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HK1. Avid Social Media StrategyAvid的社会化媒体战略
This project requires you to develop a Social Media Strategy for AVID , which will be used by AVID for external engagement and internal collaboration. You will explore and identify the affordances of a range of social technologies, and on the basis of your research and practical developments you will then develop an effective real-world strategy that will enable AVID to harness the full potential of a range of social media platforms and tools, both internally and externally. Target audience analysis, media affordances and user requirements, analytics and milestones, innovative approaches to engagement, product support and workflows for collaborative working will all feature as part of the strategy. Upon successful completion of this project you will have produced a Social Media strategy, which will be used by AVID for external engagement and internal collaboration.HK1。 该项目需要开发一个社交媒体战略为AVID ，将使用AVID的对外交往和内部协作。你将探索并确定一系列的社会技术的启示，和你的研究和实践发展的基础上，你将建立一个有效的现实世界的战略，以充分利用一系列的社会化媒体平台的潜力，使AVID和工具，包括内部和外部。指导英国essay目标受众分析，媒体启示和用户的需求，分析和里程碑，创新的办法来参与，协同工作的产品支持和工作流程，将所有功能，作为战略的一部分。该项目成功完成后，你将有一个社会媒体战略，这将可以使用AVID的对外交往和内部协作。
(Ben Shirley as Reader)
HK2. Develop ARG (Alternate Reality Game) as part of a guerrilla marketing strategy for a band or artist作为一个乐队或艺术家的游击营销战略的一部分，开发替代现实游戏（ARG）
Alternate Reality Gaming is a relatively recent phenomenon and is often used as a viral marketing tool. ARGs take advantage of the unique properties of new media technologies to develop intriguing stories through blending online and offline worlds. They tend to be played collaboratively, using objects and devices that are used in everyday life, to interact with a fictional world.另一个现实游戏是一个相对较新的现象，经常被用来作为一种病毒式营销工具。 ARGS利用新媒体技术的独特性能，通过有趣的故事融合了在线和离线的世界。他们往往要播放协作，使用对象和设备，用于在日常生活中，交互的一个虚构的世界。
You will design and develop an Alternate Reality Game, taking advantage of mobile web technologies (e.g. computers and phones) and real-world events (such as live performances or treasure hunts) to create a guerrilla marketing strategy for a band or an artist. You will start by investigating ARG design and exploring the characteristics of a successful ARG, before developing your own multi-platform Alternate Reality Game.您将设计和开发替代现实游戏，利用移动的网络技术（如电脑和手机）和真实世界的事件（如现场表演或寻宝）来创建一个乐队或艺术家的游击营销战略。你会开始调查ARG设计和探索的成功ARG的特点，才发展自己的多平台替代的现实游戏。
HK3. Feasibility study into the potential for covering live events utilising multimodal user generated content (UGC).可行性研究的现场活动，利用多模态用户生成内容（UGC）的潜力。
There has been a massive increase in the use of UGC in covering breaking news stories over recent times. From the video footage of Concorde’s crash at Paris, the first photos (uploaded to Twitter) from US Airways Flight 1549 crash landing in the Hudson River to the early coverage of the recent earthquake in Chile UGC is rapidly becoming the default source for breaking news.一直使用的“教资会”在报道突发新闻报道，在最近的时间大量增加。从的视频素材的协和广场的崩溃在巴黎，在第一张照片上传至Twitter从美国航空公司的航班1549崩溃降落在哈得逊河的早期报道的最近地震在智利教资会是迅速成为的默认源突发新闻。
This project looks at how UGC, and in particular content from mobile devices, can be utilised to provide coverage of a live event. It is anticipated to utilise live audio/video streaming and pictures from mobile devices linked by social media platforms to ‘broadcast’ both live and provide archive material. (Supervised by Helen Keegan with Ben Shirley as Reader)
HK4. Educational Metadata – Tagging the Archive教育元数据 - 标记的存档
The BBC has set itself an ambitious target of digitising much of its archive by 2022. As content is increasingly made permanently available online (e.g. BBC digital archive and 4OD on YouTube) and developments in IPTV give users more control/input into available content, we envisage being able to tag and share short clips/segment of long-form content segments. This project aims to develop a protocol for educational metadata so that users can tag segments of TV programmes on the web, using rich contextual metadata that makes it easy for other educators to find interesting and useful resources for their own teaching.
