- Arup Acoustics create immersive environment for 3D video art installation -
BFI Southbank Gallery has gone 3D — thanks to a new immersive video installation by British artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work is part film and part rehearsal, a contemporary adaptation of 1922 3D silent film The Man from M.A.R.S. captured using contemporary 3D video and audio technologies. A 2D version of the original film resides in the BFI National Archive
Forsyth & Pollard worked with Arup Acoustics in New York to create the multi-channel surround environment in the Gallery’s adaptable 190 sq. metre space for soundtrack playback; their system designer/lead engineer Ryan Biziorek then worked with Sound Technology, the Harman Pro UK distributors, who provided 12 x JBL Control 29AV’s and a pair of SB210 subs, linked to the ambisonic platform. They also supplied a pair of Crown CTs 8000 amplifiers.
According to Dominic Simmons, the BFI’s Technical Manager for exhibitions, “Generally we would use JBL Control 25’s for our exhibitions but for this show we needed additional power.”
Ryan Biziorek explained, “The Control 29’s produced the SPL we were trying to achieve in the listening area within the gallery. We have used JBL on previous ambisonic installations and have been very happy with the loudspeaker sound quality, seamless coverage and easy mounting hardware.” Here, the 12 Control 29’s are positioned four on floor, four at ear height and four on the ceiling — with the two subwoofers providing bass extension.
Arup have worked with the artists on some of their previous projects including Silent Sound, to help design the ambisonic sound system as well as provide technical recording, 3D audio post production and room acoustic design support for the eventual installation. They repeated the same turnkey service this time around, creating custom audio patches that synchronize with the video and installed/tuned the sound system.
There were three reasons why Ambisonics were chosen, according to Ryan Biziorek. “Audio events occur all around you — the band is behind you, the actors are in front of you and the directors speak on either side of you. The natural reverberance of the film studio is captured as well. Secondly, the film was conceived to be in 3D from the beginning — the artists didn’t want a large immersive 3D image with sound that didn’t complement it. A standard 5.1 system wasn’t a viable solution as the two screens are directly opposite one another and it doesn’t provide any elevation. A full 3D ambisonic setup increases the localization accuracy and provides a sense of elevation to the listener in the gallery, making them feel as if they are immersed in the space where the film rehearsal occurred. In this installation we designed the audio so that it feels as if you are sitting in between the directors of the film. Finally, this was the first project the artists and us are aware of that combines a 3D film with 3D audio.”
Curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi, BFI Head of Exhibitions, this is certainly no ordinary exhibition. Each loudspeaker received an uncompressed .wav file from the Crown amplifiers while the playback was controlled by custom audio patches built in MAX-MSP to decode the ambisonic audio onto the loudspeaker set-up. This created a graphical programming environment, providing user interface, timing, and communications as well as DSP. The audio playback/decoding reside on a Macintosh MacMini, synched with two other Power Mac’s that control the video playback. Custom Jitter video patches were made for the video playback.
Forsyth & Pollard are noted for pushing technological boundaries with their work and in this elaborate set-up for BFI Southbank Gallery they also used two 16 x 9 aspect ratio synchronised silver screens, 5-metres wide.
Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work was filmed in a single take at Twickenham Film Studios, with a script by writer and novelist Kirk Lake. The original movie was made to demonstrate 'Teleview', a stereoscopic motion picture system created by Laurens Hammond, who later went on to invent the Hammond Organ. Sound-tracked by a live band led by Nick Plytas, Forsyth & Pollard’s creation also features a cast including Kevin Eldon, Caroline Catz, Terence Hardiman and Fenella Fielding, with a Martian dance by comedy actors Ben Crompton, Iain Lee and Ben Moor.
In order to create a 3D effect, it was necessary to record images for the left and the right eye. Hence, the work was filmed with four cameras simultaneously, two directed towards the actors and two towards the musicians.
Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work runs until 11th July at BFI Southbank Gallery, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London SE1 8XT, open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 11.00 – 20.00.
