into MyPalette for each local audio file: description, source,
copyright, notes, genre, key, and tempo. In addition, each
file may be placed in a class (Effect, Instrument, or Other)
and in a system-defined or user-defined category and subcategory. The main window of the program displays a
hierarchical view of MyPalette files organized by class,
category, and sub-category.
The collection of sounds at FindSounds.com is
accessible using FindSounds Palette and is called
"WebPalette." With one query, a user can search MyPalette
and WebPalette to find local and remote files satisfying
search criteria. Up to 200 MyPalette hits are returned in one
list, and up to 200 WebPalette hits are retrieved in another.
Hits may be displayed in tabular form and sorted by clicking
on column headings, or may appear in a "stacked" view like
the hits at FindSounds.com. A Comparisonics waveform
display appears beside each hit along with icons for playing
the file, opening the file in the audio editor, and launching a
sounds-like search. Once opened in the audio editor, a
WebPalette file can be saved locally to MyPalette.
Users can specify keyword, sounds-like, and combined
searches. Any search may place restrictions on file format,
file size, number of channels, resolution, sample rate,
duration, key, and tempo. Keyword searches can apply to
any combination of text fields: file name, description,
source, copyright, notes, genre, category, and sub-category.
A sounds-like search can specify the desired range of
similarity scores.
Hollywood sound designers know well that useful and
interesting sounds can be obtained by changing the playback
speed of an audio recording. For example, in his book on
sound effects, Mott (1990) describes how a single recording
of a waterfall, when played at different speeds, has been
used convincingly to create the sounds of printing presses
and atomic bomb explosions.
In a sounds-like search, FindSounds Palette can search
the sounds produced by playing audio files at various
speeds. Each file in MyPalette can be indexed at its normal
speed and 24 other speeds: the normal speed modified by
plus or minus one to 12 semitones. This has the effect of
multiplying the size of the local audio collection, but
without increasing hard disk utilization because each audio
file is stored only once, at its normal speed. A collection of
10,000 local audio files thereby becomes a searchable
database of 250,000 sounds. Likewise, each WebPalette file
is indexed at more than 40 speeds. The 50,000 sounds in
the FindSounds index become a searchable collection of
2,000,000 sounds!
The audio editor enables a user to play, record, and edit
an audio file while viewing its Comparisonics waveform
display. Editing operations include cut, copy, paste, mix,
delete, fade, adjust volume, undo, and redo. The user may
change the playback speed of a file, and appropriately, the
waveform display is automatically repainted with new
colors to reflect the change in sound.
The user may select any sound in an audio file by
highlighting it in the colored waveform display. Clicking
on the sounds-like search icon retrieves sounds in MyPalette
and WebPalette that are similar to the selected sound. Using
his voice or props, a user can mimic a desired sound into a
microphone and find similar sounds available locally and on
the Web.
FindSounds Palette is available for computers running
Microsoft Windows. A free trial can be downloaded from:
http://www.FindSounds.com/Palette.html
4 Conclusion
FindSounds.com offers unprecedented access to sound
effects on the Web. Keyword searching supplemented with
content-based retrieval, hits illustrated by colored waveform
displays, and careful semi-automated index construction,
create a powerful and enjoyable Web search engine.
FindSounds Palette extends the search capabilities of
FindSounds.com to local audio files, enables sounds-like
searching of multiple speeds, and integrates a unique
colored waveform editor.
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Proceedings ICMC 2004