The aims of the project are to a) carry out a study into current use of short-form, web-based video content in education, b) research metadata and what would be required in terms of ‘educational’ tagging (e.g. learner level, subject, course context), c) identify the main issues/barriers/tensions (e.g. educational homogenisation, folksonomy vs. controlled tagging).
The outcomes of the project will be a) a database of content segments for educational use, b) ‘Educational tagging’ protocols for IPTV/YouView, c) design a ratings system to filter quality of tagged resources.
It is envisaged that this project will bridge the gap between organised provision of content to institutions and informal recommendations of web-based clips between colleagues, using rich metadata indicating context of use, taking advantage of technological developments in IPTV/social TV.
(Ben Shirley as Reader)
Project Supervisor: Ben Shirley
Contact: xxxxxxx
BS1. 24 bit vs 16 bit compressed audio: does it matter?
Apple is reportedly in talks with the music industry to bring 24 bit audio to iTunes. Can this really make a difference in compressed audio? This project assesses the impact of bit resolution for compressed audio and will involve subjective assessment of audio at varying bit resolutions using AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) compression across a number of reproduction systems. Methodology will involve implementation of the ITU-R BS.1116 international standard listening test with appropriate analysis and discussion of results in the context of music download.
BS2. Assessment of localisation accuracy of sound sources in 5.1 and 7.1 reproduction and it’s subjective impact on the listening experience.
The increased adoption of 7.1 sound reproduction raises questions as to how much this improves the listening experience for the consumer and whether any improvement is as a result of improved localization or of increased envelopment, or other factors. The project involves identifying and creating both 5.1 and 7.1 material to be used for assessment, subjective testing of both systems for localization and also for factors such as envelopment and other factors that may increase enjoyment of the media. Both film and musical content will be used in the tests.
BS3. Audio Post Production and Sound Design for Film
This project involves carrying out sound design and audio post production for a piece of film work produced by final year students from the University’s Media Division. Students will be required to work with production teams from the School of Media, Music & Performance in producing sound design as a ‘live brief’ as though for a client. Productions may be from wildlife, documentary, fiction or children’s film genres. Sound design and audio post work will be carried out using Pro Tools software and will be documented and accompanied with a short ‘making of’ video illustrating techniques and methodology used.
(Supervised by Ben Shirley, reader Bruno Fazenda)
BS4. Assessment of localisation accuracy of sound sources in the Second Life virtual environment
The University of Salford has an area of Second Life (SL) set aside for research and experimental work. One aspect of this work is in utilising SL for collaborative working across networks (eg virtual meetings with research partners in other parts of the world). A key factor in telepresent meeting is the use of sound localisation to identify who is talking at any given point. Currently there is little or no published information on the capabilities of sound in SL and this project aims to identify methods for assessing localisation ability in a virtual world, design and carry out subjective and objective assessments of this and to link this to the effectiveness of communication.
Project Supervisor: Dawn Shaw
Contact: xxxxxxxxxxxx
DS1. Investigation into the impact of lip sync inaccuracies in virtual and real characters
The project will entail the creation of a virtual mouth / animated character which will be synchronised to dialogue using automated dialogue replacement post production techniques. Footage will also be filmed of a real person speaking lines of dialogue. The speech will be shifted by various offsets, both forward and backward in time, in order to assess:
The impact of asynchronous lip sync on understanding of spoken material,#p#分页标题#e#
The tolerance of people to mismatched lip sync to virtual and also real people.
The project has implications for both the animation industry, for effective telepresence and also in accessible interface design.
Project Supervisor: Prof. Trevor Cox
Contact: xxxxxxxxx
TC1. Green Ears
Rustling leaves in trees, the buzzing of insects, the trickle of water features - sound plays an important part in garden design. But how can we optimise the sound? What trees make the nicest rustle? How should a water features be designed to sound pleasant? How can silent oases be designed into a garden?
