3-D Sound?

On a Video iPod near you....,




The Next Big Thing
According to the Little Guy

#1 - Three-Dimensional Sound

I've got one word, and it's a funny one: Holophonics. It's an audio recording technology developed in the 80's that gives the illusion of 3-D sound. The most widely known application of it is the Virtual Barbershop video on YouTube. There are no visuals, just a sign that says you have to wear headphones for it to work.

You hear the voice of a 'barber' as he moves around the room. His voice starts out on your right side, and moves completely around you. At one point you swear he's about 10 feet away, at other times he's right behind you. It ends with him leaning forward and whispering in your ear. You can literally feel his breath on the back of your neck. It creates an unbelievable illusion of reality.

Now imagine it in a horror film on your video iPod. There's a business opportunity here. Even though it's been around for 20 years, it's remained nothing more than a hobby for eccentric musicians (and no one has a patent on it's visual entertainment applications). Now with all the portable media players (which require headphones anyway), it's starting to grow more. I was introduced to it by a young film student who recorded a video of two actors arguing with an off-screen director, using the holophonic technology.

Within the next 5-8 years, personal video players will enable a company producing short horror films for the small screen, using holophonics to ratchet up the jump scenes, build the suspense to a point higher than possible before. These thrills equal value in an entertainment market.

 

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