For several months, Omnilive has been participating in the “Being There – Immersive Audio and Sound Imagery” project within the IBC 2021 Accelerator program. The aim of this project is to provide concertgoers with a new digital sound experience that reproduces the emotion felt at live events.
How it all started…
Benjamin Schwarz of CTO Innovation Consulting is behind this project. It aims to explore the technical and technological means that would allow the digital experience to be given a deeper meaning. The main aim is to preserve the emotions exchanged during face-to-face events by restoring them to digital events. Benjamin Schwarz tells us: “I was very disappointed when a concert was cancelled during the health crisis. I wanted to find a way to transcribe the feelings and sensations of the real world into digital events, but only from the technological means available “at home.”
During the health crisis, event organisers did their best to allow artists and their audiences to continue sharing moments despite the restrictions. Indeed, current technologies allow the transmission and broadcasting of performances with very good quality. However, these technologies do not allow for sharing between the artist and the audience.
L’IBC Accelerator soutient le projet “Being there”.
En soumettant le projet intitulé Being There – Immersive Audio and Sound Imagery à l’IBC Accelerator Programme, Benjamin Schwarz a reçu l’approbation de dix ” champions ” internationaux : CTOiC, ORF, BBC, MuseumTV, Twickenham Studios, Kings College London, The Audio Engineering Society (AES), University of Surrey, University of Lethbridge et Amazon Audible.
According to Benjamin Schwarz, “Being There has been well received by the champions whose mission is to provide business guidance and who, for the more curious, are even thinking of adapting the solution to more specific situations.
One project, several lines of work
In order to carry out this project, Benjamin Schwarz had to work along three lines. Omnilive is at the heart of two of them :
1. “Classical” recording in a live concert context
The job here is to reproduce the feeling of a real concert in digital. First of all, by offering different angles of view and thus allowing the spectators to watch the event as they wish. To this we add different audio tracks so that each angle of view is coordinated with the right sound. In the real world, the position you are in affects the way you perceive sound. The aim here is to reproduce this diversity and to give the impression of being really present.
2. Improving the listening experience of audio plays.
The audiobook and podcast industry is booming. However, there is currently no truly immersive or life-like experience. The job here is to give readers the opportunity to immerse themselves completely in the story. We want to give them the illusion of being in the story. This illusion is achieved first of all through the sounds. In a restaurant, we can choose whether we listen to the conversation at our table or the mumbling of the waiter. It is this possibility of choice that we want to integrate into the audiobook. In this way the reader would have his own experience and his own story.
For these two areas of work, Omnilive was the most suitable technology. It allows freedom of choice and movement for the user by offering several video and audio viewpoints. To be consistent with the objectives of the project, Omnilive offers this experience in the comfort of one’s living room without having to download or install a third-party resource on the PC.
In this way, anyone could use it from home without the need for special equipment.
IBC Accelerator puts its trust in Omnilive
Benjamin Schwarz chose to work with two companies, including Omnilive, to carry out this project.
“Omnilive is an indispensable partner. Thanks to its expertise in immersion, I was able to talk to a real expert. Someone with interesting and constructive feedback. On the other hand, I wanted to coordinate the multi-camera with various audio tracks. Omnilive is the only one that supports this today.
Benjamin Schwarz, Project manager Being There – Immersive Audio and Sound Imagery
For Omnilive, the IBC Accelerator’s Being There project is a perfect fit with the company’s strategy :
“We joined the project because it is important for Omnilive to continually be forward-looking. In a technology watch process. And above all because it is essential to support experimentation. We work with schools and students on different business themes. With technological partners or, as in this case, by joining experiments, in order to propose new user experiences.
Cyril Zaja, CEO at Omnilive
Meet the IBC Accelerator and Omnilive on 5 December in Amsterdam
“Being There – Immersive Audio and Sound Imagery” aims to enhance the digital audio experience of livestreamed events and to make digital events as real as possible for viewers. The project will be presented on 5 December 2021 at the IBC International Broadcast Show in Amsterdam. For the time being, final tests are to be carried out in November to validate the final details before the presentation.
