Computing Methodologies Supporting the Preservation of Electroacoustic Music from Analog Magnetic Tape

Pretto, Niccolò; Fantozzi, Carlo; Micheloni, Edoardo; Burini, Valentina; Canazza, Sergio

doi:10.1162/comj_a_00487

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…We investigated tools to compensate equalization errors introduced in the re-recording process. With these tools, an archivist or musicologist who notices an error in the preservation master (through listening or with automatic tools [3,25]) can make a correction and so provide an authentic listening experience without having to recover the original analogue audio document or perform redigitization. A MUSHRA-inspired test was conducted on six electroacoustic stimuli to investigate perceivable differences between (a) correctly digitized "Reference" versions, (b) two intentionally incorrect "Foil" versions (in terms of the digitization process), (c) easily distinguishable 3.5 kHz "Anchor" filters, and (d) subsequent digital correction filters of the Foil equalizations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes

Pretto

Micheloni

Chmiel

et al. 2021

Advances in Multimedia

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Multimedia archives face the problem of obsolescing and degrading analogue media (e.g., speech and music recordings and video art). In response, researchers in the field have recently begun studying ad hoc tools for the preservation and access of historical analogue documents. This paper investigates the active preservation process of audio tape recordings, specifically focusing on possible means for compensating equalization errors introduced in the digitization process. If the accuracy of corrective equalization filters is validated, an archivist or musicologist would be able to experience the audio as a historically authentic document such that their listening experience would not require the recovery of the original analogue audio document or the redigitization of the audio. Thus, we conducted a MUSHRA-inspired perception test (n = 14) containing 6 excerpts of electronic music (3 stimuli recorded NAB and 3 recorded CCIR). Participants listened to 6 different equalization filters for each stimulus and rated them in terms of similarity. Filters included a correctly digitized “Reference,” an intentionally incorrect “Foil” filter, and a subsequent digital correction of the Foil filter that was produced with a MATLAB script. When stimuli were collapsed according to their filter type (NAB or CCIR), no significant differences were observed between the Reference and MATLAB correction filters. As such, the digital correction appears to be a promising method for compensation of equalization errors although future study is recommended, specifically containing an increased sample size and additional correction filters for comparison.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes

Pretto

Micheloni

Chmiel

et al. 2021

Advances in Multimedia

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“…In this case, given the wide variety of formats and carriers that make up the audiovisual category, the model provides descriptive records for analogue or digital video materials (video), film material (film), sound (audio) and photographic material (photo). For the metadata description of audiovisual components, the proposed model is based on scientific protocols and methodologies developed over the past few years at specialized centers, such as La Camera Ottica Lab of the University of Udine for preservation strategies and data gathering related to film and video materials, and the CSC for the description and preservation of audio documents (Pretto et al, 2020). The last category (various) includes the medatada schemes of all those components that do not fall into any of the abovementioned categories, such as common objects, paintings, statues, musical instruments etc.…”

Section: Preservation Copymentioning

confidence: 99%

A multilevel dynamic model for documenting, reactivating and preserving interactive multimedia art

Fiordelmondo,

Russo,

Pizzato

et al. 2023

Front. Signal Process.

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Preserving interactive multimedia artworks is a challenging research field due to their complex nature and technological obsolescence. Established preservation strategies are inadequate since they do not cover the complex relations between analogue and digital components, their short life expectancies, and the experience produced when the artworks are activated. The existence of many projects in this research area highlights the urgency to create a preservation practice focused on the new multimedia art forms. The paper introduces the Multilevel Dynamic Preservation (MDP) model, developed at the Centro di Sonologia Computazionale (CSC) of the University of Padova, which aims to preserve multimedia artworks through different levels of information (about the components, their relationship and the activated experiences) through various exhibitions and thus as a process or a dynamic object. The model has been developed through several case studies. This paper reports a specific and complex one: the “hybrid reactivation” of the Il caos delle sfere, a 1999 interactive installation by Italian composer Carlo De Pirro. The entire reactivation process aims at preserving its identity, rather than simply replicating the original installation, and consists of both the replacement of old and non-functioning components components (“adaptive/update approach”) and the reactivation of original parts (“purist approach“)-hence the name “hybrid reactivation”. Through this case study, it was possible to test and optimize the model in all aspects: from collecting old documentation and using it for reactivation to creating new documentation and archiving the entire artwork. The model allows us to preserve the artwork as a process of change, minimizing the loss of information about previous versions. Most importantly, it lets us rethink the concept of the authenticity of interactive multimedia art, shifting the focus from materiality to the experience and function that artworks activate. The model avoids recording both the last reactivation and the first exhibition as authentic. It records the process of transformation between reactivations. It is through this process that the authenticity of the artwork can be inferred.

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“…The output of this interpretative choice is the preservation master , that includes high resolution uncompressed audio (96 kHz/24 bit) and contextual information, stored using a combination of textual, photographic and video documentation ( Orio et al, 2009 ; Fantozzi et al, 2017 ; Pretto et al, 2019 ). Video of the tape flows along the head of the tape player during digitization.…”

Section: Restoration As Reinterpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Magnetic Urtext: Restoration as Music Interpretation

et al. 2022

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This paper discusses historical-critical thought to address the problems of restoration and preservation of tape music, proposing viable solutions to the matter of digitizing the historically valuable data that exists on and is represented by magnetic tapes. A detailed program of research and restoration and some software for helping in creation of critical editions of the musical works are proposed. We also present some of the issues and controversies that must be considered and approaches we have applied in the preservation of tape music, highlighting how these interpretations can impact later performances (playback) of these tape documents. Fundamentally, we argue that the act of tape music restoration has a parallel with the interpretation of the “Urtext score” in the performance of music from the Common Practice Era.

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Computing Methodologies Supporting the Preservation of Electroacoustic Music from Analog Magnetic Tape

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes

Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes

A multilevel dynamic model for documenting, reactivating and preserving interactive multimedia art

The Magnetic Urtext: Restoration as Music Interpretation

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