Multimedia for the Web: Creating Digital Excitement Multimedia Element — Sound

Chapter 8 2 Multimedia for the Web Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web Understand the Basic Principles of Sound Examine Digital Audio Sources Explore Digital Audio Software Discover Audio File Formats for the Web Chapter Concepts

Chapter 8 3 Multimedia for the Web The element of sound can be important to achieve the goals of a multimedia Web site Sound adds another dimension If improperly created, sound files can take too much time to download Introduction

Chapter 8 4 Multimedia for the Web Streaming audio: the sound file will begin playing after part of the file is downloaded To help ensure effectiveness, it is important to incorporate sound files that are high quality, appropriate, and consistent with the goals of the multimedia Web site Introduction

Chapter 8 5 Multimedia for the Web Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web Web has made it very easy for users to purchase and download music files directly from online music stores Entertainment and game industry has spurred the growth of computers with multimedia capabilities

Chapter 8 6 Multimedia for the Web Web sites designed for entertainment have background music that sets the mood to light and cheery, or dark and dreary Audio can either be synched with the occurrence of other objects in the production, or it can serve as a trigger when clicked Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web

Chapter 8 7 Multimedia for the Web Providing controls (such as skip, pause, mute, volume adjustment, etc.) is an effective way of keeping users involved and motivated The decision to incorporate sound into a multimedia Web site should have solid reasoning behind it Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web

Chapter 8 8 Multimedia for the Web Sounds are either content sounds or ambient sounds Content sounds furnish information –Narration, dialogue are content sounds Ambient sounds reinforce messages and set the mood Many splash screens or intro pages use background music to set a mood Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web

Chapter 8 9 Multimedia for the Web When you speak, vibrations, called sound waves, are created These sound waves have a recurring pattern; an analog wave pattern called a waveform Understanding the Basic Principles of Sound

Chapter 8 10 Multimedia for the Web Amplitude: Distance between the valley and the peak of a waveform Decibel (dB): Smallest variation in amplitude detected by the human ear Frequency: Number of peaks that occur in one second measured by the distance between the peaks Understanding the Basic Principles of Sound

Chapter 8 11 Multimedia for the Web Digitizing or Sound Sampling: The process of converting analog sound to numbers Digital Audio: An analog sound that has been converted to numbers Understanding the Basic Principles of Sound

Chapter 8 12 Multimedia for the Web Two factors that determine sound quality are sample rate and resolution Sample Rate: –Number of waveform samples per second or the number of times the sample is taken –Measured in kilohertz, with 11 kHz, 22 kHz, and 44 kHz being the most common sampling rates Sound Quality

Chapter 8 13 Multimedia for the Web Resolution: –Number of binary bits processed for each sound wave –Sometimes referred to as sample size –As the number of bits used to sample the sound increases, the range and the quality of the sound also improves Sound Quality

Chapter 8 14 Multimedia for the Web Mono versus Stereo Sound Mono sounds: Flat and unrealistic compared to stereo sounds Stereo sounds: Much more dynamic and lifelike Mono sound files are sometimes a more appropriate choice on the Web where storage and transfer are major concerns

Chapter 8 15 Multimedia for the Web Web Audio: Downloaded or streamed Downloaded audio file must be entirely saved to the user’s computer before it can be played Streaming: More advanced process that allows sound file to be played as it is downloading; before entire file is transferred to the user’s computer Downloaded versus Streamed

Chapter 8 16 Multimedia for the Web Compression: Technique that mathematically reduces size of a file Beneficial for storing and transferring sound files Type of Compression applied impacts quality of sound file and file size Compression

Chapter 8 17 Multimedia for the Web Clip audio gives access to prerecorded digital audio clips of music and sound effects Examine Digital Audio Sources

Chapter 8 18 Multimedia for the Web Most of the sound on CDs has been sampled at almost 45,000 samples per second, which is very high quality Be sure to carefully read the licensing agreements that come with clip audio Examine Digital Audio Sources

Chapter 8 19 Multimedia for the Web In addition to using prerecorded audio files, you can record, digitize, and process your own sound files Producing Digital Audio

Chapter 8 20 Multimedia for the Web Planning Proper planning is critical if sound is to be incorporated into multimedia Web site If the Web site is interactive, flowcharts should distinguish between which sounds are played as users make different choices

Chapter 8 21 Multimedia for the Web Minimally, a sound card and software program are needed to digitize sound The sound card samples or digitizes the sound based on the sample rate (11, 22, or 44 kHz) and resolution (8- or 16-bit), and then produces the digital approximation of the analog signal Recording

