Re: [AUDITORY] Research Question (Peter Lennox )

Subject: Re: [AUDITORY] Research Question From: Peter Lennox <P.Lennox@xxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2017 08:47:23 +0000 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY> --_000_AM5PR0101MB2467FCAEE6FBA864DBE72C1FCE450AM5PR0101MB2467_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable It seems to me that your basic research question is: "Is it possible to syn= thesise perceptually-effective horror sounds" And so you're breaking it down into "what constitutes perceptual effectiven= ess in relation to horror sounds" and "can we synthesise that" Intuitively, I would say that the answer to the second question is broadly = "yes" However, the first question is deceptively simplistic. You'd need to specify whether you actually mean "intrinsically scary, irres= pective of context" or "intrinsically scary in specific contexts" (and then= go on to specify context, for the purposes of your investigation). So, to illustrate, very loud sudden noises can make you momentarily alarmed= - because of either the unexpectedness, or, indeed, following a period of = anticipation, during which nothing audible occurred, but physiological and = psychological mechanisms of fear had been generated by context (the 'fear d= ial' had been turned up). On the other hand, very tiny sounds, such as a floorboard creak, a whisper,= etc can be equally devastating in the right context. Now, on the question of whether certain musical forms might be more scary t= han others - look to films. Again, context always seems to be important, bu= t the shrieking violins in Psycho (shower scene), for arguments' sake, migh= t exemplify. Conversely, some sound design deliberately chooses melodious, gentle music = to accompany horrifying scenes (eg Reservoir Dogs, Rosemary's Baby). So, it seems to me that you might find it very hard to talk about 'intrinsi= c scary-ness' by leaving out ongoing perceptual context. good luck! Dr. Peter Lennox SFHEA Senior Lecturer in Perception College of Arts, Humanities and Education School of Arts e: p.lennox@xxxxxxxx<mailto:p.lennox@xxxxxxxx> t: 01332 593155 https://derby.academia.edu/peterlennox https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Lennox University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK ________________________________ From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx>= on behalf of ULStudent:RITA.MC CARTHY <14151421@xxxxxxxx> Sent: 24 October 2017 12:20:34 To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx Subject: Research Question Hi Guys, I am in my final year in the University of Limerick, so this year I have ha= d to come up with a final year project, mine is, "Is it possible to make sy= nthetic sounds sound real and also, can they carry the same affect of emoti= on to the listener as the real deal would?" This is all in the horror genre= . I have had to gather some horror sounds to work with but I would also lik= e other peoples opinion on what is considered a scary sound to them. By the= end of my fourth year I will hopefully have an installation here at my uni= versity, where the listener sits in a dark room, 3D sound, so speakers on h= igh, mid and low level of the walls, and a narrative sound design playing a= round them. So my question is to you, what is a sound that you find chilling/scary? I would appreciate any feedback you could give me. Kind Regards, Rita The University of Derby has a published policy regarding email and reserves= the right to monitor email traffic. If you believe this was sent to you in error, please reply to the sender an= d let them know. Key University contacts: http://www.derby.ac.uk/its/contacts/ --_000_AM5PR0101MB2467FCAEE6FBA864DBE72C1FCE450AM5PR0101MB2467_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html> <head> <meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-= 1"> <style type=3D"text/css" style=3D"display:none;"></style> </head> <body dir=3D"ltr"> <style type=3D"text/css" style=3D"display:none;"></style> <div id=3D"divtagdefaultwrapper" style=3D"font-size:12pt;color:#000000;font= -family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;" dir=3D"ltr"> It seems to me that your basic research question is: "Is it possibl= e to synthesise perceptually-effective horror sounds" And so you're breaking it down into "what constitutes perceptual ef= fectiveness in relation to horror sounds" and "can we synthesise = that" Intuitively, I would say that the answer to the second question is broad= ly "yes" However, the first question is deceptively simplistic. You'd need to specify whether you actually mean "intrinsically scar= y, irrespective of context" or "intrinsically scary in specific c= ontexts" (and then go on to specify context, for the purposes of your = investigation). So, to illustrate, very loud sudden noises can make you momentarily alar= med - because of either the unexpectedness, or, indeed, following a period = of anticipation, during which nothing audible occurred, but physiological a= nd psychological mechanisms of fear had been generated by context (the 'fear dial' had been turned up). On the other hand, very tiny sounds, such as a floorboard creak, a whisp= er, etc can be equally devastating in the right context. Now, on the question of whether certain musical forms might be more scar= y than others - look to films. Again, context always seems to be important,= but the shrieking violins in Psycho (shower scene), for arguments' sake, m= ight exemplify. Conversely, some sound design deliberately chooses melodious, gentle mus= ic to accompany horrifying scenes (eg Reservoir Dogs, Rosemary's Baby). So, it seems to me that you might find it very hard to talk about 'intri= nsic scary-ness' by leaving out ongoing perceptual context. good luck! <div id=3D"Signature"> <div id=3D"divtagdefaultwrapper" dir=3D"ltr" style=3D"font-size: 12pt; colo= r: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif,"Emoj= iFont","Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji",NotoCo= lorEmoji,"Segoe UI Symbol","Android Emoji",EmojiSymbols= ;"> <div class=3D"BodyFragment"> <div class=3D"PlainText"> <div> Dr. Peter Lennox SFHEA Senior Lecturer in Perception College of Arts, Humanities and Education School of Arts   e: <a href=3D"mailto:p.lennox@xxxxxxxx" id=3D"= LPNoLP">p.lennox@xxxxxxxx</a> t: 01332 593155   <a href=3D"https://derby.academia.edu/peterlennox" i= d=3D"LPNoLP">https://derby.academia.edu/peterlennox</a> <a href=3D"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pete= r_Lennox" id=3D"LPNoLP">https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Lennox</= a>   University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <hr style=3D"display:inline-block;width:98%" tabindex=3D"-1"> <div id=3D"divRplyFwdMsg" dir=3D"ltr">From: AUDITORY - Research i= n Auditory Perception <AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx> on behalf of ULStude= nt:RITA.MC CARTHY <14151421@xxxxxxxx> Sent: 24 October 2017 12:20:34 To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxx Subject: Research Question <div> </div> </div> <div> <div id=3D"divtagdefaultwrapper" style=3D"font-size:12pt;color:#000000;font= -family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;" dir=3D"ltr"> Hi Guys, I am in my final year in the University of Limerick, so this year I have= had to come up with a final year project, mine is, "Is it possible to= make synthetic sounds sound real and also, can they carry the same affect = of emotion to the listener as the real deal would?" This is all in the horror genre. I have had to gather so= me horror sounds to work with but I would also like other peoples opinion o= n what is considered a scary sound to them. By the end of my fourth year I = will hopefully have an installation here at my university, where the listener sits in a dark room, 3D sound, so spe= akers on high, mid and low level of the walls, and a narrative sound design= playing around them. So my question is to you, what is a sound that you find chilling/scary?<= /p> I would appreciate any feedback you could give me. Kind Regards, Rita </div> </div> The University of Derby has a published policy regarding email and reserves= the right to monitor email traffic. If you believe this was sent to you in error, please reply to the sender an= d let them know. Key University contacts: http://www.derby.ac.uk/its/contacts/ </body> </html> --_000_AM5PR0101MB2467FCAEE6FBA864DBE72C1FCE450AM5PR0101MB2467_--

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