Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and what do you study?
I am from Scotland where I still spend a lot of my time. As an undergraduate I obtained a 1st Class Honours in Electronic and Communication Engineering. I also have a Postgraduate Diploma in Mechatronics, a Masters with distinction in Digital Music Processing as well as a Diploma in Music. I am now a member of the Media and Arts Technology Doctoral College at Queen Mary University of London. My PhD is in Real-Time Synthesis of Aeroacoustic Sounds using Physical Models. This requires me to research the sound generating processes from a fluid dynamics perspective and then implement this as a sound effect.
What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?
My passion for audio is born out from my passion for music. Following a number of years as a singer/songwriter and performing musician, I decided to build up a home studio and devote time to record myself. It was while doing this that I passion expanded to include audio equipment, recording techniques, etc.
Tell us about production of your submission? What is the story behind it? What inspired it? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?
My submission was the Real-Time Synthesis of a Propeller. This effect is a combination of two different aeroacoustic sounds and a motor sound. The first aeroacoustic sound is a broadband sound generated by vortex shedding as a propeller moves through the air. The second aeroacoustic sound is a periodic sound generated by the thrust and drag of the propeller creating pulses at the revolution speed. The motor sound was borrowed from Andy Farnell, one of my supervisors.
The inspiration behind this was to give a practical example that has relevance to video games, films and TV. The majority of my research is designing fundamental models of aeroacoustic sounds, e.g. Aeolian Tone, Cavity Tone or Edge Tone. By implementing sound effects where the fundamental models are the building blocks, reveals the diversity of what can be achieved. A propellor model is a great example of this.
This was my first entry to the competition.
What/who made you join AES?
I first joined my research group at Queen Mary, lead by Josh Reiss, in 2009 while I was undertaking a Masters project. Josh and a number of students in the group are active AES members and saw the benefits of being a member so joined.
My favourite experience at AES 141 was meeting the guys from Columbia who won the Gold award at the student design competition. They had clear passion for their project, obviously worked extremely hard on it and really deserve the recognition.
Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
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