FUTURE SHOCK Spatial Audio
if enhanced by bleeding-edge wearables like Bose Frames, which utilise noise- cancelling tech and implement spatially programmed sound mixes. This kind of kit can enable developers and experience designers to create a true 360° soundscape transferable to a real-world setting, possibly surrounded by virtual actors or video, or our imaginations. To go a step further, clever use of spatial audio within multi-platform, real-time video experiences can dramatically enhance cinematic video elements – perhaps using headphones that are enabled with both head-locked audio and head-tracking – to create an awesomely rich experience for the viewer. CINEMA LEADS THE PACK Mirek Stiles is head of audio products at Abbey Road Studios, and founder of the Abbey Road Spatial Audio Forum. This is an industry group that aims to help artists deliver the best possible spatial experience via practical experiments and academic projects. Stiles – a passionate
and supportive advocate of the format – is appreciative of the fact the moving picture industry has always pioneered adoption of spatial audio formats. “Cinema is and always has been the leader in providing the consumer with spatial audio, even dating back to the 1930s with early surround playback systems like Fantasound,” Stiles explains, referring to the pioneering system employed for Disney’s Fantasia . “Today, Dolby Atmos is the immersive experience to be found in the cinema. Directors are still discovering and experimenting with how it can be used to enhance the story on screen. There are also a lot of music-only Atmos mixes that provide a huge sound stage, and many of these are currently available to the consumer via services such as Amazon Music.” Alongside industry experts, academics specialising in audio R&D and best practice understand that what we’ve learned from the big screen can translate into learnings for small-screen experiences, too.
“Ever since the days of Disney’s Fantasound, we have seen constant developments in the use of spatial audio in the cinema, the most significant being the 5.1 surround sound format and its derivatives that emerged in the latter quarter of the 20th century,” says Dr Gavin Kearney, associate professor in audio and music technology at the University of York, and also a member of Abbey Road Spatial Audio Forum. “However, there is now the potential for everyone with mobile technology to experience immersive audio through the use of binaural sound, which has been well utilised in the recent VR explosion,” Kearney adds. Mirek Stiles also enthusiastically endorses the use of spatial audio in a VR context. “I love ‘six degrees of freedom’ experiences where I can walk around a performance in a room as it’s being played, and the audio is head-tracked to where I am facing and what I am looking at. I hope we see and hear a lot more content over the coming years that takes full advantage
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