{"id":1739,"date":"2018-10-19T07:18:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T07:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/?p=1739"},"modified":"2022-01-23T19:33:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T19:33:53","slug":"sound-oddities-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shockwave-sound.com\/blog\/sound-oddities-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound Oddities, part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. TV Station\u2019s Viewers Irate over Choice of Music and Sound Effects<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"\"Scott Schaffer, of ABC\u2019s \u00a0WNEP affiliate in PA. launches into the topic of sound effects during the segment \u201cTalkback 16\u201d in which the station responds to viewers\u2019 feedback. In this particular segment, the issues defined as \u201ccritical topics\u201d some WNEP callers relate to the station\u2019s use of sound effects and choice of music. One caller addresses his notion of a \u201ccritical issue of the day:\u201d \u201cYeah that little thing you do between the, eh, commercials and the program… you know that goes DADANNNDANDNADNDNN DANN .. the part goes DANDANDNNDA ..\u201d and apparently he wants it all edited except the final part. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The host further explains that amidst other calls regarding the summit in Helsinki and severe weather at home, another caller instead wanted to address the bell sound effect<\/a> used throughout their segments.<\/span>\u201cInstead of having that little bell going Ding Ding, have like a big church bell \u2026 BONGGG BONGGG BONGGG .. not a little deeeng deeeng deeeng deeeng .. big church bell<\/a> \u2026 BONGGG.\u201d The sound effects wars apparently continued as Schaffer shared a response caller a bit irate that the previous calls have warranted air time, stating that someone like herself, \u201cwho can actually think,\u201d should be chosen as opposed to others who apparently can only talk in sound effects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Sound, Music, and Voice in Google Assistant’s Personality<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"Google Assistant, Google’s artificially intelligent virtual assistant, is in constant evolution in the development of its human persona. While it may appear “alive” at times, it is, of course, being created and developed by people, as the following video of a brainstorming session with developers shows. Designers, engineers, illustrators, and yes – sound designers – make up the huge cross-sectional group trying to bring life to this technology to make people\u2019s lives better, called the Google Assistant\u2019s Personality Team. The assistant\u2019s team uses sound, music, and voice to enhance not only the experience, but in addition the usefulness, of this AI assistant used on\u00a0500,000 million devices worldwide. This is discussed in \u201cExclusive: Inside Google Assistant\u2019s Personality Team” on a video on the Yahoo Finance website – hosted by\u00a0Yahoo Finance tech critic David Pogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The Google team has plenty of opportunities to utilize their creative prowess as the questions that users might ask is nearly limitless. For example, as Drew Williams (Writer – Personality Features) if a user wants to call Santa and tells the AI to do so, the user could experience calling the North Pole and an elf would answer etc. to enrich the experience. Clearly, for any of that to happen sound effects and sound designers would be needed to bring sonic \u201crealness\u201d to the experience. The article discussed here only mentions \u201csound designers\u201d once, but we can rightly assume that in order for an \u201celf\u201d to answer the phone, someone is going to need to tweak the pitch of the voice to make is sound tiny, and\/or employ \u201cnorth pole type sound effects\u201d such as Santa\u2019s laugh and the sounds of toy-making in the background. And, if this isn\u2019t being done – it should be.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In addition to sound elements, music too plays a role. At 1:15 in the video on Yahoo Finance we see an instance of a developer suggesting a musical interlude to make a point. This is Elena Skopetos (Character Editor) who is in charge of bringing life to Google Assistant\u2019s opinions and thoughts, imbuing the AI with a definitive character. As she explains for example if a user asks \u201cDo you want to build a Snowman?\u201d the AI responds sarcastically \u201cFrozen came out in 2013 – let it go\u201d referencing, of course, the musical hit from the show \u201cLet it Go.\u201d Again, the use of music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"The actual voice of the AI itself is also highly important as Andy Pratt (Features Lead) and Ryan Germick (Principal Designer) explain, the voice and personality are meant to be helpful, useful, with a bit of humor but not snarky like Siri. Pratt states that he thinks of Google as a massive library and Google Assistant as a \u201ccool librarian.\u201d On a side note, to ensure that the humor of the voice is culturally palatable Google employs developers from around the world for their intimate cultural knowledge of their specific locales – a term called \u201ctrans-creating.\u201d The discussion in the video goes on to a discussion on the importance of \u201cvoice\u201d itself in technology. \u00a0Lilian Rincon (Product Management Director) and the host make the point that \u201cvoice\u201d itself is playing a greater and greater role in controlling and navigating technology. For example, in areas of the world where literacy, typing specific dialects, and access to computing is a concern, \u201cvoice\u201d both by the user and device itself can punch through these difficulties: no need to type and read, rather just ask and listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. The Ecological Impact of Sound Pollution<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"\"Human beings are great at many things, including polluting the heck out of any environment in which we live. I\u2019ve personally never considered \u201cnoise pollution\u201d beyond the noise violations my roommates and I received in college for blasting Jimi Hendrix at 2 am in the dorms or the jackhammer at 7 am on neighborhood streets when work crews are starting their work days. Those are noise assaults on people by people. Apparently, however, there is an entire realm of human noise pollution that negatively impacts the natural environment along the lines of other forms of human intrusion like chemicals, exhaust, plastics, waste etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Conversation (conversation.com) in Rock n Roll is Noise Pollution with Ecological Implications covers\u00a0<\/span>Brandon Barton of Mississippi State University, who smartly covers the effects of noise pollution on the natural environment. Barton uses AC\/DC\u2019s track \u201cRock n Roll ain\u2019t noise pollution\u201d to set up his piece. Barton\u2019s research group recently tested AC\/DC\u2019s hypothesis to see if rock music or human noise such as highways does have an effect on the surrounding environment. His conclusion is that yes indeed rock \u2018n\u2019 roll and other loud sounds can physically affect the world around it.<\/span><\/p>\n