BINAURAL SOUND INSTALLATION
Durch das Stipendium der Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen war es mir möglich an der Idee einer binaurale Soundinstallation zu arbeiten.
Thanks to a grant from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, I was able to work on the idea of a binaural sound installation.
Starting point
The use of sound art is relatively new compared to visual art. This is mainly due to the fact that sound art is very closely linked to the development of technical means.
Sound art can now be heard everywhere. It is used intensively in audiovisual installations. These usually take effect in a room-filling concept. Viewers have the opportunity to walk through the space and take in the auditory installation from different perspectives.
Due to COVID-19, exhibitions and thus installations were not possible during the contact restrictions and now, in the advanced year 2020, they can still only be realized to a limited extent. This gave rise to the idea of how sound art could be realized in the form of a sound installation for headphones.
Requirements
When using technology as part of the art, extremely simple and intuitive handling is necessary so that the focus can remain on the art and not be distracted. The simplest means for the sound installation are headphones. Whether circumaural headphones or in-ears. The installation is easily accessible with a means that almost every person has at hand.
An important point is the creation of an acoustic environment that can be heard through the headphones and can have a room-filling and immersive effect. The use of binaural technology is ideal for this. This process is a method in which the mixing of sounds allows them to be coordinated in different positions in the room, for example far to the left at the back. This allows acoustic environments to be presented realistically and engagingly.
Important: please be sure to use headphones.
First test
As a first test, I recreated the short journey of a penguin in the Antarctic and experimented with the localization of sounds. The result was a room-filling environment of the Antarctic. The listener is acoustically taken by the hand and the distribution of the sounds in the room creates an immersive experience, much clearer than with a stereo distribution on the right or left headphones.
Material
In September 2016, Sa-Po and I showed the audiovisual installation “Empty Shelters” in Berlin. This consists of various works on the subject of the division of North and South Korea. I created sound collages to accompany the respective images.
The challenge for me was that the installation was produced to have an effect in the room. This had to be transferred to headphones. I selected the following works for this:
»Gott will Cash«
»Volkspanik«
»Währungsgrenze«
Results
During the elaborate work on the sound installations, I was able to see how the seemingly static installations became intense experiences for the headphones.
The position in space, which can also vary over time, creates new possibilities for dramaturgical narration. In the example of “Volkspanik”, I was able to make the subway arrive and depart in Seoul. This would not have been possible with the usual stereo effect of left-right.
The main difference to the real installation in the room was that the dramaturgy of the sounds had to be considered even more in the conception process. In a real situation, the audience can move freely and thus change their perspective. With headphones, people cannot do this. Therefore, more dramaturgical work has to be done.
My material from the original installation therefore reaches its limits. I stuck to the original dramaturgy and collage and tried to transport it to headphones.
Another striking result is that the spatial localization in the headphones expands the two-dimensional image to include the three-dimensional acoustic level. The image can be seen from the front, while the sound can be heard from behind without the image.
Conclusion
Based on the idea, I have succeeded in creating initial examples of the sound installation for headphones. It is immensely important to note that a clear dramaturgy and the listening situation itself must be considered and planned for during the development of the idea and concept. This ensures that the experience of the sound installation takes the audience on an effective acoustic journey.
Further application scenarios arise with the coupling with virtual spaces, for example, as in the online gallery of the HFBK Hamburg. This means that the sound can also be placed in a virtual space in an exciting way and the three-dimensionality can be expanded.
Note
The creation of this work was made possible by a grant from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony.
Hinweis
Die Entstehung dieses Werks wurde durch ein Stipendium der Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen ermöglicht.
BINAURAL SOUND INSTALLATION
Durch das Stipendium der Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen war es mir möglich an der Idee einer binaurale Soundinstallation zu arbeiten.
Thanks to a grant from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, I was able to work on the idea of a binaural sound installation.
Starting point
The use of sound art is relatively new compared to visual art. This is mainly due to the fact that sound art is very closely linked to the development of technical means.
Sound art can now be heard everywhere. It is used intensively in audiovisual installations. These usually take effect in a room-filling concept. Viewers have the opportunity to walk through the space and take in the auditory installation from different perspectives.
Due to COVID-19, exhibitions and thus installations were not possible during the contact restrictions and now, in the advanced year 2020, they can still only be realized to a limited extent. This gave rise to the idea of how sound art could be realized in the form of a sound installation for headphones.
Requirements
When using technology as part of the art, extremely simple and intuitive handling is necessary so that the focus can remain on the art and not be distracted. The simplest means for the sound installation are headphones. Whether circumaural headphones or in-ears. The installation is easily accessible with a means that almost every person has at hand.
An important point is the creation of an acoustic environment that can be heard through the headphones and can have a room-filling and immersive effect. The use of binaural technology is ideal for this. This process is a method in which the mixing of sounds allows them to be coordinated in different positions in the room, for example far to the left at the back. This allows acoustic environments to be presented realistically and engagingly.
Important: please be sure to use headphones.
First test
As a first test, I recreated the short journey of a penguin in the Antarctic and experimented with the localization of sounds. The result was a room-filling environment of the Antarctic. The listener is acoustically taken by the hand and the distribution of the sounds in the room creates an immersive experience, much clearer than with a stereo distribution on the right or left headphones.
Material
In September 2016, Sa-Po and I showed the audiovisual installation “Empty Shelters” in Berlin. This consists of various works on the subject of the division of North and South Korea. I created sound collages to accompany the respective images.
The challenge for me was that the installation was produced to have an effect in the room. This had to be transferred to headphones. I selected the following works for this:
»Gott will Cash«
»Volkspanik«
»Währungsgrenze«
Results
During the elaborate work on the sound installations, I was able to see how the seemingly static installations became intense experiences for the headphones.
The position in space, which can also vary over time, creates new possibilities for dramaturgical narration. In the example of “Volkspanik”, I was able to make the subway arrive and depart in Seoul. This would not have been possible with the usual stereo effect of left-right.
The main difference to the real installation in the room was that the dramaturgy of the sounds had to be considered even more in the conception process. In a real situation, the audience can move freely and thus change their perspective. With headphones, people cannot do this. Therefore, more dramaturgical work has to be done.
My material from the original installation therefore reaches its limits. I stuck to the original dramaturgy and collage and tried to transport it to headphones.
Another striking result is that the spatial localization in the headphones expands the two-dimensional image to include the three-dimensional acoustic level. The image can be seen from the front, while the sound can be heard from behind without the image.
Conclusion
Based on the idea, I have succeeded in creating initial examples of the sound installation for headphones. It is immensely important to note that a clear dramaturgy and the listening situation itself must be considered and planned for during the development of the idea and concept. This ensures that the experience of the sound installation takes the audience on an effective acoustic journey.
Further application scenarios arise with the coupling with virtual spaces, for example, as in the online gallery of the HFBK Hamburg. This means that the sound can also be placed in a virtual space in an exciting way and the three-dimensionality can be expanded.
Note
The creation of this work was made possible by a grant from the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony.
Hinweis
Die Entstehung dieses Werks wurde durch ein Stipendium der Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen ermöglicht.