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UsingSoundInAMediascape
Using sound in mediascapes
Sound is one of the most important media types in a mediascape, it is the one that most people make use of, it can be the most atmospheric and can engage with people without distracting them.
When you record a sound and save it on your computer, it is stored there as an audio file. Using the mscape maker you can import one of these audio files and when it is brought into the mscape maker it becomes an
audio object.
Which audio file formats should I use?
Using Fades
When you use the standard Play and Stop functions the audio will start and stop abruptly, as if you'd pressed the start and stop buttons on a music player.
In some situations you may want the sound to start and stop more gently for a smoother effect. The way to achieve this effect is to use the fade functions available in the audio object in mscape.
Creating a fade
In mscape, audio object have three fade actions available for use.
| FadeIn |
Starts the sound playing while gently fading it in |
| FadeOutAndStop |
Gently fades the sound out, and stops the audio once it is done |
| _FadeOutAndPause |
Gently fades the sound out, and pauses once it is done. When the sound is played using Play or FadeIn, the sound will continue from the point at which it was paused |
To use these actions, drag-and-drop an audio onto a region, and use the wizard interface to select them from the list. Try using
FadeIn for
OnEnter and
FadeOut for
OnExit.
Alternatively you can type the name of the audio to use into the
OnEnter event in the script window, hit the . (period) key and select the appropriate action from the list. For example, if you have an audio called
pirate in your mediascape, select a region and type
pirate.FadeIn(); into the
OnEnter event.
Changing the length of the fade
The length of the fade is a property of the audio itself. Newly-imported audio objects will have the fade set to two seconds, but you can change this by typing your new value (in seconds) into the
Fade Duration field on the properties box while the audio is selected. Note that this property only applies to the selected audio - other audio files will keep the default time of two seconds unless you specifically change them.
using the FadeDuration? property to change the length of the audio fade
Speakers - giving sound a place
A speaker is a object in mscape that allows you to locate a sound to a specific point on earth. What makes this different to a region with an associated sound is that the sound will get louder the closer the user is to that point. A speaker is represented by a point surrounded by a circle - it is as though there were a loudspeaker playing right in the middle of the circle. The edge of the circle represents the point at which you can no longer hear the sound coming from the speaker.
A speaker object
Creating a speaker
- A speaker is created by clicking the speaker button below the map.
- To move the speaker around the map pick it up by clicking on the central icon.
- To change the range of the speaker, click and drag the blue border.
A newly-created speaker will not do anything by itself, you must associate an audio object with it first.
- To associate an audio object with the speaker, drag and drop the object onto the speaker icon at the centre of the speaker region. If you have done this correctly a message will pop up to inform you that the audio is now associated.
Creating a Mediascape Using Mscape Maker explains how to import audio and make it play when the user enters a real-world area. 