Chapter 8 22 Multimedia for the Web Microphones translate analog signals into electrical impulses An analog-to-digital converter (ADC), converts the electrical impulses to numbers that can be stored, understood, and manipulated by a microprocessor Recording

Chapter 8 23 Multimedia for the Web MIDI: Standard format agreed on by the major manufacturers of musical instruments MIDI standard was established so musical instruments can communicate sound information with one another Recording

Chapter 8 24 Multimedia for the Web Recording To communicate, MIDI instruments have “in” and “out” ports that enable them to be connected to another MIDI-ready device

Chapter 8 25 Multimedia for the Web Processing Today’s computers and synthesizers make it possible for the average person to produce high quality, relatively inexpensive recorded sound and music Pieces of sound files may need to be copied and moved or several sound files may need to be mixed and spliced together

Chapter 8 26 Multimedia for the Web Assembling Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) was developed to provide frame-accurate video and audio data By using professional SMPTE codes, beats of music can be set to match changes in video for all standard video frame rates

Chapter 8 27 Multimedia for the Web Delivering To play sound on a computer system, the user needs a sound card and speakers, or a headset The digital audio file is sent through a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) so that it can be heard Important to test sounds under a variety of different conditions

Chapter 8 28 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software Traditional sound studio equipment is utilized to record, mix, edit audio; costs tens of thousands of dollars With sound editing and mixing software, sound files can be produced for much less money

Chapter 8 29 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software In the sound editing and mixing industry, there are a number of high-quality licensed and shareware packages worth mentioning BIAS: Berkley Integrated Audio Software (BIAS); a leader in developing solutions for sound editing and mixing

Chapter 8 30 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software Peak: Leading digital audio editor for Macintosh platform; ideal for manipulating sound files Sony: Leading developer and marketer of digital media and Internet software tools

Chapter 8 31 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software Sound Forge: Similar to Peak, but designed for Windows platform –Set the quality of sound file including sample rate, the resolution or sample size, file to be mono or stereo Vegas: Frame-by-frame audio and video synchronization; high-quality streaming media, multitrack recording

Chapter 8 32 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software ACID: music production software offers sound professionals freedom to create custom music Digidesign Pro Tools: world’s leading nonlinear audio editing workstation and solutions

Chapter 8 33 Multimedia for the Web Explore Digital Audio Software Pro Tools: most powerful and popular high-end audio solution on the market Adobe Audition: formerly Cool Edit; digital audio software package that is comprehensive, yet easy to learn –Includes extensive top-quality digital effects and it can mix multiple tracks

Chapter 8 34 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web All three media players (QuickTime, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player): –Equipped to open and display most popular audio file formats –Possess the ability to play live streaming audio QuickTime and RealPlayer: best choices for streaming media

Chapter 8 35 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web Sound file formats include: –AAC (Advanced Audio Coding): MPEG-4; format of choice for Web –AIFF or AIF (Audio Interchange File Format): Macintosh waveform format

Chapter 8 36 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web Sound file formats include: –AB (Audio/Basic): Sun audio format developed by Sun Microsystems to Play on Unix, NeXT, and Sun Sparc workstations –EA (Emblaze Audio): Sound format developed specifically for Internet by GEO for its Emblaze products

Chapter 8 37 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web –MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface): Internationally accepted file format for storing MIDI data –MP3 (MPEG—Audio Layer 3): Open standard technology uses file compression to create near-CD quality audio files

Chapter 8 38 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web –Real formats (RA, RAM, RM): Excellent compression, incredibly popular, widespread support for streaming audio –SWF: compressed Macromedia Flash or Shockwave Flash file type designed for animation

Chapter 8 39 Multimedia for the Web Discover Audio File Formats for the Web –WAV: Waveform format; Commonly used, supported format on Windows –WMA (Windows Media Audio): Powerful compression technology delivering audio and video quality at any bit rate

Chapter 8 40 Multimedia for the Web Discuss the Use of Sound on the Web Understanding the Basic Principles of Sound Sound Quality Mono versus Stereo Sound Downloaded versus Streamed Summary

Chapter 8 41 Multimedia for the Web Compression Examine Digital Audio Sources Producing Digital Audio Planning Recording Summary

Chapter 8 42 Multimedia for the Web Processing Assembling Delivering Explore Digital Audio Software Discover Audio File Formats for the Web Summary