Media and Information Literacy

Audio Information and Media

Audio
Audio is defined as anything connected to sound, specifically when received, recorded, transferred, or
duplicated (HarperCollins, n.d.). It is anything related to the documentation and transmission of sound
(Cambridge University, n.d.). Audio is one of the resources of media and information, along with text,
visual, and motion.

Audio Media refers to the media communication that uses audio equipment to report, document, and deliver
information through the means of sound. It may also refer to audio formats such as analog tape cassettes,
digital compact discs, and computer files containing audio. On the other hand, audio information is the file
or sound created and transferred by using high fidelity waves that are heard through certain audio tools.

There are several types of audio file:

 Radio Broadcast – the act of sending a live or recorded audio through radio waves meant for a large
group of listeners
 Music – an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a
structured and continuous manner
 Sound Recording – the encoding of any sound from the surroundings; the act or procedure of
making a record of a certain sound (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
 Sound Clip/Sound Effect – the sound, aside from dialogue and music, artificially made to create an
effect in a movie, play, or other broadcast production (Oxford University, n.d.)
 Audio Podcast – an episodic series of digital audio or video file or recording that can be
downloaded by a user from a website to a media player or computer to listen

Aside from knowing the various types of audio information, you must also learn the different ways of
storing audio files:
 Tape – a magnetic tape sound recording format on which sound can be documented
 Compact Disc – a plastic-fabricated, circular tool on which audio, video, and other digital
information is recorded, stored, and played back
 USB Flash Drive - an external hard disk drive, small enough to fit on a keychain, that can be
plugged into the computer’s USB port
 Memory Card – a small, flat flash drive used to save data such as audio files, pictures, texts, and
videos for use on small, portable, or remote computing devices
 Computer Hard Drive – a secondary data storage device for saving digital data
 Internet/Cloud – a wide network of remote servers in the internet meant to operate as storage and
retrieval of audio files and other computer data

Now, before we save our audio files, we need to consider first the numerous audio file formats:
 MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) - a coding format for consumer audio, as well as a mean of sound
sequence compression for the transmission and playback of music on most digital audio players
 M4A/AAC (MPEG-4 Audio/Advanced Audio Coding) - a file extension for lossy digital audio
compression
 WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) - the Microsoft audio file format standard used for the
storage of digital audio data on personal computers
 WMA (Windows Media Audio) - a file extension developed by Microsoft and used with Windows
Media Player

A Friendly Reminder: Hearing vs. Listening

“Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are not hearing-impaired, hearing
simply happens. Listening, however, is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires
concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to
learning.”
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2011; Rosenblat, 2009)
Characteristics of a Sound
 Volume - the force of a sound
 Tone - the musical or vocal sound of a definite quality (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)
 Pitch - the degree of highness or lowness of a sound (Oxford University, n.d.)
 Loudness - the feature of a sound that determines the degree of the auditory sensation produced
(Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Purposes of Using Sounds or Audio Media

 These enable the learners to listen to the ideas and views of the experts and other reliable people;
 These allow learners to listen to learning materials, like speeches;
 These serve as alternative guides for the learners when they are doing their tasks, such as
experiments; and
 These grant the learners audio files of important past events or sounds from the settings that the
learners cannot personally visit.

Elements and Principles of Sound Design

Sound Design is the vivid use of sound during a production in connection to the images and contents of the
story to create an emotional response. These are the elements of sound design or the elements that one must
work with to produce soundtracks:

 Dialogue – a composition in the form of conversation between two people

 Sound Effect - the sound, aside from dialogue and music, artificially made to create an effect in a
movie, play, or broadcast production (Oxford University, n.d.)
 Music - an instrumental or a vocal sound that conveys emotions and ideas in significant forms
through the elements of color, harmony, melody, and rhythm
 Silence – the complete absence of noise or sound

