- [Ray Mia] We really are only at the surface
of what it is that a binaural signal can be encoded to hold.
- [Lewis Hampson] It enables you to be in that place
at that time in a way that is really, really difficult
for any other microphone set up to replicate.
- [Holly Newson] The way we record and experience sound
has evolved exponential in recent years,
and audio has become immersive
in ways we never before thought possible.
We are taking a deep dive into the world of binaural sound.
The idea is to create an immersive listening experience.
One that gives the listener a sense of space
and distance in a 360 sphere.
Binaural sound or 3D audio is a specific way of capturing
or rendering audio that can deliver immersive sound.
It uses the shape and mass of a human head
to recreate an authentic oral experience.
- [Lewis Hampson] The main difference between binaural
and the normal kind of stereo recording
would be that a normal stereo pickup pattern
doesn't include the human head.
In binaural, we have interaural time difference
and interaural level difference,
which are consequence of the head related transfer function,
which basically means that if a sound happens to my right,
I will hear it first in my right ear,
but it will also wrap around my head to hit my left ear.
Now all this information including the mass of my head,
my shoulders, even my beard will affect
how I localize that sound.
It's a much more accurate
and much more immersive 3D picture.
The late 1800s was when binaural first appeared.
You could hear a recording of a theater performance
that was recorded using a microphone array.
People would put two speakers next to their ears
and listen back,
and it would be like they're in the theater.
But binaural was put on the back burner a little bit,
while stereo itself was being introduced.
You need to have headphones on to fully experience binaural.
So it kind of disappeared until technology caught up
with how best use this recording technique.
- [Holly Newson] Dr. George McGavin's audio book,
"All Creatures Small and Great: How Insects Make the World"
use binaural recordings of insects to help illustrate
his vivid exploration of the insect world.
- The audience or the individuals who hear this book
will hear effectively exactly what I had on that day.
You really feel as if you are with me.
We're here in a bee lab because this is about the only place
I would be guaranteed to get bumblebees
flying around my head which is what I really want in.
Here we go.
So this is how it works.
I'm gonna put the right microphone
which is on here in my right here and the left one,
of course, on this side.
So now I can record in binaural.
(bees buzzing)
(soft music)
So we're going for it.
- [Holly Newson] Ray Mia is an immersive music producer,
sound designer, and composer.
He has produced over a hundred immersive mixes
over the last three years.
He's heading up the 3D audio mix
of an upcoming audible original.
- By the nature of the tech
and the way in which this is evolving.
It's all about never closing the door,
constantly learning, constantly evolving.
It really is all about telling a story,
eliciting emotions or getting emotions across to a listener.
- [Holly Newson] There are currently two ways
to capture binaural recordings.
Firstly, using in ear microphones,
the kind we saw George wearing earlier.
These look like headphones
and use the head of the person wearing them
to capture an accurate three dimensional rendition
of what the wearer is hearing.
The is using a dummy head.
- [Ray Mia] This particular research model
deploys four microphones per ear canal,
eight microphones in total.
The dummy head is the best catch all for multiple head sizes
because each human head per gender and also with age,
it's all different.
- [Holly Newson] As well as capturing audio
using binaural microphones.
It's also possible to render an immersive 3D audio mix
into a binaural stereo file.
- [Ray Mia] When you play that binaural mix
in a stereo environment,
your brain fills that piece of information
and quite quickly where you feel,
"Wait a minute, there's a coming behind me."
There's no sound coming behind you.
Your brain just interprets that from a binaural signal.
- [Holly Newson] "Sour Hall" is an audible original
written and directed by Laura Kirwan-Ashman.
This tense, psychological horror
was recorded on location on a farm in Yorkshire
using the Neumann KU100.
- [Woman] I'm not listening to you.
You're just trying to get in my head.
- [Man] I've been inside your head
since the moment you come here.
They say when an animal is scared right before it dies,
the fear sours the flesh.
Delicious.
- [Ray Mia] Immersive audio is the current frontier,
whether it's musically, whether it's with scripted drama.
The future of immersive audio, spatial audio,
binaural technologies is about continually pushing
the boundaries of what one can achieve sonically.
- [Lewis Hampson] Humans are designed to pick up
sound differences and localise sound.
What binaural does is it kind of leans
on how we are designed.
Audio books are actually the perfect medium for this
'cause it allows the technology to find its place
and it allows a user to be even more immersed
in what they're listening to.
- [Ray Mia] Binaural mixes will benefit all storytelling.
This is how far down the binaural rabbit hole
you want to go.
(bright music)
(bees buzzing)