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: