ImagesInSound along with Whitewater Entertainment announce their recently completed production of Sounds of the Game, a component of the Science of Hockey exhibit which opened at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana California on Thursday, April 2nd.
Sounds of the Game explores the way human hearing works and how the brain interprets one sound from another by using the dynamic game of hockey as the setting. There are two components that make up the experience, a short video presentation and an audio only presentation. First, through a live-action host and colorful animation, the audience comes to understand the three main components used in human hearing; amplitude, frequency and timbre.
After this entertaining explanation, the audience is invited to listen to a 3D audio soundscape through headphones to get the sense of what it’s like to be a goalie on the ice during a professional hockey game. The audience is treated to the sounds of body checks, action behind the goalie’s net and shots on goal. It truly puts you in the game, on the ice and shows how dynamic the game of hockey really is!
“This was a really fun project for us”, states Brian Eimer, President of ImagesInSound and Whitewater Entertainment. “As a sound designer, being able to explain to kids how sounds are made is a dream come true. The use of hockey was an excellent device as it is a very 3D game, with sounds surrounding you from all directions. I couldn’t think of a more exciting subject to create into a 3D soundscape.”
Brian goes on to explain how the Sounds of the Game soundscape was created; “We went out and captured original binaural (3D audio) recordings. This involved going to a professional hockey game with a set of binaural microphones and sitting behind the goalie. We also rented an arena and while standing in the goalie position, had hockey players moving all around us, giving each other body checks, etc. It was the only way to truly capture the 3D feel of the sport.”
Whitewater Entertainment facilitated all aspects of the production for the Sounds of the Game exhibit from concept to completion including the script, storyboards, animation, production shoot and final compositing. “It was great to oversee the whole exhibit, ” says Brian, “once we had approval of the concept, we concentrated on finding the right host, one who really appreciates the game of hockey. We found this in a sportscaster named Lance Brown, he did a great job with the material and the way he presented it.” Whitewater was also responsible for the hardware component, providing a turnkey solution. “We also made sure the hardware was specific for what it needed to accomplish. We found exactly what was required while respecting budget guidelines.” Brian goes on to add “I think an exhibit runs better when delivered as a turnkey solution, then you know exactly how to get all the elements working in unison.”
Brian Eimer is a sound designer with 19 years experience in special venue and themed attractions and started his company ImagesInSound over 6 years ago. Using his experience in all genres of motion pictures, he recently started Whitewater Entertainment to serve the themed attraction and special venue
See also: Giant Award for Toronto Business
