When designing audio we are often thinking of time across a large variety of units: samples, milliseconds, frames, minutes, hours and more. This article is inspired by a conversation I had with Andy Farnell about a year ago at a pub in Edinburgh, right before a sound design symposium, where we discussed about time and the role it plays when it comes to designing audio. Like … [Read more...]
“Hearing Lips and Seeing Voices” – The McGurk Effect
Want to see something that’ll mess with your head? [youtube]http://youtu.be/73LE1vKGfy4[/youtube] Now, you may not have noticed anything all that strange watching the video, but mute the sound and watch it again. After that, close your eyes and listen to just the audio. Notice anything strange now? You’ve just witnessed one of the more interesting perceptual illusions, … [Read more...]
Psychology of 10 Years of Sound in World of Warcraft
For this month's topic of "Psychoacoustics" I thought I'd stretch the definition a bit and finally write an article I have wanted to for a while now, and discuss the sound design of World of Warcraft. Specifically the unscientific observations of someone (me) who has regularly experienced these sounds for fully 1/3 of their life. What I would like to discuss are my own … [Read more...]
Designing Sound Discussion Group – Psychoacoustics for Sound Designers
You can watch today's webinar here on Designing Sound, or...if you'd like to ask questions...you can join us over on Google Hangouts to participate more directly. If you'd like to ask some follow up questions, please reach out to us through our contact page, ping me on twitter or drop a comment below. Additional media used during the presentation after the break. … [Read more...]
It’s All in Your Head…
Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that all of the sounds we hear in our life are actually the result of post-processing in our brains? That what you hear might not actually be what the person next to you hears? The combination and coordination of organs that goes into the interpretation of fluctuations in atmospheric pressure is truly a marvel. We've given ourselves a … [Read more...]