Aside from these elements that one must work with in creating a soundtrack, principles of sound design, or
the audio techniques for merging the various elements or objects of sound design, should also be considered:
 Mixing – the balance, combination, and control of numerous sound elements
 Pace – the editing and the time control of sound design; it has numerous categories:
 Linear – the sounds that are permanent, used once, and will be in the same place
 Non-Linear – the sounds that are much more open in comparison to linear sounds
 Multi-Linear

 Transition – the process of getting from one element or fragment of sound design to another; it has
various types:
 Segue – an uninterrupted movement from one piece of music to another
 Cross-Fade – the smooth transition of a sound between two side by side audio files on the same
track
 V-Fade – a switch from one volume level to another softer or louder level
 Fade to Black – a type of V-Fade which has some silence between the elements of sound design
 Stereo Imaging - the feature of sound documentation and duplication concerning the supposed
spatial locations of the sound sources, both sideways and in depth.
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POST-TEST
A. Read each question carefully. Write the chosen answer (letter and word/s) on your activity
notebook.

1. Which of the following principles of sound design refers to the balance, combination, and control of
numerous sound elements?
a. dialogue b. mixing c. pace d. publisher
 2. What term refers to an episodic series of digital audio or video file or recording that can be
downloaded by a user from a website to a media player or computer to listen?
a. audio podcast b. music c. radio broadcast d. sound recording
3. What storage medium refers to a small, flat flash drive used to save data such as audios, pictures,
texts, and videos for use on small, portable, or remote computing devices?
a. compact hard drive b. memory card c. tape d. USB drive
4. What element of sound design refers to the complete absence of noise or sound?
a. mixing b. music c. pace d. silence
5. What do you call the Microsoft audio file format standard used for the storage of digital audio data
on personal computers?
a. M4A b. MP3 c. WAV d. WMA
6. What type of audio file refers to an instrumental or a vocal sound that conveys emotions and ideas
in significant forms through the elements of color, harmony, melody, and rhythm?
a. audio podcast b. dialogue c. music d. sound clip
7. What do you call the sound, aside from dialogue and music, artificially made to create an effect in a
movie, play, or another broadcast production?
a. audio podcast b. radio broadcast c. silence d. sound effect
8. What term refers to a coding format for consumer audio, as well as a means of sound sequence
compression for the transmission and playback of music on most digital audio players?
a. M4A b. MP3 c. WAV d. WMA

9. What storage medium refers to a plastic-fabricated, circular tool on which audio, video, and other
digital information is recorded, stored, and played back?
a. compact disc b. internet c. memory card d. tape
10.Which of the following resources of media and information is defined as anything connected to
sound, specifically when received, recorded, transferred, or duplicated?
a. digital text b. font c. text style d. typeface

B. Modified True or False: Read each statement carefully. Write True if the statement is correct, but if it is
false, change the underlined word or group of words to make the whole
statement true.

__________11. Mixing refers to the balance, combination, and control of numerous sound elements.
__________12. Radio Broadcast is an episodic series of digital audio or video file or recording that can be
downloaded by a user from a website to a media player or computer to listen.
__________13. USB Drive is a small, flat flash drive used to save data such as audios, pictures, texts, and
videos for use on small, portable, or remote computing devices.
__________14. Silence refers to the complete absence of noise or sound.
__________15. WMA is the Microsoft audio file format standard used for the storage of digital audio data
on personal computers.
__________16. Sound Clip is an instrumental or a vocal sound that conveys emotions and ideas in
significant forms through the elements of color, harmony, melody, and rhythm.
__________17. Audio Podcast is the sound, aside from dialogue and music, artificially made to create an
effect in a movie, play, or other broadcast production.
__________18. M4A is a coding format for consumer audio, as well as a means of sound sequence
compression for the transmission and playback of music on most digital audio players.
__________19. Compact Disc refers to a plastic-fabricated, circular tool on which audio, video, and other
digital information is recorded, stored, and played back.
__________20. Visual is defined as anything connected to sound, specifically when received, recorded,
transferred, or duplicated.