TSL Products Brings New Levels Of Ambisonic Control

Featured in blockbuster films and award-winning indie productions Pro Sound Effects (PSE) has been developing sound libraries since 2004 and continuously strives to create the most useful and up-to-date libraries available.

PSE clients include the world's largest media companies, independent sound designers, and sound professionals working in creative industries of all types.
When PSE decided to develop a new groundbreaking ambisonic library of New York City sound effects, they turned to TSL Products' SoundField microphone to help them capture the city's ambiences from all angles.

Produced and recorded in 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution by Pro Sound Effects' Library Specialist David Forshee and recordist Laura Cunningham, NYC Ambisonics includes everyday sounds including streets, parks and subways from Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Particularly unique for a sound effects library, PSE's new library gives editors and mixers the ability to creatively manipulate the surround space to precisely match the visuals. By supplying the original B-Format audio file from the SoundField microphone as well as a TSL's SurroundZone2 plugin, the ambience can be completely adjusted to fit the requirements of the scene.

"Since New York City is featured in so many films and television shows and has such an interesting and diverse soundscape, we thought it would be the perfect location for our first Ambisonics library," says David Forshee. Using the TSL Products's Soundfield microphone, we were able to capture an entire soundscape for each recording."

Without the SoundField microphone, PSE would have had to use multiple microphone arrays to capture surround soundscapes. However, this type of set-up takes time and usually produce audio that suffers from phase incoherency creating several problems when the 5.1 audio has to be 'collapsed' to create a stereo soundtrack for broadcast over SD or legacy networks.

"We were able to easily adjust all the parameters including microphone orientation and output formats to create the optimal microphone array right from the ideal listening position," adds Forshee.

By including TSL's SurroundZone2 software with the PSE NYC Ambisonics Library, sound effects can be customized and then decoded to mono, stereo, 5.1, 7.1, and beyond as required. This gives users an unprecedented level of control over a wide range of microphone parameters from a single intuitive user interface.

"When you tell your story, I believe you should have the richest sonic palette available to you – always, anywhere and instantly. Using the SurroundZone2 software gives sound editors complete control: they can point 'virtual microphones' in any direction, with a variety of polar patterns for greater control and creativity," explains Forshee.

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