The document is a glossary assignment for a BTEC Extended Diploma in Games Design course. It contains definitions for various terms related to sound design and production. The student was asked to research definitions and provide details on how each term relates to their own production practice. The glossary covers terms such as foley artistry, sound libraries, audio file formats, limitations of audio hardware, recording and sampling techniques, and software used.

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 media 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_(filmmaking))
My most common production method is the
recording of the sounds inside/outside
(depending on the sfx I’m trying to record)
For one of my projects I actually did record
a cloth swishing in the wind for a flag pole.
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)
All of my recordings were stored in a library
or folder of sorts.
E.g: N:CollegeYear 2Iain -
SoundIG2sounds
SOUND FILE FORMATS Uncompressed Uncompressed audio is audio without any compression
applied to it. This includes audio recorded in PCM or WAV
form.http://www.voxforge.org/home/docs/faq/faq/what-is-
the-difference-between-lossy-lossless-and-uncompressed-
audio-formats
.wav Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE) is a Microsoft and IBM
audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on
PCs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
.aiff Stands for "Audio Interchange File Format." AIFF is a file
format designed to store audio data. It was developed by
Apple Computer, but is based on Electronic Arts' IFF
(Interchange File Format), a container format originally used
on Amiga systems.http://www.techterms.com/definition/aiff

2. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
2
.au The Au file format is a simple audio file format introduced by
Sun Microsystems. The format was common on NeXT
systems and on early Web pages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au_file_format
.smp ".smp" file may be one of several different types of audio file.
For example, it could be a SampleVision audio sample file.
This 16-bit audio file was originally used by Turtle Beach
SampleVision; you can open it with Adobe Auction, Sound
Forge Pro or Awave Studio. It could also be a sample file for
AdLib Gold, a PC sound card released in 1992; Scream
Tracker, a mid-1990s music editing program; or Swell.
Reason, a music recording and production program, uses the
".smp" extension for sampler instrument patches.
http://www.ehow.com/info_12198596_file-smp.html
Lossy Compression Lossy audio compression attempts to apply to discard as
much 'irrelevant' data as possible from the original audio,
thereby producing a file much smaller than the original that
sounds almost identical.
http://www.voxforge.org/home/docs/faq/faq/what-is-the-
difference-between-lossy-lossless-and-uncompressed-audio-
formats
.mp3 MP3, is an encoding format for digital audio which uses a
form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format
for consumer audio streaming or storage, as well as a de
facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer
and playback of music on most digital audio players.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3
Some files were rendered or left in .mp3
format for future use in larger projects or if
I was simply importing them into another
piece of software.
AUDIO LIMITATIONS Sound Processor Unit (SPU) A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal
computer expansion card that facilitates the input and
output of audio signals to and from a computer under
control of computer programs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_card
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) A digital sound processor is a computerized microprocessor
that transfers sound from an analog source into a digital
sound signal.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5879513_define-digital-sound-

3. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
3
processor.html
Random Access Memory (RAM) RAM is 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.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RAM.html
Mono Audio Mono or monophonic describes a system where all the audio
signals are mixed together and routed through a single audio
channel.
http://www.mcsquared.com/mono-stereo.htm
Stereo Audio Stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that creates an
illusion of directionality and audible perspective. This is
usually achieved by using two or more independent audio
channels through a configuration of two or more
loudspeakers (or stereo headphones)in such a way as to
create the impression of sound heard from various
directions, as in natural hearing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound
Surround Sound Surround sound systems use three or more channels and
speakers in front and behind the listener to create a
surrounding envelope of sound and directional audio
sources. The term surround sound has become popular in
recent years and more commonly used since the advent of
home theater systems. Surround sound can be either an
analog or digital system.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/surround_sound.html
Direct Audio (Pulse Code
Modulation – PCM)
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally
represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of
digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony
and other digital audio applications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation
AUDIO RECORDING SYSTEMS Analogue Refers to recording audio in a format of continuous
vibrations that are analogous to the original sound waves.
Before audio recording became digital, sounds were "carved"
into vinyl records or written to tape as magnetic waveforms.
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/60827/analog-
audio

4. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
4
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. The Sony brand
audio players were on the market from September 1992 until
March 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc
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 (CD-DA), but was later
adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM). Several other formats
were further derived from these, including write-once audio
and data storage (CD-R), rewritable media (CD-RW), Video
Compact Disc (VCD), Super Video Compact Disc (SVCD),
Photo CD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced Music CD. Audio
CDs and audio CD players have been commercially available
since October 1982.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc
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.[1] In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette,
using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but
is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As the
name suggests, the recording is digital rather than analog.
DAT has the ability to record at higher, equal or lower
sampling rates than a CD (48, 44.1 or 32 kHz sampling rate
respectively) at 16 bits quantization. If a digital source is
copied then the DAT will produce an exact clone, unlike
other digital media such as Digital Compact Cassette or non-
Hi-MD MiniDisc, both of which use a lossy data reduction
system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
MIDI MIDI, (short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface) 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 devices to
connect and communicate with one another. A single MIDI
link can carry up to sixteen channels of information, each of
which can be routed to a separate device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI
Software Sequencers music sequencer (or simply sequencer) is a device or For all my editing I used a program called

5. Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
5
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
Reaper, it managed all of the plugins and
Software Plug-ins Plug ins are software components that adds a specific
feature to an existing software application. When an
application supports plug-ins, it enables customization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_(computing)
Plug in’s come in a lot of different types, the
different kinds I used affected the types of
audio our sounds would produce by altering
the pitch or volume for example.
MIDI Keyboard Instruments A MIDI keyboard is typically a piano-style user interface
keyboard device used for sending MIDI signals or commands
over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices connected and
operating on the same MIDI protocol interface. This could
also be a personal computer running software such as a
reaper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_keyboard
I used a Midi keyboard for a few of the
audio tracks I used for tasks in an early
assignment and in task 2 for this one.
They can be quite useful.
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.
Examples of bit depth include Compact Disc Digital Audio,
which uses 16 bits per sample, and DVD-Audio and Blu-ray
Disc which can support up to 24 bits per sample.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth
File Size Constraints - Sample
Rate
Typically expressed in samples per second, or hertz (Hz), the
rate at which samples of an analog signal are taken in order
to be converted into digital form
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/sampling_rate.html