Unit 25: Sound Recording

Learning Aim B & C

Learning Aim B
Doppler Effect
The doppler effect is the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to observer who is moving relative to the wave
source. An example of doppler shift is the change of pitch heard from a person when a vehicle sounding a horn approaches and
leaves. As the car advances towards the person, it produces a high frequency sound which then lowers as the car drives past.
While they are travelling the distance between successive wave fronts reduced, so the waves group together. Furthermore, the
same source is moving away from the person, each wave is emitted from a position farther away from the person than the
previous wave therefore the arrival time between the waves is increased, reducing the frequency. This causes the waves the
spread out.
Transmission of Sound
Sound waves require to travel through a medium such as a solid, liquid and/or gas. The same waves move through these
mediums by vibrating the molecules in the matter. In solids, the molecules are tightly packed together which makes it easier to
vibrate the molecules, liquids are not as packed in tightly and gases are scattered apart. Sound travels four times faster in water
than air, this is the reason why whales are able to communicate to each other over huge distances of water. Sound waves travel
thirteen times faster in the wood than air. Sound waves move faster on hotter days as the molecules bump into each other more
often than in cold days. In the case of glass the solid material is glass, because glass is a amorphous solid, vibrations are able to
be absorbed and internally reflected by glass. In the case of windows, where double panel windows are used a small amount of
sound actually gets through.
Reflection & Refraction
Sound reflection is how sound travels and bounces off objects to reach you. Depending on the object the sound is travelling
from will produce a different effect. For instance if a sound hits a hard solid surface it is reflected back and causes an echo of
the original sound but travelling back towards the source whereas if fabric or an upholstered chair or sofa it is absorbed and
does not muddy the clarity of the original sound. Recording studio walls are acoustically insulated so that sound is not
reflected but absorbed.

When a sound wave hits a surface part of the energy gets scattered while some is absorbed this is known as absorption, this
is where the wave the energy of the sound gets transformed into another form, high frequency sound waves are absorbed
more easily than low frequency sounds.

Refraction of waves involves the change in the direction of waves as they pass through one medium to another. Refraction is
accompanied by the change in speed and wavelength of the waves, so if it's properties are changed the speed of the wave is
also changed meaning waves that pass through one medium to another are refracted. Sound waves are known to refract
when traveling over water this is because the sound is traveling through a medium with varying properties.
Exterior & Interior
In this audio you can hear an interview between two people outside you can identify male and female due to the frequency of
the voice, generally males have lower pitched voices and can be much louder and females have higher pitched voices but is less
loud. Females are also known for reaching higher pitches in comparison to males. In a furnished room with both a male and
female, the male would be heard more louder when both are put on the task to shout due to the fact that in a furnished room,
the area is compacted thus a man’s shout would create more sound to travel through the solid walls and further.

In the recording you can hear wind in the background and would have ruined the entire recording if we didn't decide to use a
jumper in order to get rid of the strong sound of wind. In the other audio that I have used you can hear a male being interviewed
in a studio, the audio is recorded inside sometimes when recording inside you can experience echo in your recordings as the
sound bounces off of objects. In this recording your cannot hear much echo but there is a slight hissing but gives a overall clear
sound. A hiss is a kind of white noise, a background noise that is always present in recordings but cannot always be heard this
hiss is usually described as a shh or s sound and has components around the whole frequency spectrum even though it is more
prominent in high frequencies.
Classroom
We recorded a conversation in the
classroom with the windows open,
letting the room have less of an echo
as the sound can escape through the
open gaps outside. After a few
seconds, I closed the window while
keeping the tascam going. We can
hear the difference between opened
window and closed window whilst the
3 people conversed. When the
window is shut, the sound is reflected
back towards the room and solid
surfaces which creates an echo.
Stairway
We recorded in the stairway which is
an wide open space, this caused a
louder echo compared to the
classroom. In the stairway the
frequency of the audio is changed
because of of the vibration. The echo
would be less if there are other
objects in the stairway or the walls
and other furniture are soft.
Bathroom
When recording in the bathroom, we
decided it didn’t sound like what a
bathroom would sound like, therefore
the tascam was moved to one of the
cubicles. The results showed that
inside the cubicles, it created a bigger
echo due to the fact that the sound of
my friend’s voice is trapped and
causing it to bounce around the
cubicle.
Outside
We recorded during lunch as the
students walked out. The wind was
too powerful to produce an audible
recording. To prevent this, we tried by
placing the tascam underneath a
jacket and in result, the sound was
still not as good as expected.

The tascam shows a second recording

which was recorded inside the
canteen beside the door with the
door open to make it sound like an
outdoor recording.
Learning Aim C
Equipment
- Tascam (All interviews)
- DSLR Camera (All interviews)
- Tripod (Interview #2: Deptford Drillers)
- Key light (Interview #2: Deptford Drillers)
- Rode Mic (Interview #1: Young Sonic)
- Shoulder Rig (Voxpops)
Questions
Interview:

- How do you feel about the drill music promoting stabbing?

- Do you feel like drill influences drug use?
- Can drill influence the youth more positively?
- What area are you from?
- What’s your opinions on drill?
- Do you have any singer/rappers that inspire you?

Vox Pops:

- What’s your opinion on drill?

- Do you think drill influences the youth into being violent?
Risk Assessment
Contribution Form
Final Production

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/y32FFC8xeTk