Spaticurious - Where is the spatials?

[floydz]

Hi there experimentals!

So, I've been reading up on spatial audio, and I find it increasingly interesting, from any point of view.

In my mind, I get thoughts of how to try and record some spatial audio, just as an experiment, and see where I could get (how spatial could it turn out? How many microphones/ different kinds of microphones could I use, to still get spatial sound in my headphones? do I need anything particular in my mixing process?). I can see that there are whole courses about the subject (quite expensive ones too), and guides and tips, all in all, quite a heavy chunk of info and knowledge to dig into.

Since I've read about recording things with mics set up as a stereo pair (set up like two ears), and had friends doing it and succeeding to get that kind of 3D - sound (a matchbox rattling around your head for example) I'm just wondering - Have any of you done bigger spatial audio projects? How "complicated" is this to do? What is the biggest project, with most recording channels you've done at the same time, and how did it turn out? Very excited to hear about this, would love to hear a snippet as well of the final sound, if possible!

Also - has anyone tried doing this with different kind of microphones, and I don't mean slightly different, I mean completely different, in different positions, to make it work but still managed to get that 3D feeling? Basically..How "weird" can it get, and still work out? Both from the recording, mixing and listening point of view.

Finally - Now that almost everyone is listening mostly in headphones, why aren't there more spatial music? Or is there?

I hope these are not too many questions. Excited for replies!

All the Bestestestest

Floydz

[Augustine Leudar]

Hi there,
I mostly produce in 3D now. The stuff your talking about over headphones is called "binaural" and I would recomend plugin alliances plugins for that anbd some soundman in ear buinaural microphones. However binaural is somewhat limited by something called an HRTF which basically means the filter caused by the shape of our head and earlobes which create a personal filter in our brains that allows us to localise sounds - this filter is doifferent for everyone thus the difficulty on getting the same filter to apply to all sound to work on headphones. The matchbox / hairdresser thing will only work on so many people.
So I like to work on speakers. Most people getting into it will first be introduced to ambisonics - but is also limited because it only creates sounds on thw surface of a spher e(usua;ly a dome of speakers) and cant make sounds come close to the listener (eg a mosquito getting close to your ear) . So I use something called DBAP a lot (WFS is good but to many speakers). So you can read about my work with 3D immersive sounds, and our company Magik Door that specialises in 3D sounds installations - and yes it can gert weeeeeiiiiirrrd very weird.
You can actually do a lot with quad - so my advice would be to start wioth that - four speaker sin a square .

www.magikdoor.net
www.augustineleudar.com

all the best
Gus

[floydz]

Wow! I got right in there, literally!
Thank you for the tip and links - I'll definitely try something & also read up on quad. This is really interesting, I love the interactive sounds!
Really this is something much much bigger and more than I actually was thinking of. I'm in headphones now and I was in a completely different place & surrounding in your work. I've tried previously to create sonic landscapes but obviously this is a whole other dimension
I got thinking now of regular, or classical music in this kind of context. Creating, say, a pop , rock or really any classic kind of song - music, an album but in 3D, with a "band" , not only differing in the layout of songs and compositions, but also in surrounding, and where you are, relating to the music, far away, maybe in another room, or in the midst of the band. Do you know if this has ever been done ?
Thank you for links to your works, I will follow to see more updates. Superbe work, and really interesting. Is this Max you're working in?
Bestest!
Floydz

[Augustine Leudar]

Yes, it has been done - but there's always more to experiment with. If you want to use headphones start with dearvrpro by plugin alliance - its great fun. By the way I have a new headphone binaural album out :

augustineleudar.bandcamp.com/releases

[floydz]

Of course! I was thinking that if one extended the possibilities of sound and the actual audio to not Only be varying in texture and style, but also in actual places and positions it will extend the possibilities so much . This 3D world with all of it's possibilities and various helpful plugins is so New to me, it seems audio projects have a whole new level to experiment with.. new to me, that is.
Thank you for posting! Very nice works I understand you've been doing a lot of various installations, I'd have loved to experience one of these at the actual locations, I have actually never been to any live 3D installations.