CinematicAmbiX: Cinematic Sound in Virtual Reality

Abstract

CinematicAmbiX is a three-movement piece of virtual reality art that is focused on sound for film. I sought to separate trailer sounds, foley, and ambience from their standard visual accompaniment. I chose virtual reality (VR) as a mode of exhibition for its ability to allow me to replace the two-dimensional plane of the cinema screen with the three-dimensional virtual gallery. VR granted me the use of the ambisonic audio format to create an interactive and immersive sonic environment. I was able to spotlight cinematic sound in a format that encouraged audience interaction while maintaining sound as the focus. This is contrary to what Christoph Cox calls, the “hegemony of the visual” through which sound is often overshadowed in visual media. In this writing, I explain how human hearing connects to a film’s soundtrack by investigating the evolution of cinema audio formats and the technologies that drive them.