Acoustics & Ambient Noise
Acoustics
Acoustics, meaning the way sound is transmitted or behaves within a space, is affected by a space’s size, shape, and the materials from which it is constructed. High ceilings, flat and parallel surfaces, and hard materials make a space more reverberant while things like uneven surfaces and soft materials reduce reverberation. Having soft furniture and rugs or carpet can reduce reflection considerably, as do acoustic panels designed specifically for the purposes of absorbing sound.Listen to the different spaces below to get a sense of how these aspects of a space affects the acoustics:
Reflection is not a bad thing. A little bit of it is pleasant and not having any can feel unnatural. A lot of reflection or an echo, however, can make it hard to discern sounds, in particular, speech.
Ambient Noise
Besides getting a sense of the acoustical nature of the Bapst Library, Fine Print Reading Room, office, and Podcasting Room, you also could hear the ambient noise in the spaces. Like reflection, ambient noise is not a bad thing, and, like reflection, not having feels unnatural. The key is to not have it be distracting or overpowering.When recording it is best to capture the ambient noise, or room tone, as it is called when recording. This will be helpful during editing when you have empty spaces, which if not filled with room tone will jar the listener as there suddenly will be complete silence. In this Bapst Library example, you can hear the difference that filling in and not filling in the room tone makes.
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This page references:
- Bapst Library Ambient Noise
- Boston College's Bapst Library
- Boston College O’Neill Library’s Podcasting Room in the Digital Studio
- Office Reverberation
- Boston College's Burns Library Fine Print Reading Room
- Boston College O’Neill Library Office
- Bapst Stairs Reverberation
- Fine Print Room Reverberation
- Podcasting Room