It is suggested that two methods might be used to answer these questions:
‘Crowd sourcing’ (probably slightly too grand a name), but essentially setting up a 2.0 website to get examples and driving traffic to the site through social networks etc to find out the publics’ opinion and suggestions for good design.
Science. Explore the literature to find out what is know about how the sound is made and carry out perceptual tests to find out which is the best sound.
TC2. Sound Twitter mining
Every day, millions of tweets give opinions on diverse topics, including sound. In this project, you will explore whether text mining of tweets can yield useful scientific data on people’s opinions. For instance, you might explore peoples’ opinions of noise in urban parks by looking for tweets which feature both the words ‘park’ and ‘noise’. By examining what people are saying in these tweets, even by simply looking for smileys e.g. :) or :( could be used to yield information which can be compared to current knowledge on soundscapes. NB may require some programming ability to mine tweets via the Twitter API. Data mining tools might be run in SPSS or stand alone programmes.
TC3. Can psychoacoustic experiments work across the Internet?
Finger nails scrapping down a blackboard, the scream of a baby, your neighbour’s dog barking, someone throwing up: what is the worst sound in the world? In 2005/6 I ran a large scale web experiment to examine the worst sound in the world which attracted millions of votes. While the website has produced interesting results on people’s responses to the sounds, it is still unclear how valid the results are? In this project, you will carry out perceptual measurements in the laboratory to compare to web experiment results, to determine the limitations of testing subjective responses over the Internet. Can the vast number of respondents available via the Internet compensate for the very uncontrolled experimental conditions?
Web link:
TC4. Automated generation of movement sounds for films
Computer animation uses mathematical models to help generate landscapes efficiently. How could synthesis models help automatically generate difficult to record features of soundtracks. You will examine how physical models might be used to simulate the sound that an animal makes when moving about. A model which enables you to change the terrain, speed and type of animal and yet generate the correct sound.
TC5. Gaming for Science
Tradition psychological measurements can be very boring to take part in. Listening to endless repeats of the same tracks, subjects quickly get bored. In recent time Google and others have been experimenting with using competition and gaming as a way of getting people to participate in psychological experiments, for example matching pictures in an on-line game of pairs. To my knowledge there has only been one example of an acoustic game, . People compete to see if they are listening to the same music track as another participant, and in the process provide a rich dataset of metadata for use by researchers.
In this project you will explore what gaming approached might be used to facilitate psychoacoustic testing. You will compare results from games to more traditional approaches to examine the advantages and disadvantages. To carry out this project you will need some ability to write and set up experiments on the web. One way to do this would be through flash, but other programmes could be used.
Project Supervisor: Dr. Francis Li
Contact: xxxxxxxxxxx
FL1. Subjective and objective assessment of low-bit rate audio codecs
Bandwidth limit and ever-growing media delivery over the communications networks require the development of more sophisticated low bit rate audio codecs. Such codecs need carefully and systematic assessments to fully understand their potentials and limitations. This project will choose mainstream and prevalent low bit rate audio codecs and perform subjective and object testing on them to assess their quality and determine their performance for the delivery of different types of music. The project will also look into the discrepancies between subject and objective tests investigate the cause of the problem and suggest possible remedial measures.
FL2. Compression Schemes for Classical Music
At the mastering stage, virtually all audio recordings need to be compressed to suit diverse delivery systems, playback equipment and listening environments. In addition, the bandwidth limit of various delivery formats means that compression may provide a sensible leeway to mitigate the problem. Classical music, especially orchestral music is deemed as being highly dynamic, but on the other hand heavily compressed classical music has been proven well-received my audience, e.g. from an in-car audio system. The project will look into the suitable or optimal compression schemes for classical music of different eras with various orchestrations, being played back in a variety of typical environments via diverse but prevalent consumer level audio equipment. Much of the work involved in the project will be critical subjective testing.
Project Supervisor: Dr. Phil Duncan
Contact: xxxxxxxx
PD1. ‘Compressor wars’ - Critical appraisal and evaluation of outboard and software compressors.
