10012733critical analysis

Student ID

10012733

Academic
Year

2015/16

outcome 1

This student has specific learning difficulties which may affect

fluent, accurate and concise written expression.

Please adopt a common-sense approach in accordance with

the marking guidelines available at: www.uhi.ac.uk/dyslexia

This student's support plan was approved by:

Name

Gerald McLaughlin

Email

PE14GM@uhi.ac.uk

Date

12/Nov/2015 12:00 pm

Assignment Cover Sheet: Music Industry Studies

Beth Sullivan

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An Assignment cover sheet must be included with each assignment. Please complete all details
clearly.

If you are submitting the assignment on paper, please staple this sheet to the front of each assignment. If
you are submitting the assignment online, please ensure this cover sheet is included at the start of your
document. (This is preferable to a separate attachment.)

Name: Beth Sullivan

Student ID:10012733

Groupwise Email: BETHANY SULLIVAN (10012733@uhi.ac.uk)

Programme Title and Level: Audio Engineering BSC Hons Year 4

Student adviser: Dave Paterson

Tutor: Mike Brown

Module title: Sound Design For Interactive Media

Due date:13/11/2015

Critically research into the use of professional audio visual artefacts

and technologies within modern exhibitions/ presentations
Assignment topic/title

I declare that the work contained in this assignment is my own, except where acknowledgement of sources is
made.

I authorise the University to test any work submitted by me for instances of plagiarism using text comparison
software. I understand this may involve the University copying my work and storing it on a database to be used
in future to test work submitted by others.

Note: The attachment of this statement on any electronically submitted assignments will be deemed to have
the same authority as a signed statement. In addition, any tangible evidence of assessment work and/or
feedback must not be copied, downloaded or streamed onto any multimedia service, platform or device.

I understand that I can obtain further information on this matter at http://www.uhi.ac.uk

Beth Sullivan

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Signed:

outcome 1

Date:

Staff use only

Date received from

student

First marker

Assessment/grade

Second Marker

Assessment/grade

Third marker

Agreed grade

Introduction
This essay is about the professional current audio technologies within
modern exhibitions and presentations and will also look into the
technology of convergences. These two parts of the question can be
looked at similarly as a progression of time. Just like the next two
questions which are looking into the multi-disciplinary audio and visual
practices, the final question is looking into the multimedia technologies
and practices. The essay will look into the progression of computers from
what they were like when they were first built and how they have become
what people see now. The essay will also look into the progression of how
exhibitions have been presented as well as presentations themselves. The
essay will look into how VCR movies have become DVDs and have then
Beth Sullivan

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progressed onto Blue Ray DVDs. The essay will look at how CGI has
become stronger and changed to appear more realistic to the viewer than
it was 15 years ago.

Professional current audio technology within modern exhibitions and

presentations
Exhibitions are becoming more popular to showcase system designs. This
especially true nowadays, with modern technologies available. Exhibitions
are becoming more popular with the showcasing of art and fashion, as
well as some forms of film. The main part of an exhibition is to show the
transformation of a project in an accurate and manageable timeline. When
an exhibition is done with art, it could include art changing forms. Why do
this? Because people will be interested to see how the different forms of
art can change, such as showing an exhibition where people have become
involved and enjoyed the method of presenting work more as a result.
Exhibitions can be as simple as someone working on a market to make the
stall look appealing, by designing it in such a way that the colours, lighting
and placement are planned well enough to be exciting. Another situation
could be when pianos are left at a train station and people end up playing
on the piano but dont realise that theyre the ones who are presenting
the exhibition. Because people are taking notice and watching whats
happening in front of them, it can still be classed as an exhibition.
Presentations are similar with people showing information from studies
that are backed up with graphs and charts which display information in
ways that are easier to understand. When its just words and text
describing a situation, the information will not be understood or
remembered as well. Another example of current technologies in
exhibitions would be the art and the music exhibit at the National Gallery
called 1hear the paint, see the sound. This is a soundscape with
musicians who choose a painting and then create a piece of music that
resembles what the picture conveys to the musician. Musicians can use an
orchestra and also have DJs available there as well.
Technology convergence
This part of the essay will look into a form of technology that has grown
strongly over a period of time. The first computer was introduced on 15th

