Monday 30 July 2007

CC 1 - Semester 2 - Week 1

Plogue Bidule

I’d rather put my understanding of this software in this way: Plogue Bidule is one of the ways of making “pure” computerised music.
The process I undertook was basically to start with giving the computer a bunch of frequencies and receive a bunch of random pitches, then apply different changes, modulations and effects to them using various devices.

However, not my entire project was derived from MIDI. I also used one wave file and sent it to some VST plug-ins, effects and modulators.
The result was a mixture of patterns and “sound colours” which gave me a sense of electro-ambient music.

The final result:
The session file in Bidule format:




References:
- Christian Haines 'Creative Computing 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 26/07/2007
-
Beaulieu, Sebastien; Trussart, Vincent; Viens, David 2007, Bidule v0.92 user manual,
Plogue [Accessed 30/07/2007] .
-
"Ring Modulation". Wikipedia. [Accessed 30/07/2007]

AA1 - Semester 2 - Week 1 (I think)

Sound design

I have put two examples of sounds designed for a) a movie and b) a game.

2001: A Space Odyssey. By Stanley Kubrik.
Actually it is Richard Strauss who has composed the opening sound theme of this film and it’s “chosen” rather than designed. Kubrik, with the help of the film’s sound “supervisor” A.W Watkins decided to use Strauss’ piece Also sprach Zarathustra (or "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" in English) for the opening.

The Tune, however, is tremendously significant for its role in the movie. Many individuals remind of the movie instead of Strauss when they hear he first beats.
In my opinion, the track carries the same story as the movie itself. The element of evolution, -which plays a big role in the film- is pretty utilised in the track as well. Also as like as the film, the track finishes with –technically- a major cadence; a sign of victory. Likewise, the movie ends with the story of human beings’ victory.

Duke Nukem 3D; Difficulty level:“Come Get Some”!
One of the main sound themes for the game Duke Nukem 3D is called “Come Get Some” by the band Megadeth. The phrase is also a title of one of the game’s levels. In addition to these, the statement is “said” by the main character of the game, whenever he damages the enemy.
This phrase is one example of many different sound effects, sentences, and noises used in this game. (I think) to give the player a good sense of playing, “Come Get Some” is said in a way and intonation that ridicules the enemy.Unfortunately, embedding a notable example of this game in here was impossible, therefore I had to put the direct link to the video in YouTube HERE.
However, HERE is a homemade trailer for Duke Nukem 3D accompanied by Megadeth's tune. (Parental Advisory)

References:
- Christian Haines 'Audio Arts 1.2' Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 23/07/2007
-
2001: A Space Odyssey (film), Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_%28film%29) [Accessed: 30/07/2007]
- Duke Nukem 3D Credits, 3DRealms website (http://www.3drealms.com/other/index.html) [Accessed 30/07/2007]