Voice-over-Voice (VoV) is a common mixing practice observed in news reports and documentaries, where a foreground voice is mixed on top of a background voice, e.g., to translate an interview. This is achieved by ducking the background voice so that the foreground voice is more intelligible, while still allowing the listener to perceive the presence and tone of the background voice. Currently, there is little published research on ducking practices for VoV and on technical details such as the Loudness Difference (LD) between foreground and background speech. This paper investigates the ducking practices of 9 expert audio engineers and the preferred LDs of 13 non-expert listeners of ages 57 years and older. Results highlight a clear difference between the LDs used by the experts and those preferred by the non-expert listeners. Experts tended towards LDs of 11.5-17 LU, while non-expert preferred a range of 20-30 LU. Based on these results, a minimum LD of 20 LU is recommended for VoV. High inter-subject variance due to personal preference was observed. This variance makes a substantial case for the introduction of personalization in broadcast and streaming.

Revisiting the long forgotten dye Rosindone shows that its fluorescence is modulated by hydrogen bonding solvents.

The widespread distribution of mobile computing presents new opportunities for the consumption of interactive and immersive media experiences using multiple connected devices. Tools now exist for the creation of these experiences; however, there is still limited understanding of the best design practices and use cases for the technology, especially in the context of audio experiences. In this study, the application space of co-located multi-device audio experiences is explored and documented through a review of the literature and a survey. Using the obtained information, a set of seven design dimensions that can be used to characterise and compare experiences of this type is proposed; these are synchronisation, context, position, relationship, interactivity, organisation, and distribution. A mapping of the current application space is presented where four categories are identified using the design dimensions, these are public performances, interactive music, augmented broadcasting, and social games. Finally, the overlap between co-located multi-device audio and audio-augmented reality (AAR) experiences is highlighted and discussed. This work will contribute to the wider discussion about the role of multiple devices in audio experiences and provide a source of reference for the design of future multi-device audio experiences.

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