Design culture is tentatively embracing the acoustic conditions and auditory awareness of spaces and objects, thus creating new opportunities for spatial sound practitioners. This thesis examines the making of seven spatial sound design projects in diverse milieux and an eighth project - the establishment of an electroacoustic studio within a school of architecture and design. The projects and the studio are considered models for the ways in which electroacoustic practices might advance the auditory spatial awareness of students and researchers in the academy, and the general community through an interlocking program of teaching, research and events. The creation of the projects and establishment of the studios also articulate a transformation in my own practice from composer to design researcher. Five of the projects are intended to engender in listeners a greater awareness of the acoustic environment and the auditory spatial qualities of those environments, whi ch listeners daily inhabit. Supporting these project studies is a discussion on issues and conditions of making and materials to elucidate my approach to creating spatial sound designs in diverse milieux. Two of the projects investigated the auditory spatial awareness of different communities in Melbourne, with the view of establishing ideas about the auditory culture and the actual environments of that experience. The final project is a facility to house a community of practitioners who aspire to privilege the auditory design and experience of space, through a series of research, teaching and performance activities. While evaluating just how my practice transformed over the course of the projects, I also propose that the combination of the Studio's main elements is critical to the advancement of sound-based research and design as a design discipline. Note to audio and visual materials - This thesis was accompanied by a custom-built multi-channel sound playback environment using Max/MSP and Flash. For further details on this player and Quicktime files, contact lawrence.harvey@rmit.edu.au.

Two works, Static and The Fictional Life of Historical Oddities represent the dichotomy and symbiosis of two different models of playwriting I have pursued while at the University of Texas. This thesis reflects back on the processes that lead to these plays through periods of generation, revision and refinement. I've sought to find not only distinctions but areas of overlap. / text

Este trabalho estuda a utilização da ferramenta gráfica de análise espectromorfológica desenvolvida por Lasse Thoresen como auxiliar na análise da composição do sound design cinematográfico, com o desenvolvimento de partituras de escuta. Avaliamos uma forma de notação dos eventos sonoros presentes na trilha sonora cinematográfica com a adaptação desta ferramenta de notação, partindo da identificação dos critérios apontados por técnicas de análise audiovisual, aliadas posteriormente às metodologias de análise do objeto sonoro comumente utilizadas na música eletroacústica. Como estudo de caso, realizamos as transcrições espectromorfológicas de cinco sequências do filme A Conversação (1974), dirigido por Francis Ford Coppola, e desenho de som de Walter Murch, destacando pontos formadores do contrato audiovisual. / This paper studies the use of the spectromorphological analysis graphical tool developed by Lasse Thoresen as an aid in analyzing the composition of the cinematic sound design with the development of listening scores. We evaluate a notation form of sound events present in the film soundtrack by adapting the notation tool, starting from the identification of the criteria set out by techniques of audiovisual analysis combined with the analysis methodology of the sound object commonly used in electroacoustic music. As a case study, we made the spectromorphological transcription for five sequences of the film The Conversation (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and sound designed by Walter Murch, highlighting the audiovisual contract building points

Este trabalho estuda a utilização da ferramenta gráfica de análise espectromorfológica desenvolvida por Lasse Thoresen como auxiliar na análise da composição do sound design cinematográfico, com o desenvolvimento de partituras de escuta. Avaliamos uma forma de notação dos eventos sonoros presentes na trilha sonora cinematográfica com a adaptação desta ferramenta de notação, partindo da identificação dos critérios apontados por técnicas de análise audiovisual, aliadas posteriormente às metodologias de análise do objeto sonoro comumente utilizadas na música eletroacústica. Como estudo de caso, realizamos as transcrições espectromorfológicas de cinco sequências do filme A Conversação (1974), dirigido por Francis Ford Coppola, e desenho de som de Walter Murch, destacando pontos formadores do contrato audiovisual. / This paper studies the use of the spectromorphological analysis graphical tool developed by Lasse Thoresen as an aid in analyzing the composition of the cinematic sound design with the development of listening scores. We evaluate a notation form of sound events present in the film soundtrack by adapting the notation tool, starting from the identification of the criteria set out by techniques of audiovisual analysis combined with the analysis methodology of the sound object commonly used in electroacoustic music. As a case study, we made the spectromorphological transcription for five sequences of the film The Conversation (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and sound designed by Walter Murch, highlighting the audiovisual contract building points

