Spatial Audio Fundamentals - Two Day Course

This short course will equip you with the fundamental skills to integrate spatial audio into your creative practice. You will be introduced to the creative potential of spatial sound and equipped with the skill to edit, mix and compose in spatial audio using accessible tools.

You will learn techniques and approaches that extend beyond Dolby Atmos, exploring the rich and varied histories of spatial audio practice to drive your creative potential.

You will experience our 32.4 Spatial Audio Lab, part of the Shared Hub for Immersive Future Technologies, and have access to facilities and resources of the University of Greenwich to record, edit, transform, create and mix sounds spatially.

For more information about our facilities visit: https://blogs.gre.ac.uk/sound-image/research-facilities/

WHAT IS SPATIAL AUDIO?

Spatial audio composition with studio technology enables artists to create enveloping experiences in which sounds surround and travel around the listener.

In our everyday life we hear sounds from above, behind, around and below us, they may move past us from front to back, or pass over us from left to right. Spatial audio allows creatives to access this dimension of sound which is lost in traditional stereo (two channel) formats, and to re-create and play with the spatial position of sounds as a feature in their creative work.

The popularity of spatial audio tools has exploded in recent years, with the adoption of Spatial mixes by Apple Music and Dolby Atmos Music, amongst others. But few practitioners are able to the full potential of spatial sound because they have not unlocked the full potential by understanding the heritage of spatial sound practice.

Through our Research at the SOUND/IMAGE Research centre and our established Loudspeaker Orchestra concert series, we frequently welcome practitioners and artists at the forefront of spatial sound composition, giving us access to world leading creative approaches in spatial sound.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

1. The Histories of Spatial Audio – introducing the multifaceted history of spatial audio.  You will experience many different examples of spatial audio composition, practices from before recording technology, up to the present day,  across different formats.  

1. Listening Spatially – you will explore the fundamentals of sound and listening to understand how we hear sound spatially and how we can use this to create new creative experiences. 

1. Editing and Mixing Spatial Sound – You will explore techniques and approaches to ‘upmixing’ standard mono and stereo sounds into spatial audio formats and begin to create your own spatial audio mixes. 

1. Recording in Spatial Audio – You will be introduced to techniques and approaches for recording source material in spatial formats and how to integrate these into your mixes. 

1. Performance – participants will have the opportunity to experience their work on our 32.4 Spatial Audio Lab loudspeaker array 

WHO WILL BE MY TUTORS?

You will be taught by composers and musicians at the SOUND/IMAGE Research Centre who are experts in spatial audio composition.

Including:

• Dr Brona Martin

• Dr Emma Margetson

• Prof. Andrew Knight-Hill

Cost £350

Duration 2 Days In Person (10- 5 each day, 12 hours)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED?

• Enthusiasm and passion to explore the creative potential of spatial audio.

• Pair of Headphones

• Hard drive for transferring files

• Reaper DAW

• IEM Plug-in Suite

• MCFX multichannel audio plug-in suite - Download link - https://github.com/kronihias/mcfx/releases

• (if you like) bring the stem or recordings for an existing project to upmix.