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VOA慢速英语2011--How Two Programs Altered Music and Photo

时间:2011-06-08 06:06:26

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EXPLORATIONS - How Two Programs Altered Music and Photography

BARBARA KLEIN: I’m Barbara Klein.
STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS, in VOA Special English. Today we talk about two hugely influential1 computer software tools. Auto-Tune is a software program that can correct the sound quality of musical recordings3. Adobe4 Photoshop is a computer editing program for digital images.
These programs have changed the way people make music and take pictures. Their effects can be experienced in nearly all current popular music and digital photography.
(MUSIC)
BARBARA KLEIN: The best way to explain how Auto-Tune works is to listen to an example of its pitch correction ability. That was an example of a singer purposely performing off key. The recording2 came from the company Antares Audio Technologies, which makes Auto-Tune. Here is the same song after being corrected with Auto-Tune.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Marco Alpert works at the California-based company. We asked him to explain how Auto-Tune works. 
MARCO ALPERT: “At its simplest level, basically Auto-Tune is constantly monitoring the pitch of whatever it is you are tuning5, let’s assume it’s a voice for the purpose of this. It’s listening to the pitch that the voice is singing and it’s comparing that pitch to what’s called the target pitch.”
STEVE EMBER: If a performer sings the correct musical notes, Auto-Tune does not change anything. If the singer has trouble reaching those notes, Auto-Tune can change the incorrect pitch into the correct target pitch.
MARCO ALPERT: “The key issue is how quickly it makes that change.”
BARBARA KLEIN: The correction rate can be set so that a correction is not easy to identify, like in the example we heard earlier. Or, it can be set to correct a pitch in a way that makes a robotic sounding effect.
The singer Cher is said to have been the first major artist to use this extreme Auto-Tune effect in her nineteen ninety-eight song “Believe.”
(MUSIC)
BARBARA KLEIN: Many hip-hop artists have made use of this Auto-Tune vocal6 effect. One of the most well known users is the artist T-Pain. There is even an iPhone app called I Am T-Pain. It lets users record and play back their voice using this Auto-Tune effect.
STEVE EMBER: The Gregory Brothers is a band based in Brooklyn. The group has become popular on the Internet for its creative and funny use of this software. Its collection of YouTube videos is called “Auto-Tune the News.”
To make the videos, members of the band took video recordings of famous politicians and broadcasters and changed their voices using Auto-Tune.
(SOUND: The Gregory Brothers and Hillary Clinton on “Auto-Tune the News”)
STEVE EMBER: The politicians and broadcasters seem to be singing with members of the Gregory Brothers band.
BARBARA KLEIN: This was probably not the use Andy Hildebrand had in mind when he invented the software. Mr. Hildebrand began his career as an engineer. He developed computer-based systems for oil exploration. After retiring from this industry, he decided7 to study music. He used his knowledge from the oil industry to invent a computer program for musicians.
Mr. Hildebrand later formed a company to create other music software. His company, Antares, released Auto-Tune in nineteen ninety-seven. There are other software programs that correct pitch and other parts of a musical work, but Auto-Tune is one of the best known.
STEVE EMBER: To better understand Auto-Tune’s use in the music industry, we spoke8 to Jim Klein. He is a composer, producer and recording engineer. He also is program director of the Music Industry Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We asked Mister Klein about pitch correction software. He said like any tool, it can be used well or abused.
JIM KLEIN: “Professionally, I think the danger is that you don’t want people to think that you reach for the Auto-Tune as an automatic part of the process.”
STEVE EMBER: Mr. Klein says engineers, singers, and people starting careers in the music industry are starting to use Auto-Tune instead of aiming for a great performance.
JIM KLEIN: “I think that people are starting to expect the software to do work that they could do themselves. It starts to become a substitute for the kind of discipline and, frankly9, technique that was expected of an artist.”
BARBARA KLEIN: Mr. Klein also notes that making corrections to recorded songs is nothing new. He says Auto-Tune has just made the process easier. But used the way that it was meant to work, Auto-Tune is a great tool to have in the recording studio.
JIM KLEIN: “You know, I’m glad there is an Auto-Tune. I’ve certainly used it on projects where it has not at all interfered10 with the artistic11 integrity of the project.”
BARBARA KLEIN: Jim Klein says the software enables skilled men and women to sing with full emotion and capture a magical performance. A great performance with a minor12 mistake can be corrected thanks to Auto-Tune, instead of being unusable.
Professional singers have different opinions about pitch correction software. Some refuse to use it for recording or performing. They believe that such corrections can remove the honesty and emotion in a performance. Others commonly use such software. And then, there are also famous people today who could not have performed their songs without the help of Auto-Tune.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: The story of Photoshop began in nineteen eighty-seven. Thomas Knoll13 was a student in computer engineering at the University of Michigan. He developed a program to show grayscale images on his black and white computer screen. His brother John became very interested in the program Thomas had created.
