On 26/01/2011 05:33, Augustine Leudar wrote:
Because of the
problems of amplitude panning and the sheer size of the installations often
sounds are localised by using real world object analogues (ie if a monkey is
meant to sound like it comes from behind a certain tree there is a speaker
with a monkey noise behind that tree)a thunderstorm is represented by a
stereo pair high on a hillside - we even had neighbours thinking there was
real thunderstorm happening and it does sound well, realistic (don't take my
word for it you can read the public response here :
http://augustineleudar.110mb.com/Hd/Hod.html ) . This type of localisation
has proved extremely effective and don't think that any system no matter how
clever at fooling the human ear can improve upon a sound actually coming
from the direction its meant to (though recording ambisonically probably
would)
Absolutely true - Ambisonics is not the answer to life, the universe and everything! (but it comes
close in some areas). It was for exactly the reasons you give above that when we did the original
soundscapes for the Yorvik Viking Centre (http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/) way back in the
early 80's we chose to go with 56 tracks of audio (on McKenzie 4 track 1/4" continuous loop analogue
tape!) going through even more speakers, rather than using Ambisonics - and Yorvik is a much smaller
area! BTW, have you seen those tiny speakers that fir into a standard electrical socket back box
(and hence are almost invisible)? I was most impressed with them when I visited an exhibition of
South African sculpture in Madeira this summer...trouble is, I can't remember who made them :-(
. Where ambisonics could help in the installation is the insect
noises - at the moment there are large 4 speaker areas with 4mic recorded
insect noises . Gaps in the image are plugged with other speakers with say
cicadas on them - despite the doubts expressed here it also has been
effective perhaps because insect noises are high frequency and the leaves
on the bushes and trees disperse the sound filling out the sound field.
Generally the effect is pretty similar to being in the rain forest- except
you don't get bitten. However if what I have read about ambisonics is true
it would make it sound even better and there is always room for improvement
.
Certainly worth trying
I am currently trying to translate some of these sound installations to a
format that can be listened to at home - I have to admit 5.1 is a bit
frustrating so ambisonics might hold the key. What I would like to know is
can the decoding be done with software and then burnt to wav files ? There
is no way a physical decoder could be in the biome - we generally have to
throw speakers away or sell them on ebay after a few uses because of the
ants and humidity (wav players are in sealed plastic boxes) . Are there
any ambisonic panners that are VST compatible (I mainly use Nuendo and MAx
MSP) ? Could I design a horizontal surround sound DVD using ambisonic
software for panning and localisation - and then burn 6 wav files and
release it on a 5.1 DVD which could be played on a normal home system ?
best,
Gus
This is definitely where Ambisonics would shine, I feel , though the use of G format, as others have
said - or even UHJ
Dave
--
These are my own views and may or may not be shared by my employer
/*********************************************************************/
/* Dave Malham http://music.york.ac.uk/staff/research/dave-malham/ */
/* Music Research Centre */
/* Department of Music "http://music.york.ac.uk/"; */
/* The University of York Phone 01904 322448 */
/* Heslington Fax 01904 322450 */
/* York YO10 5DD */
/* UK 'Ambisonics - Component Imaging for Audio' */
/* "http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/mustech/3d_audio/"; */
/*********************************************************************/
_______________________________________________
Sursound mailing list
Sursound@music.vt.edu
https://mail.music.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/sursound
