Category: Immersive Audio

In Picture: ESMA, Ambeo and GoPro Fusion on stage

Towards the end of the fall semester in December 2017, the Immersive Audio Group had the opportunity to record the NYU Adult Choir and Children’s Chorus during the Holiday Concert. The event took place at 7 pm on the 17th at NYU Skirball, a premier cultural and performing arts venue in Greenwich Village. This was one of the first live performances the group recorded with a combination of ambisonic recording techniques and 360º video, and provided a great opportunity for us try out some new recording setups, including the Equal Segment Microphone Array (ESMA).

People involved in the production-

• Marta Olko, Producer
• Charles Craig Jr., Co-Producer
• Ying-Ying Zhang, Lead Recording Engineer
• Peter Berman, Assistant Recording Engineer
• Scott Murakami, Assistant Recording Engineer
• Sungsoo Kim, Secondary Assistant Recording Engineer
• Sripathi Sridhar, GoPro Fusion

The recording components used in the setup were an ESMA array, 2 Ambeo microphones and a GoPro Fusion 360º camera for the video recording. The ESMA array is a audio recording technique suitable for virtual reality (VR) reproduction, detailed by Dr. Hyunkook Lee of University of Huddersfield (ESMA). The array captures immersive sound without using specialized ambisonic or binaural microphones, instead capturing a soundfield by a combination of multiple polar patterns. In addition, the Sennheiser Ambeo ambisonic microphones were used, which capture soundfields using 1st order ambisonics.

Since the auditorium is a large space, the venue characteristics were taken into account in the recording setup. The placement of a microphone in the audience area helps to capture a different perspective of the soundfield, as well as the audience reaction and involvement. Keeping this in mind, an Ambeo mic was suspended from the balcony above the audience area to increase immersion in VR reproduction. Another Ambeo mic occupied a more conventional position at the foot of the stage, alongside the GoPro Fusion camera. This microphone captures more of the performers’ sound along with the ESMA. The GoPro Fusion is a recently released 360º camera that uses its 2 lenses to capture, well, 360º footage. Although there are yet software and hardware improvements anticipated, it is perhaps one of the best affordable 360º cameras in the market today.

Despite the challenging nature of the ESMA configuration, the engineers got the setup up and running after much effort. The ESMA consisting of 4 Schoeps MK6 and 4 Sennheiser MKH-800 microphones, and the 2 Ambeo microphones were rigged to the Antelope Orion 32HD+MP32 preamps.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience and will be treasured by everyone involved. The recordings were of a high quality and currently going through post-production, to be released on the website soon. Stay tuned!

By Sripathi Sridhar

Late in the summer of ’17, the NYU Immersive Audio Group was offered the opportunity to record the West Point Holiday Show by the Audio Engineering Branch Head of the West Point Military Band, Brandi Lane. The performance was to be held at 1:30PM on December 2nd, 2017 at the Eisenhower Hall Theatre at Trophy Point. After months of planning, an elite squad was formed to record the event using 3D sound and video technologies and techniques:

* Kamal Rountree – Freelance Technical Manager/Producer
* Charles Craig Jr. – Producer
* Aggie H. Tai – Lead Engineer
* David Degenstein – Assistant Engineer
* Ying Ying Zhang – Lead Recording Engineer
* Ian Anderson – Assistant Recording Engineer
* Jason Sheng – Assistant Recording Engineer
* Scott Murakami – Secondary Assistant Recording Engineer
* Chris Neil – Secondary Assistant Recording Engineer

This post recaps the 3D sound and video technologies and techniques used to record the West Point Holiday Show.

The holiday show ensemble featured a mixture of brass, woodwind, string, percussion, and keyboard instruments. Brandi and her team of engineers handled the placement of spot mics for each of the 40+ instrumentalists. The IAG setup a Nokia Ozo 360 camera, two Sennheiser AMBEO ambisonic microphones, and a binaural capture system (aka Jeck-Head system) in the following locations:

* Stage: Sennheiser AMBEO and Nokia Ozo (AMBEO-Ozo system)
* Audience: Sennheiser AMBEO and Jeck-Head system

After taking into consideration the acoustic characteristics of the hall and the placement restrictions of the venue staff, the IAG engineers decided to place the AMBEO-Ozo system in an area between the ensemble and soloists. This allowed for the best visual and aural on-stage concert perspective and resulted in the capture of sound sources in various azimuths and elevations around the AMBEO-Ozo system.

A second AMBEO was placed directly beside the Jeck-head system at half distance from the stage. The Jeck-head system is an experimental binaural capture system developed by members of the IAG and the Assistant Director of Music Technology, Paul Geluso. It consists of two mic arrays separated by a Jecklin disk. The mic arrays are composed of one cardioid (Schoeps MK2) and two bipolar (Schoeps MK6) patterned microphones. Facing the stage, the MK2’s of each array faced -270 degrees (L) and 45 degrees (R) along the azimuth of the Jecklin disk. On each side of the disk, one MK6 faced up-down and one faced front-back. The Jeck-Head array is hypothesized to allow for the capture of performances in binaural and for enhanced flexibility in the mixing stage.

The signals from the AMBEOs and Jeck-Head systems were recorded using the Antelope Audio Orion32 HD 64-channel HDX and USB3 AD/DA Interface and ProTools.

The West Point Holiday Show was spectacular, and the recordings are currently being edited and mixed along with the video. Stay tuned for their release in the near future!

Article by Charles Craig Jr.