Audio Integration for a Photo-Realistic VR Simulation - Post-Mortem Analysis for Test Recording

If you've read Part 1 and Part 2 of my new written series, New Music, New Brand and New Ideas! Everything I'm about to speak about in this blog will become much more relevant. So go check them out... :)

Through my interaction with Cayden Finn (the animator I got in contact with to help design a logo and promotional video for my side project: Bacement), I was approached by himself and his animation team to produce audio for a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation that they are planning. The project is titled Mindful Escapes, it is designed to be an escape (ironically) from the busy '9-5' or 'industrial' lives that many people live on a day-to-day basis. The animation team plan to design a simulated VR walk through in a rain forest setting and requested Binaural Peace Music (Appendix A) to be produced for integration into the game. Of coarse I had to accept the offer, Cayden has been very easy to communicate with and has showed that he is reliable and professional in the way he carries himself and his work. I expressed my interest in being a producer for the project without even knowing exactly what their idea was, he asked if I could help due to my previous knowledge on Binaural Beats and Recording.

Appendix A: Binaural Peace Music

At the first weekly group meeting (13.06.19) I was able to meet the team, they informed me on the ground basics of what the concept is and what was required of me. It was at this point where I also found out that their team leader (Jack Stedman) had also brought Tim Allison on board to produce audio content for the game. This is perfect! I am already involved in two other projects with Tim, I know about his work process' and attitude towards reaching the best possible outcome in every situation, so I'm ecstatic that I'm able to collaborate with him on this ongoing project.

After the first meeting I knew exactly what was needed for the final deliverable, Cayden has created an Assets List (Appendix B) for Tim and I to record/produce. Step one was to show research of Binaural Beats and the production techniques behind them and produce a test sample of the specific audio. Fortunately for us, this was completed before the meeting. The following week I planned to take a 3Dio Freespace Pro II Binaural Microphone (Appendix C) into the field to capture some natural forest soundscapes, but first I had to obtain approval from Rose (audio lecturer) to be granted access to the microphone (luckily she said yes). Now, this recording wasn't going to be the final deliverable for the project, it was more so I could gain hands on experience with the exact equipment that I plan to use for the real recording; to figure out what can and can't go wrong during the session, to ensure optimised sound quality when it comes time to capture the real thing.

Appendix B: Assets List for Mindful Escapes - Audio

Appendix C - 3Dio Freespace Pro II Binaural Microphone

*Warning - many painful mistakes were made during this session*

The microphone has been booked, I have all of the gear I need for the recording and I know the location I want to go to; I figured the closest thing to an inner-city rain forest was Mt. Coot-tha forest (close enough right? haha).

The session was planned out perfectly:

10:00am - Pick up equipment

10:30am - Arrive on location

11:00am - Set up mic in desired location and test audio quality

11:15am - capture 4 separate 30-minute recordings of forest (adjusting direction and location each time)

1:30pm - Pack up gear, leave location and return to SAE

2:00pm - Transfer files to an external drive and confirm successful recordings

3:00pm - Return gear

3:15pm - Listen to recordings and mark points of interest within the audio file.

I had a good idea of where I wanted to set the microphone up from previous leisurely walks through the mountain, I was thinking somewhere along the Powerful Owl Trail. Little to my luck, when I arrived at the J.C. Slaughter Falls Car Park, I was unfortunate enough to choose the same day to record a soundscape as the councils tree trimming service chose to cut back some branches at 'Slaughter Falls' Picnic Ground. Not a problem! (I think). This just means I need to trek further into the forest; far enough away from the bane that is the sound of piercing blades, tearing through the forest (literally). As I walked along the trail, I had the mic in hand and was monitoring the sound it was picking up through stereo headphones (by doing this I was able to find a location where the chainsaw(s) where virtually inaudible) (Appendix D).

I finally arrived at the perfect spot, but I new I had to walk off the trail because I couldn't just set up the gear up in the middle of the pathway. Many people travel through this route, not just by foot but also on a mountain bike, or better yet, a motor bike. Other than the noise of pedestrians passing the mic as it is recording, there is a much higher chance that the equipment could get damaged by having it out in the open.

Appendix D - Location of Recording

I planned ahead and bought some fluorescent electrical tape with me, this was to mark each tree as I walked past them so I didn't forget the location of the microphone while it was recording (walking away from the equipment ensured that the atmosphere of the forest was captured without being interrupted by my actions/movement).

Mistake 1: No Microphone Stand

Side note: One major downside (in my opinion) of the 3Dio binaural microphone series, is that it has a fixed 5/8" microphone stand adaptor attached on its underside. Even though this is a fairly universal and standard size for mic stands, because it can't be detached there is minimal options for where the microphone can be placed (without handheld recording).

As the heading suggests, it came time to set up the gear and the first thing I realised was that I didn't bring a stand for the (very expensive) microphone to sit on (!). I had just spent the past hour trying to think through each step I needed to complete during the session. Excited to just get the gear, go to the location and capture a number of 3D audio recordings, I made the crucial mistake of not looking over the equipment that I knew I needed. I attempted to find a safe place to sit the microphone for recording (Appendix E), but no where was secure enough to trust for the full length of time. Instead I simply held it in my hand during recording using the fixed adaptor that is attached to the bottom of the of equipment.

