3D sound spatialization with game engines: the virtual acoustics performance of a game engine and a middleware for interactive audio design

This study analyses one of the most popular game engines and an audio middleware to reproduce sound according to sound propagation physics. The analysis focuses on the transmission path between the sound source and the receiver. Even if there are several ready-to-use real-time auralization platforms and software, game engines' use with this aim is a recent study area for acousticians. However, audio design needs with game engines and the limits of their basic releases require additional tools (plugins and middleware) to improve both the quality and realism of sound in virtual environments. The paper discusses the use of Unreal Engine 4 and Wwise's 3D audio production methods in a set of different test environments. It assesses their performance in regard to a commercial geometrical acoustics software. The results show that the investigated version of the game engine and its sound assets are insufficient to simulate real-world cases and that significant improvements can be achieved with use of the middleware.

‘IT IS IMPORTANT ARTISTS REACT TO THE WORLD IN WHICH WE ALL LIVE’: AN INTERVIEW WITH PHILIPPE MANOURY ON LAB.ORATORIUM

Lab.Oratorium (2019) is the concluding part of Philippe Manoury's Köln Trilogy. It follows In situ (2013) and Ring (2016) in exploring the spoken voice as a musical element, the wider possibilities of the orchestra, and the use of sound spatialization and live electronics. Lab.Oratorium is also a work deeply rooted in the present. In this interview, Philippe Manoury discusses the political and poetic significance of this work, conceived as an artistic response to Europe's responsibility in the tragic situation of migrants around the Mediterranean. He also develops his thoughts on musical form, spatialization and creative process in music.

Correction of Spatialization Issues in Acousmatic Music: Remedying Incompatibility Between SpatGRIS and Logic Pro X [Stetson University]

In this project, a technical solution for incompatibility among software programs involved in the spatialization of sound in multichannel speaker arrays was designed and implemented. Acousmatic music is a genre of electronic music intended for playback by a group of loudspeakers with the central concept being calculated ideation by the composer on how sound moves in space. Dr. Robert Normandeau, a pioneer in both acousmatic composition and sound spatialization research, describes the genre as “Cinema for the Ear.” Through his efforts with Groupe de Recherche en Immersion Spatiale (GRIS), Dr. Normandeau created a software plugin, SpatGRIS, which allows composers to send sounds around the space to come seemingly from anywhere in relation to the listener. This allows acousmatic composers to send sounds around, over, or through the audience for a completely immersive experience. Through use of SpatGRIS in conjunction with Logic Pro X, one of the most globally popular Digital Audio Workstations, the plugin has proven useful to create complex sonic movements in acousmatic compositions produced throughout the completion of this research. However, when trying to export these projects in their entirety for playback and sharing, both programs labeled and exported channels differently in octophonic (eight channel) compositions. This difference resulted in sounds from the composition being spatialized incorrectly. Therefore, a method using a free third-party software, which can easily remedy this error and correct the final recordings to their originally intended state, was created to serve as solution.

Multichannel Works for Nonstationary Audiences

There is interest in our era in the topic of sound spatialization, as evidenced by the writings, compositions, and facilities dedicated to the practice. One frequently expressed goal is to elevate space in importance as a compositional parameter. There are many approaches that make this possible, one of which is to create multichannel compositions for listeners who move physically through the presentation space. This article is an examination of such works. This article will discuss several elements in relation to navigable sonic creations using a variety of case studies, including my 96-channel piece for mobile audiences, First Vision.

Algorithmic Spatialization

Beginning with a brief historical overview of spatial audio and music practices, this chapter looks at principles of sound spatialization, algorithms for composing and rendering spatial sound and music, and different techniques of spatial source positioning and sound space manipulation. These operations include composing with abstract objects in a sound scene, creating compound sounds using source clusters, altering spatial characteristics by means of spectral sound decomposition, and the manipulation of artificial acoustic spaces. The chapter goes on to discuss practical issues of live spatialization and, through an example piece, the ways a number of different algorithms collaborate in the constitution of a generative audio-visual installation with surround audio and video. Finally, the challenges and pitfalls of using spatialization and some of the common reasons for failure are brought to attention.