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).

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).

Voices reveal information about the speaker, such as their age, what they are feeling and how they look. Vocal modulation is sometimes used by role-players, mostly game masters, in a tabletop role-playing context, to portray non-playable characters. This study investigated whether signal processing software could be used to enhance the vocal qualities of the speaker so that they represent different creatures with certain attributes. A listening test was conducted in which 24 participants evaluated different processings for physical attributes related to Dungeons & Dragons depiction of the creatures orc and elf with the purpose of finding design approaches for a vocal modulation software. The results showed that none of the processings were perceived to be very much like the suggested creature, but it was found that some processings were more effective than others to create desirable attributes. It was also shown that the same processings does not work equally well for different voice inputs.

From the ancient Greek theater, through the dawn of the Renaissance, beyond the development of Shakespearean theater, to the Broadway theater boon in the 1920s, sound reinforcement within the theater remained virtually unchanged. Through Broadway's Golden Age, directors and producers relied on architectural acoustics to carry sound throughout the theaters. This is not surprising given that most of the theaters were built in the early 1900s, before the invention of any electric sound reinforcement technology. Moreover, early attempts at amplification in the 1940s yielded dismal results. Eventually, the maturation of the integrated book musical and the invasion of the rock musical in the late 1960s demanded more than architectural acoustics alone could provide. Abe Jacob, the sound designer of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, led the efforts to create a modern approach to sound design. Relying on his rock-and-roll touring experience and the introduction of technological advancements within the recording industry, Jacob and others forged a modern approach to sound design specifically within the framework of the Broadway musical, which helped restore the fading industry of the Broadway musical in the late 1960s. These new approaches served well the human irony and concept musicals of the 1970s by Sondheim and other emerging composers. Sound design was critical to the successful mounting of the mega-musicals of the 1980s (Cats, Les Miserables, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, etc.). Now, modern day composers collaborate early in the creation process with sound designers and create original works with the power of modern sound design in mind, such that today, sound design is a fundamental design discipline employed in every Broadway musical–from the initial show concept conversations all the way through opening night.

[pt] A pesquisa propõe uma série de métodos e princípios para explorar o som em um processo projetual de design. Questões relativas aos aspectos sonoros parecem ser negligenciadas durante o processo projetual de design. Como poderia um designer, mesmo sem um treinamento formal acerca do som, utilizar o som em seus projetos de uma forma construtiva, intencional e objetiva? Para responder a essa pergunta, investigamos o impacto das mudanças sofridas pelas paisagens sonoras nas últimas décadas, ocasionadas pela industrialização e mecanização da sociedade. O impacto e a percepção dessas sonoridades pelo indivíduo também são discutidos, utilizando-se, para isso, os conhecimentos provenientes da acústica, psico-acústica e os mecanismos atencionais. Mapeamos, também, o estado da arte, evolução e aplicação desses sons em diferentes campos do saber, tais como a interação homem-computador, sonic interaction design, cinema e a musicologia, com a finalidade de obtermos um recorte teórico acerca do som que seja pertinente ao campo do design. Como resultado dessa exploração, propomos um conjunto de princípios norteadores e de métodos exploratórios sonoros para prototipar o som para o design. Por fim, aplicações e desdobramentos futuros em relação ao uso desses princípios e métodos são sugeridos. / [en] This research proposes a number of methods and principles to explore the sound in a design process. Issues related to sound aspects seems to be neglected during the design process. So, how could a designer, even without a formal sound or musical training, use sound in the projects in a constructive, intentional and objective way? In order to answer this question, we investigated the impact of changes in sound landscapes in the last decades, caused by the industrialization and mechanization of society, which made it possible to dissociate the sound from its emitter, allowing the former one to be manipulated, examined and dissected. The impact and perception of sounds by individuals are also discussed. To do so, the knowledge coming from acoustics, psychoacoustics and attentional mechanisms are used. We also mapped the state of the art, evolution and, application of these sounds in different fields of knowledge, such as human-computer interaction, sonic interaction design, cinema, and musicology, with the purpose of obtaining a relevant contribution to the design field. As a result of this exploration, we propose a set of guiding principles and exploratory methods for sounds as audible affordances for design. Finally, future applications and studies in relation to the use of these principles and methods are suggested.