Appendix E - Attempting to find make-shift mic stand (Failure)

Mistake 2: One XLR Cable

After an hour of recording, I had an epiphany! (not a good one). I'm trying to record using a binaural microphone (BI MEANS TWO) and I only have one XLR cable plugged into the Zoom recorder. I couldn't believe the simple yet crucial mistakes I have made so far in the session. I was recording sound from only one of the two mics I had available (this makes it impossible to emulate a real life experience, as I'm now only recording in stereo and not '3D'). By this point I had no other option except to pack all the equipment up, head down the mountain, drive back to SAE, get another XLR cable and mic stand, and return to the same spot to capture as much sound as I could with the time allocated. *sigh*...

By the time I got back on location it was 1:30pm and It came to 2:00pm when all the equipment was set up and tested. I made a quick call to SAE Tech Department and asked if it was possible for me to return all the equipment at 4:00pm instead of 3:00pm. This is to make sure that they know about the situation and they confirm the extended use, in case someone else has made a booking for the gear but more importantly, it's a professional and courteous way to build trust and rapport.

I made sure I wasn't going to make any more mistakes for the session. So for those who are wondering...

This is how to set up a successful recording session using a 3Dio Freespace Pro II and a Zoom H6 Handy Recorder:

Step 1 - Have all the correct equipment; 1x mic stand, 2x XLR cables, 1x microphone, 1x recorder, 1x pair of monitoring headphones, 1x roll of fluorescent electrical tape, 1x good book to read to pass time.

Step 2 - Set up stand on stable ground.

Step 3 - Connect microphone to stand, plug XLR cables in to mic and recorder. (Appendix F)

Step 4 - Turn microphone and recorder on.

Step 5 - Set up Zoom recording device, make sure that the input levels on the chosen. channels (1&2) are of the same value (Appendix G), use headphones to monitor.

Step 6 - Go into audio settings on the recorder, make sure to pan the channels all the way to their respected side *e.g. left ear XLR cable plugged into channel 1, so channel 1 gets panned to the left side and vice-versa.*

Step 7 - Press record and walk as far away as possible from the immediate area. *note: use the fluorescent tape you used to mark the trees to find your way back to the path, sit there and read your book for some time*

Step 8 - When returning to recording site, make sure to check all equipment for any marks or damages before starting the next recording.

Appendix F - Microphone set up on stand

Appendix G - Input levels of Channels 1 & 2

Below are comparison pieces of audio, Appendix H is a 30 second clip of what was recorded with only one of the microphones, and Appendix I is a 30 second clip of what both mics recorded in the exact same location.

Appendix H - Recording only with left microphone

Appendix I - Binaural recording in same location as 'G'

When it came time for the next weekly meeting with the animations team (20.06.19), Tim & I had a booked the Neve studio to do a mixing session of a band recording. The team requested a test piece of audio to present for the early stages of the project. So Tim and I decided to skim through some of the recordings, we found a suitable piece of audio to layer with some ambient pads, soft piano scales and a 7Hz binaural beat. This was a very enjoyable session to work in as both of us were just having fun with the raw, un-quantised recording of the forest and were recording our music focusing on the feel of the track and not the timing or tempo. (Appendix J)

Appendix J - Recording in the Neve w/ Tim

Unfortunately, we weren't able to record through the Neve desk due to configuration issues with the output settings from the DAW (Ableton) to the monitors in the room (we were using a USB-midi key board that was plugged straight into the computer). A member from the tech department had to come to the studio to help troubleshoot the issue, but unfortunately it wasn't able to be resolved on the spot. No stress! we connected my laptop to the keyboard and recorded our session straight into Ableton Live 10. After a quick mix down, we were able to present a test version to the animations team within a few hours from when they first requested us to deliver it. (Appendix K) This has been done a month in advance and now leaves Tim and I with more space to focus on our other projects.

Appendix K - Test version of audio for Mindful Escapes Project 1, as requested from Animation team

So far in this project I have been able to highlight some crucial things that can potentially go wrong and completely ruin a recording session (nobody would want any of these thing to happen in a professional environment). I'm thankful that I have had to deal with them during this stage of recording and not for the final piece. The animations team that Tim and I are collaboratively working with have been awesome so far, their communication and clear guidelines as to what they require from us makes our job run significantly smoother. Being embedded into the project and not just an outsourced producer means that our names will have a much bigger involvement throughout all stages of production, so we must make sure that the audio is of the highest possible quality that we can deliver. Because of the knowledge I have gained from my own mistakes, I feel as though I am much more prepared to enter the early stages of the final section for the Mindful Escapes Virtual Reality, Project 1. I am looking forward to being given the opportunity to record and produce a natural rain forest soundscape and to capture foley sounds for collision events in the final product (brushing past trees or branches etc.).

Jordan.