This document contains a glossary of terms related to sound design and production. It provides definitions for terms like Foley artistry, sound libraries, file formats like .wav and .aiff, audio limitations like RAM, and audio recording systems like analog, CDs, and MIDI. For each term, the student explained their relevance to their own production practice, noting experiences recording sounds and music, editing files, using virtual instruments, and more. The glossary contains over 20 terms and will help the student in their study of sound design.

1. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
1
Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of sound design and production. Using a provided template, you must
research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you
have obtained the definition.
You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.
Name: RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet
researched definition and URL link)
DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE
RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN
PRODUCTION PRACTICE?
SOUND DESIGN METHODOLOGY Foley Artistry “Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that
are added to film, video, and other mediums in post-
production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced
sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and
footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_artist
We have used Foley Artistry many times to
record sounds for certain tasks. This was
evidenced in IG1 Task 1 when we had to
evidence ambient and directional sound
recordings. Then Again for IG2 – Task 2
when I recorded various sound effects for a
variety of genres
Sound Libraries “A collection of sounds stored on file (for example on
CDs, DVDs, or as digital audio files)”
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sound-
library
We have created many sound libraries
from different posts on our blogs such as
IG2 – Task 2 which was to create a sound
library for different types of sound effects.
SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed restore to its uncompressed form; "decompress data"
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/uncompressed
We have come across uncompressed files
in reaper as when we create a sound is it is
in an compressed state but by rendering it
we uncompressed it to make it the
appropriate file.
.wav Wav form Audio File Format is a Microsoft and IBM audio file
format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
Most of our sounds are exported out as
wav. Files as this is the only file that we can
upload to sound cloud.
.aiff
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format
standard used for storing sound data for personal computers
and other electronic audio devices.
This is another file format however we
have not yet come across this. As we save
most of our files in wav.

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Interchange_File_Format
.au An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio
data on a computer system. This data can be stored
uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size. It can be
a raw bitstream, but it is usually a container format or an
audio data format with defined storage layer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format
This is another file format however we
have not yet come across this. As we save
most of our files in wav.
.smp Short for Symmetric Multiprocessing, a computer architecture
that provides fast performance by making multiple CPUs
available to complete individual processes simultaneously
(multiprocessing).
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SMP.html
This is a multiprocessor task that we have
not come across in lessons but could in the
future.
Lossy Compression "lossy" compression is a data encoding method that
compresses data by discarding some of it. The procedure aims
to minimize the amount of data that needs to be held,
handled, and/or transmitted by a computer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy_compression
Again we have not come across this in
lessons but could in the future.
.mp3 a means of compressing a sound sequence into a very small
file, to enable digital storage and transmission.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3
The most common use is to store music on
a devise such as an mp3 player or iPod.
AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) (Sound processing) Audio signal processing, sometimes
referred to as audio processing, is the intentional alteration of
auditory signals, or sound, often through an audio effect or
effects unit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_processing
This is used to play sounds from the
computer. Most pcs need these especially
when creating music or sounds
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) A digital sound processor is a tool that incorporates computer
technology to change the technical aspects of analog sound.
Processors can be found in a growing number of applications,
from music to medicine.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5879513_define-digital-sound-
processor.html
I don’t believe we have used this yet in
class but might do in the future to edit and
manipulate sounds.
Random Access Memory (RAM) a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly;
that is, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching
the preceding bytes. RAM is the most common type of
memory found in computers and other devices, such as
printers.
Ram is memory that can store things
temporarily and all computers need these
without them they would not work so
therefore we have used them.

3. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
3
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAM.html
Mono Audio A single track of audio
http://www.allynn.org/fcp/node/33
We use this when creating individual sound
fx such as explosions however when a
piece of music is made the mono track
makes it difficult to merge the two.
Stereo Audio Stereophonic sound or, more commonly, stereo, is a method
of sound reproduction that creates an illusion of directionality
and audible perspective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
This is used to edit the “pan” in reaper to
add effect to the sound. Making it more
realistic and making the sound seem
ambient.
Surround Sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching thesound
reproduction quality of an audio source with additional audio
channels from speakers that surround the listener, providing
sound from a 360° radius in the horizontal plane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surround_sound
Surround sound makes sfx give a sense or
the surroundings such as back ground
noise and what noise is closer.
Direct Audio (Pulse Code
Modulation – PCM)
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally
represent sampled analog signals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation
We have not used this process in lesson yet
so cannot yet comment on how I have
used it
AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS Analogue Analogue recording is a technique used for the recording of
analogue signals which among many possibilities include audio
frequency, analogue audio and analogue video information for
later playback.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_recording
We have recorded analogue when creating
scripts in a recording studio speaking
directly in to a mic
Digital Mini Disc The MiniDisc (MD) is an obsolete magneto-optical disc-based
data storage device for 74 minutes and, later, 80 minutes, of
digitized audio or 1 gigabyte of Hi-MD data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc
We have not used this in our lessons and I
have not come across this anywhere else.
Compact Disc (CD) Compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format.
The format was originally developed to store and play back
sound recordings only, but was later adapted for storage of
data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc
CDs are mainly used to store audio files
and can be played on a wide range of audio
devises with a disc tray. The most popular
use is music.
Digital Audio Tape (DAT) Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and
playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
Digital recording tapes were popular in the
late 1900 but lost popularity when
compact discs were introduced with many
new items not being tape compatible.
MIDI MIDI is a technical standard that describes a protocol, digital
interface and connectors and allows a wide variety of
electronic musical instruments, computers and other related
We use midi to create small tracks that we
can customize ourselves and create sfx or
small compasitions.

4. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
4
devices to connect and communicate with one another.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI
Software Sequencers A music sequencer (or simply sequencer) is a device or
application software that can record, edit, or play back music,
by handling note and performance information in several
forms, typically MIDI or CV/Gate, and possibly audio and
automation data for DAWs and plug-ins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer
This allows us to create sequenced music
through the midi file. Using a wide range of
virtual instruments from drums to an
organ.
Software Plug-ins A software plug-in is an add-on for a program that adds
functionality to it. For example, a Photoshop plug-in (such as
Eye Candy) may add extra filters that you can use to
manipulate images. A browser plug-in (such as Macromedia
Flash or Apple QuickTime) allows you to play certain
multimedia files within your Web browser. VST plug-ins add
effects for audio recording and sequencing programs such as
Cubase and Logic Audio.
http://www.techterms.com/definition/plugin
We use a wide range of software plugging’s
to manipulate various sounds such as sfx
like explosions to add more ambiance. As
well as create a wide range of music with
the VSTI plugin through the MIDI file. With
these many pluggings I can create sound
fxs that are very different from the original
sound.
MIDI Keyboard Instruments A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a
musical instrument like a piano keyboard. The MIDI portion
indicates that the instrument has a communication protocol
built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or
other MIDI-equipped instrument.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-midi-keyboard.htm
A MIDI keyboard is used to control the
sounds created in the MIDI files such as a
composition of keyboard notes to create a
fantasy music piece.
AUDIO SAMPLING File Size Constraints - Bit-depth In digital audio using pulse-code modulation (PCM), bit depth
is the number of bits of information in each sample, and it
directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth
We have not come across this process and
so hope to, later in the future.
File Size Constraints - Sample
Rate
In signal processing, sampling is the reduction ofa continuous
signal to a discrete signal. A common example is the
conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of samples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)
We have not come across this process and
so hope to, later in the future.