Category: RAPS

Link to gist

https://gist.github.com/TheaSang/a6cfa7aabc8f6e08c84760885b90168c

For this assignment, I explored more audios fitters and tried to find suitable filters for different audio resources. For extra layers of synthesized audio, I combine two Sequencers by Stereo Mixer. I used the first Sequencers to make a piece of rhythm and added LPF tried to make it granular. I added more filters on the second Sequencers and produced a piece of continuous music. The overall atmosphere is low, which can match the black and white video. Besides, I add some filters to make it “playable” and change its volume. Thus, it can not only be pointed out from the background music but also is not so abrupt.

This is an extra layer of synthesized audio.

 These are playable audio filters

For the video, I slightly changed the proportion of three videos and their darkness.

The overall patch:

This is the link to my gist.

Goal: Add extra layers of synthesized audio to the patch to form a base-layer of sound on top of which the sound from the videos plays. Add effects to the audios of the video so that they become “playable” as musical entities. Make the base layer and the audio from the videos coherent as a whole.

Process

I started this assignment by synthesizing the base layer first. Considering audio clips from videos are a bit different from music pieces (melody versus human tones), I synthesized a base layer that is more ambient/white noise ish than melodic. I composed a “wavy” layer with few variations in keys in the SEQUENCER and adjusted its frequency with OSCILLATOR to lower the pitch. To enrich the base layer, I added another layer with the same sequencer but with different effects: I used DFLFO and CLOUD to make the audio noisier and busier. The frequency in OSCILLATOR and CLOUD were adjusted accordingly so that the base layer sounds more coherent. For me, I can tell the two layers come from the same original audio sequence and they change correspondingly.

Then, I added separate effects to the three audio clips from the video. I used SPECTRAL FILTER for the first selected audio from the video to give it a spooky feeling, then used COMPRESSOR to turn up its volume a little more. I enriched the second selected audio clip from the video with FEEDBACK DELAY and also volumed it up more with COMPRESSOR. I added LADDER, FREQUENCY SHIFTER, and LFO to the third selected audio clip from the video.

Then I did some final change in each effect to make them fit in one another better.

The screenshot below indicates how the entire patch looks like.

Reflection

I wanted to also make the selected audio clips from the video in sequence (quite like how beats from a sound piece work), but I did not figure out how to do so😢. However, I did feel more comfortable playing around with sound in Max.

MY GIST

For my granular synthesis audio homework, I wanted to build upon the in-class exercise by creating a very club-style beat that goes with the energy of the working out videos. I didn’t use the original croppr settings given in class, I changed the mode to max, and mixed them in a slightly different layout. I used the zamplr effect on my videos to affect the gain as well as the husalir to add some color. I controlled the H offset of the husalir with a twiddlr. This added a little bit of dimension to the visuals and it is my own personal touch. 

For the different video audios, it was definitely hard to find audio effects that preserved some of the audio’s nature will still producing a semi-aesthetic sound. However, I worked with effects such as chorus, gigaverb, and retuner which all allowed me to take the preexisting audios and turn them into something quite fun to work with.

In order to layer upon a new sound, I took a pre-existing sound in max called “prim.loop”. This club-style beat added a bit of fun and added to the aesthetic of the working-out videos. I sent this audio through the flanger effect before sending it to the stereo output, which added a trippy effect to the produced audio.

Overall, for most of this assignment, I was working off of little inspiration as to where to guide my patch. So all I had to work with was my will to experiment with different effects and max objects. This project allowed me to not only work with new video effects but also allowed me to even explore the realm of audio quite a bit more.

Not only have I learned how to work more with mixing videos, but also combining separate video and musical effects and bringing them together into a cohesive project. I am also becoming more comfortable with building giant max patches and I feel like this program is feeling so pleasant to work with.

Link to Gist: https://gist.github.com/cy1323/c456d1a8f632b6306e42be72a519d756

Process: 

As the assignment asked me to play around solely with the audio, I did not make any changes to the visual composition of the example granular synthesis provided in class. Instead, I went straight to work on its audio components.

First of all, I created a base-layer for my synthesized audiovisual components to lay upon. I downloaded 2 distinct files from freesound.org and uploaded them into the patch through the usage of Cell MIDIs. I attached these base layers to a larger drum sequencer, and with past knowledge, I used the sequencer to implement the audio files into the composition at separate paces. Once I was satisfied with how the base sounded, I combined the two through a stereo mixer followed by an audio mixer. 

Audio 1: https://freesound.org/people/josefpres/sounds/493117/

Audio 2: https://freesound.org/people/TA-AT/sounds/492439/

After the base layer, I focused more on creating the effects for my videos. I reviewed the beap selections and finalized my decisions down to the flanger, gigaverb, chorus, and smooth delay. I attached each of these to the separate audio channels of the granular synthesis videos and played around with the settings until I was satisfied. There were aspects of the controls that I wished to manipulate with generative components in Vizzie, but was stumped in the process of trying to isolate certain features. 

Continuing on, I mixed all of these beap effects into a larger stereo mixer before sending them into the audio mixer I had created beforehand with the base layer. From this audio mixer, I combined the likes of the audio effects and the base layer together before sending the output out through a final stereo. 

In the end, I was able to achieve an interesting audio compilation significant in its relation to the video compositions present. I still do wish I could have achieved my intention of isolating certain audio effects, but nonetheless, I am still happy with the outcome of this mini-project.