Research / current projects
Publication in „Doing Research in Sound Design”
Edited by Michael Filimowicz, published by Routledge/ Focal Press
„Watching and Evaluating Simultanouesly: An Approach to Measure the Expressive Power of Sound Design in a Moving Picture” by Maximilian Kock
Publication in Empirical Musicology Review (EMR)
Empirical Musicology Review is published by The Ohio State University Libraries
Editors: Daniel Müllensiefen, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Daniel Shanahan, Ohio State University, United States
Vol. 13 No. 3-4 (2018), https://emusicology.org/issue/view/221/showToc
"The Power of Sound Design in A Moving Picture: an Empirical Study with emoTouch for iPad"
ABSTRACT: The art of sound design for a moving picture rests basically on the work experience of pragmatists. This study tries to establishsome guidelines on sound design: In an experiment 240 participants gave feedback about their emotions while watching two videos, each combined with four different audio tracks – music, sound effects, full sounddesign (music and sound effects) and no audio (as the comparative "null" version).
Each participant viewed an audiovisual combination once to prevent habituation. The lead author employed a tablet-computer with the emoTouch-application serving as a mapping tool to provide information about the emotional responses. The participants moved a marker on the tablet's touch screen in a two-dimensional rating scale describing their felt immersion and suspense. A 3-factor-ANOVA showed significant increases of the median (and maxima) values of immersion and suspensewhen the participants listened to music and/ or sound effects. These values were always compared to the induced emotions of the participants who watched the videos with no audio at all.
The video with full sound design audio tracks increased the median immersion values up to four times and the median suspense values up to 1.4 times. The median suspense values of the video with either music or sound effects droppedby 40 percent compared to the median suspense values of the null version. In contrast, the median immersion values were increased up to 3.6 times. The findings point to the importance of sound effects in an appropriate mix with music to enhance the viewers induced immersion and suspense.
Dissertation (published 2018 by Schiele & Schön, Berlin):
"How Sound Matches the Picture: Ways to effective sound design":
How do recipients perceive sound effects in combination with music? Through listening experiments with 240 subjects, the emotional and immersive effect of a soundtrack will be determined and the implicit knowledge of sound designers for practical sound design will be confirmed and expanded. PhD in 2018.
Order here (in German): https://www.amazon.de/Wie-Ton-zum-Bild-passt/dp/3794909593
Reference book reviews:
"Der Tonmeister" by Carlos Albrecht, 2010, published by Schiele & Schön, Berlin.
"Audio-Vision" by Michel Chion, 2013, publishing house Schiele & Schön, Berlin
"Audio Engineering" by Thomas Görne, 2017, Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany
"Audiodesign" by Hannes Raffaseder, 2010, Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich
I am currently supervising or have supervised the following bachelor and master theses (selection):
Lars Priebe:
Bachelor thesis: Use of vocal processors in hip-hop music production.
Franek Lisiecki:
Bachelor thesis: Conception and realization of a large tent sound system using the example of the Groot Kerstcircus Den Haag/Netherlands
Máté Tasnadi:
Bachelor thesis: Creation of a 3D surround tuning in a vehicle (in cooperation with Audi AG, Ingolstadt)
Christian Falk:
Master's thesis: Impact of loudness control in broadcasting according to EBU recommendation R-128 (in cooperation with Bayerisches Fernsehen, Munich)
Christoph Mittermaier:
Bachelor thesis: Detroit Techno and the typical production means of this genre
Eric Anderson Leschnik:
Master thesis: The Design of an Interactive, Multi-Sensory and Multimedia Retail-Experience for the Fashion Industry
Patrick Lehmeier:
Bachelor thesis: Production management at Bayerisches Fernsehen: From the initial concept to the finished TV production using the example of the International Jazz Festival in Burghausen (in cooperation with Bayerisches Fernsehen, Munich)
Marco Hanelt:
Masterthesis: Ambience Recording for 3D-Audio (in cooperation with Dolby Germany, Nuremberg)
Maximilian Dittrich:
Bachelor thesis: Wave field synthesis in its practical application using the example of IOSONO (in cooperation with Fraunhofer Institut IIS, Erlangen)
Tobias Zirngibl:
Bachelor thesis: Video conferencing in operating rooms in HD conception and its implementation (in cooperation with the University Hospital of Regensburg)
For more information about my musical projects and my work in the field of sound design, please visit http://maximilian-kock.net/