John Knoll worked in California as a special effects expert for movies. The brothers worked together to expand on the ability of this computer software to change and edit digital images. They later partnered with the company Adobe to sell their program. Photoshop was first released for sale in nineteen ninety.
BARBARA KLEIN: Today, digital photography has widely replaced photography using film. And, Adobe Photoshop has replaced the darkroom, where photographers used to develop their pictures. The software lets users change images in ways that would have been impossible using traditional darkroom methods. The latest version of Photoshop is called CS5. It costs about seven hundred dollars. 
STEVE EMBER: Will Crocker has been working as a photographer in New Orleans for over thirty years. Much of his work is for advertising14. He takes many photographs of buildings and other structures.
Mr. Crocker says he was slow in moving to digital photography from film because of the quality difference. But now he says the quality of digital photography is a lot better than film in many ways. And he says Photoshop gives him many creative choices.
WILL CROCKER: “With today’s digital cameras and the options that Photoshop gives you, you kind of have more colors on your palette creatively. You have more choices to make and I really, really like that.”
BARBARA KLEIN: For example, Mr. Crocker can take a picture of a room using natural daylight. Then, he can turn on lights that are a different color temperature, and take a picture. He then combines those two images of the room using Photoshop and creates exactly the color of light he wants for the finished work.
The software enables a photographer to change the color, brightness, shape, size, and format15 of an image. It can be used to remove and add elements or create an endless number of artistic effects.
STEVE EMBER: We asked Mr. Crocker if he has to make moral judgments16 about how much to change an image. He said he is very careful to represent the objects he photographs in the best way possible, but not in such a way that the image tricks other people. 
Photoshop is commonly used in the fashion industry to smooth a person’s skin and make a person seem thinner. It is often difficult to tell when these changes have been made to a picture. But photojournalists face a much more demanding set of moral and professional requirements about making digital changes to their work. Changing a photograph in a way that is dishonest can cost a photojournalist his or her career.
BARBARA KLEIN: We asked Mr. Crocker if Photoshop makes the work of a photographer less demanding. He said that the opposite was true. With Photoshop, he says, there is no limit to the amount of work a photographer can put into an image. Still, he has great respect for this program.
WILL CROCKER: “I think that Photoshop is one of the greatest things that’s ever been invented. When you look at that list of people that contributed to the current version, it’s thirty or forty names. And I bet for every one of those people, there are maybe hundreds of others that contributed in some way. It’s really like a modern day intellectual pyramid that’s has been constructed.”
BARBARA KLEIN: Mr. Crocker says Photoshop has given him more creative choices in being able to make things look the way he sees them.
WILL CROCKER: “There’s nothing else like it. I’m kind of in awe17 that we have this to play with.”
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.
BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
2 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
3 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
参考例句:
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
4 adobe 0K5yv     
n.泥砖,土坯,美国Adobe公司
参考例句:
  • They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
  • Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。
5 tuning 8700ed4820c703ee62c092f05901ecfc     
n.调谐,调整,调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 );调整;(给收音机、电视等)调谐;使协调
参考例句:
  • They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 vocal vhOwA     
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目
参考例句:
  • The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
  • Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
9 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
10 interfered 71b7e795becf1adbddfab2cd6c5f0cff     
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉
参考例句:
  • Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
12 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
13 knoll X3nyd     
n.小山,小丘
参考例句:
  • Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说,爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
  • He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘,看了看周围的地形。
14 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
15 format giJxb     
n.设计,版式;[计算机]格式,DOS命令:格式化(磁盘),用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据;v.使格式化,设计,安排
参考例句:
  • Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
  • The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。
16 judgments 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836     
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
参考例句:
  • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
  • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
17 awe WNqzC     
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
参考例句:
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

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