How can you use spatial audio to enhance the emotional impact of a VR story?

Virtual reality (VR) is a powerful medium for storytelling, as it immerses the audience in a 360-degree environment and allows them to interact with the characters and objects. However, to create a compelling and emotional VR story, you need more than just visuals. You also need to use spatial audio, which is the sound that changes according to the position and orientation of the listener and the source. In this article, you will learn how spatial audio can enhance the emotional impact of a VR story, and what tools and techniques you can use to create it.

1 What is spatial audio?

Spatial audio is the sound that simulates the natural perception of sound in a three-dimensional space. It takes into account the distance, direction, and movement of the sound source and the listener, as well as the reflections, reverberations, and occlusions of the sound by the environment. Spatial audio can create a realistic and immersive sound field that matches the visual scene, and can also convey information and emotions that are not visible. For example, spatial audio can make you feel the presence of someone behind you, or the tension of an approaching danger, or the mood of a different location.

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2 Why is spatial audio important for VR storytelling?

Spatial audio is important for VR storytelling because it can enhance the emotional impact of a VR story in several ways. First, spatial audio can create a sense of presence and immersion, which is the feeling of being in the VR world and not in the real one. By matching the sound to the visuals, spatial audio can make the VR world more believable and engaging. Second, spatial audio can create a sense of agency and interactivity, which is the feeling of having control and influence over the VR world. By responding to the actions and choices of the listener, spatial audio can make the VR world more dynamic and responsive. Third, spatial audio can create a sense of emotion and mood, which is the feeling of being affected by the VR world. By using sound cues, music, and voice, spatial audio can make the VR world more expressive and meaningful.

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Rachel Yee
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Imagine watching a movie without the sound. You can't hear anyone nor can you hear the environment. Next, say you can hear the dialogue, but nothing else. You can hear what people say, but they exist in a vacuum, which isn't how the real world works. In the real world, you can hear someone talking to you, people walking past, the birds singing in trees, etc. all at the same time and in every direction. This is your job as a VR sound designer: supply everything that someone should be hearing. Not just the sounds, but the appropriate localizations and acoustical environment these sounds exist within, which is where spatial audio comes in. Tell the story of the environment in three dimensions through sound otherwise the set is a hollow shell.

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3 How can you create spatial audio for VR storytelling?

To create spatial audio for VR storytelling, you need to use tools and techniques that can capture, process, and render spatial sound. There are different types of spatial audio, such as binaural, ambisonic, and object-based, that have different advantages and disadvantages. Binaural audio is the sound that is recorded or synthesized using two microphones or speakers, one for each ear, and mimics the way humans hear sound. Binaural audio can create a realistic and immersive sound field, but it is not very flexible and adaptable to different listeners and devices. Ambisonic audio is the sound that is recorded or synthesized using multiple microphones or speakers, arranged in a spherical pattern, and captures the sound from all directions. Ambisonic audio can create a flexible and adaptable sound field, but it is not very realistic and immersive. Object-based audio is the sound that is recorded or synthesized using individual sound sources, such as voices or effects, and assigns them attributes, such as position, volume, and direction. Object-based audio can create a realistic, immersive, flexible, and adaptable sound field, but it is more complex and resource-intensive.

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Clyde D.

Producer: Music & Story...humanizing Gen A.I.
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For live action video based VR, You don't really need a binaural microphone setup, as it captures sound from “one point of view” (where ever it's placed on a stage or set or room) Instead, placing several microphones around the scene being captured... Allows for selective 'authoring' and manipulating the sound scape during post production. It's just a different workflow but more robust and creative in my opinion. For game engine rendered VR, there are packages for game engines such as unity that offer nice solutions; some even taking into account reflection off of objects in a room / scene, while keeping material absorption/reflectance of sound in mind. 1/2

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G. Almont Green

Business Owner at Almont MediaLaboratory
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A true ambisonic microphone:— 4 matching phase aligned capsules — Like the one from Core Sound (Tetra) is ideal imho. Arrays of single capsule microphones placed in different locations create an artificial sound imho.

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4 What are some examples of spatial audio in VR storytelling?

Spatial audio in VR storytelling can be found in a variety of forms, such as documentaries, games, and art. For instance, Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness is a VR experience based on the audio diaries of John Hull, who lost his sight. It employs binaural audio and visual effects to recreate his perception of sound and space, as well as to explore his emotions and thoughts. The Invisible Hours is a VR game that enables you to investigate a murder mystery in a mansion. It utilizes object-based audio and spatialized voice to create a realistic and interactive sound field, which can affect your decisions and outcomes. Dear Angelica is a VR short film that narrates the story of a daughter remembering her mother's movies. It uses ambisonic audio and hand-drawn animation to create an emotional sound field that transports you to different realms.

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5 How can you learn more about spatial audio for VR storytelling?

If you want to learn more about spatial audio for VR storytelling, you can start by reading books and articles such as Spatial Audio for Virtual Reality by Michael Kelly and Hugo Larochelle, which covers sound design, recording, processing, rendering, and evaluation; Designing Sound for Virtual Reality by Samuel Hughes, which covers sound aesthetics, spatial audio techniques, sound tools, and examples; and The Sound of VR by Peter Rubin, which explores the importance and challenges of spatial audio for VR. You can also watch videos and tutorials such as Introduction to Spatial Audio for VR by Google VR; Spatial Audio for VR: A Primer by Oculus; and Spatial Audio for VR: Tips and Tricks by Oculus. Additionally, you can try online courses and workshops such as Spatial Audio for VR by Coursera; Spatial Audio for VR by Udemy; and Spatial Audio for VR by Immersive Audio Academy.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use spatial audio to enhance the emotional impact of a VR story?

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1 What is spatial audio?

2 Why is spatial audio important for VR storytelling?

3 How can you create spatial audio for VR storytelling?

4 What are some examples of spatial audio in VR storytelling?

5 How can you learn more about spatial audio for VR storytelling?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Virtual Reality

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How can you use spatial audio to enhance the emotional impact of a VR story?

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1 What is spatial audio?

2 Why is spatial audio important for VR storytelling?

3 How can you create spatial audio for VR storytelling?

4 What are some examples of spatial audio in VR storytelling?

5 How can you learn more about spatial audio for VR storytelling?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Virtual Reality

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