4.6 Key Chapter Terms

Chapter 4 Terms

AAC:

A lossy data compression scheme intended for audio streams.

Ambient sound:

Background sounds that are present in a scene or location (Filmmakers Academy, 2021, para. 1).

Amplification:

Increasing or decreasing volume.

Audacity:

A popular free audio editor.

Co-host podcast:

A form of podcasting in which there are two hosts carrying a conversation.

Crossfade:

A type of fade that involves something fading in while something else fades out.

Digital audio:

A type of audio signal that has been encoded into a digital format, which can then be processed by computers (Producertech, 2023, para. 2).

Digital Audio Tape (DAT):

Magnetic tapes that store audio digitally (Preservation Self Assessment Program, n.d.a)

FLAC audio:

A popular lossless audio format with compression designed specifically for audio data streams.

Frequency response:

A visual representation of how well an audio component reproduces the audible range of sound (Thomas, 2024, para. 2).

Grooved recordings:

Sound waves that are recorded as grooves on discs (Wallace, 2023).

Legacy audio:

Audio formats that are now obsolete.

Lossless compression:

Compression type where nothing is lost during the compression and the original data is restored upon decompressing.

Lossy compression:

Compression type where some data is lost during compression and upon decompressing the data is not identical to the original.

M4A:

An audio-only version of the MP4 format, often used for high-quality audio.

Magnetic media:

A medium that utilizes magnetic patterns to represent information (Computer Hope, 2024, para. 1).

Monologue podcast:

A type of podcast in which there is one host speaking to the audience.

MP3:

A popular compressed audio format that balances quality and file size.

Natural sound:

Like ambient sound but focuses more on the sounds of nature such as wildlife, wind or water (National Park Service, n.d.).

Open reel tape:

A type of magnetic media that uses magnetic tape and is not enclosed in a plastic cassette (Preservation Self Assessment Program, n.d.a).

Phonograph records:

Audio format consisting of sound waves inscribed on grooved discs (Preservation Self Assessment Program, n.d.b).

Podcast:

A series of episodes made of audio voice recordings that someone can listen to either by streaming or downloading the episode.

Sound effects:

A sound other than speech or music that is added into an audio recording (“Sound Effect”, n.d., para. 1).

Storytelling podcast:

A form of podcasting in which the host is telling either a nonfictional or fictional story to the listener.

Voice recording:

The audio recording of a person or persons speaking.

Voice-overs:

An off-camera voice that narrates a scene or adds context (Tejeda, 2023, para. 2).

WAV:

An uncompressed format that offers high-quality audio but results in larger file sizes.

WMA:

An audio format developed by Microsoft to deploy in Windows environments.

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, Terms and definitions are adapted from the pages and original sources cited within chapter 4, CC BY-NC 4.0.

References for terms from outside sources

Computer Hope. (2024, September 19). Magnetic media. https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/magnmedi.htm

Filmmakers Academy. (2021, July 16). Ambient sound. https://www.filmmakersacademy.com/glossary/ambient-sound/

Producertech. (2023, January 3). What is digital audio? https://www.producertech.com/blog/what-is-digital-audio

Sound Effect. (n.d). In Cambridge.org dictionary. Retrieved November 14, 2024. From https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sound-effect

Preservation Self Assessment Program. (n.d.a). Audiotape. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/audiotape#audioquarterinOR

Preservation Self Assessment Program. (n.d.b). Phonograph Record. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/phonodisc

National Park Service. (n.d). Understanding Sound. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sound/understandingsound.htm

Tejeda, V. (2023, September 10). What is a voiceover? A complete guide for beginners. https://www.descript.com/blog/article/what-is-voiceover

Thomas, C. (2024, July 31). What is frequency response and how does it affect my music? Soundguys. https://www.soundguys.com/frequency-response-explained-16507/

Wallce, J. (2023). Grooves. Tangible Media. https://tangiblemediacollection.com/grooves