Let's discuss spatial/immersive/ambisonic audio

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Magnetic Services
suffering 'studio suck'
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Let's discuss spatial/immersive/ambisonic audio

Post by Magnetic Services » Sun Aug 12, 2018 11:43 am

Like many of us, I've been content with two channels for mixing music so far. However, with the popularity of VR and such, I've only just started seriously looking into spatial audio mixing/implementation as a marketable skill. Plus, I've got a project coming up (sound for a short animated film) so I'd like to get a discussion rolling and learn as much as possible from the TapeOp community! So....

Who's doing this stuff?
What type of work do you do, Film, games, VR, etc.?
What's your workflow?
If you previously worked with "regular" surround sound, how have things changed for you?
Do you even care about this?

For those looking to just start getting their feet wet (like me), check out the Ambisonic Tool Kit (ATK). http://www.ambisonictoolkit.net/
Watch the tutorials, download a few free sound effects, and try messing around with placing sounds in space. You don't need a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup, use the binaural decoder and headphones!

Go!

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emrr
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Re: Let's discuss spatial/immersive/ambisonic audio

Post by emrr » Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:31 pm

I have zero call for anything more than stereo, but have been using dual mid-side and native B-format arrays (horizontal-only surround possibilities) for pattern steerage in post. Even within stereo, it adds a lot of options and the files are there for any future surround use. It would be nice if there was any desire for use in music, but it never comes up here. I don't know of a music control room anywhere around here that's set up for surround mixing.
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GeorgeToledo
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Re: Let's discuss spatial/immersive/ambisonic audio

Post by GeorgeToledo » Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:29 pm

Roughly 8-10 years ago I had started getting calls for work with 3D LED walls, creating various demos for hardware companies. Along the way, Apple had made a 3D sound player API, which was a little minimal but allowed sounds to be panned on a 3D axis and roughly match up to an OpenGL scene view. I have made many things that have incorporated that API along with generative graphics.

Apple also has a similar feature in their newer Scene Kit API, that’s a little more robust.

For the majority of stuff I want to muddle with, these are really user friendly and clean to integrate.

I’ve collaborated on some projects with Unity and Unreal Engine that have 3D sound using other libs, but not gotten as much into it.

I’ve worked with some surround “ambisonic” microphones, which are interesting.

I’m not sure that Youtube or Facebook have added headphone type decoding to go along with their 360 video support. I think there is a lot of great possibility with 360, but it’s sort of somewhere between stagnant and withering on the vibe. Which is disappointing!

Magnetic Services
suffering 'studio suck'
Posts: 444
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:21 pm

Re: Let's discuss spatial/immersive/ambisonic audio

Post by Magnetic Services » Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:58 am

GeorgeToledo wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 5:29 pm
I’m not sure that Youtube or Facebook have added headphone type decoding to go along with their 360 video support. I think there is a lot of great possibility with 360, but it’s sort of somewhere between stagnant and withering on the vibe. Which is disappointing!
I agree, 360 videos seem like a novelty to me. Cool to experience, but they don't seem to add much information/value. Personally I'm more interested in the film, game, and VR applications.

Anybody have experience mixing spatially through a binaural decoder and how it translates to a speaker-based surround or Atmos setup?

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