |
| Power of Silence | if sound is expected the absence of it can be powerful. Creates expectation, tension, intensity |
| Direct Narration | describes what is being said/ happening (storyteller, straight news report). effective when sound/images don't convey enough info. info is complex. Mixing styles can improve communicaiton |
| Indirect Narration | action/sound of scene tells us what is happening |
| Contrapuntal | juxtaposes narration and action. Makes a composite statement not present or explicit. Indirect/ contrapuntal usually more effective |
| Dialogue | conversation between 2+. Not just writers responsibility |
| Accent | (location, social class, origin) - must be believable. Can alter meaning of words |
| Pace | deliberate = inner tension. Faster = urgency/ nervous. Unlimited choices (not just words - that thats unsaid, eyes apart of conversation) |
| Patterns | sentance structure, vocabulary, speech rhythms (educated, informal, contemporary) |
| Emphasis | Stressing syllable or word changes meaning |
| Inflection | alter pitch/ tone of the voice. raise it becomes a question. higher = intensity, excitement. Like phrasing in music |
| Electro Mechanical Transducers | convert acoustic energy to electrical energy |
| Omni Directional | accepts sound all around mic, Best for interview sessions |
| Cardioid | accepts sound primarily from front. Best for live sound applications |
| Hyper Cardioid and Super Cardioid | accepts only from front. Ideal for isolation sound - directional |
| Bi- Directional | accepts sound from front and back - used in music studio recording. Also called "Figure of eight" |
| Microphone | transducer -changes sound vibration into electrical signal (analog step) |
| Anti- aliasing | unwanted high frequency signals. Above hearing range but can be "aliased" into audiable range in sampling. Pass the original analog (from mic) signal through a low pass filter |
| Sampling | sample voltages at fixed intervals along the waveform of the analog signal - how often you measure the voltage |
| Quantizing | samples are converted into discrete values called Quantizing levels > the # of levels > the accuracy of the representation of the signals |
| Coding | analog voltages converted to binary digits (series of pulses). 0 = no voltage. 1 = voltage. each digit is a bit, each bit allows two levels of qauntification. 2 bits gives 4 levels. 16 bit system (65,536). |
| Story | a universal mirror- truth about ourselves. Transcend experience. We find pain, humor, justice, love |
| Documentary | fascination with reality. God is director |
| Man in Wire | not hollywood but high level of prodcution |
| narrative meaning | story fills our lives. Not stopped by difficulty or contradiction. they define humanity |
| Photo Story elements | context, character, conflict, plot etc. |
| Photo essay | thought/ planning. Ads juxtapositioin. Narration not always needed. Sometimes better if not used |
| Sound | tend to ignore it. Films, news. TV enhanced by it. Web has weak version. Without it things are lifeless, not understandable |
| Listening | paying attention to all sound. |
| Foreground/ Background | characteristics: pitch, loudness, timbre, attack, decay, duration, tempo, rhythm, location |
| Good Sound | sound wave. Vibration of air molecules. Compression + rarefaction = one cycle = frequency |
| Mono | emanates from a single point source |
| Stereo | emanates from two point source |
| Surround | emanates from multiple sources |
| Non traditional story telling | Ex. Jonathan Harris - Whale Hunt has traditional elements but no narrarator to tell us how to experience it. We make the choices (manipulate story) |
| Interactive | type of story that takes the ordinary and binds it to all human existance, revealing the signficance of the trivial |
| Traditional | Aristotale 350 bc. Well constructed plot. We are hardwired to expect the traditional. In all media. Fiction/ non fiction |
Combine with other sets
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