WEEK 11

IN-CLASS SUMMARY

A lot of this session was revision of what we had previously gone through during this trimester with an emphasis on reflection, phase issues and constructive and deconstructive interference. The session was also focused on us developing our third and final project. Sam started by recapping what we learnt in the previous session regarding resonance, standing waves and room nodes. These were terms I was familiar with as I had been populating my notes for week 11 with this information.

Although the word "reflections" has been thrown around the classroom almost every week since we started, this was the first time we started learning about problematic reflections and how to treat them. Sam explained why sound engineers as well as live sound technicians need to know the importance of knowing about how sound reacts in a room and how reflections can cause constructive and deconstructive interference in any room and any setting. Graphic equalizer's were briefly touched upon as an example of how you can scoop out unwanted sound during a live setting. There was a brief mention about feedback and feedback cycles but I think it may have gone over my head.

A main topic of the session was to do with sound isolation and basic acoustic treatment which linked back to Project 3. Using acoustic panels you can absorb a lot of the soundwaves that hit them. They can be placed pretty much anywhere, in the corner of a room, both sides of your sweet spot, on the roof, pretty much anywhere there is space for a reflection to hit. Sam said that having parallel walls is a problem in a studio due to the standing waves they can create and how the best studios in the world don't have parallels walls. However with parallel walls there is a certain amount degrees you can work with .

He also explained decoupling and vibration and how building a room within a room can help sound from leaving the space but also stop sound from leaking into the space. When Sam came to the mirror trick method for acoustically treating your room, there was a bit of discussion and debate as to what it actually is and how it works. Eventually, Kieran and myself explained that with two people (one holding the mirror and the other sitting in their sweet spot) you would essentially be able to see a point of reflection on the walls around the room if the mirror reflected the speakers.

We used the remainder of the session to work on our projects.

POST-CLASS REFLECTION

Every week I am learning something new, and if it is not something new it is building upon what I have already learnt. This week I learnt about amber-sonic, atmos, binaural, and 5.1 audio. These were technologies I had absolutely no idea about until Sam told us. Sam elaborated on the idea that at the very least amber-sonic and atmos audio are currently if not soon to be an in demand technology for artists and having studio engineers that have experience with this type of technology is going to be invaluable.

Unfortunately I did arrive late for this session this week due to public transport issues which kind of threw me off at the beginning of the session. About half an hour in I started getting my bearings to what was being taught and started to be involved in the session more. During this session I actually mostly bounced ideas off my fellow colleagues and Sam concerning my upcoming project. Kieran and Bryce both made comments saying that I should possibly keep my bed on the bed base and build more panels around the room, especially either side of my sweet spot.

After class Kieran and I approached Sam about the project, more specifically the acoustic panels. Kieran and I both had decided we wanted to make similar acoustic panels using earth wool insulation and wood as the frame. Sam at first was apprehensive against the idea until he found out we were dealing with earth wool insulation. He suggested that we make the frames just a couple of millimeters short of the thickness of the insulation so that when the fabric wrapped around the frame and insulation it would be tight n snug so it couldn't move. He also suggested that after the backing fabric is stapled on we put the backing frame pieces diagonally in each corner rather than across the back so the insulation wouldn't move. Personally I think I may keep the frames the same thickness as the insulation just to avoid any possible mishaps this late in the planning and building stage however, I may do the backing proposal that Sam suggested as that would decrease the amount of wood used which in turn would hep with my budget.

During today's session I was relived to hear that the project was due at the end of week 13 which gives me a fair amount of time to make and finalize the project, with good time management skills that is. I'm at the very end of my planning stage at the moment and starting this coming weekend I will be putting together most of the project. Whatever is left over to do I can finish during this week and possibly next weekend as I would like to use the last weekend/week to write up and compare my findings of the project. If this goes to plan I should have a very good quality project as well as a well treated room to match.