P2: Sound Design & Production.

Sound File Formats:

Uncompressed: Uncompressed is usually used for a better quality sound mainly used in cinemas for surround 3D sound. this uses pretty much no data as this is the raw cut of everything so nothing is taken away or added to it.

Wav: .wav or .wave is a Microsoft standard when saving any audio file once recorded, this would be used when recording any sound that you wanted, vocals/guitar etc.

Aiff: This extension is the same as .wav except this one is for mac, again it is the default save for any audio file saved on a mac.

Au: au. file extension is quite an old one developed by Sunmicrosysystems and its mainly used if you are going for an 8bit style type audio in your game, this is great if you're making a retro game but pretty terrible for anything else.

VOC: The VOC file extension is tied into the Creative Labs audio hardware device, meaning that if you bought this product that would help record/mix audio anything to do with this would be linked in with the program itself meaning it would be harder to distribute. No one would use this now as this is completely outdated software and would make it hard for people to move onto working with other software.

Lossy Compression: Lossy Compression is audio that loses a considerable amount of data meaning the overall quality of the sound will be considerably worse than an uncompressed version.

Audio Sampling:
How Can Resolution and Bit-Depth Constrain File Size?

Bit Depth and Resolution can constraint file size because in most circumstances, the bigger the resolution, the bigger the file, because theyre would be more pixels on an image for instance, so there is more to save. The same goes with Bit Depth too because the higher quality the audio there is going to be more information in each sample so more to save in a file.

Sample Rate: The number of times an analogue signal is measured (sampled) per second. The unit of sample rate is 'Samples Per Second'. This is often expressed in Kilo Hertz (kHz).

Mono: Noting a system of sound recording and reproduction using only a single channel.

Stereo: Sound that is directed through two or more speakers so that it seems to surround the listener and to come from more than one source: stereophonic sound.

Surround: Surround sound is a term used to describe a type of audio output in which the sound appears to "surround the listener by 360 degrees.

Audio Limitations of Games Platforms

How can the following information limit the recording of sound?

DSP: Digital Signal Processor - This can limit the recording of the sound because you'll need a good processor to record certain qualities.

RAM: Random Access Memory - Again very similar to the processor, the amount of RAM you will have will limit how much data you can have.

File Format (MP3, Wav, Aiff): This can limit your sound recording because if you save the file in the wrong format, it can become corrupted or unable to open, also certain file formats have certain data size limits.

Audio Output (Mono, Stereo, Surround): This can limit the sound because of how it will sound when you play it back, if you play it back on Surround it will sound better than Stereo

PCM: Pulse Code Modulation: This can limit your sound recording quality because the quality of the sound may worsen when it's converted, making the sound distorted.

In what types of scenario may you use the following audio recording equipment?

Multi-Track Recording: When you are layering some audio, for instance a song, if you want to do a double track for vocals you would sing them and then sing again over the top of that like a layer, this would give a stronger sound.

Analogue: In today's industry you would mainly use digital recording but analogue could be used if you're trying to recording something old, for instance Director Quentin Tarantino uses analogue video recording in some of his movies to give an older effect.

Software Plug-In's: You could use this if you were looking for a fairly cheap option instead of buying separate software to record, you could use a plug-in so it is all in one place such as having it on a laptop to take around with you if you're travelling.