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.

In games, reverb is used to convey the audial space of game environments. This thesis explores the possibilities of using spring and plate reverb, and if they enhance or detract from the experience compared to a realistic natural reverb. Under evaluation, a quantitative study with a secondary qualitative discussion was carried out where participants played a gameplay prototype that switched between using spring reverb, plate reverb and a realistic natural reverb. A survey was answered relating to the gameplay sequence, which was used to evaluate how players perceived the differences in the different reverbs. The conclusion shows that although spring and plate reverb have different associations and are perceived in a different way compared to a natural realistic reverb, a majority still preferred a natural reverb and felt that spring plate were overall more distracting to the game experience.

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

My interest in sound-centric filmmaking and the literary genre of magical realism fostered the development of my thesis film, The Oxide Incident. The film is the story of Simon, a recent divorcee and sound archivist, who discovers a mysterious reel-to-reel-audio tape that he believes may help him heal his damaged relationship with Hannah, his teenage daughter. This paper examines the influence of magical realism on the film, some of its thematic, theoretical, and conceptual ideas such as its exploration of interpersonal communication and its implications in regard to gender, as well as some of its formal strategies. It concludes with a reflection on the process, a historical note, and a glimpse at my future trajectory as a filmmaker.

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 dissertation presents a notional model, as a taxonomic system, to describe dramaturgical elements of sound design in musicals. Developed in tandem with a prototype virtual environment interface - termed ‘The MaxStage’ - and authored in the Max/MSP software, the thesis uses Rebecca - the musical as a case study to test the efficacy of the model. Rebecca - the musical is in the form of a Broadway-style musical. Consisting of two Acts, the work is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name. Whereas the technical art and practice of sound design for large-scale Musicals is increasingly well documented, the art form of sound design as a dramaturgical element in its own right, has received less attention. Analyses of the rôle of Sound-Designers in the theatre have tended to perpetuate the concept that sound design is commensurate with sound reinforcement. This tendency, however, delimits the creative potential of sound design to inform and elucidate the drama, as an extension of the musical score. A potentially more fluid interrelationship between music and sound design is postulated, as observed in the work of Sound-Designers for interactive computer games. As an electronic form of non-linear theatre, it is argued that new methodologies in adaptive-audio techniques, increasingly evident in computer gaming design, are relevant in defining an invigorated dramaturgy for sound design within the stage theatrical context.

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.