There are a number of audio compressors in the studios, including valve and solid state outboard units and also software implementations. The aim of this project is to compare and evaluate these in terms of technical specifications and audio performance in critical listening and audio production applications. Each compressor will undergo a series of objective performance tests and also used to process samples of recorded audio. The results will be analysed to estimate improvement in crest factor, SNR and other appropriate objective metrics. Results will also be compared subjectively using a panel of trained listeners.
PD2. ‘Software wars’ - Critical appraisal and evaluation of recording software packages
There are a number of software packages currently available for multi-track recording. This project involved comparison and critical evaluation of recording software packages currently available in AAV including ProTools, Cubase, Audition, (Logic), Ableton and Reason. The packages will be compared in terms of technical specification, usability and ergonomics, functionality and sound quality of recorded audio. Sound quality will be assessed using subjectively using a panel of trained listeners.
PD3. ‘Microphone Techniques’. Investigation and critical appraisal and evaluation of two and three microphone recording techniques.
This project involves comparison and evaluation of co-incident and near co-incident stereo microphone techniques including three microphone techniques such as Decca Tree. The project will involve using the microphones in the studio to make recordings of instruments played by a duet or small ensemble using each of the microphone techniques. Recordings may also be made outdoors and in reverberant spaces. Each raw recording will then be processed accordingly to a final CD stereo production so that the three techniques may be compared and assessed subjectively in terms of spaciousness, stereo image and apparent source width.
The finished CD master will then be the subject of a series of listening tests involving a trained listening panel to compare and assess the different microphone techniques subjectively.
PD4. ‘Power Amplifiers’ - Critical evaluation and comparison of audio power amplifiers
This project involves subjective and objective comparison of class A and Class A/B power amplifiers. The commonly accepted measure of power amplifier performance, total harmonic distortion (THD) is the usual means of quantifying nonlinearities in audio equipment. However, this does not take into consideration that some distortion products may be more musically sympathetic than others, and therefore may detract less, or even “enhance” the listening experience.
Objective measurements on the two amplifiers will include the analysis of harmonic and inter-modulation distortion and noise products and other appropriate techniques. The outcome of these experiments will then be compared with results from subjective listening tests involving a trained listening panel using ABX test methodology.
PD5. Analogue electronics ‘Ultimate recording amplifier’ minimum active component recording amplifier.
In order to get the very best quality recording onto a given media, recording engineers often use a dedicated recording amplifier in preference to mixing console microphone amplifiers and routing circuits. The rationale behind this being that each time the signal passes through any electronic circuitry it is degraded slightly by circuit distortion and non-linearity and some of the quality of the original sound is lost.#p#分页标题#e#
The circuitry used in high quality recording amplifiers is often implemented using discrete transistor circuits in class A configuration (zero crossover distortion) and the overall aim of this project is to develop and test circuits which use the minimum number of active components to obtain the highest quality recordings from a high quality condenser recording microphone. One interesting aspect of analogue electronics for audio is that circuits with identical specification on paper can actually sound quite different and an important aspect of this project will be the use and development of objective methods for the assessment of sound quality.
PD6. Analogue electronics -‘Iron in the soul’ – Attractive colouration for audio processing.
Vintage pro-audio recording and processing equipment is much sought after and can command very high prices in the second hand pro-audio marketplace. One reason for this is that such equipment is said to produce attractive coloration/distortion of audio signals due to components such as transformers and valves present in the signal path and the magnetic tape recording medium. These all introduce small amounts of nonlinear distortion sometimes considered to be attractive for audio signal processing. An example of this being that vintage equipment is sometimes said to give the added quality of ‘warmth’ to an audio signal passing through the unit.
This project will involve an investigation into the nature of distortion and coloration produced by audio transformers, the valve processing units in the studios and magnetic tape. The project will also involve the design and analysis of some simple audio circuits using audio transformers which will aim to emulate some of the audio properties of vintage units. Circuits will be designed and assessed using SPICE simulation and constructed and tested in the lab for distortion. Audio signals processed by the test circuits will be subjectively evaluated by a panel of trained listeners.