1 http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/soundscapes
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February 1946, called the 2enigma machine and was built to break codes
as well as to create them in the Second World War. From this first creation,
the computer has been built, modified and rebuilt over the years to be
made smaller and more portable. The early computers had little memory
and storage capacity, but can now hold very large amounts of information.
The computer display has progressed from being a very heavy 3CRT
(Cathode Ray Tube) to being a much lighter and portable 4LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display) screen. The CRT screen uses rays of coloured light
beamed on to a specially coated screen from behind, which then glows
and presents the viewer with an image. Computer displays gradually
progressed to use LCD screens which are much lighter (depending on size)
and use less power, with a thin layer of liquid crystals behind the screen,
in front of a light source.
Another progression was when the first flip-top laptop came out in 1981,
which could do the same work as a computer, but was more portable and
could do it anywhere that had a power supply. The early laptops didnt
come with long life batteries, but as they became more efficient over
time, battery life has gradually increased.
When the internet first arrived in 1969, computers started becoming even
more robust and you can now watch live streaming video from the other
side of the world, such as live sports events for example. It is also now
possible to watch high definition films on laptops, play games and even
create your own films and games. Todays computers and laptops are now
easier to build. They are lightweight and smaller in size with longer life,
portable batteries so you dont need to be plugged into a wall socket all
the time. The reason laptops have changed so much is because they are
in high demand and have had to become lighter and well designed, as
well as the needing larger memory and storage. As times move on, the
equipment needs to be able to keep up with the latest software being
used.
Laptops and computers are a lot faster than they first were and are more
interactive now, with touch screens and motion sensors, so a person
doesnt always need to use a mouse or separate keyboard. There are even
voice activated computers now, which shows just how much technology

2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/enigma
3 http://wps.aw.com/wps/media/objects/877/898586/topics/topic07.pdf
4 http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/CMMPE/OE_16_23_2008.pdf
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has moved on and progressed, meaning exhibitions and presentations can

be more interactive and fun for people to learn from.
Multi-disciplinary and audio visual practices
You can see how films have progressed from the layout of them. Movies
were first produced on reel tape and presented on a projector. This
developed into movies going on to 5VCR, which was due to the fact that
the casing protected the tape and the movie projectors were becoming
old. Then VCRs slowly started to die out, because of the creation of DVDs
with higher quality digital storage and the demise of the video cassette
happened. After the DVD came Blue Ray. The main difference is that Blue
Ray has a higher image resolution than DVD and more storage capacity.
DVDs and Blue Ray DVDs have a similar amount of storage as an iPod. The
reason for this is that DVDs have extra information for the viewer and the
Blue Ray DVD can show more features. Blue Ray will present visual
information on the screen as well as the audio just like any normal DVD,
but the audio and visual effects are clearer and of a much higher quality.
The name Blue Ray came from the fact that the DVD player laser is
coloured blue, unlike the red laser of a normal DVD player.
Multimedia technologies and practices
Its not just VCR, DVD and Blue Ray technology that is changing. You can
also watch films on demand using systems like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
A person does not even need to buy the physical film, but can just search
for a title then watch the movie using their online account. This is only
possible due to the progression of computers and is used by people who
like a wider choice of whats available and how they enjoy watching films.
The technology has come so far and will progress further in the years to
come. There is also a change in how films are created with CGI. When
using CGI at first, a person would have to have ping pong balls attached to
a suit, for the lasers to pin point movement of the actor and then
reproduce it in an animation sequence. CGI has transformed drastically
over the past 9 years and has improved greatly in terms of quality and
realism. Actors can now wear CGI suits that have red dots instead of the
ping pong balls to mark out parts of the body. The suit still marks out
different areas, but it represents the movement better. Certain films like
Lord of the Rings, where Gollum had to be created within CGI, made him
appear more life-like than the character would have been 9 years ago,
when people in the film industry were still trying to figure out how to make
CGI more realistic.
5 http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/CMMPE/OE_16_23_2008.pdf
Beth Sullivan

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Conclusion
The conclusion from the student is that every aspect of presentations and
exhibitions has moved forward. People have learned how to make
presentations more engaging and fun, which has helped people to retain
the information they have been given, due to the better quality of audio
visual technologies available and the interactive environment that can be
created as a result.

Beth Sullivan

word count 1,436

12/11/2015