`Sound2Picture’ from an article written for Zone Magazine

`Alchemy Audio Lab’

His conclusion – an exciting resource, aimed at secondary students but which could be used creatively at any phase.

Platform                        MAC and PC

Cost                             £40

E-learning credits Yes

Phase:                        Aimed at secondary – but could prove useful at primary

Sound2 Picture introduces teachers and students to the process of sound design in conjunction with film clips. The programme guides you through various processes involved in sound design and is supported with comprehensive notes on the role of sound design in film and in relation to other arts forms. The programme aims to support schools incorporating sound design into their music curriculum.

Carefully selected movie and sound files make this an excellent resource for secondary schools, and well worth considering for primary schools, especially when one considers the programme costs only £40 (whatever the number of computers it will be used on) and can be purchased with e-learning credits.

Navigating the programme can be a little overwhelming at first, and teachers who are anxious about their technical skills could feel overwhelmed by the array of document folders, pdf files  and navigation options.

But don’t be put off. Basically, the programme contains six excellent video clips of between 40 seconds and two minutes in duration. These clips are presented both with and without accompanying sound, and can be found in the movie folder.

Anyone not wishing to read the additional pdf documentation, which is copious, might want to get started right away, either analysing the way the composer - Andrew Diey (lead sound designer at Alchemy Audio Lab) has interpreted the film in sound, or designing their own acoustic and/or electronic sounds to the silent video clips.

To do either is simply a case of opening up a movie from the movie folder and selecting - with or without sound.

However, sooner or later teachers should familiarise themselves with the support materials.

As I mentioned before, these are copious and in pdf format. I would suggest printing off the files at the earliest opportunity, as reading pdf files at the computer can be tiresome, and there’s a lot of reading to get through.

However - they provide a fascinating insight into the technical processes of sound design, its history and links with other art forms and the way in which these art forms connect, as well as of course, its place in music education, especially as music technology becomes more and more accessible.

Additionally there are notes on how the movies might be utilised; starting points for students, notes by the composer; notes by a teacher who has trialled the materials in a special (High) school and suggestions for designing a technical suite.

Another very useful section is the advise on programmes to support sound design, and  the price bands starting with free programmes from the internet to ideas for schools with healthy budgets.

An excellent resource is the composer Andrew Diey’s sound samples (wave) files, used in the movie accompaniments, which could be combined in new ways, incorporated alongside student’s sound samples or processed in new ways. This allows for sound design using the files within any phase of education. I envisage the sounds being analysed and used as a stimulus in secondary, whereas in primary they might provide a simple initial foray into sound design by remixing in programmes such as ‘Audacity’ (see accompanying review in this edition), or even the PCs own Sound Recorder.

Another approach of course, whatever the age and ability of the students could be to create live acoustic sounds and rehearse performing to the projected movie (using a multi-media projector or interactive whiteboard). Although I haven’t tried it yet – I intend to use the ‘Butterfly’ movie in local nursery settings, where combining images, movement and sound come so naturally.

Getting Started

Home Page

To begin with it is worth opening the `S2P’ folder and navigating by hovering over and then clicking selected links.

Alternatively, teachers may wish to go straight to the movie and Sound folders:

The Movies

There are six movies each of which have sound accompaniments or no sound.

Each movie offers stimulating ideas for sound editing, whilst avoiding an‘over-clichéd’ approach.

The teacher or student will need to decide whether to watch the movie with the sound, before analysing the processes involved and producing their own backing sounds, or to get started straight away without being influenced by the composer’s ideas (perhaps listening to these after the student composition process).

As well as listening to the accompaniments, the CD contains background notes by the composer detailing the processes and decisions he made when selecting, mixing and editing the chosen sounds.

Clicking on the movies will open them up, and then they can be paused at any point.

Programmes such as i-movie for MAC, or Movie Maker for Windows XP can be used to mix sounds and movies.

However for PCs it is possible – once the music has been saved to open up both the movie and the sound in Powerpoint by using the ‘Insert’ - `Movies and Sounds’ option.

The Sounds

As well as having the option of listening to the sound tracks, the individual sound files used by Andrew Diey are available in separate sound folders. All these are saved as wave files.

This means that any of the files could be mixed to create new compositions, without actually going through the process of collecting and editing one’s own sounds. Pupils with little experience of mixing might try this, maybe as a first step, especially if they are new to multi-tracking and mixing.

However – what might be better if such an approach was tried would be to encourage students to try altering the sounds further using the `Effects’ features in other programmes.

Using any of the suggested audio programmes, students are encouraged to find their own sounds – including collecting sounds from the environment, then go on to edit and mix in conjunction with the movie clips.

Another option is to create live music and sounds (acoustic as well as electronic) to perform alongside the movies, and here I feel there is potential for even very young children and their teachers to utilise the programme.

Conclusion

Sound2Picture is an excellent resource for any music classroom. It encourages the use of music technology and an understanding of sound processing.The programme is aimed at secondary but has enormous potential in the primary school and possibly even early years’ settings such as nurseries.

At only £40 total payment with on-line support and the opportunity to use e-learning credits, the programme is excellent value for money.

For secondary teachers it will save hours of searching videos, DVDs and /or the internet for appropriate movie material, whilst also avoiding copyright issues.

The only stumbling block for some teachers might be their initial experiences of navigating the programme.

Don’t be put off.

Sound2Picture is a superb resource.