PD7. Analogue vs Digital Sound
Some groups of audio enthusiasts claim that analogue has a markedly different sound to commercial CDs, which makes them preferred. This project will look at this issue from a subjective perception point of view by setting up appropriate testing to identify if a panel of listeners does actually prefer the sound of analogue over the sound of CDs.
A quantification of the differences in terms of signal quality will also have to be attempted in order to demonstrate what features may be responsible for the stated preference.
Project Supervisor: Prof. Yiu Lam
Contact:
YL1. Sound Field Simulation Systems
This project will make use of the 128-loudspeaker array system installed in the listening room to investigate different sound field simulation techniques such as Wave Field Synthesis, Ambisonic, 7.1 systems etc. and their merits in different audio production applications such as soundscape and VR simulation. There are a large number of possible project work elements. The student is not expected to cover all elements but to choose a suitable focus for the project.
Project Supervisor: Dr. Ian Drumm
Contact: model for a musical instrument
The aim project is to investigate, develop and evaluate a digital waveguide based physical model for a stringed or wind instrument. Physical modeling is a relatively recent yet increasingly important type of sound synthesis technique that emulates the physical behavior of musical instrument sound generation as opposed to emulating the timbre content directly. Hence, physical models will inherently emulate the expressive characteristics of musical instruments as they respond realistically to the differing ways of playing. This is a challenging yet rewarding project that will involve learning to use matlab and getting to grips with some difficult mathematical and programming concepts.
Project Supervisor: Dr. Jos Hirst
Contact:
JH1. Adaptation of Concert Hall Measures of Spaciousness to Reproduced Sound
Objective measures of spaciousness in concert hall acoustics have been established for many years and have benefited from a wealth of research. Measurements such as the interaural cross-correlation coefficient (IACC) and the lateral energy fraction have been fine-tuned to compare well to subjective perception.
In reproduced sound, there are perceptible differences between the spatial performance of different systems, yet an accepted method of objectively measuring these differences does not exist. This project will investigate the suitability of IACC as an objective measure in reproduced sound. The project will entail subjective and objective testing, signal analysis, statistics and possible modeling using basic programming methods.
JH2. Localization in Non-Anechoic Conditions
Localization of reproduced sound sources can be used as an indicator the spatial capabilities of different surround sound systems. Localization tests are usually carried out under anechoic conditions; however surround sound systems are rarely auditioned in anechoic surroundings in the average home. If has been suggested that localization performance can be enhanced by the presence of first or second order reflections.
This project will involve an investigation in to the psychoacoustics of non-anechoic localization and then use this information to test localization in reproduced environments. The project will entail subjective testing, statistics and psychoacoustics.
JH3. Defining Mixing Styles and the ‘Perfect’Mix
In multitrack mixing for music it is often cited that there is not a right or wrong way to mix as it is subjective process. However, it is usually fairly easy to appreciate a ‘good’ mix or recognize a ‘bad’ one. How do mix engineers arrive at a balance that is subjectively pleasing to the majority of listeners? Perhaps there is a right and a wrong to way in certain aspects of music mixing? This project will attempt to answer these questions by means of interactive subjective testing that will examine the possibility of ‘optimum’ approaches to balance, equalization, dynamic control, the use of effects and spatial considerations in mixing for music.
JH4. Chasing a myth in the hi-fi world
The hi-fi area is often quoted as having myths about what affects perceived audio quality. Oxygen-free cables, solid gold connection plugs, cable ‘cookers’, vibration stabilizers for turntables are a few examples. This project will make use of robust subjective listening techniques in order to put together a methodology to study one or more of such myths. A demonstration of the performance of this methodology will be assessed by carrying out a test on a panel of listeners and reporting the results to a lay audience. This could be the type of project that could be published in audio magazines such as Tape Op, Resolution or Sound on Sound.
