INTRODUCTION:
So, for some of you who have read The Bridging World, you may have checked out the 3D audiobook version I produced for the first chapter. That's what we will be talking about in this first issue of the TBW Blog, per the request of my good friend, Cheeto.
Because of everything that was put into the production of said audio, this will probably be a fairly long post, and I will have to split this into multiple parts. Just thought you would like the heads up.
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PART ONE: WHY MAKE AN AUDIO VERSION?
The inspiration for making a 3D audiobook version of TBW was two things. First, it was watching the 3D Binaural YouTube video called "The Virtual Barber Shop". I'll post a link to it for those interested (please listen to it with stereo headphones):
Although this wasn't what started me writing my story originally (more on the history of TBW in a future blog issue), it was the spark that ignited the idea to make what I'm going to call an audio-movie experience. I was so blown away by the listening experience in the above video, that I started scouring the internet for more examples of 3D audio. The sad truth? There wasn't much to find.
On YouTube, if you search "3D binaural audio stories" you're probably going to find the same, small handful of videos I found. BBC did some experiments in it a long time ago (those admittedly are a bit cool, but outdated), and there are a couple of other people who just copycatted the Virtual Barber Shop by doing Virtual Dentist Visit or interrogation-styled videos. However, if I wanted someone to tell a real story utilizing 3D binaural audio, I just wasn't going to find it. Surprisingly, it's a fairly untapped market. There's one company called Owl Field that was doing exactly what I was looking for, but they have remained silent for several years now with no new content.
This all meant, that if I wanted stories told in 3D audio... well... I was going to have to make it myself. Before I get into the technical hurdles I ran into, I'll go over what my second inspiration was.
So, through my research and falling into a bunny trail on YouTube, I came across a blind YouTuber whose name sadly escapes me. His content generally discussed what life was like for someone who was born blind. In one of his videos, he along with another who was classified as legally blind talked about entertainment for those visually impaired. Granted, in the video, they were primarily talking about how to make YouTube videos more accessible to the blind. Nevertheless, it helped boost my reasoning for wanting to make a 3D audiobook story. Originally, I wanted to make something because I thought it would be cool, but now I had a way to make movie-like entertainment for the visually impaired through audio. That's when the concept of an audio-movie experience truly solidified in my mind.
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PART TWO: IT'S REALLY HARD TO MAKE A 3D AUDIOBOOK
I told you there were some technical hurdles. To put that in perspective, this idea started back somewhere between 2015 to 2017. I didn't post the finished video until June 3rd, 2022. I can't remember the exact year I came up with the idea, I just remember my wife and I were not married yet but had been dating for a while.
In order to record 3D binaural audio with microphones, you first need two microphones of the same type so that the audio quality is exactly the same. Any differences will be very noticeable in the end results. You then have to set the microphones up at ear level, one located by the right ear, and the other located by the left ear. Both microphones must record at the same time. After the recording session, you have to edit the recorded audio files to fully pan to whatever side of the ear the microphone was recording from (right ear recording requires 100% pan to the right, and left ear recording requires 100% pan to the left). After that, you blend the two audio files together, and viola! You have 3D audio! Except that it isn't that simple if you want to do what I did...
So, problem number one is money. Good quality microphones are god-awfully expensive. Buying two of the same type was going to be even more so. Thankfully, at this time, I wasn't married with a kid, so I had the ability to save money. All of my current equipment and software I bought BEFORE I was married, which I'm glad I did because there is no way I can afford any of it now.
Problem number two was figuring out what kind of microphones to buy. See, the way we perceive audio and its placement is entirely based on the structure of our ears. You know all those weird ridges, flaps, structures, etc. in your ears? Yeah, those actually serve a purpose. Sound bounces around all those to tell you from which direction a sound came. This means that you can't just use any 'ole microphone if you want authentic 3D audio. You need microphones built specifically for this purpose. You have two main options for this. Either buy a pre-built dummy head with built-in microphones in each ear (the ears being faithfully sculpted in the shape of real ears) which will cost SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS, or buy binaural microphone earbuds which are designed to be placed in your own ears like headphone earbuds, saving you the hassle of getting a dummy head because you're using your own head.
I decided to go for the in-ear binaural microphone earbuds because I was able to snag a good pair for only $100.00. However, I still had to buy a portable recorder to plug the microphones into that could also supply Phantom Power (something you need when recording anything with microphones). I went with a Tascam DR-05 portable recorder because it was on the cheaper side, but still had good reviews on quality. Together with these two things, I could FINALLY record in authentic 3D... only that I still had several other hurdles to overcome.
Problem number three was that I was a one-man show with no help and the inability to record everything that I would need to produce an entire series. So, for normal everyday sounds that I could easily record myself, I was set, but what if I needed an action sequence with lots of guns shooting and explosions going off? I couldn't record those with my setup and I definitely didn't have actors to perform around me while I was recording. So, what could I do?
We all know what CGI in movies is right? It's when you need to add something to the film that you can't film in real life, right? I needed to use the same concept for my audio story. If someone fires a gun in the story, I needed to place a gunshot sound effect that I couldn't record myself into the audio production post-recording session. Well, this adds many challenges, the biggest being that the artificially inserted sound effect had to be placed into a 3D space to maintain the illusion of a 3D audio story. How in the world was I going to be able to do that?
This was the number one problem that stalled production for so many years. At the time, the technology didn't really exist except in video games. Thank goodness I went to college for simulation and game design because it taught me how to use the game engine Unity. Before virtual reality gaming really took off, this was my only solution. I had to design the environment in 3D and have the sounds play in the 3D environment and then find a way to record the audio to be used in my D.A.W. (Digital Audio Workstation which you can see in the chapter image) for use with the audio production. This also required me to program a character to move around in the 3D environment and I had to also program when sounds played and where. Needless to say, this was NOT a sustainable way to do this. Just making a prototype of this idea took me WEEKS! The worst part? The 3D audio engine built in Unity only provided the 3D location of a sound. It couldn't do authentic-sounding reverb and reflections that tell you WHAT kind of environment a sound is in like a building, bathroom, car, etc.
So, for a long time that was it. The idea was dead in the water... and then came the virtual gaming boom! With virtual gaming taking off, everyone started making software to create authentic virtual 3D audio to go along with virtual gaming. The most important software to come out of this? Dear VR Pro (you can see it in the chapter image)! The bread and butter of 3D audio simulation for sound effects. Not only could it be used in gaming engines, but more importantly, they made it available to use as an audio plugin for any D.A.W.
The original intent for the D.A.W. version was to allow composers and audio producers to mix audio in 3D, primarily for music. However, it was the perfect solution I needed for my story. Not only could I place a sound in a full 3D environment, but I could adjust occlusion (whether the sound was behind another object or wall), reverb, and reflections. I could make a sound appear to be playing in a church, living room, car, factory warehouse, or any kind of indoor environment. At long last, I could finally officially start my 3D audiobook idea... only that the program cost $349.00. So, I had to wait another year to save money and wait for the software to go on sale. Needless to say, I didn't get started on my project until the year 2022.163Please respect copyright.PENANA3nclQEZCTP
There were many more hurdles I had to go through, but for now, I'm going to end this issue here. We will continue the journey I had to go through to make the 3D audiobook version of chapter one of TBW in the next issue.163Please respect copyright.PENANAAp8xWJDyhx
Let me know if you enjoyed this and would like me to continue writing blog entries like these. This blog is for you all after all. If you're not getting anything out of it, then let me know what you would actually like me to write about, and I'll do just that. Until next issue, farewell!
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