3D/surround sound

This is used utilizing a binaural mic set up. you might have seen either a head shaped mic that has microphones in the places where your ears naturaly sit as this is one of the ways your brain distinguishes location of sound as well as the curvatures and characteristics of your ears is also a big component of your brain locating sounds front to back. Neumann made a dummy head with mic elements in ear shaped modules where the ears naturaly are. there is also another company that makes a sphere shaped mic with mics in oposing locations, there is also companies that make microphone elements that are built onto earbud style inserts to use your own head as the dummy head..lol

there are tons of info out there by just googling "Binaural recording" as its fairly popular for classical music and some of the 'Taper' scenes.

the effect really only works well when using good quality headphones.

good luck.
 
The catch with this stuff is that it only works with headphones.

What they did was simple use two mics and a dummy head (or something similar). The slight delays between when the two mics "hear" things is what gives you the location info.

So the way they did it it's un editable. That has been the problem for post sound and "surround" recordings of any type. Your stuck with what you recorded and you can't change things in post. You can move a sound that has location hard coded and that coding doesn't work unless your listening on headphones.

If you go the multi track route there is a bit more flexibility but film sound "reality" is created not recorded so surround recordings are rarely of much use.

You can build a 3D environment (editorially) and do your final mix through a box (Lake Audio Theatresound (bought by Dolby and discontinued)) and create the same thing. Again it only works in headphones.

Surround sound through speakers can't really do what is in the link because it requires the listener to be in an exact position. In a theatre all but one person is in a non ideal position and so the perspective gets very skewed. In theatrical surround hardly anything but background sounds are put in the surrounds. Another reason is that if you put something important behind the audience they will turn to look and of course what they will see is the theatre and that will take them right out of your story.

So this is really only much use for audio only productions.
 
Rolf De Heer film called Bad Boy Bubby utilised binaural recording for all the dialogue as I recall. Nicolas Hope (actor playing the protagonist) wore microphones in his hair and the whole movie you hear what he hears. It adds powerfully to the uncomfortable nature of the film. It is a very disturbing film but an amazing experience if you can stomach it. It is not gory but psychologically and spiritually taxing. The first third of the movie is necessary to establish the character but I don't think I have ever wanted to leave a theatre more than during those scenes. But the payoff is the rest of the movie and its a great one. But be warned it is a very dark film, especially to begin with. The binaural soundtrack was definitely the right choice for this movie and enhanced it no end. I hope you ignore my caution about the subject matter and check it out.
 
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