Monday, November 2, 2009
Week 14: November 30 to December 6
BLOG topic Week FOURTEEN: If there is one thing that people almost expect to get with a Flash movie is sound. Sound can be an effective way to communicate and sometimes it can be off-putting; your job is to walk that thin line between both. Discuss what your own opinions are about sound in a Flash movie or Flash Web page. What if a visitor doesn't have speakers or has a hearing disability? Will this impact your Flash movie in any way? What do you think can be done about this?
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9 comments:
Sound can significantly improve the effectivness of a website. The benefits and uses are many.
However, the ability to stop and start the sound is critical. Sound needs to play correctly or it becomes a nuisance rather than an enhancement. Sound also needs to be heard. There are too many variables over which the site developer has no control that can prevent the sound from being heard or heard well.
Since access to websites varies widely by both types of users and hardware, the useability of the website should not depend solely or even heavily upon sound. A site should function well without sound.
When the planets align and the user, software, hardware all agree to function as designed, a website with the well thought-out use of sound can cause Von Trapp moments. It'll make you want to break out in song. "The sites are alive, with the sound of music." "When the button clicks, when the horn honks, ...these are some of my favorite things........ and I feeeeel, sooo, coool."
I agree with MsAnDs, with just a couple more thoughts.
Perhaps because I'm a closet comic who sees the bizarre in many daily moments, I understand sound on a website as an added element; an extra. If it's constantly bombarding me, I get annoyed.
Instead, I like to use sound as an effect; a comic effect or a little clever touch. Or, have the user make the sound happen.
And if you use sound, there needs to be some visual indication that there is sound possible, in case the user has speakers turned off (as I often do).
I think organic sounds work best (an animal or a nature sound), maybe because of the juxtaposition between machine and animal.
Time to take a break, wouldn't you say?
Ruth
I love the comment ,Sands had about the "Von Trapp" moment.
My preference with sound is that it be optional. Many times when I am working on the computer I am already playing the music that moves me. When I visit my daughter's MySpace I have learned to have my speakers off - our taste in music is that different.
All that said - to be the artist that designs the site's sight and sound so that they blend well together is a wonderful challenge. As long as there is an off button for my daughter to turn off "my noise".
One of the most marvelous aspects of this class is the new level of creative expression it has brought me to. Unlike, above mentioned daughter, I am not an artist. But with the CS4 I feel like I am becoming one in ways I never knew were possible before. I can SEE how this works and am seeing it's effects everywhere. Now when I watch TV I am looking to see how they used flash or fireworks!
This is so fun! I am jazzed about having almost two weeks to work on the final project and play with some of the things we have learned!
Reply to LBumpus; I have found myself doing the same thing with movies, tv, other web sites, even print. Noticing "effects", layouts, fonts, etc. Weird, but cool. Thanks for the Von Trapp props. I figured most of "the audience" is old enough to get it.
I am not a big fan of sound in websites - probably because I don't like being surprised. Most websites that use sound do not use it in a considerate way - the sound just comes out of nowhere and with no control on volume or turning it off/on. I really believe that the website experience should be completely controlled by the visitor whenever there are special effects, sounds, pictures, animations, etc. The visitor should always be given a choice of whether they want to view/hear/ etc. as well as how much time it takes to download a file, or to run a script. I also believe that we should always be given the opportunity to avoid seeing any offensive images/sounds and should be warned before opening a page, etc.
In terms of accessibility for hearing impaired visitor, you could always add a scripted version of the animation to your webpage (so it could be an option)
I'm of the opinion that sound should be OFF by default, and have the ability to be turned on if needed. This allows for a non-obtrusive experience, but still allows users to use the capability of sound.
I think that sound is a good thing on a web site. It really enhances the experience when one is visiting the site. What I do find annoying is that sometimes yo cannot turn it off when you are tired of it. I think that the most effective use of sound is on the splash page. Then if the visitor wants to hear more sound, they could turn it on. I also think the sound should be a stand alone and not as a part of a movie so that it can be turned on and off. Overall, the sound should be a minimal part of the site and not the focus. There is one site that I visit frequently that has a little sound bite at the beginning. In fact, it is Quicken and American Express and they both have the same little sound clip when you log-in. I can't begin to count how many times that little sound byte has scared the dickens out of me! That is really annoying because it is sudden and very loud.
Who is MsAnDs? So I can give credit. This is a private Blog, no need to hide your name if you want credit.
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