This thesis aims at developing conceptual and methodological tools in order toadapt sound within the textile design area. Occupational groups working with soundare to a large extent problem driven. Accordingly, textile designers working withsound- affecting properties of textiles concentrate on their dampening qualities. Theambition with this research project is to make suggestions how textile designers canwork practically with textile sound design, in a more nuanced way.The overall aim of the thesis is to develop a vocabulary to make textile designersable to express the sound affecting qualities of textiles in a language full of nuances.As a starting-point the thesis briefl y describes commonly used methods andprocesses used to describe the expressiveness of a design, followed by a morethoroughly analyze of the textile design process illustrated by a practical example.These studies constitute a foundation to make it possible to see in what way thesemethods and processes will be affected when sound is added as new design tool.By studies of two sound design models, the fi rst attempts to develop a vocabularyconcerning how to describe sound affecting qualities of a textile are developed.Research focusing on language issues, especially on the development of conceptualtools done at the research institute CRESSON, provides descriptive soundconcepts, “sound effects”, embracing the interaction between human and his soundenvironment. These concepts are followed by a model of how to describe just asound or “sound object” in “itself” (not in relation to anything else), developed byPierre Schaeffer. These theoretical models have been complemented with empiricalstudies in form of a survey, named LISTEN. Interviews were performed from aphenomenological perspective. A number of informants were asked to tell aboutthe sound environment and single sounds occurring at their working places. Theinterviews were interpreted from a phenomenographic perspective. A number ofdesign projects are fi nally presented as practical examples of different ways to workwith textiles and sound.The theoretical models provided by Schaeffer have been used to make the fi rstsystematic attempts to describe sound environments; sounds and textiles soundaffecting properties.Since the model presented by Schaeffer is developed to be used within musicalcomposition the concepts have to be additionally modifi ed to be a useful tool withinthe textile design area. The thesis presents just the fi rst attempts to use this model.The next step to take in the research project is to adjust the theoretical systems ofCRESSON and Schaeffer to suit the special area of textile design. The interactiveideas of a sound-affecting textile will also be a subject of further development.

Detta kandidatarbete handlar om utforskningen inom alternativa ljudspelsformer. Vi ville utforska vilken ny kunskap som kan hämtas från spelljudsteori när den applicerades i ett ljudbaserat rörelsespel. Vi försöker uppnå detta genom en iterativ och experimentell designprocess. Vi skapade två olika ljudbaserade spelprototyper där vi applicerade olika spelljudsteorier. Genom att designa prototyper och analysera dem, genom induktivt resonemang och deltagande observation, kunde vi observera att spelaren kunde använda icke-visuella gränssnitt i ett ljudbaserat rörelsespel. Som resultat presenterar vi processens mest avgörande designproblem. Utmaningen med att utveckla icke-visuella gränssnitten var att instruera spelaren i att använda dem genom icke-vokala ljud. Vi presenterar även ett nytt sätt att förstå akusmatiska ljud i icke-visuella ljudbaserade spel. Som avslutande del så diskuteras undersökningens relevans och framtida undersökningsområden föreslås. / This bachelor thesis is about exploration within alternative forms of audio game. We wanted to explore what new knowledge could be extracted from game audio theory when it is applied to a movement based audio game. We aim to do this through an iterative and experimental design process. We created two different audio game prototypes where different game audio theories were applied. By designing prototypes and analyzing them, through inductive reasoning and participant observation, we could observe that players were able to use non-visual interfaces in an non-visual audio game. As our results we present the process’s most critical design problems. The challenge in creating these non-visual interfaces was instructing the player on how to use them through non-vocal audio. We also present a new way of understanding acousmatic sound in non-visual audio games. Lastly the study’s relevance is discussed and future research areas are suggested.

A presente dissertação propõe uma abordagem da televisão brasileira através de um diálogo com os estudos do som, tendo como objeto a dimensão sonora das telenovelas. O estudo procura mapear as principais transformações ocorridas no aparato técnico sonoro televisivo, bem como a evolução dos processos da produção do som no período de 1950 até o início do século XXI. Posteriormente, visando investigar as funções desempenhadas pelos elementos sonoros - vozes, ruídos e músicas - na construção da narrativa das telenovelas, este trabalho apresenta uma análise da trilha sonora de cinco telenovelas da TV Globo: Pecado Capital (1975), Roque Santeiro (1985), Renascer (1993), Senhora do Destino (2004) e Avenida Brasil (2012). / This essay proposes an approach on Brazilian television through a dialogue with sound studies, having as object the soap operas\' sound aspects. It intends to map the main changes that occurred on television\'s audio technical apparatus, as well as the evolution on the sound production processes from 1950 until the beginning of the twenty first century. Subsequently, this work aims to investigate the functions performed by the sound elements - dialogues, sound effects, music - on the development of soap opera narratives and presents an analysis of the soundtracks of five soap operas produced by TV Globo: Pecado Capital (1975), Roque Santeiro (1985), Renascer (1993), Senhora do Destino (2004) and Avenida Brasil (2012).