From: Dale Thorn <dthorn@gte.net>
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 12:26:25 +0800
To: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Subject: Re: Voice Stress Analysis of Debates?
In-Reply-To: <199610061727.KAA18789@mail.pacifier.com>
Message-ID: <3258641C.32BB@gte.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


jim bell wrote:
> At 09:23 AM 10/6/96 -0700, Dale Thorn wrote:
> >jim bell wrote:
> >> This reminds me...   Years ago, somebody developed a technique called
> >> "Voice Stress Analysis," which was supposed to detect small variations
> >> in a person's voice in response to stress. Not exactly a lie-detector,
> >> but it was supposed to do nearly the same thing.   Does anybody plan
> >> to analyze the debates for stress?  Is there software to do this?
> >> (Tried to do a web-search; didn't see anything.)

> One thing I wonder is this:  Can the stress indications be removed from a
> voice-containing signal by some sophisticated DSP processing?  Just look for
> whatever effect that indicates stress, add it in equal and negative amounts
> to eliminate the apparent stress, etc.    It might not make sense for
> anything less "critical" than debates, but if the control of the debates is
> as monopolized as we think it is, it is reasonable to think that debate
> participants would insist on a certain level of control over the audio signal.

Well, it's been about 20 years since the Stockhausen/Soundstream digital 
reprocessing of the Caruso recordings (other artists as well), and it 
would make sense that "they" can do exactly what you suggest, and very 
well indeed.

If you recorded the debates yourself, and if you could do the analysis 
(much easier than faking anything), you'd have something to compare to 
the talking-head versions from TV.  Unfortunately, the major media will 
not likely present any voice-analysis info unless it's done by one or 
two of the nation's top labs, which (it goes without saying) get most of 
their work presumably from government agencies.