JH5. The use of M/S techniques in Audio Recording and Mastering
M/S stands for ‘Mid-Side’ and is used to describe a process where a stereo signal is added to create a ‘middle’ channel and subtracted to create a ‘side’ channel. M/S is well established mic technique, but processing the ‘mid’ and ‘side’ channels is sometimes used in the mastering process to alter the sonic qualities of a mix. This project looks at the aspects involved in this process to produce a ‘good practice’ guide for recording and mastering engineers. The work will involve analysis and measurement of quality improvement using appropriate signal analysis software. A personal appraisal of the benefits are also expected.
JH6. Ambisonics in Music Production
Ambisonics is a long-standing surround sound system that has been comprehensively applied to research projects and more recently, with a leaning towards broadcast. However, there has not been a great deal of research in to the use of ambisonics in music production.
In this study recording, synthesizing and mixing music in ambisonics will be examined. This will entail overcoming problems in adapting traditional stereo recording and mixing practices to surround sound using pantophonic and periphonic ambisonic systems. The output may be a ‘best practice’ manual for music production in ambisonics or may involve a comparison between two different production methods in ambisonics.
JH7. Spatialization Techniques in Musical Synthesis
Modern software and hardware synthesizers are capable of producing a huge array of emulative and abstract sounds using a number of different synthesis techniques. However, most synthesizers only output to two-channel stereo. How can synthesis techniques be adapted to take advantage of surround sound? Can synthesized sound be processed to create a more enveloping or immersive listening experience. This project will investigate potential methods for spatialization and subjectively test the output on a panel of listeners to evaluate the immersiveness of the spatialized synthesis.
Project Supervisor: Prof. Andy Moorhouse.
Contact:xxxxxxxxx
AM1. Anechoic Chamber Commissioning
In this project the performance of the Anechoic Chamber in the Acoustics Test Labs will be tested. In theory, anechoic means ‘no echoes’ so the room should be completely dead, but in practise this will never be completely true, especially at low frequencies. In the project measurements will be taken to check how much, and at what frequencies we deviate from true anechoic behaviour. The test procedure is to measure the reduction of sound pressure level as you move away from a small source at different frequencies. The measured result is compared with the value that would be expected in a completely anechoic environment. A sound level meter and a small source will be required. This will suit a student interested in acoustic measurements.#p#分页标题#e#
Project Supervisor: Dr. Marianne Patera
Contact: xxxxxxxxk
MP1. 3D Visualisation and Animation of First Aid and Emergency Procedures
During the past two decades 3D animation has been extensively used by the film and games industries mainly for entertainment purposes. However, current research explores the use of 3D visualisation and animation in areas including but not limited to education, architecture, anatomy, medical imaging and archaeology. By using 3D animation one can visualise processes that might not be possible to see or experience in the real world. It offers alternative perspectives that assist in the communication of information and knowledge. Hence it is a suitable medium for producing explanatory animations for training and education purposes.
This project proposes the design and creation of a 3D animation that demonstrates and explicates a first aid or an emergency procedure to non-experts. The animation may also include video footage. The content should be based on reliable data and be suitable for the target audience. Collaboration with an expert in the field is encouraged. The effectiveness of the video in communicating the instructions and procedure to the viewers will be evaluated by contrasting its impact to text-based instructions and 2D graphics. The evaluation should be preferably conducted using qualitative research methods and focus groups.
MP2. Colour and Sound: Do People Associate Sounds and Music with Different Colours?
When some people hear sounds or music they “see” colours. This phenomenon is known as synaesthesia. Sensations in one modality (e.g. hearing) produce sensations in another modality (e.g. colour) as well as its own. Usually two or more of the five senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together. Although there are different types of synaesthetic experiences (e.g. taste and colour, letters and colour, words and sounds, etc) this project concentrates on sound and colour.
Through this project you will investigate whether people connect different sounds or types of music to colours of varying hue, brightness and saturation. You will be expected to conduct a literature review on the topic and design an appropriate experiment to collect data from participants. The participants do not have to be synesthetes. This project aims to identify whether there is consistency or any detectable patterns between the subjects’ associations of sounds to colours (e.g. low pitch sounds to darker hues, faster tempo to saturated hues, etc).
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