“How to engineer a mood - A study of sound in audiovisual contexts” is a study on the perception of sound in audiovisual contexts, i.e. sound and the image combined. There seems to be a consensus among researchers in the field on the fact that music influences the interpretation on film. However, there does not seem to be a specific consensus in regards to other sounds than music, such as the human voice or sound effects. Guided by a set of theories, an audiovisual text will be analyzed, in part through results of a quasi-experimental pilot survey and partly by the author herself. This paper would like to contribute in making the relationship of different sounds in conjunction with the image become slightly clearer. The outcome will help to show how a mood can be created with sounds. Although there is a limited number of theoretical models that have been developed in this field of research, the theories that are introduced will hopefully help to create a better understanding of sound in audiovisual texts.  Finally the theories and results will come together in this thesis; this will lead to an analysis and produce ideas for further research on how sound in audiovisual contexts influence our emotions. As mentioned before there has not been much research in this field, hopefully this thesis will be able to provide some clues and could serve as a first step for further research to find more definite answers on how emotions work in a audiovisual context. However, many questions will remain unanswered, and further research is needed to answer them.

This paper intends to study carnivalesque elements in the music and sound design of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise. This will be done by examining the ontology of the Batman mythos through the lens of carnivalesque social theory related to the European-American carnival as articulated by Bakhtin and Rabelais.Two expressions of the carnivalesque, the traditional and the Gothic, can be seen and heard in the Arkham video games. These two carnivalesques are essential to understanding both the games themselves and the Batman mythos as a whole. The music and sound design related to selected in-game locales and characters of the Arkham franchise will be studied and linked to the carnivalesque ontology of Batman as an American icon. This study will support the hypothesis that the European-American carnivalesque still plays a literal and figurative role in twenty-first century American society through such icons as Batman.

Art experience, as an important contributor to intellectual experiences, has been studied by many researchers and philosophers to unearth and enhance certain qualities of it [9,16,21,22]. One of the ways of interpreting profound forms of art experience has been relating it with “flow,” a term that indicates a holistic sensation with the act of total involvement, concentration, intrinsic enjoyment and action-awareness [7]. Previous studies argue that looking at art experience as a form of flow, reveals its structural characteristics and dynamics more clearly, and thereby discuss art experience as a flow-conductive activity [8]. Along with that, the flow phenomenon has been studied in the context of musical activities and argued to have strong links with the musical domain [3,5]. Little is known at the moment about how musical sound can facilitate flow in the context of an art experience. This study presents a research through sound design process, with the purpose of facilitating an enhanced art experience i.e., facilitating flow in the artistic encounter. The study presents two primary contributions: (1) a presentation of the design process, consisting of an explorative prestudy at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, a followup sound experiment in an artistic encounter and (2) findings from the evaluation at Uppsala Konstmuseum, focused on identifying the impact that the designed sound artefact has had on individuals’ experiences. The author argues that the sound artefact may create an immersive environment, help initiate the mindset for introspection through the interactive characteristics and elevate conditions for flow to an observable extent. Lastly, critical reflections on the design process are also included in the final chapter to benefit research through sound design community. / Konstupplevelsen, som en viktig bidragande faktor till den intellektuella upplevelsen, har studerats av många forskare och filosofer i syfte att demaskera och förstärka dess särskilda karaktärsdrag [9,16,21,22]. Ett sätt på vilket sofistikerade former av konstupplevelser har tolkats har varit genom “flow”; ett begrepp som betecknar en holistisk förnimmelse genom totalt engagemang, koncentration, inneboende njutning och handlings-medvetenhet [7]. Tidigare forskning hävdar att genom att se konstupplevelser som ett “flow” avslöjas dess strukturella karaktärsdrag och dynamik på ett tydligare sätt. Konstupplevelsen undersöks på detta sätt som en aktivitet upplevd genom “flow” [8]. Vidare har begreppet “flow” studerats i relation till musikalisk aktivitet och har ansetts ha starka kopplingar till musikens område [3,5]. Kunskapen är i nuläget begränsad kring hur musikaliskt ljud kan främja “flow” i relation till en konstupplevelse. Denna studie baseras på metoden forskning genom design och har som syfte att främja en förhöjd konstupplevelse, med andra ord att underlätta “flow” i det konstnärliga mötet. Studiens två huvudsakliga bidrag består i: (1) en presentation av designprocessen genom en explorativ förstudie på Moderna Museet i Stockholm, ett uppföljande ljudexperiment i ett konstnärligt sammanhang och (2) resultaten av en utvärdering gjord på Uppsala Konstmuseum med fokus på identifieringen av vilken effekt den designade ljudartefakten har på den individuella upplevelsen. Författaren hävdar att ljudartefakten kan bidra till att skapa en omslutande miljö, bidra till att initiera ett introspektivt tankesätt genom de interaktiva karaktärsdragen samt öka förutsättningarna för “flow” i märkbar omfattning. Slutligen har kritiska reflektioner över designprocessen inkluderats i det sista kapitlet i syfte att bidra till forskningen inom ljuddesign.

