Illuminarium Atlanta is an immersive African safari experience, which opened in July 2021, and showcases new 360° 3D audio technology, as well Panasonic 4K laser projectors, disguise media playback system, and Electrosonic total system integration. Live Design chats with Roman Sick, Holoplot CEO, about this state-of-the-art technology, collaborating with sound designer Peter Lehman, and what’s next for the company.
Live Design: Please explain Holoplot's new 3D sound technology, and how does it control "sound like light"? And what makes it ground-breaking?
Roman Sick: Holoplot’s unique and patented technology represents a quantum leap in audio reproduction, allowing sound control with ultra-high precision over large distances. This both optimizes the listening experience for every audience member, while eliminating spillovers and unwanted reflections. Using the proprietary 3D Audio-Beamforming technology, Holoplot products are able to control sound similar to light, precisely shaping and steering acoustic beams to easily create sound fields that optimally cover audience areas of any shape and size. Furthermore, a single Holoplot Matrix Array can generate multiple sound fields simultaneously – each with its own content, equalization, level, shape, and position
Holoplot’s Wave Field Synthesis technology enables sound designers to recreate audio objects authentically, as if the original object would stand in front of the listener. The sound object is no longer bound to the position of the loudspeaker, but comes alive, moving through the 3-Dimensional space, delivering an incredibly tangible experience. This technology is one-of-a-kind and represents an entirely new way of engaging with the audio medium. Imagine sitting in the audience, and suddenly the performer is whispering in your ear, and yours alone.
Conference attendees can now hear a presentation in their respective languages based on their position in the room, music venues can deliver consistent audio quality to all parts of the audience, while perfectly mapped sound allows theme park visitors to immerse themselves in an incredibly tangible and personal adventure with their favorite character.
LD: Please talk about the sound installation for Illuminarium, what makes it immersive and how do the components create the soundscape?
RS: The two-room Illuminarium Atlanta venue is configured with a 360° immersive Holoplot X1 system, consisting of 52 Modul 96, 7 Modul 80-S and 2 Controllers. Most of the modules are distributed around the space, while some form a larger array enabling even more creative possibilities. The installation complements the state-of-the-art visual projections and, together with the in-floor haptics, engages the audience in completely new ways by placing them "inside" the narrative.
What is more, the audio modules are completely concealed within the walls, behind practically invisible sophisticated micro-perforated panels serving as projection screens while allowing sound to pass through. This means that visitors can enjoy a true immersive experience, without any technology obstructing their view. Localizing the physical loudspeakers, either visually or acoustically, no longer takes place.
The X1 system at Illuminarium achieves unprecedented authenticity of sound reproduction, perfectly matched with the video projection. Holoplot’s Wave Field Synthesis technology enables sound designers to recreate audio objects exactly like in reality. This even works within the audience room, as if the original source would be positioned right in front of the listener, who will have the same impression as in real-life. The sound object is therefore no longer bound to the position of the loudspeaker, but comes alive, moving through the 3-Dimensional space, delivering an incredibly realistic and tangible experience.
LD: What is the actual sound design for the venue— what do people hear?
RS: Using 3D Audio-Beamforming, precisely shaped and steered acoustic beams to easily create sound fields of any form and size, the HOLOPLOT system creates multiple sound zones across the room, including zones directly next to each other with different content. So while everyone is about to experience a hair-raising thunderstorm, you could be one of the few standing near a hungry lioness - the sound of her loud roar will be delivered only to the dedicated zone you are in.
This technology is one-of-a-kind and represents an entirely new way of engaging audiences with audio. Imagine an elephant charging at you on the screen and the sound comes so close that you feel like you can almost touch the animal.
The intelligent optimization algorithms tightly control the sound beams so that it is optimally directed onto the desired audience areas, while actively avoiding all others. The additional benefit of such precise sound beamforming is that it helps to reduce sound spillovers to adjacent rooms and neighboring restaurants.
Illuminarium's vision is to surround visitors in a sensory space of sight, sound and scale unlike any other before. HOLOPLOT's audio technology is helping to turn this vision into reality.
LD: How did you collaborate with the sound designer?
RS: The collaboration with the sound designer Peter Lehman started early on in the venue design phase, and he had input into the process of preparation of the various sound beams, zones and focus spots used on the system in the venue. For the actual mixing of the show, Peter utilised his typical set of tools as he does for all his other productions. One of our application engineers accompanied him during various sessions to help him learn how to adjust system configurations when needed.
As Peter explains: “I have been very fortunate to work with HOLOPLOT for the past several years. The X1 is an amazing new tool that opens up new possibilities and room for exploration. As a sound designer and composer who also mixes my own projects, this has been a quantum leap forward. I can do things that I could only imagine before. The sound system has now become part of the sound design palette. In addition, from a more traditional loudspeaker performance perspective, the X1 has an incredible ability to deliver clean transients and phase-coherent audio. It just sounds great. I find myself using much less corrective EQ and fighting with the room less when mixing through an X1 array. The people at HOLOPLOT are also genuinely wonderful to work with and are very passionate about their product. That makes a big difference.”
LD: How does the audio go hand-in-hand with the projection to create a 360° experience?
RS: The X1 System’s exceptional performance powered by proprietary panning algorithms, enable visitors to accurately localize audio objects and their trajectory across the venue, in perfect synchronicity with the distinct visual show elements. From some X1 Matrix Arrays, virtual point sources / audio objects are being placed in the room, allowing sound to emanate at a certain position, even where there are no Audio Modules. These sound objects can be placed behind or in front of the audio system inside of the venue and thereby appear to be close to the listener's ear. An experience which is unprecedented. While the visitor can discover many sonic surprises, the Illuminarium journey remains seamless.
HOLOPLOT technology improves the homogeneity of sound level distribution and spectral consistency across multiple audience areas of any shape and size, giving every single visitor an authentic experience – even when moving around. A key characteristic of the X1 system is that the system appears transparent, meaning the sound is not perceived as coming from a speaker, but to just exist in the space.
LD: What was the most challenging aspect of this project and how was it resolved?
RS: One challenge of the system design in the Illuminarium Atlanta venue was the desire that the Audio Modules remain ‘invisible’ to the visitors. It was also imperative that they did not interfere with the video projection or mapping in the ceiling space. A solution has been found that allows them to be seamlessly hidden within the walls and concealed behind acoustically transparent wall-elements. By deploying HOLOPLOT’s unique 3D correctional frequency filters, spectral uniformity is maintained by compensating for any impact of transmission loss through the screen. This is considered a huge achievement, enabling a whole new level of immersion by tying the audio content closer to the visual. Last, the technology unique control capabilities reduces the need of acoustic treatment and limits the noise breakout to other parts of the venue, despite the challenging room shape and acoustics.
LD: Do holograms exist? What's next for Holoplot?
RS: HOLOPLOT’s wave field synthesis capabilities indeed allow to create audio objects which could be perceived as similar to holograms.
Over the next few years HOLOPLOT will release not only additional hardware products to widen the portfolio and field of applications, but especially provide new software features to enrich the capabilities of already existing and also deployed products. These will range from additional creative features, ease of system design and planning, to cloud connectivity and further monitoring capabilities.