3D Organ
A three-dimensional organ recording that allows the listener to hear the organ from the organist’s perspective.
A course project by Marit Schmitt, Florian Tront and Mika Wagner, 6th semester, 2021
Supervising lecturers: Prof. Felix Krückels, Prof. Carsten Kümmel, Prof. Moritz Bergfeld
Task:
The aim of the 6th linear workshop in the 2021 summer semester was to create a surround sound or 3D project. To this end, we split into several small groups, each of which was tasked with creating and submitting a project.
Idea:
Given Florian Tront’s affinity for the organ, the idea arose to produce a three-dimensional recording of an organ. Organist Jan Liebermann kindly agreed to play the organ for this project. Following the initial presentation of the idea and after some deliberation by those involved, the thought arose to experimentally mic the organ from the organist’s perspective, in addition to the ‘standard’ miking setup. The idea that the audience could put themselves in the organist’s shoes was very well received and was complemented by the addition of a short, film-like intro before the actual organ performance, showing the organist’s journey to the organ.
Intro – Microphone placement and mixing:
For the intro, all ambient sounds were recorded using the Sennheiser Ambeo microphone. Individual sounds, which were to be clearly localisable later on, were recorded with a highly directional microphone and placed in the mix alongside the ambient sounds as separate elements. The mix was created binaurally using the IEM plugins.
Organ – Microphone Placement:
The three-dimensional miking of the organ was planned in detail. For the main miking setup (the ‘normal’ viewpoint), another student, Mika Römer, and Florian Tront developed and built a microphone rail system for a 2L-Cube miking configuration. A major challenge here, for example, was maintaining a low overall weight whilst still ensuring high stability, as the rig for this organ recording had to be raised to a height of at least 7–10 metres using a tripod. The overall microphone setup features experiments such as the placement of as many diffuse room microphones as possible throughout the church, or vertical support microphones. To capture the organist’s auditory perspective, a Sennheiser Ambeo microphone was positioned in the immediate vicinity of the console. In addition, the keyboards and their immediate surroundings were miked to capture a wide range of ambient sounds, such as the clatter of the keys.
Organ – Mix:
The organ recordings were mixed in Dolby Atmos binaural. For the mix of the ‘standard’ audience perspective, the 2L-Cube was used as the main microphone in combination with support microphones. The numerous room microphones were distributed throughout the three-dimensional space and function as 3D reverb.
For the mix from the organist’s perspective, the Sennheiser Ambeo was used as the main microphone in combination with microphones positioned at the keyboard and the rear positive. No additional reverb – neither artificial nor from the ambient microphones – was added to this mix.
In addition to the binaural mix, a speaker-based mix was also produced.
Video:
To enhance the viewer’s immersion, this project was also visually documented. The intro was filmed from the organist’s first-person perspective, which is later also reproduced by the GoPro camera worn by the organist whilst playing. Whilst the organ is being played, the view switches between the external perspective and the first-person perspective, both visually and acoustically.
Role allocation:
Florian Tront: 3D microphone setup for the organ and mixing of this
Mika Wagner: Footage and intro mixing
Marit Schmitt: Visionkeeper/storyboard/screenplay/video editing
NGA:
In the video below, you can now see and hear another piece in binaural Dolby Atmos from the ‘normal’ audience perspective. The video was produced for the ‘Next Generation Audio’ elective.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank the Catholic parish of St James for allowing us to use the church and the organ for this project. A big thank you goes to Jan Liebermann for his helpfulness.