This submission explores the development of collaborative computer music creation and the role of the Musical Assistant, or Computer Music Designer, or Live Electronics Designer, or RIM (Réalisateur en informatique musicale) and does so primarily through the consideration of a series of collaborations with composers over the last 18 years. The submission documents and evaluates a number of projects which exemplify my practice within collaborative computer music creation, whether in the form of live electronics, tape-based or fixed media work, as a live electronics performer, or working with composers and others to create original tools and music for artistic creations. A selection of works is presented to exemplify archetypes found within the relational structures of collaborative work. The relatively recent development of this activity as an independent metier is located within its historical context, a context in which my work has played a significant role. The submission evidences the innovative aspects of that work and, more generally, of the role of the Computer Music Designer through consideration of a number of Max patches and program examples especially created for the works under discussion. Finally, the validation of the role of the Computer Music Designer as a new entity within the world of music creation is explored in a range of contexts, demonstrating the ways in which Computer Music Designers not only collaborate in the creation of new work but also generate new resources for computer-based music and new creative paradigms.

Ambience or ambient sound is normally defined as the background sounds that are used to create a sense of atmosphere. This paper is about players, and if they perceive emotional content in ambiences in games. The study involved the creation of two game levels, a dense forest and a meadow, with two different sound designs each, one conveying joy and the other melancholy. The aim of the experiment was to determine whether the participants could detect the intended emotional content. The results indicated that the peaceful emotion was easier to detect than the melancholy one. The majority of participants rated the levels similarly. While it may be challenging to create an intended emotional response in players, the study concludes that ambiences can indeed be perceived as having emotional content.

Nesta dissertação, buscou-se realizar um estudo histórico e analítico acerca do desenvolvimento da poética e dos processos da música eletroacústica na trilha sonora - principalmente na trilha musical - do cinema de ficção científica norte-americano. A música eletroacústica, a começar por suas primeiras manifestações através dos instrumentos eletrônicos e de técnicas de manipulação de tape magnético, esteve associada, desde o início do cinema sonoro, à ficção científica e ao terror. Na década de 1950, com o início da era de exploração espacial no cinema norte-americano, os sons eletrônicos se associaram ao universo alienígena e às narrativas de futuro. Nos anos seguintes, os gestos e funções indiciais desses primeiros instrumentos foram adaptados aos sintetizadores e às novas gerações de dispositivos eletrônicos. Assim, lentamente se consolidou uma tradição que relacionaria, durante os anos subsequentes, a música eletroacústica às narrativas de suspense, terror e ficção científica. Para entender como se deu a utilização de sons eletrônicos no cinema de ficção científica ao longo do século XX, partimos da exposição de alguns pressupostos metodológicos de análise audiovisual e de música eletroacústica. Estes, por sua vez, serviram como norteadores para as análises realizadas no final da dissertação. Posteriormente, seguimos por dois caminhos: um, cujo objetivo é descrever o desenvolvimento dos processos formadores da poética da música eletroacústica e seu uso no cinema; e outro, onde tentamos delinear o desenvolvimento da trilha sonora de filmes de ficção científica que se apropriaram de elementos advindos da música eletroacústica. No último capítulo, realizamos a análise de quatro filmes de diferentes períodos. Cada filme selecionado pode ser considerado representativo no uso de processos e técnicas da música eletroacústica de sua época; são eles: O planeta proibido (1956), THX 1138 (1971), Tron: uma odisseia eletrônica (1982) e A última profecia (2002). / The electroacoustic music, starting with its first manifestations such as electronic instruments and magnetic tape manipulation techniques, have been associated, since the beginning of movies with sound, to science fiction and horror. In the 50\'s, with the beginning of an era of space exploration in north-american motion pictures, the electroacoustic sounds were definitely associated with the alien\'s universe and futuristic narratives. In the following years, the gestures and functions of those first instruments were adapted to the synthesizers and to the new electronic device generation. Thus, it slowly consolidated a tradition that would relate the electroacoustic music to suspense, horror and science fiction narratives for the subsequent years. In order to understand how the use of electronic sounds in science fiction movie pictures happened during the twentieth century, we will start with the exposure of some methodological assumptions of audio-visual and electroacoustic music analysis. These will, on the other hand, work as guides for the final analysis in the end of this dissertation. Afterwords, we followed through two paths: one of them aimed to describe the developmental processes of electroacoustic music\'s poetic since its origin and its use in the cinema; and for the other path we tried to outline the soundtrack\'s development of science fiction motion pictures that made use of elements coming from electroacoustic music. Each selected movie may be considered representative of its own time in this use of electroacoustic music\'s processes; which are: Forbidden Planet (1956), THX 1138 (1971), Tron (1982) and The Mothman Prophecies (2002).