Video and Binaural Audio

Victor Engel wrote:

Markr041 wrote:

Victor Engel wrote:

Markr041 wrote:

Soundman OKM II Classic/Studio Solo binaural mics. No dummy head, just mine...

What an odd video to illustrate a binaural recording.

What an odd comment. Why is this odd?

"No dummy head, just mine" seems to indicate you were recording out of your ears. Most people move their head around for that period of time, yet the video is nearly motionless. Was your head still the whole time?
Organ music in a cathedral or church reverberates among all the surfaces. The sound as a result is sort of omnidirectional. You're surrounded by the sound. It pervades the space. There's really nothing directional about the recording. How is it any different from what one would get with a stereo mic?
If you were moving your head around, we should be able to hear that you were doing so. I didn't try to see if I could, though, because the picture was nearly rock steady.

You are correct that one must not move one's head if using one's head as the dummy! And I did not. The camera was also not mounted on a tripod or gimbal. So, shooting required discipline.

Now, unlike your "odd" post, you are asking some interesting questions.

Binaural stereo reproduces what one actually hears. So, the recording is a more realistic depiction of what sitting (still!) in the church sounds like. Sounds are coming from all directions. So, the sounds bouncing around, the direction of the different-sounding pipes that are separated by a big space, the non-directionality of the lowest notes, the sounds that bounce behind you are captured more realistically than just a stereo mic would capture. The reaction should be - Wow! this is just like being there.

Of course, the video is not visually that interesting (though it is a fun diversion watching the cellphone video-taker marching through the church). But then sitting in any organ concert is not that visually interesting. It is what it is.

Few people would sit by a stream in the woods for 15 minutes without going to sleep and the sounds are not what one would be attentive to continuously. But this video is the concert experience, and few would sleep given the exciting music in a space that makes the notes immersive, as captured by the mic technique. You are surrounded by sound with complex directionality, and simple stereo cannot capture the surround-sound nature of church music. Immersive sound is the key.

So, you have a classic POV video with POV sound.

And, again, hauling a dummy-head rig into any public space is a no-no - it is at best distracting, if not prohibited. This was not a stealth recording; it was sanctioned as long as it would not detract from the audience's experience.

Btw, I actually recorded one hour straight of organ music in 5.3K. No overheating, and I kept very still.

It might be interesting to compare a stereo to a binaural recording in this space. That would require just one camera but two recording devices and two sets of mics. and there are many stereo micing techniques - e.g., XY, ORTF, spaced omini's. So, this is not that simple.