AUDIO ROUND TABLE INDUSTRY.
innovation, giving sound engineers more flexibility by expanding the range of sounds that can be captured. In most cases, sound engineers prefer a mic with a wide dynamic range, because this allows them to employ only one device to capture a wider range of sounds – and in more applications. The subminiature 3mm microphone is also quite revolutionary for the film industry. Film professionals now have a mic that’s about 60% smaller than most common 5mm mics, making it easier to fit into costumes, while still capturing the same high-quality audio as larger versions. They are highly robust and designed to work on harsh production sets, with Kevlar-core cables and water- repellent nano-coating on the cover and housing. The mics are also IP58 certified. VINEHILL-CLIFFE: Historically, surround audio has often been quite niche, not especially accessible for the
“Dolby Atmos technology started exclusively in the cinema over a decade ago, before advancing into home cinema and now music”
JOHNSON: Immersive audio comes in many flavours, but it’s certainly been the fastest-growing audio technology in recent times, with Dolby leading the way. Dolby Atmos technology started exclusively in the cinema over a decade ago, before advancing into home cinema and now music. Dolby Atmos is ‘object- based’ audio, where individual elements, like a character’s voice or sound effects, can be placed in or moved around a virtual three-dimensional space. Other surround or immersive technologies such as ambisonics and binaural recording long predate Dolby Atmos. Ambisonics has existed since the seventies, and binaural has been widely experimented with for a very long time – but the processing power now available in our consumer devices, and evolution of immersive audio technology tools, have brought a resurgence in their use. Ambisonics is brilliant for capturing true soundscapes when out recording on location, and binaural rendering is relied upon when delivering an immersive headphone experience. Immersive audio has even made it to the consumer level. People have access to immersive audio through TVs, sound bars, AV receivers and headphone experiences. The next big advancement on the horizon is consumer personalisation, which is being worked on in several areas. For example, Apple’s iOS 16 enables personalised spatial audio for anyone with AirPods. The process is quick
majority of people – at least not at home. The flexibility of the latest consumer-level immersive audio technology has blown this wide open. In turn, that level of versatility has encouraged manufacturers to broaden the scope of their surround and immersive product offerings. For us at Nugen Audio, a 3D immersive version of a plug-in, like our Paragon reverb, wouldn’t have made much sense even as recently as just five years ago. But now, the 7.1.2 Paragon software is one of the products our customers get most excited about.
FREDDY VINEHILL-CLIFFE Product specialist Nugen Audio
SIMON SHERBOURNE Pro audio solutions specialist Avid
43. OCTOBER 2022
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