Sunday, March 15, 2015
Dolby’s stereoscopic virtual reality proves utterly terrifying
Ars Technica: Dolby has brought its Atmos surround sound experience to cinematic virtual reality by partnering with VR filmmakers Jaunt to create 360-degree immersive experiences.
Dolby Atmos basically removed the need to position speakers at home in exactly the same position as the microphones were positioned during the audio mixing in order to enjoy an immersive surround sound experience. What is more, the technology negated the need for speakers at all and made it possible for the first time to replicate the surround sound effect on a pair of headphones.
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Sound is a very important part of virtual reality because it completes the experience. Virtual reality tricks the audience into thinking they are in the environment and part of the action. Without sound the experience is a lot less believable because sound is a huge part of an environment. Surround sound really helps create a space and boundaries. Playing different sounds from different directions causes people to turn their heads and expect something to appear or happen in the direction of the sound. If there is an important image on one side that you would like the audience to look at, there needs to be a sound coming from that direction to grab their attention. Virtual reality is becoming more popular with the advancement of technology. The ability to transform a space into a completely different environment and tricking the audience into believing they are actually there is very interesting and exciting.
With the development of the Oculus Rift engine and the progression of this type of virtual reality gaming experience actually beginning to trickle down into the mainstream consumer market, we are seeing some really amazing developments in the horror gaming genre. I've watched a few people demo games on their Oculus Rift VR headsets, and be totally amazed and horrified by the whole experience, especially when you get to see what their seeing. The popularity of Youtube gaming videos has given us a chance to view these developments and how their affecting the gaming experience overall. For the longest time most of us millennials assumed that VR never really would see the light of day, after being disenchanted from the long history of 1980's and 1990's "future culture" which assumed that we would all be driving around in flying cars by 2020, which we quickly learned, being born and raised in a somewhat totally different generation, was really not quite feasible yet. I think many of us assumed the same thing for VR, so its really crazy and exciting that it is actually happening and developing right in front of us. I mean, this stuff is really quite amazing. If you have the chance, I would definitely go and watch a few Oculus Rift gaming demos on Youtube.
This just highlights the importance of sound in any experience that is to be considered an immersive one. To me, something sounding weird or otherwise out of place is one of the most common thing that will pull me out of an experience, and it’s a shame that it doesn’t get more attention in the theatrical world (as proved by empty hole once filled by the sound design Tony). Sound is something that can be as powerful as sight, and when creating a virtual reality I very much agree that the only option is to create the most convincing soundscape that you possibly can. Right now I’m sitting in a fairly darkened room with an open window. Though I am staring at a screen, I know where I am and my surroundings by the sound of the breeze flowing through my room, the lull of cars rolling by, maybe a siren in the distance. Then my phone alarm goes off and it startles me as much as any purely visual thing can because its such a dramatic difference from the tame noises I was previously experiencing. I hope the theatrical world takes note of this position on sound.
This is unreal how much detail they have figured into these virtual reality experiences. I recently just tried one of those 360 sound recordings where the sound coming out of your headphones sounds like it comes from multiple different directions, and from sitting in studio hearing these things happen all around you, it’s a very sense-confusing scenario to be in. I wonder how the virtual reality is set up for the author, for she does not mention receiving glasses or being placed in a room with screens or anything. Or maybe even she was given sensory headphones that could feel when she was turning and recalibrate the sound to fit her experience. I also wonder how they synced up the sound to the images being shown and how you can’t hear everything at once and also how the remastering goes through as you look around. These experiences would be great for a GoogleGlass type of movie experience with interesting camera angles and the like.
It is so cool how far virtual reality has been progressing. I think it is absolutely amazing how detailed and realistic they have become, and of course sound is an enormous part of it. One thing that I imagine would be a particular challenge in virtual reality is the ability to completely immerse someone who is in a totally different environment from the one you are trying to replicate. To me, sound is one of the most telling senses. I have always been very in touch with the particular sounds of things (I can usually tell who is walking down the hallway by the sound of their footsteps or who is typing by the pattern of their fingers on the computer), so to me that is one of the biggest things I pay attention to when trying to understand a new environment. I wonder what, if anything, virtual reality developers have been thinking about in terms of smell, I think that would be another very interesting element to explore.
I have listened to some of the binaural sound recordings we made of some of the shows and things in Purnell and they are a little freaky to listen to, as your ears hear things that are not there. But I can only imagine how an actual VR chamber would be equipped with comprehensive surround sound, that sounds awesome. I know that 360° video has been done before, in several places, and the sound in those cases is usually a form of surround sound, but not in real surround, maybe there is a little bit of sound placement, but to my knowledge, something this comprehensive has not been done before, and I wish I could go see it, it sounds like an awesome experience. The ability to create a really realistic horror sensation is heavily based on sound and being able to manipulate what a person hears and feels.
This would be absolutely terrifying. I already hate horror movies; I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if my brain thought that is was actually hearing the sounds. I can’t even handle going into a forest at night unless I know it really well (and even then only for a while) and the forest doesn't have very many things that can eat you or kill you. But a horror setting movie, where you know you are going to be scared by something - awful.
On the other hand, listening to a concert with this would be so cool. It makes me wonder how the music industry will do with people listening to the audio like this rather than going to the actual concert. In the end, I don’t think it would change much since people like the environment of being at a concert- all the people dancing and singing along and being physically close to the musicians.
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