Producing 3-D audio

Arguably the most rapidly expanding market for audio production is that of 3-D audio – 360° spatial audio with representation of height. Such playback is becoming commonplace in cinemas, and multi-speaker home setups are following. As these mature, greater convenience and enhanced functionality will likely increase domestic uptake. In parallel, headphone-based 3D is experiencing an unprecedented rate of development. Headphones with spaced multiple drivers are emerging, accelerometers are being incorporated to facilitate head-tracking-driven audio panning, and binaural algorithms are steadily improving. The principal exponents of such playback are virtual and augmented reality. While gaming will lead this market, soon the applications will proliferate into many areas of daily life – from productivity to education, through social networking to music playback, and advertising will pervade these new media. All of these applications require the production of audio, and this chapter explores the associated implications for the music producer. 3D offers an exciting new paradigm for music, since the conventions associated with stereo and horizontal surround are increasingly outmoded by the greater options associated with perception of height. This chapter will consider relevant technologies and identify key production-practice, underpinned by a framework of scientific research to help define the emergent praxis of 3-D audio production. It will consider opportunities, applications and limitations, all of which combine to introduce and help define a new approach to music production that will increasingly pervade into the future.