FUTURE SHOCK Spatial Audio
of six degrees of freedom sounds, in both VR and AR.” Outside of the engineering think tanks, a great example of spatial audio integrated with 360 VR video is the fantastic Snowball , created by Studio Geppetto back in 2016 (that’s some time ago in VR terms). Still available to view (and hear) on YouTube, the story combines simple graphics of a woodcutter going about his day, only to find a giant pair of eyeballs staring down on him, which pull back in Russian doll-style story layers to reveal he’s actually inside a snow globe. The playful sound bed composition that twinkles in the background was programmed entirely as a spatial audio experience using interactive software, by French audio developer Noise Makers. The effect creates a magical sensation of being inside the snow globe, hanging out with the lumberjack and woodland animals. All in all, it’s perfection, and one of the best examples when industry peers ask for best-use cases for creating spatial audio layers with their visuals. production relied on simple microphones and hours (and hours) of manual design. We’re now in an era with more software and tools available than ever before. This has enabled more creators, industry peers and academics to test the waters in early stages. The industry has taken note, too, with more brands, broadcasters and even film festivals the world over showing off some fantastic spatially boosted video, even dedicating specific awards to sound experiences. TOOLS OF THE TRADE The earlier days of spatial audio
IMAGINE BEING ABLE TO WATCH A LED ZEPPELIN CONCERT IN JAPAN, IN 1971
Tools and kits have also come a long way, such as Microsoft’s surround-sound emulator Windows Sonic, plus advances from Sony, Magic Leap, and Google VR’s SDK engine. This last piece of tech is optimised for mobile VR, and guides the human ear to experience localised sounds coming from multiple levels, frequencies and directions. Facebook and YouTube have also created free, user-friendly tools which, boosted by social media, should help spatial audio reach a mass audience. Kearney agrees that these social giants supporting the format “opens up exciting possibilities into realistic, or hyperreal, meeting spaces and experiences.” For the more advanced, engineering software such as Mach1 (a new partner to Bose’s spatial platforms) and G’Audio Lab’s Works plug-in are both brilliant examples of sophisticated tools available to all. Blue Ripple is another 3D sound software tool that gets a special shout-out from Stiles: “They are developing exceptionally good sound software for both the traditional music creator and game/VR developers, providing a complete workflow from mixing in the DAW to spatialising sound in game engines like Unity.” If you are recording your own audio from
scratch, remember to pick up a good mic from a company like Core Sound, who, as recommended by Stiles, “have some very cost effective ambisonic models – an encouraging push in the right direction to create better sounds all around.” INTO THE FUTURE With 2030 looking like a reasonable goal for the full integration of spatial audio into all visual content, the dreams for its impact on content are big. “I would like to see a mixture of gaming, film, VR/AR and AI techniques used to allow people to experience times in musical history in ways previously impossible,” muses Stiles. “Imagine being able to watch a Led Zeppelin concert in Japan in 1971, or sit in Studio Two, Abbey Road, as The Beatle track A Day in the Life is recorded – or experience Mozart perform in Vienna, 1784. We are currently experiencing technology from various disciplines merging together in ways that would have been unimaginable ten years ago. I think we are going to be having some mind-blowing musical experiences.” On the academic side, Dr Kearney leans toward the cosier option. “It would be wonderful to experience a completely realistic virtual environment, with spatial audio, from the comfort of your living room. Whilst this can be achieved to some degree with existing VR technologies, we are still a long way from full, holodeck-style experiences. “However, there’s so much we can already achieve with spatial audio that only scratches the surface. It will not only continue to benefit immersive experiences in music, gaming, VR, cinema and TV, but will have profound implications outside the entertainment industry as well, such as in teleconferencing, training, education, mental health and well-being.” With new software plug-ins, new hardware, new creative design that offers viewers reactive, real-time responsiveness, and with the continued support of existing and new social media tools, there are more opportunities than ever to create sounds in 360°, and place spatialisation within all video environments.
HELP FOR HUMANS The scope for spatial audio goes beyond entertainment, and could have health and well-being applications
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