Final Exam Flashcards
What is Reaper?
A digital Audio Workstation?
What is a VST?
Virtual Studio Technology
What is a VSTi?
Virtual Studio Technology Instrument
What is middleware?
Software that fits between the DAW and game engine in the production pipeline. Used by sound designers to create and implement sound events into games.
What is FMOD?
Middleware. It’s fully integrated into Unity, and contains audio in one access point, making it easier to implement audio.
What are the five audio types?
Dialogue, Environment, SFX, UI, and Music.
What are waveforms?
Visual representation of a sound wave.
What are two key properties of a wave and what do they affect?
Frequency - Pitch, Amplitude - Volume
What is a continuous wave?
A wave with a continuous repeating pattern (ex. sine wave)
What is a pulsed wave?
A wave broken up by super small beats of silence.
What is a Tracker
An old way of implementing sounds in games. Simulates the steps of a processor and displays time in a more literal sense.
How does a tracker display the passing of time?
From top to bottom.
What are trackers generally used for?
Music.
What can a DAW be used for.
Any audio context.
What is subtractive synthesis?
Taking a midi input, applying a sound wave (oscillator), adding a filter, amplifying it, before giving an output.
What is frequency modulation synthesis?
Modulating multiple waveforms together to create a more complex wave.
What is additive synthesis?
Adding multiple sine waves together to create a more complex sound.
What is wavetable synthesis?
Scrolling between multiple sound waves to create a more complex sound.
What is a signal chain?
The chain in which a sound travels. (ex. voice > laptop > os > discord > laptop speakers)
What are transients?
Large visible spikes in a sound wave, often used to find the start of a sound effect/beat.
What is the name for the Reaper window that lets you add new instruments/sounds?
Track view.
What is the name for the Reaper window that allows you to pause/play/record?
Transport Controls.
What is the name for the Reaper window that lets you adjust the volumes of different tracks?
Mixer View.
What does MIDI stand for?
Musical Instrument Digital interface.
How long has MIDI been a standard for digital instruments?
Since the 1980s.
What does MIDI control?
What notes are played, and what parameters affect instruments and effects.
What does a VST do?
Acts as an audio effect, or an instrument (VSTi).
How does an Effects Signal Chain Work?
First the VSTi is applied, then VSTs are applied in a descending order down the list.
What does a VSTi do?
Produces a source of sound (often triggered by MIDI).
What two sources can a VSTi use?
Sampler or Synthesizer.
What is a VSTi Sampler?
An audio sample used to produce the sound.
What is a VSTi Synthesizer?
A sound created through waveforms and synthesis.
