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TA Theater Will Take Place Week of April 4 Not Changed: Archival Project Due Week of April 11 (In Lab.) Not Changed: ADR Project Due Week of April 25

The document provides information about an upcoming midterm exam for MTA 254, details remaining assignment due dates, and covers various audio recording and processing topics such as analog vs. digital recording, sample rate and bit depth, audio compression, equalization, noise reduction, compression, and reverb. Labs this week involve bringing hard drives to class to obtain footage for an archival project.

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127 views20 pages

TA Theater Will Take Place Week of April 4 Not Changed: Archival Project Due Week of April 11 (In Lab.) Not Changed: ADR Project Due Week of April 25

The document provides information about an upcoming midterm exam for MTA 254, details remaining assignment due dates, and covers various audio recording and processing topics such as analog vs. digital recording, sample rate and bit depth, audio compression, equalization, noise reduction, compression, and reverb. Labs this week involve bringing hard drives to class to obtain footage for an archival project.

Uploaded by

tlipfert
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MTA 254

• Syllabus change: Lynda.com is now optional!


$25 month, or see me after class / in lab for discount.

• TA Theater will take place Week of April 4

• Not changed: Archival Project due Week of April 11


(in lab.)

• Not changed: ADR Project due Week of April 25


MTA 254
MIDTERM EXAM is Next Monday in this room!
• Labs / Lectures are fair game!

In lab this week: bring your harddrive to get the


footage for the Archival Project
Analog vs. Digital

• Why digital? (Sound is, of course, analog)


• the choice of how to record depends on what
we are going to DO with it.

• All recording, analog or digital, involves changing


air pressure into voltage, then reversing the
process.

• We use digital recording b/c in post production


we need to make lots of copies, and digital
copies don’t degrade.
Turning Sound to Digital

• To make a digital recording, we need to take


snapshots to convert the changing voltages into
numbers. These are called samples.
• How many snapshots we take = sample rate.
• The accuracy of each sample, like the dpi of a
digital photo = bit depth.
Sample Rate & Bit Depth

SAMPLE RATE describes how many snapshots per


second we take.
• The most common rates are 44.1k and 48K. Remember
the Nyquist theorem: You need twice the number of
samples as the highest frequency you wish to record.
20K x 2 = 40,000 (+ 10% for good measure) = 44.1K

BIT DEPTH describes the accuracy of our


snapshots.
• The standard for professional digital audio is 16 bit, which
offers 65,536 possible different values for each sample.
Audio Compression

• To make an audio file smaller, you could cut bit depth


and sample rate. The file would be smaller, but it
would sound worse.

• Delta encoding (Quicktime) recognizes incremental


changes between samples.

• Mp3 is a type of perceptual encoding. It eliminates


sounds that are masked, or redundant. The process is
“lossy” but you don’t notice it (as much).
Audio on a Wire

• There are two standards for “normal” line level


voltages: “+4” (hot!) for pro gear, “-10” (warm) for
consumer gear.

• Pro to Consumer will distort. Consumer to Pro will


be noisy (but ok). (Plugging into a sound board?)

• There is balanced and unbalanced wiring. Balanced


(like most XLRs) rejects noise and interference.
RCA plugs are unbalanced.
(Basic) Audio Sweetening

• “Sweetening” is audio-speak for processing sound


to make it sound “better.”

• Until recently, sweetening meant processing your


analog signal with an external analog device.

• Now, many of these devices are “plug-ins” one can


access via one’s audio processing software.
Using Audio Processors

EQ, Noise Reduction, Compression, Reverb

• These tools are easy way to ruin your audio, or make


people sound like robots.

• Too much processing sounds worse than marginal audio--


always do a before and after.

• For example: reducing noise is what you’re striving for--not


eliminating it.

• Usually, when you find a setting that sounds good, back off
it a bit to reduce the effect.
Equalization (EQ)

• If you’re going to learn one audio processing tool, this is


it. Some form of EQ is on almost every audio software
device.

• Definition: Boosting and/or cutting the volume of


certain frequencies on the track(s) in question.

• Bass and treble knobs, for example, or that cool “EQ”


on an old boombox, are cheap, lousy EQs.

• Two main uses: Surgical & Shaping


Surgical EQ and Shaping EQ

Surgical EQ means to precisely reduce an unwanted


sound by sharply cutting its frequency. For example, to
lessen the rumble of a passing truck.

• Usually applied to a specific region of audio as a “fix.”


Shaping EQ is a more subtle process applied to an entire
track to make it fit with other tracks.

• In Pro Tools: Shaping EQ usually applied in the mix


window; Surgical EQ in the edit window.
Standard Dialog Equalizer Tips:

• Cut off everything below 90Hz. Try a gentle peak around


240Hz for warmth, and a similar boost around 1.8kHz for
intelligibility. A sharp dip around 5kHz can help sibilance.

• Help muddy dialog with a cutoff below 150Hz, and a 3-6dB


boost around 2kHz.

• To find and eliminate an annoying sound do an EQ


“sweep.” (We will practice this in a future lab.)
Noise Reduction

• The “Holy Grail” of audio processing. (Like the fictitious


“magic box” in the scene from The Conversation.)

• NR tries to identify the noise pattern and sharply cut


only those frequencies, leaving dialog unchanged.

• It’s VERY EASY to create a worse sounding track using


NR--use it very lightly, or your track will start to sound
metallic.
Compression

• NOT data compression--this is NOT about making files


smaller.

• Definition: Reduce the dynamic range of a track in


order to make the soft sounds louder, while keeping the
loud sounds from peaking.

• Used in pop music to create the “aircraft carrier” style


waveform.

• Usually applied to an entire track, or the whole mix.


Reverb

• Definition: The simulation of sound reflections

• It’s used to add “dimension” to sound.

• In film sound, it’s usually applied to background


ambience, walla, or effects tracks rather than voices.

• Software settings mimic different room sizes: church,


hall, small room, etc.
Audio Processors in Music

• Music production uses these same processes


(EQ, Compression, Reverb [usually not Noise Reduction]) in
complex yet subtle ways.

• Here is a clip from a tutorial DVD by a Grammy winning


producer showing some very basic strategies in mixing the
lead vocals of a record:
(It is unclear why he is crouching behind a display case...)

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