Description

Postgraduate

Module Content

Immersive audio is a rapidly growing field with more and more ways of delivering this kind of experience every year, from museum and gallery installations and immersive theatre to smart headphones, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and immersive audio books.

The rule book has yet to be written for this emerging field, hence this module provides a timely opportunity to explore an exciting new world of both technology and creativity. Learning the fundamentals of the anthropology of human hearing, acoustics and psychoacoustics will give you the theoretical tools to produce immersive audio experiences with maximum emotional impact. You will learn how to use state of the art spatial audio hardware and software to produce a final factual immersive audio project, accompanied by a written evaluation to show how you have used all that you have learned.

The course could appeal to a wide range of disciplines, balancing artistic concepts with the science of sound and hearing as well as the technological aspects of capturing, manipulating and reproducing sound to produce compelling immersive sound experiences.

The course is delivered by Jack Reynolds MEng, an expert in the field of spatial and immersive audio. Jack currently works for the BBC R&D Immersive and Interactive Content Audio Team and has played a leading role in many VR and 360VR Video projects for the BBC VR Hub, SkyVR and Google among others since spatial audio support started on YouTube. His previous experience as recording engineer and producer, recording studio owner and musician give Jack a broad range of applicable knowledge. Jack also runs SohoVR Audio Ltd and Reynolds Microphones Ltd making microphones for the professional audio industry.

 

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course students will:

Have achieved an understanding of the role of audio in immersive experiences have a systematic understanding of audio theory;
	Have developed an applicable knowledge of human hearing, acoustics and psychoacoustics have an awareness of the anthropology of sound, its history and practices;
	Demonstrate critical understanding of the processes involved in designing and creating immersive audio including a detailed knowledge of the specific platforms;
	Have critically engaged with the field of spatial audio and developed a detailed understanding;
	Be able to demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in this field, through their critical writings and class commentaries on featured work;
	Be able to devise, research and plan a complete immersive audio work, including understanding of audience targeting and researching specific techniques needed for a specific project;
	Have acquired the technical knowledge and ability to create both technically and artistically original and ambitious immersive audio for various playback systems and formats that might include radio, podcasts, VR, 360 film making, sound for film or installations;
	Understand how to combine auditory cognition and technology to create professional pieces of work;
	Have created their own immersive audio work demonstrating the above.
Teaching Delivery

One 3 hour seminar per week (with a break for reading week). Work will be carried out both in groups and individually. Students will be expected to review knowledge between classes and complete preparatory and review exercises before and after classes.

Additional information:

There will be a series of formative assessments throughout the module.

Each three hour seminar will usually be split between 1.5 hours of lectures or masterclasses from external experts plus 1.5 hours of practical work either recording or working on audio workstations.

Recommended reading for students who intend to choose this module includes:

Human hearing and anthropology of Sound:

CORE:

Schütze, S. and Irwin-Schütze, A. (2018). New Realities in Audio: A Practical Guide for VR, AR, MR and 360 Video. CRC Press.

Byrne D. (2012). How Music Works. McSweeneys

Cox, T. (2014). Sonic wonderland. Bodley Head.

Jean-Francois Augoyard and Henry Torgue (2006). Sonic Experience

Online resources:

Journal of Sonic Studies

Audio Engineering Society E-library http://aes.org/e-lib/