3D Binaural Audio

A concept I came across and desperately want to do something with. Binaural 3D audio involves putting 2 omni-directional microphones inside the ears of a dummy, and by doing so the microphones pick up sounds very similarly to how the human ears would. The best example I’ve found so far of this medium is a 3D virtual barbershop, where the voice in the video tells you to put headphones in and shut your eyes, and then due to how the sounds have been recorded you can tell how far sounds are away from you and which side they are on (left or right ear, or both).

I think (if I can get access to the right equipment) that this would drastically change the experience of my project, and make it more immersive. To have sounds from the video I produce to sound like they are happening right next to the ear of the listener would make the experience much more intense, which I think would be quite enjoyable.

For example, having the my voice quietly sing in the left ear of the listener, then slowly move around the back of the head to the right ear, would change the interpretation of the experience by the listener. It would make it more intense but not overwhelmingly so.

I did some research into binaural 3d audio, and found some interesting material. Listening to binaural recordings is done exclusively through headphones, because of the way the brain receives the soundwaves, and also because normal stereo speakers mix the channels of sound before splitting them again into left and right speakers, whereas the microphones used to record the sound distribute them similarly to how the ear drum would pick up the vibrations anyway, and is then played directly into the ear through the headphones with no opportunity for the sounds to get mixed.

This is part of the reason as to why this isn’t the traditional recording method for music, going through the extra effort to make an immersive experience for it to be played on stereo speakers and not distribute the sound as intended is a waste of time. Another reason is that to gage the real effect of an entirely binaural audio piece, it has to be recorded in one take, whereas most producers will record bits of a song seperately and then edit and piece them together in post production. In regards to my own work, it wouldn’t be an entirely immersive piece as the audience would still have their eyes open in order to watch the video accompanying the audio, and so would not be recorded entirely binaurally.

Binaural sound is not a new concept either, those that lived in Paris in the late 1800’s with two telephone lines could listen to the opera binaurally by holding one receiver against each ear, each one replicating what would have been heard by the audience, as though they were actually there. This is all explained in a short 7 minute video by Rupert Brun, who has been working with binaural sound for many years. The link is below:

 

A Slight Change…

After discussing with Katie our initial ideas for this semesters project, it was suggested that I could produce something with a little extra to it rather than just a documentary, something more creative. Katie suggested doing something like a soundscape with the music and sounds available to me in Bristol (as an example), and so I decided to look into some other sound scape artists to see what kind of thing I could create.

Susan Phillipsz

This was the first artist I came across that had similar themes to the kind of project Katie and I were discussing. It involves Susan using a mixture of sounds using her own voice, mixed with a range of musical inspirations (such as David Bowie), and then merge sounds from public architectural spaces. Below is an example of her work which achieved the first sound artist’s Turner prize. However, although the concept is definitely something I am looking into, I don’t want such a sombre feel to my own project.

 

Despite the sombre feel to Philipsz work, she does have a large interest in popular music – where she takes thematic motifs and recreates them using different instruments and sounds, such as her exhibition that was produced alongside other sound artist Paul Rooney which featured motifs from Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’. The recreation of songs using sounds from architectural landscapes and using her own voice to change the interpretation of these songs is definitely something I’m thinking of exploring, since Bristol has such a wealth of music and sounds to offer I think I could create something innovative.

Tarek Atoui

This sound artist creates melodies by inviting musicians to play non-traditional instruments, such as rocks or tea cups, recording the results and then layering all these sounds on top of each other to create coherent sounds. The artist describes the experience as “eye-opening”, a multi-layered synthesis – without the use of guitars, pianos or singing.

Above is a link to Atoui’s ongoing project currently being staged at the Tate Modern (the last installation was in 2016 but the project is not yet complete). This is the project where he layers sounds on top of each other to create something new. I am thinking of applying a similar idea to my project, where I could go and record sounds in and around Bristol, such as Philipsz, and then layer all of these sounds on top of each other. I could even ask other people to create sounds for me to record, to try and incorporate more of Atoui’s work.

I am going to try and keep with the theme of Bristol electronic music scene, but will maybe explore creating my own sound piece. Although, the only setback I can imagine is trying to create a piece that lasts for long enough, as this project must be around 8-15 minutes long I believe.

First Ideas

The first thing that I thought I might do for my project this term was to create a documentary on the electronic music scene in Bristol and how this scene contributes to the city’s cultural milieu – cultural environment. Resident Advisor did a documentary that follows a similar concept, and the link is below.

 

The reason that I initially thought that this is an avenue I’d like to explore is because for one of my second year projects I conducted something similar and really enjoyed the work I did: I found the topic very interesting and the material that surfaced in light of my research proved to be very rich in critical analysis and information, and so I wanted to see if I could explore this even further and put it into a video format rather than writing an essay.

I’ve done the critical research for this project already should I continue with this idea, having written a research report on this subject I have a base of information, authors and arguments that I can begin to base my project around, including the written work of Richard Florida and Edward Glaeser, as well as the ever important study that Sara Cohen produced on the rock ‘n’ roll scene in Liverpool in the late 90’s.

Ideally, I would like to interview attendees, organisers and artists of various electronic events in Bristol – including owners of Bristol based record company Future Boogie. One thing I didn’t do enough of when I wrote my research report was I didn’t explore enough avenues within the electronic music scene – and only really focused on DJ’s and attendants, and so that’s why I’d like to make that a priority in this project.