The Future is Listening
Innovations in audio storytelling
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“Are you sitting comfortably?” is a phrase synonymous with audio storytelling, heard at a time when there was a very clear storyteller/listener divide. Now we might be more likely to hear a warning about staying aware of our surroundings. We pop in our earbuds and enter an on-demand world of sound. A world where immersive audio blurs that divide, transporting us to the heart of a story. A world where we are not only a listener but an active participant in what we are hearing.
Binaural recording is revealing creative possibilities as creators capture detailed soundscape recordings, which provide a 360 listening experience when heard through headphones. One listener told me they forgot they were wearing earbuds halfway through this binaural recording*. Seeing the sun streaming through the window while their brain registered the storm they were hearing, caused some confusion!
Beyond radio and podcasting are the innovations in audio in VR and AR. The use of audio in virtual reality draws on our natural instincts and senses to make the virtual world more familiar and believable. 3D audio is being used to place sounds around us in a way that feels realistic.
Spatial audio is also becoming a facet of augmented reality. Suddenly the story of the artist we listen to while we walk through the gallery becomes an interactive experience. It reacts to our path through the building, our walking pace or the length of time we linger at exhibits. No longer are we just listening to the story. We are part of the story, part of a world created by sound.
Audio story-telling is no longer for our ears only. As immersive sound technology improves it is becoming a full body experience.
✂️ Cut The Tape
Audio’s ability to create an intimate experience with the listener is starting to go deeper with the use of immersive audio giving a sense of place. Sound can trigger the ‘theatre of the mind’ to conjure up vivid and memorable experiences. That’s now being super-charged with the arrival of VR and AR.
As an audio creator you might want to experiment with use of sound in your content.
Add simple sound design elements to your audio drama where they will enhance the narrative or reveal a sense of place.
Record using binaural headphones (I have these) and add some 360 sound to your audio documentary or story.
*Uncaged is a Big Tent Media production created as the UK emerged from lockdown. To experience the full binaural recording effect listen wearing headphones.
🎧 #Podcasting
Rode launches seven new products at NAB in LA | MusicTech
Have we had enough of ‘banter’ in podcasting? | BBC
Deal with Jellysmack prompts questions around Spotify’s podcasting strategy | Digital Music News
Spotify rolls out ‘broadcast to podcast’ | Spotify
🎶 #SoundDesign
Dali exhibition features spatial sound design | AV Magazine
Insights into Zelda: Breath of the Wild sound design | Essentially Sports
🔮 #AudioFuture
New Media Bill draft requires some smart speaker platforms to carry UK licensed radio stations | CMS
AISIS gets the seal of approval from Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher | Rolling Stone
World’s first solid-state speakers could change earbuds as we know them | TechRadar
Changes to TIDAL’s hi-res audio | T3
Using Voice AI for audio ads | Marketing Brew
Adobe AI generator Firefly could change video and audio workflows | Provideo Coalition
From text to track with Google’s AI music generator | Freethink
🗣 #SocialAudio
Did captions return to Twitter? | @legion_mj and later…. @morqon
Clubhouse has simplified its nav bar | @isajorsergio
This week on episode 90 of #AllThingsAudio we spoke about Twitter’s rebrand of Super Follows into Subscriptions and what this means for Spaces. We also spoke about pre-recorded content being played on platforms to up-sell full recordings, and Spotify’s ‘broadcast to podcast’ announcement.
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Ever on the search for unique and different podcast formats this one caught my ear this week, and it’s a story telling podcast so very in-keeping with this week’s content.
‘Where Are You Going?’ is a podcast based on a simple concept that spotlights in-the-moment-stories sparked by the question ‘Where Are You Going?’
From London to Brooklyn to Amsterdam we hear soundscapes as well as the voices of everyday people as they are stopped by host Catherine Carr.
“Like all art, music requires rules. Without boundaries, without structure, it is simply noise. Traditionally the boundaries are the rules for writing a musical score, which are in effect a species of algorithm.”