Launched in 2013 by Radio France, the nouvOson website offers over 200 immersive audio programs today, both in binaural and 5.1 surround formats. You can choose from a variety of documentaries, fictions, original creative content and audio reporting. Such a variety makes it necessary for us to be flexible and adapt our approach to capture and mix the content: sometimes we are able to record binaurally while other times it is more convenient to create a multichannel mix first and then turn it into binaural audio by way of a virtualization software.

Native binaural recording is most often straighforward to conduct, and it is compatible with the existing stereo broadcast infrastructure. We typically use the Neumann KU100 as it offers an outstanding externalization and sense of immersion. At Radio France, the KU100 is used to record music productions involving acoustical instruments and amplified sounds. As well, we use it for some ambience capture, for voice capture as examplified for example by this beautiful performance by Marc Demarco during the binaural sessions of the Eurockéennes festival: http://nouvoson.radiofrance.fr/musique/les-eurocks-en-3d-mac-demarco-55

This native binaural recording is quite interesting because the sense of immersion is immediate, thanks in part to the sound of the wind blowing in the trees, to the dynamic performance of the artist around the listener, and for this airplane which was not expected… but which with its noise, even strengthens the immersivity of the experience.

This recording also highlights the issues that come with movements that go too fast. One needs to find an acceptable trade-off between a solid presence of timbres and the stability of sounds in space. Such native binaural technique brings us back to the time when mixing was done acoustically by playing with the position of the microphones. Such a craft…

Today, Radio France is developing expertise in these new immersive audio formats to offer listeners innovative content, adding space and immersion to the palet of creators for them to invent and apply new authoring styles.