We Love Jam Studios uses 360 Spatial Audio tech to immerse viewers in ‘Evelyn’s Story’ for Oxfam
We Love Jam Studios recently had the honour of composing the music and 360 Spatial Audio soundscape for Oxfam’s powerful and exquisite VR short film, “Evelyn’s Story”, which CB covered on Tuesday.
As part of the collaborative team with Filmgraphics and Alt.vfx, Jam closely considered how sound would bring the emotion and immersion of Evelyn’s world to life.
Says Hylton Mowday, composer, WLJS: “I based the work on a simple motif of descending notes based around three phrases of descending perfect 5ths. Not only does the descending phrase bring an emotional gravitas to her story, but also intentionally the theme represents rain.”
WLJS’ soundtrack expressively brings Evelyn’s struggles to the forefront of the story, as well as the moments of jubilation. The music is never overpowering, it heightens tension and draws smiles at the right moments.
Says Mowday: “Optimism is brought to the music with the addition of more water-like sounding instruments such as the vibraphone. Whilst the piano’s theme represents hopeful fall of rain, the vibraphone’s theme is repetitive ascending theme that offers optimism.”
To complete the total immersive experience, WLJS crafted a sound design that plunged into Evelyn’s world. The 360 Directional Sound in VR allows the viewer to feel like they are actually in Kenya, from hearing the searing heat, to the village celebrations as water is released.
The soundtrack was designed to utilise the playback systems of Gear VR, Facebook 360 Spatial Audio as well as YouTube 3D Spatial Audio.
Says Andrew Stevenson, head sound designer: “By ensuring all location sound was recorded in Spatial Audio, the viewer hears Evelyn’s world with pinpoint focus sounds. With headphones on, the sounds move as you turn your head. We layered our audio with ‘headlocked’ narration and music that does not move. This gives the viewer and listener a full, real life experience.”