Correction of Spatialization Issues in Acousmatic Music: Remedying Incompatibility Between SpatGRIS and Logic Pro X [Stetson University]

Abstract

In this project, a technical solution for incompatibility among software programs involved in the spatialization of sound in multichannel speaker arrays was designed and implemented. Acousmatic music is a genre of electronic music intended for playback by a group of loudspeakers with the central concept being calculated ideation by the composer on how sound moves in space. Dr. Robert Normandeau, a pioneer in both acousmatic composition and sound spatialization research, describes the genre as “Cinema for the Ear.” Through his efforts with Groupe de Recherche en Immersion Spatiale (GRIS), Dr. Normandeau created a software plugin, SpatGRIS, which allows composers to send sounds around the space to come seemingly from anywhere in relation to the listener. This allows acousmatic composers to send sounds around, over, or through the audience for a completely immersive experience. Through use of SpatGRIS in conjunction with Logic Pro X, one of the most globally popular Digital Audio Workstations, the plugin has proven useful to create complex sonic movements in acousmatic compositions produced throughout the completion of this research. However, when trying to export these projects in their entirety for playback and sharing, both programs labeled and exported channels differently in octophonic (eight channel) compositions. This difference resulted in sounds from the composition being spatialized incorrectly. Therefore, a method using a free third-party software, which can easily remedy this error and correct the final recordings to their originally intended state, was created to serve as solution.