BackgroundSound and music are purely created from auditory elements that can shape the knowledge that gets activated in the audience. These elements can stand alone or be linked to other types of New Media elements.
Music and sound can be powerful ways to shape activated knowledge structures. TermsStyle & Tone: audio that has a particular feel, or music with a particular rhythm - this is what will determine how the viewer responds to music, the musical style and tone needs to be in harmony with the intended purpose of the scene or shot
Source Sounds: sound coming from the scene Score Music: music designed to create a mood Hard FX or SFX: these are enhanced sounds - can often be added after the scene is recorded. Dialogue: talking sounds in the scene Backgrounds: ambient sounds that provide a context to the scene Foley: sounds synched to action (after the fact) Looping: dialogue replacement of voices after the fact - difficult to do well Room tones it sounds odd to go to complete silence so there should be some background environment sounds even during quite times - the audio should never go silent Walla: sounds outside the field of view used to create context (e.g. feet moving) NarrationNarration can add descriptive information to visual elements. Write narration for the ear and keep it simple. Write to the visuals because those will drive the story and use the sound bytes to tell the story. Write factually and add natural sounds to add context.
Set the stage, no more than five points, and end with something memorable. Active Voice Write in the active voice (tighter and more interesting); have the receiver of the action ahead of the verb . The actor comes before the verb and receiver of the action follows the verb. As an illustration here is a sample edit to the active voice. Before:
After - altered with the active voice:
SynchronizationIt s crucial that the audio be synchronized with meaningful portrayals. If those are out of synch then the message is confusing.
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PurposeMusic and audio clips provide a more immersive experience and can not only communicate important information but also set the tone or mood of the story. This makes it more understandable and memorable. Audio can gives other New Media elements life and direction.
Selecting MusicWhen selecting music to accompany a New Media production, consider how it creates a tone that will enhance the message. One of the big issues is obtaining music that works that is not copyrighted.
The Bad News All music created has a copyright and cannot be used unless you have rights to use it. It is possible to obtain rights to commercial music but unless you want to go through a lot of red tape and then end up with paying for the privilege, don't use it. (Trust me on this one I don't think it is worth it unless you are doing a big production with a large budget and lots of time - it is a long story). The Good News There are some great royalty free music that one can download for free or for a modest cost. Read the usage rights carefully but most of these can be used without the expense or hassles of commercial music. Another option is to create your own. There are some great tools out there that facilitate generating music by non-musicians (e.g. Garageband). Below are a couple of videos on copyright and and musical rights: Further StudyHere are a list of basic audio techniques you should familiar with:
Audio RECORDINGAudio Editing |
References
Hollyn, Norman. (2013) Foundations of video: The art of editing. Lydia.com.
Harrington, Richard & Carman, Robbie (n. d.) DSLR video tips. Lynda.com
Harrington, Richard & Carman, Robbie (n. d.) DSLR video tips. Lynda.com